Image Quality

[Ordinary1]

Hi All.

Hope everyone is keeping safe and well.

Since the early hours of yesterday morning (25th April) UK time all of my Arlo Pro cameras have been suffering from extreme pixelation in both live view and motion detection recordings. The location of the cameras and base station have not changed for months.

The base station is VMB4000r3 on firmware 1.16.1.1_3348_facf74c

The four cameras are version H8 1.092.0.25_24_986

The pixelated video is also present on local USB storage suggesting a local issue.

I have checked WiFi strength using an analyser and all is good. All cameras have three bars in the Arlo app.

One of the cameras is within ten feet of the base station with no obstructions and is suffering the same.

I have noticed that a camera firmware update was issued in the last few days. Are there any known problems that could have caused such a drastic change in system performance?

[mamarcac]

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@Jeffro83 wrote:
Any idea what causes the poor quality image?

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It's been posted in other threads before, but essentially Arlo compresses the videos (.mp4 files) before uploading to their cloud servers to save space. The first drop in video quality happened a little over a year ago (May 2019) when their Ultras were released and those 4k recordings starting killing Arlo servers.

There are a group of us that would be happy to sacrifice the crappy cloud storage if they opened up the base stations on all Arlo models for local access to recordings through the app. And yes this can be done, and it's been discussed in other threads as well. Currently they only give that access on new models, shocker right?

HTH.

[Quidge]

Well, I sold my Arlo Pro 2's. Even if they do fix this, I'll never trust that a firmware update isnt a day away from wrecking it again.

Have got a EUFY doorbell as a replacement so far, and its fantastic. Considering whether to go wireless cameras addon to that kid, of get some POE cameras instead.

[TechJohn]

I have 2 Arlo Pro 2 setups (one at a relative) that I am looking to replace because of this issue. How much would you think I would get for a 4-camera setup? Please keep us updated on the Eufy system, I will look into that.

[Ozphoenix]

Just curious, how do you sell them to someone when the image is so bad? Do you tell them? I'm worried if we sell ours that the buyer will get angry and want their money back!

[CCNE37]

How often do people get to see actual recorded video from a Pro 2 before they buy one ?

Most people will think 1080P and think 1080P/FHD TV pictures, or 1080P/FHD video from a phone or camera, and think that it has to be pretty good quality video - and it usually is.

Then they realise that the 1080P/FHD video from a Arlo Pro 2 camera is NOTHING like the 1080P/FHD video they imagined - not because the camera lacks the physical pixels, but rather because of what Arlo does behind the scenes to compress the video to hell and back (and possibly a less-than-ideal codec used), leaving very little in the way of actual data.

The same would happen if you took a stills photo from a 24Mp DSLR and compressed the jpeg file down to a tiny fraction of what it started out like - the end result would be a somewhat useless pixelated mess of an image.

I would hazard a guess that the physical camera hardware that Arlo uses with it's 2Mp sensor is probably capable of displaying something quite decent on a FHD TV - if it used a decent video codec and wasn't compressed "to death".

I would think that very few buyers of 1080P security cameras research the video quality to the extent of sourcing actual recent video files and viewing them - rather most would assume that 1080P should be pretty good and buy it.

So when it comes to the selling "story" it is up to you as to how honest you are with the story. You are not lying when you advertise it as 1080P because technically it is. If a prospective buyer asks why you are selling you can tell them the whole sorry story and almost certainly lose the sale, or you can come up with an alternative story like you are going for a wired hard drive based system because you want 24 hour coverage (or something like that). The sales pitch is up to you. It is up to the buyer to be aware of what they are buying (caveat emptor - buyer beware) - as long as you are not falsely representing the goods, you should be fine.

[silverado44]

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@CCNE37 wrote:

How often do people get to see actual recorded video from a Pro 2 before they buy one ?

Most people will think 1080P and think 1080P/FHD TV pictures, or 1080P/FHD video from a phone or camera, and think that it has to be pretty good quality video - and it usually is.

Then they realise that the 1080P/FHD video from a Arlo Pro 2 camera is NOTHING like the 1080P/FHD video they imagined - not because the camera lacks the physical pixels, but rather because of what Arlo does behind the scenes to compress the video to hell and back (and possibly a less-than-ideal codec used), leaving very little in the way of actual data.

The same would happen if you took a stills photo from a 24Mp DSLR and compressed the jpeg file down to a tiny fraction of what it started out like - the end result would be a somewhat useless pixelated mess of an image.

I would hazard a guess that the physical camera hardware that Arlo uses with it's 2Mp sensor is probably capable of displaying something quite decent on a FHD TV - if it used a decent video codec and wasn't compressed "to death".

I would think that very few buyers of 1080P security cameras research the video quality to the extent of sourcing actual recent video files and viewing them - rather most would assume that 1080P should be pretty good and buy it.

So when it comes to the selling "story" it is up to you as to how honest you are with the story. You are not lying when you advertise it as 1080P because technically it is. If a prospective buyer asks why you are selling you can tell them the whole sorry story and almost certainly lose the sale, or you can come up with an alternative story like you are going for a wired hard drive based system because you want 24 hour coverage (or something like that). The sales pitch is up to you. It is up to the buyer to be aware of what they are buying (caveat emptor - buyer beware) - as long as you are not falsely representing the goods, you should be fine.

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Sorry I disagree look at it this way you buy a car and it says it has 400HP on the sticker only to find out after you purchase to find out it only has 200HP because the company restricted the computer to put out 200HP so technically it is 400HP but other software it restricting it, same thing happening here flat out false advertising. 1080 is there but YOU cant get it.  

[CCNE37]

I would agree with you absolutely if you are buying a brand new car, and that is exactly why most of us in this thread are annoyed with Arlo.

When you are buying a second hand item (I assume that the person I replied to was planning to sell the Pro 2 cameras), then it is up to the buyer to be aware of what they are buying. If you bought a 5 year old car that was originally rated as 400bhp, but has been put through the ringer and is now only 280bhp, it is NOT up to the private seller to have the car dyno tested and declare that the car's engine is tired and doesn't perform anywhere near the original sticker rating - it is up to the buyer to check the car out thoroughly (by a mechanic if necessary) and satisfy themselves that they are getting what they think they are buying.

Also, as I said, the Pro 2 cameras are advertised as 1080P, and they are 1080P, so no false advertising there (no pixels were removed during the firmware updates) - they are just a VERY poor quality 1080P that looks like a good 360P.

[Quidge]

I was said I was selling them as I wanted to move to a wired setup. That usually prompted a few questions about why. Quality of stream, quickness of getting that stream running were my main answers. Sometimes people wanted screenshots of the feed which I happily gave them.

I don't think we should be feeling to guilty about selling second hand items well under RRP though. Arlo are happily still spruiking the brand new Pro2 cameras are exhorbitant prices and talking up how great they are - they are the ones who should have some guilt.

[TerryHoss]

My base station got another update last night to Firmware 1.16.2.4_3505_f4757f1. It’s anybody’s guess what this was supposed to fix.

I can’t tell that there is any improvement in the video quality at this point; I still see a lot of video distortion. And the file sizes still look the same to me.

[silverado44]

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@TerryHoss wrote:

My base station got another update last night to Firmware 1.16.2.4_3505_f4757f1. It’s anybody’s guess what this was supposed to fix.

I can’t tell that there is any improvement in the video quality at this point; I still see a lot of video distortion. And the file sizes still look the same to me.

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I received the same update last night also and I don't see any improvements in the video at all. I love how they post an update all it says is bug fixes what damn bug fixes Arlo. This company is really going down hill fast.

One of my 8 cameras is about 10ft in the air before all this downgraded video quality I could see the detail in the grass now its a green blur. 1080P yeah ok. 

[TerryHoss]

I was showing a friend of mine some videos of my front door camera yesterday when I was telling him about the image quality issues.

He said everyone looks like Arlo thinks that they are in “The Witness Protection Program”. I replied sad but very true.

[Ozphoenix]

We've just bought a Eufy camera. Will let you know how it goes once its set-up and working. Just about anything has to be better than Arlo!

Still can't get over how bad the Arlo videos are. 

[Ozphoenix]

Forgot to add, at the moment the Arlo cameras are recording for several minutes at a time and I can't see why. They did it the other day when a spider web was in front of it and waving in the wind, but I can't see what the problem is now. Very annoying. 

[Manolo86]

Looks worse than ever now. Why does this company hate itself so much? I can't wait until I get a good deal on Eufy.

[richmondinallen]

arlo pro

[mdemiere]

Video playback sucks and I certainly would not recommend purchasing these cameras.

[Judgedred127]

Does anyone know for sure if using a camera outside on a covered porch (shaded area) during high temps, the picture/ video will appear pixelated?

See attached video...

[Dadd1o]

It’s been way to long for this to still suck!!!

[silverado44]

Arlo does not care about the Arlo pro or pro 2 anymore there just busy creating new defective cameras such as the new pro3, ultra and ultra 2 and the new one essential or something like that I really don't care. Why don't you think that there has not been any Mods or employees in here to help with the problem we are having with the video quality, I JUST WANT MY 1080p quality back that I paid for.

This company has really gone down hill since they split from Netgear and Matt McRae took over as CEO. VERY POORLY RUN COMPANY WITH THERE PRODUCTS.

[TerryHoss]

My base station got another update last night to Firmware 1.16.2.5_3508_62dfaa0.

Now I can’t seem to access the cameras on demand from my computer, but it is working from my I phone.  Why is it that Arlo loves to do updates that make things worse?

[CCNE37]

I have also received the base station update, and I can access my Pro 2 cameras (3 off) from my desktop, but it takes a long time to connect. When I tried to access my old original Arlo 720P cameras (2 off), it was a hit or miss - it took even longer and most of the time I would get a "Timed Out" error.

The strange thing is that when I tried from my phone, it connected to all 5 cameras quite quickly. My desktop is hardwired to the Arlo base station via ethernet & router, and obviously the phone is wifi, so the wired connection "should" be faster and more reliable, but it isn't. Another Arlo eccentricity ?

[Manolo86]

I can't get 5 cameras to stream simultaneously from my phone anymore. I used to be able to many updates ago, but now Arlo blows.

[Manolo86]

I just tried to stream 5 cameras now, and I could not get one to stream. I kept getting the Arlo spinning circle of inferior garbage.

[dcfox1]

@Manolo86   Did you try all 5 at once? That is pushing it for upload speed since all are competing. 

[Manolo86]

I tried one at a time, and none connected before I got to 5. I used to be able to flawlessly. Now I get Minecraft quality with movement and I'm lucky if I can stream one camera, let alone 5. Nothing has changed but Arlo. I have 400 Mb down and 30 Mb up, which is actually more than I used to have before Arlo began sucking more. I now pay $20 more a month because I thought it would fix my camera problem (it didn't).