topic Re: 4K recording and playback in Arlo Ultra 2

4K recording and playback

adlai15 — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 02:58:49 GMT

In the USA, which plans support 4k recording and playback. I have 4k cameras, and the Secure Plus Unlimited plan, but the playback in the app is definitely not 4k

Re: 4K recording and playback

StephenB — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:53:00 GMT

@adlai15 wrote:

In the USA, which plans support 4k recording and playback. I have 4k cameras, and the Secure Plus Unlimited plan, but the playback in the app is definitely not 4k

The overall quality is limited by the low bitrate, not the resolution. Download one of the files to a PC and take a look at the details there.

Other factors -

Since the zoom is digital, zooming in the field of view will reduce the resolution
if you have turn on auto zoom and tracking, the resolution will drop to 1080p
If you have a CVR subscription, resolution will also drop to 1080p

Re: 4K recording and playback

adlai15 — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 16:55:03 GMT

Thanks Stephen!

is the low bitrate related to the connection quality to the base station?

I assume the full field of view will give the best resolution, is that correct?

What is a CVR subscription?

Re: 4K recording and playback

StephenB — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 18:53:00 GMT

@adlai15 wrote:

is the low bitrate related to the connection quality to the base station?

No, it's just a bandwidth decision that Arlo made. I suspect it is partly about their cost, but also because many customers have limited upload speeds.

@adlai15 wrote:

I assume the full field of view will give the best resolution, is that correct?

Yes.

@adlai15 wrote:

What is a CVR subscription?

Continuous Video Recording.

Re: 4K recording and playback

Edinburgh_lad1 — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:29:05 GMT

Here in the UK, according to Ofcom, over 83% of households have access to gigabit capable Internet connections (the lowest upload speed offered by BT is 10mbps; download 50mbps when I have a quick scan over the available offers in my area, which is fibre enabled); copper-based connections (DSL, low upload and download speeds) are just over 6% of all connections. Isn't it the time Arlo improved the quality of recordings if download/upload speeds are indeed one of the factors? I think that kind of low quality of recordings would have been appropriate in the 90s (had Arlo made cameras then) or early 2000s. It's 2026 and technology has moved on big time. So have the users' expectations. The dev team know it themselves: probably using AI to write the code and software engineers fixing whatever AI doesn't get right.

Re: 4K recording and playback

StephenB — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 20:26:21 GMT

@Edinburgh_lad1 wrote:

the lowest upload speed offered by BT is 10mbps

Which is still a barrier.

That said, I'd love to see Arlo provide an option to increase the bitrate in exchange for shorter retention. I've posted that here several times over the years.