Reolink CX810 and Reolink CX820

[JonoPorter]

This page documents a known-working configuration for running Reolink CX810 / CX820 cameras with Frigate NVR, focused on stability (no dropped frames, reliable motion detection) with minimal complexity.

Key Requirements (Read First)

The two most important settings are:

1. Force RTSP over TCP

   #input=rtsp/tcp

2. Set I-frame Interval to 1× on both streams

If either of these is missing, instability is likely.

Reolink Camera Settings

You may need to use the Windows app, Android app, and/or Web UI to access all settings.

Global Settings (Both Streams)

• Video Codec: H.264
• Frame Rate Mode: Constant
• Bitrate Mode: Constant Bitrate (CBR)

High / Clear Stream (Main – Recording)

Setting	Value
Resolution	3840×2160
Frame Rate	Default
Max Bitrate	Default
I-frame Interval	1×

Note: Lowering resolution on CX810/CX820 crops the image instead of resizing it.

Low / Fluent Stream (Sub – Detection)

Setting	Value
Resolution	640×360
Frame Rate	4 FPS
Max Bitrate	Default
I-frame Interval	1×

Minimal Frigate Configuration (Single Camera)

Replace:

• Cam_IP → camera IP or hostname
• USER / PWD → camera credentials (or environment variable substitution)

# yaml-language-server: $schema=http://FRIGATE_HOST:5000/api/config/schema.json

###############################################################################
# go2rtc – RTSP restream with TCP (required)
###############################################################################
go2rtc:
  api:
    listen: ":1984"
  rtsp:
    listen: ":8554"
  streams:
    cx820_main: rtsp://USER:PWD@Cam_IP:554/h264Preview_01_main#input=rtsp/tcp
    cx820_sub:  rtsp://USER:PWD@Cam_IP:554/h264Preview_01_sub#input=rtsp/tcp

###############################################################################
# Detection
###############################################################################
detect:
  enabled: true

###############################################################################
# Camera: Reolink CX820 / CX810
###############################################################################
cameras:
  CX820:
    enabled: true

    live:
      streams:
        Main: cx820_main
        Sub:  cx820_sub

    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cx820_main
          input_args: preset-rtsp-restream
          roles:
            - record

        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cx820_sub
          input_args: preset-rtsp-restream
          roles:
            - detect

    detect:
      enabled: true
      fps: 4

    record:
      enabled: true

version: 0.16-0

Usage Pattern

• Main stream → recording
• Sub stream → detection (4 FPS)
• Frigate connects to go2rtc, not directly to the camera

Summary

If you follow the camera settings above and use RTSP-over-TCP with I-frame interval set to 1×, Reolink CX810/CX820 cameras behave reliably in Frigate.

[JonoPorter]

I should note that these settings do not make the RTSP stream from the camera perfect. You will still experience dropped frames—this configuration simply minimizes them. If you compare footage recorded directly to the camera’s SD card with the RTSP stream, the RTSP feed will remain inferior.

If anyone discovers additional settings that further improve this, I would greatly appreciate the insight. That said, I believe I explored just about every viable option available.

[lachlancresswell]

Have you considered using the "medium/balanced" quality stream via http for detection (e.g - ffmpeg:http://Cam_IP/flv?port=1935&app=bcs&stream=channel0_ext.bcs&user=admin&password=PWD)? VLC shows it as 896x512 at 25fps, I imagine this would be more suitable for the detection process.

Also you mention all streams should be set to h264 but (at least on my CX820 on fw v3.2.0.5375_2509162386) the main stream is always h265, even if h264 is used in the feed URL.

[JonoPorter]

Thanks for the FLV suggestion — that was the right direction 👍
I wanted to follow up with what finally made it work for me in case it helps others.

What actually fixed it

On my Reolink CX cameras, FLV did not start working until I did all three of the following in this order:

1. Enable HTTP
2. Enable RTMP
3. Reboot the camera (this part was critical)

Just toggling the settings without a reboot still resulted in /flv returning errors.

After the reboot, the FLV endpoints immediately started working in go2rtc.

---

CX820 / H.265 gotcha

On my CX820s, once FLV was enabled the option to force H.264 disappeared entirely — they are now H.265 only.
That’s fine for my setup (GPU + Coral), but it’s something to be aware of if your hardware can’t handle H.265 decode.

Honestly, I’d be cautious recommending the CX820 to anyone who needs H.264.

---

FLV vs RTSP

FLV has been noticeably better for me:

• Faster startup
• Fewer stalls
• Lower overhead via video=copy

However, it does appear to break two-way audio (talkback), so that’s the tradeoff I’m still evaluating. I may keep RTSP around just for cameras where talkback matters.

---

Minimal working example (single camera)

Below is a known-working single-camera example using FLV with go2rtc + Frigate.

go2rtc:
  streams:
    frontporch_main:
      - "ffmpeg:http://CAMERA_IP/flv?port=1935&app=bcs&stream=channel0_main.bcs&user={FRIGATE_RTSP_USER}&password={FRIGATE_RTSP_PASSWORD}#video=copy#audio=copy"
    frontporch_sub:
      - "ffmpeg:http://CAMERA_IP/flv?port=1935&app=bcs&stream=channel0_ext.bcs&user={FRIGATE_RTSP_USER}&password={FRIGATE_RTSP_PASSWORD}#video=copy"

cameras:
  FrontPorchV2:
    enabled: true
    live:
      streams:
        Main: frontporch_main
        Sub:  frontporch_sub
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/frontporch_main
          input_args: preset-rtsp-restream
          roles: [record]
        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/frontporch_sub
          input_args: preset-rtsp-restream
          roles: [detect]
    detect:
      enabled: true
    record:
      enabled: true

---

TL;DR for anyone skimming

• FLV does work on Reolink CX cameras
• You must reboot after enabling HTTP + RTMP
• CX820 appears to be H.265 only
• FLV is excellent for stability, but breaks two-way audio

Thanks again for pointing me toward FLV — once the reboot piece clicked, everything fell into place.

[lachlancresswell]

Interesting that you got the FLV stream also working on the main feed. The stream fails in go2rtc/Frigate and audio only works in VLC on my CX820. The sub stream works fine so I've had to do a mix of RTSP for record and FLV for detect.

[JonoPorter]

That’s fair, and I want to clarify / correct my earlier statement.

It’s very possible I misinterpreted what I was seeing and didn’t do enough due diligence before posting. I have 2× CX820 and 2× CX810, and I switched all four cameras over to FLV at the same time.

The CX810s absolutely work well with FLV (main + sub), and it’s likely I saw those behaving correctly and assumed the CX820s were doing the same. In hindsight, what I was probably seeing on the CX820s was only the sub-stream, which, as you’ve seen, works fine.

After more testing and digging through logs:

• FLV sub-stream on CX820 is solid
• FLV main stream (H.265) is unreliable or fails outright in go2rtc/Frigate
• RTSP main does work, but even there I’m still seeing dropped frames / instability over time

So I’ve ended up in the same place you are: hybrid config (RTSP main for record, FLV sub for detect).

Given the instability on the main stream and the fact that the CX820 firmware removes the ability to force H.264, I still feel justified in returning them. The CX810s have been far more predictable, and for Frigate that consistency matters more than specs on paper.

Appreciate you calling this out — your experience lines up with where I landed after more testing.

[JonoPorter]

Follow-up / correction on the CX820 + Frigate

I want to walk back part of what I posted earlier about the CX820 being a good fit for Frigate.

I managed to post that update during a brief window where things appeared stable, but after more testing (and a lot more logs), the reality is clearer:

The CX820 is not a great camera for Frigate if you care about long-term stability.

What I learned (the hard way)

• FLV does work, but only after:

  • enabling HTTP
  • enabling RTMP
  • rebooting the camera (required)

• Even then, behavior is inconsistent:

  • FLV sub-stream works reliably

  • FLV main stream (H.265) is unstable or fails outright

    • EOF / empty responses
    • missing headers (no dimensions / SPS/PPS issues)
    • go2rtc restream disappearing → Frigate RTSP 404 loops

• The CX820 firmware removes the option to force H.264, leaving you locked to H.265.

• RTSP main (H.265) technically works, but once you mix FLV + RTSP + restreaming, things start flapping under Frigate load.

• Two-way audio is also problematic once FLV is involved.

None of this is a Frigate issue — it’s firmware behavior on the CX820.

Important nuance

This is not saying:

• Frigate can’t handle H.265 (it can)
• go2rtc is the problem (it isn’t)

The problem is that the CX820:

• delivers inconsistent FLV main streams
• behaves differently per stream type
• requires fragile sequencing (enable → reboot → hope it sticks)

That’s not something you want in a 24/7 NVR.

Practical recommendation

If someone asks me today:

“Should I buy a CX820 for Frigate?”

My honest answer is now:

No — unless you’re okay with:

• hybrid configs (RTSP main + FLV sub),
• trial-and-error per firmware,
• and accepting that updates may break things again.

The CX810 behaves much better.

Why I’m posting this

I don’t want anyone to buy hardware based on my earlier comment and then hit the same wall I did. I posted too early, before the system had time to fail under real load.

Hopefully this saves someone else a few nights of log-watching.

If anyone has a CX820 running fully stable long-term with Frigate, I’d genuinely love to see the config — but at this point, I’m convinced this is a camera/firmware limitation, not a setup mistake.

As of right now I plan to return the CX820s and get some amcrest equivalent instead.

[asantaga]

Hi there, I just bought this camera and am within my 30 day return window. Currently it appears fine but when I setup go2rtc I do note it says "Live view is in low-bandwidth mode due to buffering or stream errors.".... Im not too worried about this as the recordings are in full resolution, and the cpu usage appears to be the same with go2rtc.... (need to investigate more)

i dont see any errors in the log files though which is weird.

I just upgraded the firmware to v3.2.0.5375_2509162386, what were you running on ?

Shame to return the camera as the nigh vision is amazing..

[JonoPorter]

"Live view is in low-bandwidth mode due to buffering or stream errors." = Main stream is not working showing you sub stream instead.

open the go2rtc dashboard (usually on port 1984).
Once there:
Find your camera stream name
Click Play
Confirm:
The stream plays smoothly
The codec (H.264 / H.265)
Transport (TCP vs UDP)
Viewer count increases when playing
If the stream does not play here, Frigate is not actually getting a usable stream

The CX 810 has the same sensor but firmware that will put out an FLV stream that is h264. If I had known this I would've have grabbed 4 of those when that were on sale.

[asantaga]

thanks for this, i set it up and discovered go2rtc didnt like my password (Special charaacters) but when I changed my password go2rtc worked..

Within preview it says Main worked , but not two way

Statistics in image

I am seeing some errors in the logs, but not sure if they are historical, I will test in the text 2-3hrs.

I really like the camera (the night vision) , but I will admit not so happy with the Vertical FOV but its ok and the substream is low quality.... doesnt work well for face recognition

[JonoPorter]

That drop frame percentage is why I returned them. I'm assuming this is on RTSP.

[asantaga]

yeah rtsp,I did some tinkering and i couldnt get the dropped frame rate less than 9%, it fluctuates between 9-11%

[antonclaeys]

can you post your config?

[asantaga]

Hey , I sent the cx820 back to Reolink (was within 30 days), alas I dont have a backup of the config :-(.
I moved to HikVision DS-2CD2387G3-LI2UY. It doesnt really have the same nighttime colour of the cx820 but uses IR and then bright light for colour. The one thing I didnt like about the cx820, whilst the nighttime colour is really nice, anything which moves is really ghosty which makes itnot useful for recognising face etc.. We'll see

[majoracehole]

I've just been setting up a CX820 and went through many similar steps before finding this writeup!

What I have now discovered (via https://docs.frigate.video/configuration/camera_specific/#reolink-cameras) is that flv is now working fine for me on both streams after manually changing to ffmpeg 8 😀

[JonoPorter]

Can you post your frigate config for those who want to do this in the future? As well as any additional steps required.