Connect Smart Cameras to Display?

[Hassan170]

As the techie in the family I've been put in charge of home security. Which is difficult cuz it's not a field that I'm familiar with.

 

I live in an apartment so 1 smart camera covering the door is enough. The camera I bought is a TP-Link Tapo C211.

The main issue, I'm having, is how to connect this camera to a display so that anyone inside the apartment has a screen with a 24/7 view of the door without needing to open an app.

 

Having asked around the store I bought it from and some other stores it seems like there's only 2 official  ways. 

 

1. To connect to a Google Nest Hub Max or any smart assistant with a built in screen.

 

2. With an NVR/video recorder box. This one seems straightforward but when I asked the salesperson if I can use 3rd party NVRs. He implied no, I had to use TP-Link's own line of NVRs, which seems to either only work or work best with TP-Link's VIGI cameras as they have PoE.

 

The problem is that the cheapest NVR costs RM349 (USD75),then have to get storage for the NVR which uses surveillance drives so that's another RM250 (USD53) for a 2TB. This is all before factoring in a display, granted I know of some functioning monitors just gathering dust in the store room of the family office that I can re-use.

 

 

But still, it doesn't change that just to install 1 camera, I have to spend RM600 (USD130) just so I can have a screen with a live view.

 

There has to be a better solution for this, I know there is. I have a smart TV in the house that has a web browser, not sure if that can somehow help?

In any case, any advice and tech tips is very much appreciated 

[SpookyCitrus]

You can't just hook up a standard display to a smart camera without some sort of device to connect to it and receive the signal. Best way for everyone to be able access it that you need would be to install the App that the camera uses and setup users, that way anyone that has a smart phone you want to have access can view it any time, that's the easiest, simplest, and least expensive way. And the two other ways you were recommended are the only other ways at least afaik. 

[Hassan170]

Quote

Best way for everyone to be able access it that you need would be to install the App that the camera uses and setup users, that way anyone that has a smart phone you want to have access can view it any time, that's the easiest, simplest, and least expensive way.

See here's the thing, I just recently moved into the new house so I have to setup the security system from scratch and this time they want the screen.

 

The old house, I got this off brand Xiaomi camera called Yi IoT, and the app was simply put, dogshit. This was my first foray into smart cameras and  so the salesperson got me good. Because of this my parents got a bad impression of the app experience hence their insisting on a live view screen.

 

After helping a friend setup a Tapo camera in his place I noticed the app was smoother, had more features and the cameras even worked better.

 

I do remember that a moderator on the r/tplink forums said that the Tapo Cameras have underlying open source protocols which may or may not be compatible with 3rd party solutions for live view

[HenrySalayne]

An IP camera will generally just create a standard h.264 video stream. Ideally this is available via a direct link without the need for an app.

If this is the case you can just use a Raspberry Pi to display the stream.

[HenrySalayne]

Found it:

https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2680/

[Hassan170]

54 minutes ago, HenrySalayne said:

Found it:

https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2680/

This^ 

THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, I KNEW THIS WAS A THING, I just didn't know the keywords to search for it.

 

Thank you so much for the tech tip you absolutely wonderful parrot/human