Arlo|Smart Home Security|Wireless HD Security Cameras

Pixelated Video Quality

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spoons10696
Guide
Guide

I am getting pixelated video quality on my camera......definitely doesnt look like 1080p.  What gives?  Why so many issues with these things.

27 REPLIES 27
StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@spoons10696 wrote:

I am getting pixelated video quality on my camera......


Usually that means there is loss on the connection between the camera and the base.  How far away is the camera?  How many bars of signal strength are you seeing for the camera in the web browser your your app?

NewfieDrool
Luminary
Luminary

Hi spoons

 

yes I’ve this issue, good strength from camera to base which is about 8ft in distance.

ive double checked my network, checked my QoS and with DumaOS I’ve also turned of QoS to be sure. I’ve checked in my case the bandwidth from extender to router which is fine but the quality is pretty poor. 
I noticed it first popped up with the new app but now there maybe an issue on their side as one or too have noticed it too with playback issues.

 

 

StephenB
Guru Guru
Guru

@NewfieDrool - I'm not suggesting there is an issue with your network (or that your issues are also caused by loss on the camera->base connection). 

 

But it is frequently a problem, so it would be helpful for @spoons10696 to give more information on his setup.

mamarcac
Apprentice
Apprentice

Long story short after many threads about this, Arlo uses mp4 to compress the videos, and the compression settings they use result in far less than 1080p or 720p quality. Some people have even posted the statistics in other threads.

 

Their servers seem overloaded, and they've reduced compression quality as a response.

spoons10696
Guide
Guide
My camera is maybe 12 ft from the base station. Shows as full strength signal and I have plenty fast internet speed in my house. 100gb. Picture quality used to be better for sure. Latest updates or whatever have resulted in the pixelated viewing images.
spoons10696
Guide
Guide
So if the end result is not full 1080p video due to the compression then why are paying for 1080p cameras!?...sounds like a class action lawsuit waiting to happen if figures have been proven that the quality is not what Arlo advertise.
NewfieDrool
Luminary
Luminary

They have issues that need sorting, it’s very glitchy at the moment.

hopefully they will sort it out spoons but it’s nowt to do with interference, bandwidth or anything to do with our networks full stop and that’s putting it politely.

 

Beef
Apprentice
Apprentice
Same with mine very pixilated and slow motion.
billkex
Luminary
Luminary

I have noticed that the image quality has changed.

It is NOT as sharp and clear as it used to be, it is blurrier, and fuzzier.

The other thing... watching recorded video either on desktop computer or on the new app, the video occasionally freezes, jumps or speeds up for no reason. .....Why is this happening?

 

I bought this system based on what it used to be., not this current crap.

Anyone else notice this?

Retired_Member
Not applicable

My educated guess is that Arlo, being in what appears to be deep financial trouble due to stock dropping over 80% and with rainy prognosis from analysts, is trying to cut every corner possible in order to reduce operational costs. Loud stump of the Arlo ULTRA Launch failure along with numerous competitors stepping up the game and grabbing market shares not helping either. The firmware updates for base stations and cameras forcefully pushed down customer's throats earlier this year jacked-up video compression to reduce footprint of video files stored on the cloud at the great expense of video quality for all of us, the Arlo customers. As the result, that s#it of the video clips we have now is nowhere close to the advertised 1080p quality we paid for.

billkex
Luminary
Luminary

I believe it.

It's very frustrating for longtime owners that know that the quality was better.

 

One of my cameras in my yard captures a hummingbird feeder. I used to be able to zoom in on the hummingbirds & the quality/detail was awesome. Now, its a blurry, fuzzy, pixelated mess.  when recorded, the video skips, freezes, speeds up, etc.

 

I have rebooted the base, removed & reinstalled the cameras, etc. anything to see if it will help.

At this point, the problem is at THEIR end, not ours. They changed something.

These $200 cameras are not the problem. It''s the Arlo software.

 

OK Arlo,  what are you doing about this?

wbtje
Guide
Guide

Same issue since a few days first 4 seconds replays in slow and then blurrey and freeces. When download video it playback normal.

 

not expected this from arlo.......

Charlie0239
Aspirant
Aspirant

I am not at all impressed with the updates.  I can walk outside and the cameras not even record my actions.  How can I  tell if someone  is walking on my property at night if the blessed things dont do their job.  The other night my son had a nightmare and was convinced someone was at the back door.  I had to update the app before it would show the cameras.  This was before the september 30 date the email gave.  How can I comfort my family if I cannot show them no one is trying to break in.  I am seeking a new system.  If I find a worth one I will update this post. 

ShayneS
Arlo Moderator
Arlo Moderator

Have you tried contacting customer support regarding this issue? I have attached the link here for you - Arlo Tech Support

Reallyconfused
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Customer support will basically tell you to reboot. Or unplug and reboot, or reboot then unplug and then reboot, or various combinations of the above. This is of course, if you are lucky enough to reach a person who is actually LISTENING to your issue at hand, and not asking the same question of you over and over and over and....well, you get the point.

I have a saved transcript which goes on for an hour and 15 minutes of one inept chat technician who kept asking and asking again, the same questions which I had already replied to several times. If it were not for the fact that I knew for sure I was on the official site, I would have thought for sure I was being pranked!!

Customer service is about the same as the product quality right now. Hit and miss.

ShayneS
Arlo Moderator
Arlo Moderator

Hello,

 

I have a few questions for you:

 

-Which camera & base station are you experiencing the degraded video quality with?

 

-What Device/Phone/Model/OS are you using?

 

-Is it occurring on the web browser as well? is so, which browser?

 

-If occurring on the Arlo mobile app, which version are you using?

 

-Is this occurring on wifi & mobile data?

mamarcac
Apprentice
Apprentice

I love that after you accurately predicted Arlo support would pepper us with useless/redundant questions, they literally posted right below you doing that exact thing. Too good.

ShayneS
Arlo Moderator
Arlo Moderator

@mamarcac

 

Are you experiencing the issue related to this thread? If you are, can you provide any of the requested information so I can further escalate the issue.

 

Thank you 

mamarcac
Apprentice
Apprentice

@ShayneS  Yes, and I've posted in other threads about the poor video quality since May 2019.

 

Is one of the Arlo Development leads actually being given our feedback and experiences? I actually posted a sample video in another thread this summer. Videos from this weekend still show the same behavior, so nothing has been improved in the firmware...

jr10
Tutor
Tutor
Has anyone experience poor picture quality coming from your pro 2 cameras. Ever since the last couple updates or since the ultra came out... The pictures quality I feel has gone down. The picture seems blurry and grainy. It's definitely not the same quality picture it once was..... and it is worse at night
Laz19
Aspirant
Aspirant
Yes horrible. Surely not HD quality.
mchromiec
Guide
Guide

I love how you couldn't come up with anything but the useless questions. Don't act like it's the first you hear about the problem. You know well what the current issues are with this useless system. Stop wasting time by asking the same questions over and over.

You guys are playing a game, but be careful the time is running out and the law is coming to bite you very shortly.

I am already working on a legal action against Arlo.

billkex
Luminary
Luminary

I've been dealing with this issue (along with other problems) since June when Arlo changed the app. Everything was fine before they made that change.

 

I have tried everything. I am convinced this is all on THEIR end.

mamarcac
Apprentice
Apprentice

Agree 100%. They're compressing the living heck out of our videos to save cloud server space. Don't spend one minute of your time resettting/re-syncing etc. It's a waste.

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