Pixelated video Arlo Pro

[jjs4653]

Has anyone experienced pixelating video in the first 2-3 seconds of the recorded video.  It happens every time for me.  It has great reception  full Wifi bars... and does not happen with my original Arlo camera.. just with the new Pro.

[Knewt]

Wow, that's awful! 😞 

[vincenzowl]

I've seen this on my Arlo Pro as well, but definitely not as bad as I've seen in some sample videos. Not so much the pixelation, but the freezing. I have the original Arlo also which would also do this from time to time, the occasional freezing for 2-3 seconds. I always just chalked it up to how it was.

The thing I am unhappy about is how the image quality overall is slightly worse in the Pro than the original Arlo. I already went through 1 replacement.

It just seems like there could be a lot of factors that can cause this. Quality control issue if troubleshooting has been done already and everything else checks out. Or it's an issue with the user's site. We don't always know what could or could not be causing interference issues in our homes. We don't know what kind of signals are flying in or outside our houses at times or what's inside the walls. Could be a combination of all this plus quality control issues as I've experienced having to replace my Pro for color and image quality issues.

[vincenzowl]

If the original Arlo is not seeing the same issue in the same location, then we can assume that the issue lies with the Arlo Pro's software and/or hardware. Then there are just no excuses from netgear. Vote with your wallet I say.

I'm not too happy with the overall quality of the video compared to the original. The image is softer and not as sharp. It's too bad because the other newer features are nice. I'm within my 30 day return period. What's another good system similar to Arlo?

[steeler560]

From one Vincenzo to another...Ciao!  I agree that the Arlo Pro is not as clear a video signal as the original Arlo cameras.  I returned the Arlo Pros for the Nest Outdoor cameras...the image quality says 1080p and compared to the Arlo Pro's it sure does look like it.  The only draw back is they need to be hard wired but what good is a wireless/battery powered system if the reliability and video qualtiy are lacking?  You won't be disappointed with the Nest Cams...sorry Arlo 

[MarkH123]

I agree the first gen Arlo battery cams are better in the daytime--but Pro has better nightvision--But the pro cam is trouble with video pixelation,lag,skipping and sometimes a black screen...however I recommend the Yi Dome 1080p/720p cameras or Yi Home 1080p/720p cameras--they cost $40 to $80 and have a far superior video display to Nest and Arlo,they also have two way audio with 360degree Pan/Tilt/Zoom and can record to a local sd card and or Cloud storage with free 7days of 6sec's video clips and do all of this at a low kbs bit rate so you connected with 1sec thur app or desktop program without losing any internet bandwith so you don't get lag with other wireless device's...the Yi cameras do require a micro usb power cord and can only be bought from Yi website or Amazon...I own 4 of the Yi Dome 1080p cameras and they are the best security camera I have owned..they are indoor cams but can be install outdoors as long as they don't get wet--I have 1 installed on my front porch & 1 on my back porch...FYI: the nightvision is AWESOME ON Yi cams using 8 non-invasive bead infrared so at night you can't even see the lights on the camera...Live view shows video at 15fps but when you download from sd card or cloud it does it at 30fps at 1080p or 720p depend on what cam you have..another thing I like is I can watch live view as long as I want without losing connection..These Cameras Are GREAT.....

[ArloPro15]

Not Yi camera. I dont really like the fact that my data and router information are stored on the cloud in China and the server is not accessible all the time. Also most instructions are in Chinese so good luck.... for your case, i rather go with Arlo Q for not getting wet and required power cord...

[MarkH123]

Yes Yi camera...why would it matter where data is stored..And thats not true about about not being able to access all the time..I have never had a issue for over the past yr accessing the cameras or server...And the instruction are NOT IN Chinese if you buy the US edition or whatever country you are from and thats what language the instruction will came in...And why would you pay up to 3x's more for the Arlo Q and only have cloud storage option and not have both sd card & cloud storage..and you know if the internet goes down you get NOTHING for recordings which renders any Cloud only recording device/camera USELESS..

[MarkH123]

I also forgot to mention that the Yi cameras will continue to record to sd cards EVEN when Wifi/internet goes down..So again having Both Local storage and cloud storage is better then just having one option..

[ArloPro15]

One of my friend has the xiaomi yi 1080p camera and it is not reliable and constantly got errors when trying to view live. Most importantly, I don't like the fact that my data and router info are stored in China and China gov't can block outsider to access anytime.....i would not recommend....

[MarkH123]

I own 4 of the Yi Dome 1080p Cameras and I
have NEVER HAD SUCH issues with connecting to view live..NEVER..
I do both Sd card and Cloud storage on all 4 cameras and always can connect WHENEVER I want...NEVER BEEN BLOCK..
I would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND...

[steve_t]

---

MarkH123 wrote:
I also forgot to mention that the Yi cameras will continue to record to sd cards EVEN when Wifi/internet goes down..So again having Both Local storage and cloud storage is better then just having one option..

---

If you have the Arlo Pro base station with a USB drive attached, you also have both local and cloud storage normally but obviously only local storage if the internet goes down

[Mad_Davey]

I got moderated for saying the footage from the other brand cam that someone posted here had good video quality?  I'm only hoping the netgear engineers take notice of the competition.  I own $1500.00 worth of Arlo gear and do find the video quality on the latest generation frustrating.  I pay for the highest level of cloud DVR but not CVR and I have very fast internet.  I do feel it's due to compression and I hope updates can and will fix the problem.  I do think netgear needs to see what other people are making, hopefully it will get them to do something.  That was my intention of my now moderated compliment on the other brands video quality.  If I get squelched for speaking the truth without doing anything wrong there might be some substancial Arlo Pro products hitting ebay soon.  For the record I did not post the other brands video, merely complimented it.

[JackMade]

From the responses, it does not appear Netgear is addressing this common issue yet.

I know from the digital TV time, digital video breakup and ghosting have to do with lack of bandwidth allocated to the stream.

When people report the pro video is softer than the non-pro, it suggests the pro video is more compressed (the non-pro video is likely also compressed, just not as much as the pro).

If Netgear is trying to fit the pro audio/video stream into the same bandwidth as the non-pro, then it may explain the video artifacts could not be resolved.

I say the lack of response from Netgear suggests the bandwidth is the bottleneck, hopefully not at the hardware level, rather an institutional issue-open up more bandwidth may require server upgrades and other costly investment.

This may also explain why Netgear is silent on any 1080p upgrade.

I will hold off on my pro purchase for now.

[Mad_Davey]

I'm seriously hoping they can send an update that eases up on the compression a little.  However I do not know where the bottleneck is, hopefully it's possible to find a solution as I have a lot invested in Arlo.  At first I suspected it might be motivated by thier costs for maintaining server space.  If that's the case I'm hoping if they see people are unhappy they might allocate a few more bytes to us paying customers.  I would be willing to pay more for better quality.

[vincenzowl]

I think it is correct that Netgear is using the exact same methods for uploading Arlo and Arlo Pro videos. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. That would explain the slightly lower quality picture from the Pro, as it also has to compensate for audio also. It's twofold also because coupled with the wider lens on the Pro means less detail to begin with when zoomed in. Maybe if they had stuck with the original lens we would not notice as much the effects from compression. Not like the original Arlo's view was narrow or anything. For me, picture quality trumps wider angle and audio. It's too bad because the improved response time, rechargeable batteries, and much improved motion detection are nice. What good is a security camera if you can't even make out people's faces or get consistently usable footage?

[Mad_Davey]

People earlier in the thread have stated same results with audio off.

[vincenzowl]

If you think about it, they would have no reason to make the video look better when audio is off. It would both be a complexity in the code base that could cause bugs/issues and it would also be obvious to the user there is a limitation in the bandwidth. Most likely the minimum video compression of the Arlo Pro is greater than the original Arlo, which coupled with the wide angle lens leads to a blurrier picture. Not sure what the product owners were thinking about letting this camera go to market. If you can't make a feature better, at least keep it the same. If it's one thing a company like Apple does well, it is this. User experience over anything else. Netgear has a lot to learn and improve on.

[JKS07]

I have had my Arlo Pro system for 5 weeks and it has been working well.  I have been reading this thread for a couple of weeks and felt fortunate that I was seeing no evidence of the pixelating / ghosting or freeze issue.  My luck ran out last night.  The camera over my driveway recorded one video with about a 5 second freeze and a second video with pixelation / ghosting.  The pixelation / ghosting occurred only around the person that was walking and cleared up again just as they were exiting the field of view.  Nothing has changed in the house since the day I set up the system.  As I said, it has performed well until last night. Therefore, I would also have to question the wifi interference argument.

[Mad_Davey]

Yes, when it happens it does seem to ruin the subject you want to see right when you want to see them.  I think that's why we're all here.

[skysigns]

I experience the pixels and ghosting on my camera in my backyard not in my house. For me it seems to be an outdoor thing? It doesn't happen all the time but enough to be worrisome. Also the distorted image seems to go away after the first 5 seconds (sometimes).

[Howie411]

I'm running a beta firmware from Netgear on my Arlo Pro and (knock on wood) it has fixed the pixelation issue.  Its been about 2 weeks now. 1.092.0.4_12662 is what I am running.   Required a lot of esclation (to corporate level) to get someone to help me.

[Mad_Davey]

I had a feeling they would take notice.  I hope this is true, that would be great news!  I hate getting video that conviently blurs and compresses the moving subject.  

[Johnny290]

Very good to hear they are working on it

[Dustin278]

That is great news about the Beta firmware! - I hope they release this soon

[skysigns]

Good news indeed, hopefully the new software works and released soon.