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Tapo C500 best practice

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Tapo C500 best practice

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Tapo C500 best practice
Tapo C500 best practice
2023-08-17 15:15:16
Tags: #Motion Detection
Model: Tapo C500  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version:

I just got my C500 today and it is my first outdoor camera. I was wondering on how other users set it up. It is a tilt-and-pan camera, and I like the feature that it is detecting motion, following the object, taking short videos. But it is also filming the street, and reacting to the wind blowing in the bushes in my yard. But when I set an activity zone, it is limited to what was visible in one still frame, which is a narrow view.

 

How do other users set it up? Just have it react freely and turn off the notifications and just don't care it is also filming the street? Or indeed keep it focussed on a narrow still view? Or does it depend on your use case?

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Re:Tapo C500 best practice
2023-08-18 03:37:15

  @eurojojo 

Hi,
Different users in different usage scenarios have different requirements thus the camera's detection and storage settings will be different.

 

The Activity Zone settings work for the Motion Detection feature, and only the motions within the activity zone will be recorded. You can see the activity zone moved either on the Motion Detection page if your camera moves in a different direction with the pan&tilt feature.

 

If you have a problem when settings up the features on the Tapo app, please let us know your detailed requirements and usage scenario, and we may provide some suggestions for you.

 

Best Regards

>>Landscape Mode - Tapo App for Pad. >>Smart Action 2.0 Explore and meet the next level home automation. >>How to position my TP-Link camera for optimal performance.
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Re:Tapo C500 best practice
2023-08-19 13:20:42

  @Solla-topee Thank you. I have a carport and want to detect people or neighbour animals entering that carport. I set up my camera to detect motion from a certain marked position, and set up the activity zones. However, I also set up the camera to follow the intrusion. And then it may get sidetracked to record the wind in the bushes behind the carport (outside the activity zone!) and gaze at that for minutes, not watching the carport. Or it may follow a person walking outside the carport in the street, which is problematic with privacy regulations. If I turn off following the motion, it is just a narrow view camera, it only watches part of the carport, and I do not make use of the pan-and-tilt.

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Re:Tapo C500 best practice
2023-08-22 12:20:02

  @eurojojo 

Hi,
The Activity Zone works for the Motion Detection feature but doesn't for the Motion Tracking feature, and it may be there are events in the bushes behind the carport so the camera keeps monitoring it for minutes.
If you do not want the camera to track the person outside the carport, it's recommended to turn off the Motion Tracking feature.
The new firmware version(1.0.6) of the Tapo C500 has added Patrol Mode, you can enable this feature to check if it will help in your usage scenario.
Best Regards

>>Landscape Mode - Tapo App for Pad. >>Smart Action 2.0 Explore and meet the next level home automation. >>How to position my TP-Link camera for optimal performance.
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Re:Tapo C500 best practice
2023-08-23 08:46:52

  @Solla-topee Thank you. Yes, I have version 1.06 and found Patrol mode. I thought it would patrol continuously between two marked positions, but that is not the case. It just swivels horizontally or vertically once. It is nice to have when you (or a security guard a rich person might hire) are watching live, but not for the regular guard-function of a home. Maybe in software 1.07? 

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Re:Tapo C500 best practice
2023-08-23 11:08:25

  @eurojojo 

Hi,
The Patrol Mode allows to set Layover Time for each marked position. You can check if you have set the layover time relatively long thus the camera stays a long time at the marked position.

Best Regards

>>Landscape Mode - Tapo App for Pad. >>Smart Action 2.0 Explore and meet the next level home automation. >>How to position my TP-Link camera for optimal performance.
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