Licences for recording CCTV video in UK?

[terminus 0]

Hello,

I am in the UK and new to CCTV.  I have a couple of Tapo cameras and they work fine with the Tapo app on my mobile phone.  I am reluctant to subscribe to a cloud system which seems to be an open-ended deal.  So I would like to use a NAS on my home network to make and keep recordings.

Currently I'm "diddlin' around" on the internet to learn about how it all works, but I'm confused by the references to the need for licence for each home CCTV camera to record to a home NAS.  I assume that most of what I read refers to the situation in the US.  Is this applicable in the UK, too?

I would be very please to hear of a CCTV user group (not affiliated to any manufacturer) in the UK?  Are there any such forums or useful Facebook groups?

Thanks for any help.

Regards, Malcolm.

 

[tomcctv 187]

Hi Malcolm

there are two types of camera …. CCTV and smart cameras and there not to be mixed up 

 

your looking at Tapo (Tp-link) smart cameras 

there is no control over these cameras in the way you would have with a cctv camera 

 

tapo is setup via there app (qr) so you can’t get the local iP address of the camera which is what you need for local storage like nas 

smart cameras are not the best to do homework on as they’re not cctv 

MAS far as licensing in the uk ….. no we don’t have that problem …. However some NAS systems require you to pay to use cameras on there system but at the end of the day a good NVR is a cheaper and more reliable solution 

 

[terminus 0]

Thanks so much for your post.  I have a lot to learn.

I'm relieved to read  that the licence thing is not an issue here in the UK.

RE. "smart" vs CCTV I'm a bit confused.  Tapo have a webpage suggesting ways to get their camera parameters for use with NASs, etc. They refer to "ONVIF" and "RTSP" protocols, which mean nothing to me at the moment, but I'll continue to dig around and see it I can eventually get to grips with all this stuff.

I will also look into NVR in comparison to NAS, thanks for the suggestion.

I definitely qualify as a "newbie"!

Thanks.