Low Resolution Video - Any Fix?

[justin_douglas]

Hi! I just bought and installed a Pro 4 to watch a bird feeder in my backyard. My internet is 600/35, and the signal strength is strong. The live video (I have it set for best quality / uses more battery) is pixelated and blurry. Not terrible, but nowhere close to HD. Is this just the way things are - or is there a solution to getting crisp, clear video over wifi? Screenshot attached. Thanks!

[jguerdat]

That looks normal to me. Do you have a subscription to allow 2k recordings? Don't forget that there's not only the resolution but also the compression used that affects the apparent quality.

[justin_douglas]

No I’m just using it for streaming, no recording. It’s definitely pixely and not very sharp - like I can see the blurry pixels moving around like when a video loses quality when streaming. I kind of just assume that this, which looks under 720p, is just where the wireless technology is at and actual HD/2k streaming over wifi isn’t a thing yet, but if there’s a way to improve the image that would be great.

[StephenB]

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@justin_douglas wrote:
No I’m just using it for streaming, no recording. It’s definitely pixely and not very sharp - like I can see the blurry pixels moving around like when a video loses quality when streaming. I kind of just assume that this, which looks under 720p, 

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You could add USB storage to the base - that would store motion recordings, and you could look at them to see to actual video resolution.

The cameras are outputing HD.  But the bit rate is quite low - in part to increase wifi range and stability (as well as the internet uplink requirements).  Modern compression is designed to gradually get blurrier as the bit rate drops.  That does reduce the detail in the picture - especially during motion - even when the number of pixels is 1080p or higher.

Personally I'd like to see a higher bandwidth option (even if it meant a surcharge on cloud storage).

Back to your original question - this image quality does look typical to me (though it is a bit hard to judge from a single still image).  There's nothing you can do to increase the bit rate beyone what you have already done.  

[justin_douglas]

Here’s a screenshot just now. So basically there’s no way to get an actual HD, even 1080p quality video over wifi because of the bitrate is so low, correct? Is this true across manufacturers?

[StephenB]

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@justin_douglas wrote:
Here’s a screenshot just now. So basically there’s no way to get an actual HD, even 1080p quality video over wifi because of the bitrate is so low, correct? Is this true across manufacturers?

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The level of detail on this one is quite a bit lower than your first screenshot.  In this one, the horizontal lines on the house siding are blurred.  On the earlier one they weren't -  and my own Pro 4 doesn't do that on buildings that are further away.  You might try making sure the lens is clean.  It might also be worth adjusting the camera so that the bird feeder isn't in the field of view, just to see how much difference that makes.

I don't own competing wifi cameras, so I can't comment on that part of your question.

[justin_douglas]

Yeah, I went and bought a Blink wifi camera and installed it right next to the Arlo, and it's not great either, but the Blink app is just terrible. I'm guessing pixely low-res is just what you get going wireless. Oh well. 

[jguerdat]

Are you connected directly to your WiFi or via a hub? Moving the hub away from the router may help. Repositioning the camera even a little bit may also make a difference.

[ScotCamera]

Just because it uses a high resolution of 2K, that doesn't guarantee good image quality. Resolution is the number of pixels or size of the video, it has nothing to do with image quality. The compression of the video or image is where the quality comes in. My Arlo Pro 4 has terrible image quality. I would never spend the extra money for Arlo's 4k cameras because I don't believe it's video quality will be that much better.