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Tapo 310c, Agent DVR & Mac Mini getting FFMPEG errors preventing GPU 'unable to decode picture'

Tapo 310c, Agent DVR & Mac Mini getting FFMPEG errors preventing GPU 'unable to decode picture'

Tapo 310c, Agent DVR & Mac Mini getting FFMPEG errors preventing GPU 'unable to decode picture'
Tapo 310c, Agent DVR & Mac Mini getting FFMPEG errors preventing GPU 'unable to decode picture'
2026-05-04 19:36:56 - last edited a week ago
Tags: #ONVIF/RTSP
Model: Tapo C310  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version: 1.9.1

Hi, my first post so I hope this is ok!

 

I have two Tapo C310s attached via WiFi to a Mac Mini M1 with 16BG. 
I have configured the cameras a ONFIF devices, using GPU Video Toolbox, as per instrucitons on Tapo help page. I've not checked 'Prefer TCP' as I found this makes the recordings unwatchable. 

I have set stream2 for live feed and stream1 for recording. 

The WiFI strength is ok. The Cameras are attached to guest Wifi and the Mac is on a gigabit connection to the main router.

I have no Tapo Care subscription and there are no SD cards in the cameras.

FFMPEG is reporting the errors shown below and the Mac is falling back to using the CPU rather than GPU. 

I have installed the latest (ARM 64bit) version of FFMPEG and the logs show Agent DVR is successfully finding a loading it. 

It seems the streams from the cameras is such poor quality that FFMPEG can't read it.

The recordings and live feeds are acceptable, not great and not as good as what I see in the Tapo app on my phone.

 

I would be very grateful for any suggestions as to how to fix this!

 

Thanks,

Russell

 

18:34:37 FFmpeg: error: [h264 @ 0x8072dbb80] error while decoding MB 0 17, bytestream 4974
19:44:59 FFmpeg: error: [h264 @ 0x8072da680] hardware accelerator failed to decode picture
19:45:02 FFmpeg: error: [h264 @ 0x807132680] hardware accelerator failed to decode picture
19:50:36 FFmpeg: error: [h264 @ 0x8072eca80] left block unavailable for requested intra4x4 mode -1
19:50:36 FFmpeg: error: [h264 @ 0x8072eca80] error while decoding MB 0 19, bytestream 165720

 

 

 

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#1
1 Accepted Solution
Re:Tapo 310c, Agent DVR & Mac Mini getting FFMPEG errors preventing GPU 'unable to decode picture'-Solution
3 weeks ago - last edited a week ago

  @Russell_C 

Hi，
Thank you for your detailed post. Here are some suggestions based on your configuration:
1. Stream Quality
You are currently using stream2 (substream, 640×360) for live viewing, which may appear pixelated on larger screens. We recommend switching the live feed to stream1 for better clarity.
Note: The camera supports up to 2 main streams + 3 substreams. If recording already uses stream1, using it also for live viewing means your phone will switch to the substream when accessed simultaneously—though this may still be acceptable on a phone screen.


2. “Prefer TCP” Option
Keeping this unchecked is correct, as ONVIF typically uses UDP. Enabling it can cause playback issues in third-party setups.


3. FFmpeg Decoding Error
This issue is uncommon. To help troubleshoot:
Try viewing the stream via VLC (using the RTSP URL) to compare video stability.

 

4. Also, your FFmpeg version is still 7, while the latest version is currently 8. We recommend upgrading to version 8 first and then testing again.
FFmpeg related links:
https://ffmpeg.org/download.html#build-mac
https://evermeet.cx/ffmpeg/
However, if the issue persists after upgrading FFmpeg8, please check whether Agent DVR has a solution on their side. There isn’t much more we can do on the TP-Link side.

 

 

Best Regards,
 

Recommended Solution
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#2
3 Reply
Re:Tapo 310c, Agent DVR & Mac Mini getting FFMPEG errors preventing GPU 'unable to decode picture'-Solution
3 weeks ago - last edited a week ago

  @Russell_C 

Hi，
Thank you for your detailed post. Here are some suggestions based on your configuration:
1. Stream Quality
You are currently using stream2 (substream, 640×360) for live viewing, which may appear pixelated on larger screens. We recommend switching the live feed to stream1 for better clarity.
Note: The camera supports up to 2 main streams + 3 substreams. If recording already uses stream1, using it also for live viewing means your phone will switch to the substream when accessed simultaneously—though this may still be acceptable on a phone screen.


2. “Prefer TCP” Option
Keeping this unchecked is correct, as ONVIF typically uses UDP. Enabling it can cause playback issues in third-party setups.


3. FFmpeg Decoding Error
This issue is uncommon. To help troubleshoot:
Try viewing the stream via VLC (using the RTSP URL) to compare video stability.

 

4. Also, your FFmpeg version is still 7, while the latest version is currently 8. We recommend upgrading to version 8 first and then testing again.
FFmpeg related links:
https://ffmpeg.org/download.html#build-mac
https://evermeet.cx/ffmpeg/
However, if the issue persists after upgrading FFmpeg8, please check whether Agent DVR has a solution on their side. There isn’t much more we can do on the TP-Link side.

 

 

Best Regards,
 

Recommended Solution
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0
#2
Re:Tapo 310c, Agent DVR & Mac Mini getting FFMPEG errors preventing GPU 'unable to decode picture'
3 weeks ago

  @Hilbert-TP Hi, thank for your detailed response!

 

1) Yes I have agent DVR set to show stream1 for full screen viewing and recording. It's not too bad.

 

2) Thanks for confirming it's best not to prefer TCP, I will keep it set that way.

 

3) The ffmpeg errors are the main issue as it's causing the AgentDVR to fall back to using the CPU, and lots of it.
I tried your suggestion of streaming through VLC - it didn't report any errors, but did use the GPU. I read that will only be the case for the VLC app as the VLC library used by Agent DVR can only use the CPU. 

 

So it seems there is something wrong with my ffmpeg installation. 

file $(which ffmpeg)      reports /opt/homebrew/bin/ffmpeg: Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64

... and agentDVR's config.json file in points to this.

 

Any suggestions what I can try next please?

 

Thanks 

Russell

 

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#3
Re:Tapo 310c, Agent DVR & Mac Mini getting FFMPEG errors preventing GPU 'unable to decode picture'
3 weeks ago

  @Russell_C 

Hello,

Thank you so much for taking the time to post the issue on the TP-Link community!

To better assist you, I've created a support ticket via your registered email address and escalated it to our support engineer to look into the issue. The ticket ID is TKID260521783, please check your email box and ensure the support email is well received. Thanks!

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#4

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