Explaining why RTSP could be useful to you

Cameras
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The audience for this post is intended to be people who are interested in how their camera is connected. You may have read posts from people asking for RTSP support, and wonder why it is such a big deal. The Real Time Streaming Protocol was design to allow a stream of media to be managed across the web. It can encode and transmit data in a variety of formats, and it is an internet standard. The great thing about internet standards is that anything that supports the standard can use it. There is a “higher” standard than this called ONVIF, but for now I just want to explore RTSP.

Out of the box, the Wyze Cam products offer an excellent user experience. They are easy to configure and easy to use. They allow someone to configure each camera using an app on their phone and connect the camera to their local router, view and manage images and video stored on a local Micro SD card, and manage a rolling set of clips stored on a free Amazon Web Services area.

It is excellent. Reliable, cheap, and has a passionate and dedicated staff to support the system.

 

 

There are a number of users who would appreciate RTSP support. There are several reasons for this. Some people may have a network video recorder, some people may not want their video streams going out to the cloud. At the moment, the only way to get an RTSP feed on a Wyze Cam is to install unsupported third party firmware, and doing this means no more support from the wonderful Wyze Cam team. This is why so many support requests feature RTSP.

All these internet protocol cameras (or IP cams) on the market have a little web server in them. When you power them up, most feature the same process that Wyze Cam uses - they beep and / or talk to you, you point the camera at a QR code, and then the camera picks up your wifi details and connects. This provides the simple but robust user experience that we know and love. Users of RTSP - and users of older IP cameras - are used to directing their web browser at the address of the camera, logging in to an administration web page on the camera, and then adjusting the settings. It’s not such a simple interface, but it can be friendly. If you’ve ever logged in to your home router you will be familiar with the experience.

When Wyze Cam update their firmware to include RTSP support, the user will log in via the web page, turn on RTSP support, and then test the connection. Once they are able to view the RTSP stream they can do whatever they want with the RTSP feed.

This is the key point - with an RTSP stream, you can do whatever you want with anything that supports it. You could connect your stream to, for example:

As Wyze investigate if this is possible, they might discover that enabling RTSP comes at the cost of managing the camera via an app, and that it can only be done via a web page. The users who want RTSP support are very likely to be okay with this. It might even be the case that Micro SD card recording will be disabled, and this will be fine, too. What is required is a means to capture the network stream in an RTSP format. Programs like Netcam Studio and Blue Iris often have a lot of features, such as Timelapse, Motion Detection, Watermarks, 180 degree flips, and other features. This is why just a stream would be enough for most people who want RTSP support.

I personally use Netcam Studio. I make sure my current cameras are not connected to the internet, but just to my home server. I can then view my cameras by logging in to the Netcam Studio home interface.

In summary, I hope this post goes some way to explain in relatively simple terms why RTSP support gives flexibility.

3 Likes
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22 posts were merged into an existing topic: Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP)

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And like I said, the firmware space is quite small.

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That doesn’t change anything. Please don’t be negative.

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How is that negative? I don’t want a camera that ends up being flaky because someone tried to cram everything everyone suggested into a small space. At some point, these capabilities start to fall over each other. This is backward thinking. If you need RTSP or ONVIF get something that supports those protocols.

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It is negative because you are commenting without sufficient facts. The space may be small, but the engineering is sufficient. It’s all a matter of priorities, and you are speculating. The request for RTSP is in, and we await an answer from Wyze. There is sufficient support for RTSP. There are many other people with use cases that could be met by RTSP or ONVIF. Adding protocol support would not be difficult - it is part of the third party firmware you mentioned.

So, please kindly be negative elsewhere.

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The third party firmware doesn’t have cloud or app support. Suggesting that it’s easy is ignoring the fact that the other two protocols weren’t part of the original product in spite of the fact that they have been around for a while and do have lots of support. Again I want a simple, stable device. If Wyze chooses to support those protocols, make a new camera. I would consider adding them to my other ONVIF devices.

 

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The third party firmware has the code to support RTSP. This can be incorporated in the current software used by Wyze. I’m not saying it is easy - I’m saying it’s possible, Now please take your negativity elsewhere.

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Just because I don’t want what you want isn’t about negativity. I could look at what you want as negative. The Wyze cam was designed as a cloud device with certain capabilities. You want to change that and make this a local access device, just like so many other devices. That would be contrary to Wyze business plan if you bothered to look. The Wyze goal is to create affordable smart technology. As soon as this is a local access device, Wyze is just a source of cheap cameras and they don’t make enough money just selling cameras to stay in business forever. So please see yourself as the negative one.

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I’m asking you to drop the issue, and let Wyze determine if it is possible to add RTSP support. You are being very rude by constantly insisting on pushing the fact that this can’t be done. Why not let the company determine that?

Please drop the issue.

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I could ask you to do the same. If you had wanted a camera with RTSP support why didn’t you get one? Asking for something contrary to what I would like is rude. I bought what the camera was designed for and I am happy with it. If Wyze were to add local access with RTSP or ONVIF it would make the camera less reliable. It would take resources away from other capabilities that Wyze should be focussing on. Local access means Wyze becomes meaningless. I don’t want that.

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Because… this is my thread? That I started to raise awareness of RTSP? And how it could potentially be useful? Yet you seem dedicated to derail this discussion, which is just, simply, rude.

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All I am offering is why in this instance, I believe it is not in the best interests of Wyze or those with Wyze cameras.

Just because you want something does NOT mean you are right or that your views are the only ones that are valid.

I can consider you rude for trying to exclude other views, and valid ones at that.

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You are being really obtuse now, and I don’t understand why. If you want to start another thread, feel free. I’m putting my views politely and with detailed thought and all you are doing is negating them rudely. Please, kindly, stop.

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?

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I would be happy to stop responding. Apologize for calling me rude and negative for simply having an alternate view.

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You are now holding this thread hostage to your hostile comments until such time as an apology is given. For shame.

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@brik2kgmail-com I am not suggesting that RTSP isn’t useful but not at the expense of making a little camera unstable as well as diverting resources from other projects/integrations. This just isn’t part of the Wyze business plan. As soon as this were an RTSP device there would be no need for Wyze and their backend. People who need RTSP are not what would be considered a Wyze customer (they would have included in the first place). Wyze wants more involvement with the customer, with potentially additional devices. Wyze can not make a living selling $20 cameras. If this were a generic device, which it would be with RTSP support, they could not survive. Their plan is long-term and will take focus on their vision. Generic cameras are not part of that vision.

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@brik2kgmail-com “just sold a bunch more cameras” is my point. Those aren’t Wyze customers and won’t add any value to Wyze ambitions. RTSP and ONVIF do not fit and even considering it takes away resources from their stated objective. Your proposition, that Wyze sells more cameras is offset by the fact that they don’t make any money selling cameras. The more cameras they sell the more infrastructure and internal resources they need. What about the vast majority of Wyze owners who use and enjoy the cameras as they were delivered.

I understand why you want RTSP, what’s in it for Wyze, given that they don’t make any money selling cameras. We already know they are good guys and gals so that one is also off the table too.

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Please share Wyze’s business plan and vision. I can’t find any mention on their website.