The TP-Link Tapo C230 home security camera is a budget friendly feature packed camera for comprehensive surveillance. It offers high resolution videos, pan-tilt functionality and Smart AI detection to ensure full coverage for your home.
TP-Link Tapo C230 Camera Specifications
- 3K 5MP (2880 x 1620 pixels) resolution with support up to 30 frames per second
- Pan/Tilt functionality with 360° horizontal rotation and 114° vertical tilt
- Enhanced Night Vision (IR) up to 12 m range
- Smart AI detection – people, pet, vehicle, line crossing, camera tampering, baby crying, glass break, dog barks and cat meows
- Built-in speaker and microphone to support 2-way audio communication
- Supports local storage with microSD card or Tapo Care cloud storage
- Alarm and strobe lights on detection to scare off intruders
- Smart Home integration with support for third-party services
TP-Link Tapo C230 Camera Review
Video Quality
At full resolution (3K 5MP), the video footage is sharp with accurate color reproduction. However, the night vision performance is subpar with the IR range reaching 3m at most. My other Xiaomi security camera can perform better than this. Video streaming through the app is slow, most probably due to the Wireless N standard (2.4 GHz). In several of my tests, I’m not able to stream at the maximum specs – 3K 5MP at 30 fps – I got notification in the app to lower my resolution.
Smart AI Detection
The AI detection algorithms in TP-Link Tapo C230 is superb. In my experiments, I’m able to detect motion, people, baby crying and line crossing. I’ll get notification immediately on my app. For example, upon people detection, the camera can track the person until it is out of sight of the camera and all these footages are stored on the local SD card.
Audio Communication
The 2-way audio communication works quite well. The sound from the speaker is loud and clear while the microphone can pick up surrounding sound accurately.
Smart Home Integration
The TP-Link Tapo C230 camera can be integrated with other Tapo devices to create Smart Actions. For example, when the camera detects someone arrives home it can automatically turn on the lights or other home appliances. The Tapo app also supports integration with third-party services like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings and even IFTTT to build a smart home automation system with all the supported devices in your home.
Limitations
- Currently the Tapo app does not support Apple’s Homekit so smart home integration may not work with Apple devices
- Cloud storage requires subscription (after 30 days free trial). My Xiaomi camera provides 3 days rolling free cloud storage
- WiFi speed is slow, not able to stream at max video specification
- Video compression technology is using H.264 and not the more efficient H.265 which can save smaller file sizes on the SD card
TP-Link Tapo C230 Summary
The TP-Link Tapo C230 is ideal for home surveillance and baby monitoring as the features are sufficient for these applications. The pan-tilt functionality couple with AI detection provides comprehensive coverage for home security. The 2-way audio and night vision range may be good enough to monitor baby sleeping or waking up. Smart home integration feature (especially with third-party services) can open up a lot of flexibilities for automation in your home.