@Wayne-TP thank you for replying.

Yes, the C310s have working sd cards and they are currently in the Tape Care trail period. All cameras work perfectly through the Tapo app. 

The reason why I say this RTSP problem is unique to the C310s, is because on the same WiFi network I have four tapo C110 and C210 cameras all streaming perfectly over rtsp, and they too all have an sd card and Tapo Care. All have been setup identically through the Tapo App, and all are using the same rtsp url (with the IP address different obviously)

Since my initial post, I've tried with VLC, openCV (gstream), and ffmpeg. All 3 tools work fine with the C110 and C210 cameras, but fail with the C310 cameras. 

VLC returns : "Your input can't be opened" 

gstream (opencv) returns: "GStreamer warning: Embedded video playback halted"

ffmpeg returns:  "Invalid data found when processing input"

It seems the C310 cameras are sending an unrecognised stream after authentication. I say this, because if I provide an incorrect user/pass then the C310s do return the error "failed: Unauthorized", however with the correct credentials the error from ffmpeg gives the biggest insight, which is "Invalid data found when processing input".

I did allow the Tapo App to update the firmware on the C310s, is it possible there is a new bug specific to the C310s and the formatting of data send over rtsp? Is there a way to try a different firmware?

Thank you

  @Wayne-TP thanks for your further help, I've sent my id via pm. 

Just to clarify one point, I'm not actually using a NVR. I am just grabbing a single frame from the camera. 

So in theory the c310s hardware should be able to handle sd card recording, and the occasional single frame grab, be it through rtsp or any other available url? 

Many thanks again

Hi  @Wayne-TP 

I've pm'd again with my account login. 

With regards the feedback that the c310 can't have a sd card inserted AND also allow a rtsp feed, here's the problem with this official communication :

1) since my original post, I purchased a 4th c310 off amazon, and this 4th c310 does have an sd card inserted AND is allowing screen grabs absolutely fine via rtsp. So the official feedback statement that the c310 disables rtsp when an sd card is proven wrong?

So I have several c110s, c210s, a c320ws, and a now one c310 all with working sd card recording when motion is detected, AND RTSP is enabled and providing screen grabs via the rtsp url. All that is working perfectly with an identical setup across the board. It is just my original 3 c310s which will not provide rtsp. If one c310 can do an sd card AND rtsp, why can't the others? And why can the c110 and c210 models? This is a major inconsistency. 

2) I bought these TPLINK 2k cameras in 2023 to replace my very old 720p cameras that are 5 years old. These old cameras have sd card recording AND also also allow rtsp feeds and frame grabs via rtsp. I'm sorry to say, but surely the official feedback from a market leader like TPLINK can't be that their latest 2k cameras in 2023 can't do what an old camera could do... 

It's the age of home assistant and home automation, where people shouldn't need a DVR if the camera has an sd card already, but they would like their home automation software to grab an occasional frame from a camera when an independent motion sensor is triggered etc. 

I understand that permanently recording to an sd card AND also providing a 2nd stream via a rtsp feed to a DVR, AND also a 3rd stream to the Tapo app may be pushing the hardware. 

But if nobody is watching live via the app, and the sd card is not actively recording because the AI hasn't detected motion, then there should be no hardware issue with the rtsp stream being enabled for a single frame grab, or even just providing a url for a single frame grab? 

Forgive me challenging you, it's because there are inconsistencies with the c310 which appear to be a firmware bug (or maybe the hardware v1 & v2 labels aren't accurate and something has gone wrong in the factory) and the official explanation doesn't match, and I just really want to use the TPLINK brand too :) 

Also, a harsh reality if I believe the official comms is to also accept I've wasted a ton of money investing in the latest 2k TPLINK cameras. 

BUT, and please hear me here, BUT if one c310 (and all the lesser c110s and c210s) can allow sd card recording AND have rtsp enabled for screen grabs, AND THE FACT THAT ONE C310 can, then surely the other c310s can too? 

Can you please acknowledge that it can't be true that the firmware is disabling rtsp when a sd card is inserted, we've proven otherwise. 

And if the rtsp kill switch does eventually become a consist "feature", would a better coding solution be to only disable rtsp when recording to the sd card commences, and re-enable when sd card recording stops?

So don't disable rtsp all the time, just when the sd card is actually in use rather than inserted? 

Many thanks