Video quality of moving objects

[Edinburgh_lad1]

Pro 2 is an HD camera, yet I've noticed that moving objects become pixelated while static ones are sharp in HD quality (well, Arlo's HD quality). Have there been any changes  to the way the cameras are recording footage and the way it's compressed, its nitrate changed again etc? @BrookeN @JamesC 

I hope it's not another trick by Arlo to show that the quality is HD, but it isn't, as as your customer, I constantly feel tricked by your company in terms of what you say you'll deliver and what you actually deliver.

[velma41abbott]

Has there been a recent update or change to the Pro 2 camera's compression settings or bitrate that could be causing pixelation with moving objects, despite the camera being labeled as HD?

[jguerdat]

If that is the case, it's not due to a firmware update. You can always check here:

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Firmware-Release-Notes/Arlo-Firmware-Release-Table/m-p/1920885#M791

[StephenB]

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@jguerdat wrote:

If that is the case, it's not due to a firmware update. You can always check here:

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Firmware-Release-Notes/Arlo-Firmware-Release-Table/m-p/1920885#M791

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FWIW, I don't know whether changing the compression settings requires a firmware update (or not).  There could be some hidden settings that are provisioned in the Arlo Cloud.

I haven't noticed any changes myself, but this might also depend on subscription status.

Hopefully they haven't tried to reduce the bitrate, as IMO it is already lower than it should be.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

And any compression would have been done by the SmartHub, I believe, @StephenB as, for example, GitHub alternatives suggest so. Also, with my SmartHub, I can do local recordings and it's the same. The camera wouldn't have the capacity to do any compression.

@jguerdat any chance you could temporarily move the pro 2 from the subscription to test?

I'd like to invite Arlo staff to comment on this thread to clarify please @BrookeN Thank you!

Cheers.

[jguerdat]

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@Edinburgh_lad1 wrote:

@jguerdat any chance you could temporarily move the pro 2 from the subscription to test?

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Since current subscriptions are for all cameras in the account, that isn't easily possible. The camera needs to connect to a base or hub and I don't have any extras.

[BrookeN]

Please see:

https://kb.arlo.com/1179147/How-do-I-get-better-picture-quality-from-my-Arlo-camera

[StephenB]

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@Edinburgh_lad1 wrote:

And any compression would have been done by the SmartHub,

Compression is done by the camera hardware.  None of the hubs (including the smarthubs) have that hardware.

You simply cannot send uncompressed HD in real time over a 2.4 ghz wifi link.  Each uncompressed frame is about 25 megabits. (1920x1080*1.5*8 for 1080p 8-bit 4:2:0 video).  So ~600 mbps for a single 24 fps stream.

[Edinburgh_lad1]

Thank you @StephenB and @BrookeN - much appreciated. @jguerdat it probably explains why you don't see the pixelation that we see.

In relation to that particular KB, information about the reduced bit rate for those legacy cameras was put there in 2022. What if a customer made a decision to purchase what you call legacy

cameras before that date - isn't it that they entered a contract with you then and any changes to footage quality - such as reduction in bitrate - should have been communicated to the registered user?