RTSP stability
Hi,
I have three TAPO TC71 cameras (hardware version 2.0, firmware version 1.4.8) connected via a stable Wi-Fi network. They are working properly with motion detection, person detection, and all notifications turned off. Sound recording, local storage, SD card use, and diagnostic features are also disabled. Each camera is configured to publish an RTSP stream with a static IP address, 1080p resolution, 15 fps, and no timestamp, text, or logo displayed on the stream.
An external application (like VLC) connects to the three cameras and captures images. However, the connection occasionally drops. Usually, it recovers within a few seconds, but sometimes it never reconnects—the camera’s LED turns red, and the camera must be physically powered off and on to recover.
Is there any configuration I can adjust or anything I can do to improve connection stability?
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Does this occur to all three cameras at the same time? What's the frequency?
Please share a screenshot of the settings (for capturing images) on your VLC.
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Hi @Wayne-TP,
I tested it using a Python script (I can’t attach the file, so I’ll paste the code at the end).
For each configured camera, I have a process continuously reading from the RTSP stream and reconnecting if it detects a drop in communication.
Each camera has three consumers requesting the latest available image every second and displaying it into a webpage.
Usually, the problems with the RSTP not at the same time, neither the 3 cameras fall at once.
The frequency is random—sometimes there are many drops within a few minutes, and other times hours pass without any problems.
I also tested using a TAPO-TC70, updraded to the latest firmware. The results were similar.
E.g:
2025-10-13 16:40:42 Cam1: Connected
2025-10-13 16:46:58 Cam1: Signal Error:([Errno 10054] Error number -10054 occurred: 'rtsp://****:****@192.168.1.232:554/stream1')
2025-10-13 16:47:05 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:41:23 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:41:24 Cam1: Signal Error:([Errno 138] Error number -138 occurred: 'rtsp://****:****@192.168.1.232:554/stream1')
2025-10-13 19:41:27 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:41:36 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:41:38 Cam1: Signal Lost (frame timeout)
2025-10-13 19:41:40 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:42:28 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:42:30 Cam1: Signal Error:([Errno 138] Error number -138 occurred: 'rtsp://****:****@192.168.1.232:554/stream1')
2025-10-13 19:42:45 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:44:06 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:44:15 Cam1: Signal Lost (frame timeout)
2025-10-13 19:44:18 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:45:23 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:45:27 Cam1: Signal Lost (frame timeout)
2025-10-13 19:45:33 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:47:39 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:47:45 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:49:09 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:49:10 Cam1: Signal Lost (frame timeout)
2025-10-13 19:49:25 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:49:39 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:49:52 Cam1: Signal Lost (frame timeout)
2025-10-13 19:49:58 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:51:05 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:51:11 Cam1: Signal Lost (frame timeout)
2025-10-13 19:51:16 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 19:52:35 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 19:52:40 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 20:03:22 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 20:03:26 Cam1: Signal Recovered
2025-10-13 20:04:19 Cam1: Signal Lost (empty queue)
2025-10-13 20:04:20 Cam1: Signal Error:([Errno 138] Error number -138 occurred: 'rtsp://****:****@192.168.1.232:554/stream1')
2025-10-13 20:04:31 Cam1: Signal Recovered
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Sorry, there’s no way to attach the Python script, and even copy-pasting the raw text doesn’t work — it complains about illegal links, but I can’t find any since I didn’t include any links.
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To be able to analyze this issue, please follow this guide and collect a log from the camera when the same thing reoccurs. How to get the log of Tapo Camera
Then you can reach out to our forum support team by sending an email to support.forum@tp-link.com with the following information. Once sent, a ticket will be created in our support system, and a team member will follow up to gather more information or troubleshoot the issue.
Subject: [Forum Escalation][ID 844322] RTSP stability
Forum Nickname: ErnestLB
Thread URL: https://community.tp-link.com/en/smart-home/forum/topic/844322
Model&Version:
Description: [User Provided]
Any Other Relevant Information (Logs, Config Files, Images, etc.): [User Provided]
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