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What is the meaning of indoor security camera? Tracking a pet? Do you pay attention when you are not at home? Maybe it’s to be careful while sleeping? This camera does everything in enough detail to really make a difference when, heaven forbid, you need evidence of a burglary or a pet emergency. Let’s check out the Tapo TC73!
Tapo TC73: Price and availability
Tapo’s TC73 is widely available online and in brick-and-mortar stores. It’s currently available for $50 at places like Best Buy or Amazon.com. It reached an all-time high of $70 in January 2024, but it seems that every couple of months the price drops, bringing it back to the $50 price point.
It’s priced right in line with one of our other favorite pan-and-tilt indoor security cameras, Agara’s E1. The TC73 is only available in one color, white and black, with a red stripe down the bottom.
Tapo TC73: Features and specifications
I’ve been on the HomeKit Secure Video game lately, looking at different cameras and accessories. Tapo TC73 one of the best cameras I had the privilege of reviewing. 2K QHD 4MP video is brilliant in the dark and in daylight, with true colors and plenty of detail. This was before we enabled HDR, which increases dynamic range and improves image quality in shadows and highlights (areas that may “fade out” due to light streaming through the window). If 2688×1520 (2K QHD) video is too large for your available bandwidth, you can downscale the video to 720P, saving space on an optional microSD card that you can use to store videos locally. Another great option to save bandwidth for your setup is the ability to change video frame rates. You can choose between 15 frames, 20 frames, 25 and 30 frames.
With all the high-resolution features enabled, I saw the stream go from 160KB/s with no activity in front of the camera to 350KB/s when I walked in front of it while watching the app to record bandwidth changes. These numbers are based on your motion settings before recording begins.
When it comes to motion and sound settings, the camera has more options than many of its competitors. You get the usual vague motion, then custom person/pet/vehicle options, but add to that “Line Intersection Detection” and “Camera Switching”. First, it allows you to set a boundary in one place and be notified when any person or object crosses the boundary from either side. The latter notifies you when someone tries to interfere with the camera and comes with sensitivity settings. You can also trigger the built-in alarm when an obstruction/hold is detected.
As I said, there are many sound detection options. A baby crying, glass breaking, dog(s) barking, and even a cat meowing will trigger alerts. I tested them all with YouTube sound effects and they worked fine except for the glass break detection. But that could be based on the types of sound effects I find. I love you, but I’m not breaking my windows to try this for you.
Speaking of breaking in, if someone breaks in at night, you have two options that can help you identify the thief. The TC73 has a starlight sensor that provides better night vision. It’s a bigger sensor that captures more light, but the camera unit also comes with two IR lights to further illuminate what you’re trying to protect: red and blue. What difference does it make? The blue light is practically imperceptible, but the trade-off is the visible distance from the camera in the dark. If you only use the camera to monitor a baby or pet, it’s perfect for that. The red light allows you to see more in the dark, within 30 feet of the camera, but is visible at night.
There’s native HKSV support, so once you’ve configured everything the way you want in the Tapo app, you can go ahead and add it to Apple Home. Of course, this means that lower-resolution video and most of its features aren’t available in the Apple app, including the built-in alarm exposed in Apple Home with some security cameras. With Tapo, apart from the camera itself, you expose the motion sensor so you can configure automations with it – something I was able to do with the alarm.
Tapo TC73: Build and appearance
I like the look of the camera section, although some may find it bulky to use. At almost 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide, it’s barely noticeable† compared to the others. Recently, my younger brother came home to find that I had a HAL9000 in my living room. This is because the red status LED is quite bright, but you can turn it off if you want the device to be more discreet.
While the unit isn’t heavy, it feels substantial. It can be installed in reverse with the inversion option in the Tapo App 3.0 menu. It comes with a 12V DC adapter and connects to your network only via 2.4GHz Wi-Fi; no ethernet port.
I’ve noticed that the pan and tilt motor and the AI that drives it are the most responsive I’ve ever used. The TC73 does a fantastic job of keeping up with people and pets moving in front of the camera lens.
Tapo TC73: Ease of use
Building the second version of the TC73 was quite simple. Download the Tapo app, create a login, tap the “+” sign, search for your device and follow the prompts. Some of them will be voice notifications telling you that you are connected to the network or that the installation is complete. It took me about five minutes to get it working.
The program’s camera settings are intuitively designed, so it’s easy to use its extensive features. You can access all of the camera’s settings from two screens: the main home screen for the TC73, and through the settings gear on that home screen. From the home screen, you get swipe and tilt, privacy mode, alarm on/off, screenshot, video recording, two-way communication, event playback and download.
Other settings are behind the gear in the top right corner of the screen. I really like the layout of the screen. It uses cards and a menu list. The privacy options there are easy to use. I love that they included a privacy occlusion option and that the lens privacy option is in the app and can be activated via a physical button on the face of the camera body. Both options rotate the lens to face the camera body, giving physical privacy rather than app-based “darkness.”
Tapo TC73: Competition
Currently, your HKSV options are Agara’s E1 and Camera Hub G3, as well as Eufy’s Indoor Camera E220 and Netatmo’s Smart Indoor Camera.
Agara’s E1 and Eufy’s E220 It drops in price with the TC73, with Netatmo offering $190 and the Hub G3 at $88. Netamo’s Smart Indoor Camera is significantly more expensive than the TC73, but on the face of it, it appears to offer a similar feature set. I don’t have it in my hands yet, so I can’t compare. Of the few cameras I’ve had the chance to review, the Tapo has by far the best looking video. However, it doesn’t compare line-by-line with the Agara Camera Hub G3 because it has a built-in Zigbee hub. The saving grace there is that the hub only connects to other Agara products.
Right now, I wouldn’t recommend any other pan and tilt camera supported by HKSV over the TC73, but we’ll keep you posted as new devices hit the market.
Tapo TC73: Should you buy it?
You should buy Tapo TC73 if…
- You want detailed, high-quality video
- You want great value
- You want a pan and tilt camera with HKSV support
You should not buy Tapo TC73 if…
- You want something more inconspicuous
- You want something with Ethernet and USB-C output
Tapo TC73: Judgment
There’s a lot to cover with Tapo’s TC73! You can even watch your video directly through a PC with RTSP support, which means you can connect that video recording to your NAS. We haven’t even covered all the products you can combine with TP-Link’s Kasa products or other Tapo products. With high-quality day and night video, fluid pan and tilt that keeps moving in front of the lens, smart privacy options and the intuitively designed Tapo App 3.0, the TC73 has a lot to offer.
All this combined makes it easy to recommend Tapo’s TC73 to any buyer looking for an HKSV-enabled pan and tilt camera with plenty of compatible accessories to build your own smart home.
Tapo TC73 pan/tilt AI security camera
Currently the best pan/tilt HKSV camera
The pan/tilt motor on this camera is fast! Combine this fast motor and artificial intelligence with great video resolution options, smart privacy features, and a reasonable price, and you’ve got a built-in camera we can recommend.
