Pixelated recordings

[5ZVP]

I have the Arlo base station and 5 Arlo Pro2 cameras installed. 3 are using AC power and 2 are on battery power. My internet connection is rated at 200 mbps both up and down. Fast.com reads about 100-170 mbps. 

My problem is the recording from Arlo Pro2 cameras are sometimes pixelated. . It doesn't do it all the time. I don't see a pattern. The live feed is alway fine. It is just the recording of the video. I have tried playing the video file on my phone and on my desktop, both still display a pixelated video. 

Any help would be very much appreciated.

[Dannybear]

Is the pixelation occurring on all cameras or just the powered ones?

[5ZVP]

so far looks like only the AC powered ones

[Dannybear]

If the pixelation is minor then try removing the battery from the camera and see how it performs.

If the pixelation is all over the picture like digital smearing towards the right then remove pinch and zoom on all cameras by using the web portal browser, go to the video settings page and reset under the thumbnail.

[5ZVP]

Thanks the pinch and zoom worked but it us not a permanent fix. After I do the pinch and zoom the camera is good for only a while. Does any one know if there any effort to fix this by Arlo?

[Dannybear]

I think I failed to say that you need to remove the pinch and zoom settings and not reapply them. The camera has to be set with full screen size for the pixelation not to return.

If you are still getting pixelation otherwise, share a recording and post the link here for review. Tap on the three dots beside the recording, choose share and then copy link to post. Link only lasts for 24hrs.

Regards about support, if it is the issue as I have then it’s has been about since middle of last year, I have a case open but nil feedback. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

[5ZVP]

It is happening on all my cameras even the ones that i have on full view. Here is one of the recordings https://arlo.netgear.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/BDE577161CD5E0C6_201905

[5ZVP]

I have also contacted arlo tech support. We went through all the usual, upload and download speed. How close are the cameras are to each other and to the hub, what other wireless devices am using. At the end they think it may be interference with the channels that my wireless is using. They finally to monitor the cameras for a few day and gave me a case number. I told them that they can be seriously telling there customers to change the channel numbers on a router!

[Dannybear]

Well you do have what I have had with pinch and zoom applied. I have two cameras that are cabled and they have been stable for months. I did set pinch and zoom on them recently after I moved to a new account and they pixelated with 48hrs.
See link example.

https://arlo.netgear.com/hmsweb/users/library/share/link/75AC4DFCC15F99DF_201905

The only other workaround is to turn off the external power and run them on batteries.

The issue I think is base station related as all my cameras behave the same if cabled.

[Dannybear]

Been there myself with interference and channel change etc. Even with the mains power to the house.
The fact that you can fix it with updating the thumbnail or prevent it by resetting pinch and zoom and it occurs on cameras within 6ft of the base station says to me that the base is where the problem lies.

One more note is that if you let it continue to pixelate, the cameras will stop being viewable and cause a timeout error with live view. This will also cause no recordings to the cloud and backup USB neither.

If as you say it is on all cameras including battery only then suggest you take them all back for replacement and start all over again.

[5ZVP]

Not sure if this means anything but i noticed both your video and mine, the first couple of frames are not pixelated.

[Dannybear]

You are correct, as you scroll through the video you will notice that the I frames are not pixelated. Another nail in the interference theory.

My speculation is that the pinch and zoom setting is set for the I frames but the motion or N frames are set to full size and hence why the pixelated smear moves right and downwards and then gets reset with another I frame and repeats again.

[Dannybear]

One other workaround to try is to disarm the camera for a few minutes a day. This may help refresh the camera settings for the video encoder when it reactivates and so prevent the pixelation from occurring.
Try using a custom mode that excludes that camera, then schedule it for 5mins every night. If it works then do the same for the others.