So - here are the main steps that I took to get RTSP up and running with minimal drop outs. I’m thankful Wyze added it but I really hope the add additional options for more control via RTSP for the camera (configurable h264 quality, frame rate, play sound on device, reboot camera, et cetera).
#1 - AP Channel Audit - during my setup I decided to go through another channel audit to see if interference from other AP’s in my neighborhood could have an impact. What I found was that my AP’s were set to automatically choose channels per the router configuration. I have a total of 4 AP’s throughout my house and I was able to segregate the channels to 1, 4, 8, and 11 to reduce interference in my home. Many of the neighbor AP’s ran on channel 6 and some used 11 but were in the opposite area of my house. I installed an app called NetSpot on my phone to audit each area of the home to determine the best channels for that coverage area.
#2 - 802.11b…b stands for bad! - after doing the channel segregation things started to get better, but there were still issues with all devices. I started to focus on hardware configurations next. In one of the rooms, I had an old Linksys WAP54G V1 that had been providing WiFi for my kiddos Chromecast connected TV. It had always ran great for that purpose, and there was only one camera connected to that AP. When I turned off the router, I noticed that all other cameras operated as expected, but when enabled I saw drops. What I also saw is that the Chromecast was actually connecting as 802.11b and not on G or a higher standard. Once I disabled and required 802.11G, the cameras started working much better - until I used the Chromecast at the same time…
#3 - Hardware, Hardware, Hardware - now that I knew this device was an issue - I went ahead and replaced it with a 802.11n 2.4ghz AP - now everything is working as intended for all WiFi purposes in that zone.
#4 - Ask 5 devs how to do something get 10 answers - now that I had verified hardware, signal strength, connection types, I moved on to the software. Blue Iris worked great. ContaCam worked great. TinyCam Pro worked great. Every multi-camera application that supported RTSP worked. After a bunch of testing, I decided to go with ContaCam because of my familiarity with the application.
So, in the end, the infrastructure needed to be combed through in more detail and was really the root cause. I still feel there is so much more Wyze could and should do for RTSP support, but I’m grateful they added it and I get 1080p quality @ 15fps (10fps for night mode) which is now continually monitored on a 8 TB recorder. If you’re having problems, I highly recommend going through similar steps and check your devices that connect to your AP to see if any of those have an impact with your AP, and to have a different kind/brand AP to remove brands as the issues. I run Netgear R6400, R6250, and Airport Extremes on my network and have no issues.