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What is the point of an indoor security camera? Monitor a pet? Are you attentive when you are not at home? Maybe it’s to be attentive while you sleep? This camera does it all in enough detail to really make a difference if, God forbid, you ever need evidence of a theft or have a pet emergency. Let’s dive into the Tapo TC73!
Tapo TC73: Price and availability
Tapo’s TC73 is widely available online and in brick-and-mortar stores. Right now, it can be purchased for $50 at places like Best Buy or Amazon.com. It had its highest price in January 2024, $70, but appears to have price drops roughly every two months, bringing it back to the price of $50.
Its price aligns with one of our other favorite pan-tilt indoor security cameras, the Aqara E1. The TC73 comes in a single color, black and white, with a red stripe at the bottom.
Tapo TC73: specifications and features
Lately I’ve been testing HomeKit Secure Video and looking at various cameras and accessories. The Tapo TC73 is one of the best cameras I have had the privilege of reviewing. 2K QHD 4MP video is brilliant, with true-to-life colors and plenty of detail in darkness and daylight. That was even before turning on the HDR feature, which increases dynamic range and improves image quality in shadows and highlights (areas that can be “blown out” by light coming through a window). If 2688×1520 (2K QHD) is too much for your available video bandwidth, you can downscale the video to 720P, saving space on the optional microSD card that you can use to store video locally. Another great option to keep usable bandwidth for your setup is the ability to change the video frame rate. You can choose between 15fps, 20fps, 25fps and 30fps.
With all the high-res stuff turned on, I noticed my stream went from around 160 KB/s with no activity in front of the camera to around 350 KB/s when I walked in front of it, looking at the app to notice the changes in bandwidth. Those numbers are based on your motion settings before recording begins.
The camera has more options than many of its competitors when it comes to motion and sound settings. You get the usual unspecified motion, then person/pet/vehicle specific options, but add to that “Line Crossing Detection” and “Camera Tampering”. The first allows you to set a boundary on a location and receive a notification whenever a person or object crosses the boundary from either side. The latter sends you a notification when someone tries to obstruct the camera and comes with sensitivity settings. You can also set the built-in alarm to sound when an obstruction or tampering is identified.
As I said, there are many sound detection options. A crying baby, a broken glass, a barking dog and even a cat meowing will trigger alerts. I tried them all with YouTube sound effects and they worked, well, except for the glass breaking detection. But that could be based on the types of sound effects I found. And I love you, but I won’t break my windows to prove it for you.
Speaking of breaking and entering, if someone breaks in at night, you have two options that can help you identify a thief. The TC73 features a starlight sensor that gives you better nighttime visibility. It’s a larger 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 is the difference? The blue light is practically imperceptible, but the disadvantage is the visible distance from the camera in the dark. If you only use the camera to observe a baby or pet, it is ideal for that. The red light allows you to see further in the dark, up to 30 feet from the camera, but is visible at night.
There’s native HKSV support here, so you can add it to Apple Home once you’ve set everything up the way you want in the Tapo app. Of course, that means the lower-resolution video and most of its features aren’t available in the Apple app, including the built-in alarm, which is exposed on Apple Home with some security cameras. With Tapo, in addition to the camera itself, you expose the motion sensor so you can set up automations with it, something I would have liked to be able to do with the alarm.
Tapo TC73: construction and appearance
I like the look of the camera unit, although some may find it too large to use. At almost 5 inches tall by 3 inches wide, compared to others†, it won’t go unnoticed. Recently my younger brother visited the house and noticed it and told me I had 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 unit to be more discreet.
The unit feels substantial, although not heavy. It can be mounted upside down, with a reverse option in the Tapo App 3.0 menu. It is powered by a 12V DC adapter and connects to your network only via 2.4GHz Wi-Fi; there is no ethernet port.
I’ve found the pan/tilt motor and the AI that powers it to be the most responsive I’ve used so far. The TC73 does a fantastic job of keeping pace with people and pets moving in front of the camera lens.
Tapo TC73: Ease of use
Setting up version two of the TC73 was quite simple. Download the Tapo app, create a login, tap “+,” find your device, and follow the instructions. Some of these will be voice prompts that let you know that you are connected to the network or that you have completed setup. It took me about five minutes to get it up and running.
Because the app’s camera settings are presented intuitively, it’s easy to use its extensive features. You can access all camera settings from two screens: the TC73’s main home screen and through the settings gear on that home screen. From the main screen, you get pan and tilt functionality, privacy mode, alarm on/off, screenshot, video recording, two-way communications, and event playback and download.
The other settings are behind a gear in the top right corner of the screen. I really like the way the screen is organized. Use cards and a menu list. Privacy options are easy to use. I really like 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 front of the camera body. Both options rotate the lens to face the inside of the camera body, providing physical privacy and not an app-based “blackout.”
Tapo TC73: Competition
Right now, the HKSV options you have are the Aqara E1 and Camera Hub G3, as well as Eufy’s Indoor Cam E220 and Netatmo’s Smart Indoor Camera.
E1 from Aqara and Eufy E220 They are in line with the price of the TC73, while the Netatmo offering costs $190 and the Hub G3 costs $88. Netamo’s smart indoor camera is much more expensive than the TC73, but at first glance it appears to offer a similar feature set. I haven’t had it in my hands yet, so I can’t compare it. Of the several cameras I’ve had the opportunity to review, Tapo’s has the best-looking video yet. That said, it doesn’t compare line for line to Aqara’s Camera Hub G3, as it has a built-in Zigbee hub. The saving grace is that the hub only connects to other Aqara products.
At this time, I wouldn’t recommend any other HKSV-compatible pan and tilt cameras over the TC73, but we’ll keep you posted as new devices come to market.
Tapo TC73: Should you buy it?
You should buy the Tapo TC73 if…
- You want a detailed, high-resolution video
- You want great value
- You want an HKSV compatible pan and tilt camera
You shouldn’t buy the Tapo TC73 if…
- You want something more discreet
- You want something with Ethernet and USB-C output
Tapo TC73: Verdict
There’s a lot to cover with Tapo’s TC73! You can even view your video directly through a PC with RTSP support, which also means you can connect that video recording to a NAS. And we haven’t even looked at all the products you can connect it to with TP-Link’s Kasa line of products or other Tapo products. There’s a lot to offer here with the TC73’s high-quality day and night video, fluid pan and tilt that adapts to the action in front of the lens, smart privacy options, and an intuitively designed Tapo 3.0 app.
All of that combines to make Tapo’s TC73 easy to recommend for any buyer looking for an HKSV-compatible pan and tilt camera that has plenty of compatible accessories to build their own smart home.
Tapo TC73 Pan/Tilt AI Security Camera
Best HKSV Pan/Tilt Camera Right Now
The pan/tilt motor on this camera is fast! Combine that speedy engine and the AI that powers it, with great video resolution options, smart privacy features, and a fair price, and you’ve got an indoor camera we can recommend.
