Get your camera ready for replay
Most cameras ship with the two things EchoLab needs switched off. Two toggles and a couple of stream settings, and your camera is ready — pick your camera brand below.
What EchoLab needs from a camera
- RTSP — the standard video stream EchoLab plays and buffers. Without it there is no picture.
- ONVIF — the discovery protocol that lets the app find the camera on your network by itself. Optional: with ONVIF off you can still add the camera by typing its stream address.
Both live in the camera's own settings, and both stay on your local network — EchoLab talks to the camera directly; no cloud account is involved in the stream.
Already found it? If the app's scan listed your camera, RTSP and ONVIF are already on — you don't need this page. You're here because the scan came up empty or you're adding a camera by hand.
Pick your camera brand
Reolink
Turn on RTSP and ONVIF
In the Reolink app or web interface: Settings → Network → Advanced → Port Settings (menu names vary slightly by model), then switch on RTSP and ONVIF. Recent firmware ships with both off.
Using a Reolink NVR? Enable ONVIF per camera
On an NVR, the ONVIF toggle is per channel, not just system-wide — enable it for each camera you want EchoLab to see, in the NVR's channel settings.
Stream addresses
Main: rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/h264Preview_01_main
Sub: rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/h264Preview_01_sub
Sign in with the camera's admin user and device password. If your model records H.265, switch the main stream to H.264 in the stream settings (see recommended settings).
Worth knowing: battery-powered Reolink cameras (Argus and similar) don't offer RTSP at all — replay needs a mains-powered model. Official reference: Reolink support.
Hikvision
Turn on ONVIF
In the camera's web interface: Configuration → Network → Advanced Settings → Integration Protocol, enable Open Network Video Interface (that's ONVIF), and add an ONVIF user there. That user is separate from your admin login — it's the one EchoLab signs in with when it discovers the camera.
RTSP is usually already on
Port 554 by default. If playback asks for credentials, use the ONVIF user you created (or the admin account).
Stream addresses
Main: rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/Streaming/Channels/101
Sub: rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/Streaming/Channels/102
The last digits are channel then stream: 101 = camera 1 main, 102 = camera 1 sub.
Official reference: Hikvision support.
Dahua / Amcrest
Turn on ONVIF
Dahua: web interface → Network → ONVIF (on newer firmware it may sit under System → Safety). Amcrest (a Dahua brand): Setup → Network → ONVIF. Enable it; RTSP is normally on already, port 554.
Stream addresses
Main: rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0
Sub: rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1
Official references: Dahua support · Amcrest support.
TP-Link Tapo
Create a camera account
Tapo cameras have no web interface — everything happens in the Tapo phone app. Open your camera → Settings (gear) → Advanced Settings → Camera Account and create a username and password. This local account is what RTSP and ONVIF use — it is not your TP-Link cloud login.
Stream addresses
Main: rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/stream1
Sub: rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/stream2
Use the camera-account credentials you just created. Once the account exists, ONVIF discovery works too.
Official reference: TP-Link support.
Ubiquiti UniFi Protect
Enable RTSP per camera
In the UniFi Protect web application: open the camera → Settings → Advanced and switch on an RTSP stream at the resolution you want. Protect generates a unique address for it.
Copy the generated address
The address is token-based (it looks like rtsps://CONSOLE-IP:7441/xxxxxxxx) — copy it from the Protect interface rather than typing it. Pick the highest resolution that plays smoothly on your device.
Add it by address in EchoLab
UniFi Protect doesn't speak ONVIF, so the scan won't find these cameras — in the add-camera screen choose manual entry and paste the address.
Official reference: Ubiquiti help.
Annke
Annke cameras use Hikvision firmware. Follow the Hikvision steps: enable ONVIF under Configuration → Network → Advanced Settings → Integration Protocol, add an ONVIF user, and use the same /Streaming/Channels/101 stream addresses. Official reference: Annke support.
Wyze
Read this first: standard Wyze firmware has no RTSP. Wyze published a separate RTSP firmware for Cam v2 and v3 only; it's flashed manually from a microSD card, is no longer actively updated, and trades away some app features. If you're choosing a camera for replay, a model with native RTSP (any brand above) is the easier path.
If you do flash the RTSP firmware: enable RTSP in the Wyze app under the camera's Advanced Settings, set a username and password there, and the app shows the stream address to copy into EchoLab. Discovery won't find it — add it by address. Official reference: Wyze support.
Any other brand
Find the toggles
Look in the camera's web interface or app for RTSP and ONVIF — usually under names like Network, Advanced, Integration, or Protocols. Turn both on. RTSP almost always uses port 554.
Find the stream path
The address has the shape rtsp://user:password@CAMERA-IP:554/PATH. The PATH part is brand-specific — the camera's manual, its web interface, or a search for "your model RTSP URL" will give it.
Scan, or add by address
With ONVIF on, EchoLab's scan should now list the camera. If it still doesn't (some networks block discovery — see troubleshooting), add it by address instead: manual entry works with ONVIF off entirely.
Recommended stream settings for replay
Delayed replay keeps a rolling buffer of your stream, so settings that help live viewing apps also help here — plus one that matters more than usual:
- Codec: H.264. Every device EchoLab runs on decodes H.264 in hardware. H.265 halves the bandwidth but not every TV stick or phone decodes it reliably — if you're unsure, pick H.264.
- Keyframe interval (GOP): 1–2 seconds. This is the one that matters most: playback can only start on a keyframe, so a short interval means the buffer builds fast and recovers fast after you change the delay. If the setting is expressed in frames, use 1–2× your frame rate.
- Main stream: 1080p at 15–25 fps, around 2–4 Mbit/s, is a comfortable ceiling for a Fire TV Stick or a phone. Higher bitrates look marginally better and stall much more easily over Wi-Fi.
- Frame rate: constant, not variable. If your camera offers CBR/fixed frame rate, use it — variable-rate streams can drift against the clock and make the delay less accurate.
- Substream: 480p at 0.5–1 Mbit/s. EchoLab uses the substream for multi-camera views, where several feeds decode at once. Configure the camera's substream, then paste its address into the camera's substream field in EchoLab's settings.
Troubleshooting
- The scan doesn't find the camera. ONVIF is off (the most common cause — see your brand above), or your network is keeping devices apart: guest Wi-Fi and some mesh systems block discovery between devices, and a camera on a different VLAN or subnet won't be seen. Adding the camera by its RTSP address works even when discovery can't.
- It connects, then stalls or drops. The bitrate is usually too high for the link. Lower the main stream's bitrate or resolution, prefer wired ethernet for the camera where possible, and re-test.
- Username or password rejected. Check you're using the camera's local account — Tapo's camera account and Hikvision's ONVIF user are separate from the cloud/admin logins. If the password contains characters like @ or /, prefer entering credentials in the app's separate fields rather than embedding them in the address.
After each change, use the connection test in EchoLab's add-camera screen — it shows live signal, bandwidth, and dropped frames, so you can see immediately whether the change worked.
Stuck?
Head to Support for common fixes, or email support@echolab.app — a human reads every message.