Arlo Pro 2 Pixel motion detection not working

[thumshie]

I've set up a Arlo Pro 2 with a motion zone(covering the whole area) and connected to AC it doesn't seem to be triggered by 'pixel' but by IR.

The initial set-up was to point out of glass doors with I know the IR sensor doesn't work through - as tested when not powered no motion was detected until the doors were open and my body heat was then detected.  however, plugging into power and setting up the zone resulted in the exactly same situation.

I then did a further test by pointing the camera at the wall and placing my fingers infront of the camera lens but above the IR sensor.  I can move my figures around for ages without it trigger the only time it triggers is when I move my fingers down to infront on the IR sensor.

This is the same on two camera's.

Any ideas?  

[st_shaw]

It's working as intended.

When a zone is used, the camera requires BOTH an IR detection AND pixel changes before it will trigger. This does a good job at reducing false alarms compared to pixel detection only, which is typically pretty bad for false alarms.

[thumshie]

Cheers. In that case it's going back. If the only use of pixel detection is in effect to limit the IR coverage the usefulness is zero.

[st_shaw]

It's your call, of course. This behavior may also change with future firmware updates and the upcoming Arlo Smart feature.

I don't know how much experience you have with pure pixel detection, but as I noted above the Pro2 implementation is a good thing. I have experience with pixel detection on several camera models, including true professional cameras costing over $1,000 per camera, and I can tell you it's very false alarm prone. Pixel detection cannot discriminate intruders from spider webs, moving shadows, insects, raindrops, snowflakes, etc.

You might want to try it out first. What are you trying to monitor and why do you think the combined IR/pixel approach won't work for you?

[jguerdat]

If this is really how you want the system to operate, the Q camera would be a better choice. It's not for outdoors but you're not placing it there. The Q works through glass just fine and supports zones and CVR.

[thumshie]

I'm trying to record/be notified before they break in rather than only after...

This is trying to cover a full height glass doors and windows to the backyard.  I had attempted an external camera positioned on an adjacent wall in the backyard, but even being less than 20ft away and full sensitivity I could come from round the other side and right up to the doors and loiter without the IR being triggered.  If this had worked then I could have had two rules, where external camera A would trigger record on Camera A and also on Camera B(inside) to get video of both angles.

Depending on the functionality/cost of the Arlo Security light this might be mountable elsewhere in the backyard to trigger the cameras, but do I wait with a system that doesn’t currently offer the flexibility.  Would be great if the pixel motion detection could work with the IR trigger of a separate unit – such as the light outside the window - where do I propose that functionality 😊

[st_shaw]

I think you should be able to do what you want, but you will need to place the cameras carefully and you will need to setup the right rules in the Arlo system.

Keep in mind that IR is most sensitive to movement across the camera's field of view and less sensitive to movement directly towards the camera.

You should be able to capture someone approaching the doors and windows, but you might need to change the location of the camera outside, or mount a second camera outside.  Placing the camera(s) above the doors/windows facing downwards might help get the side-to-side motion needed.

Also, you can cross trigger cameras with the system you have, so you can pretty much achieve your proposed functionality right now.  You can use an IR detection on a camera outside to trigger a recording on the inside camera, without needing the inside camera to detect anything.  You can set this up under Mode, Add Event.

Keep in mind that IR detection does not work through windows, so having a camera inside trigger a camera outside doesn't make much sense.