Arlo Q detecting motion from TV flashing lights in dark room

[Laynard]

Just started using an Arlo Q in my elderly mother's house, to allow me and my siblings to check in on her.  The motion detection and video recording work great during the day.  But at night my mother leaves the TV on in a pretty dark room (where the cam is), and the fluctuating brightness from the tv is flashing on the walls of the room and causing the motion detection to trigger.  It literally triggers every couple of minutes, all night long...  So it's useless for me to review the videos at night to make sure she's okay, since 99% of the videos are false positives - they don't have her in it.  

I've noticed that if the room is completely dark - if no lights in the house are on at all - then the Arlo Q will switch to night vision, and somehow the TV flashing will no longer trigger the motion detection.  So maybe one solution would be for me to force the camera into night vision mode for certain times of the day - if that's possible.

Has anyone solved this problem already - or does anyone have any suggestions to try?  Thanks in advance!

I'm trying to attach a video to this post, to demonstrate this issue, but I can't figure out how.  It looks like I can only attach a video that is already online, so I tried to put in the link for one of the videos from my Arlo library, but it gets rejected.  Do I actually have to upload a vid to youtube first, so I can attach it??

I was also trying to post this in the "Motion Detection" category, but I can't figure out how to do that either.  Looks like it's posted in the "Arlo Q" category?  I went to the main page for "Motion Detection", chose to start a new discussion, and then never saw an option to start the discussion in the "Motion Detection" section.

[jguerdat]

It may be easiest to reduce the sensitivity in your modes. Use the Mode tab, click on the camera and check out your modes (probably the Armed mode). Edit your mode and try reducing sensitivity in the Video Settings section. Be used to save. It would be a good idea to create your own mode(s) to have full control.

Also, consider repositioning the camera, if possible, to reduce the effect of the TV. In addition, the Q cameras support detection zones. Use Settings, My Devices, your camera and create appropriate zones. Then edit your modes and enable the zones to be used. Again, be sure to save

[Laynard]

Thanks for the info - I'll try your suggestions!

[TomMac]

As mentioned , should create two custom modes instead of modifying the default ARMED...

In the two different modes , say DAY and  NIGHT, use the same settings you do now for DAY ( from Armed ) , but at NIGHT lower the sense levels so the flickering doesn't give as many false triggers.... Use the schedule to swap or manual change

[Laynard]

I tried lowering the motion sensitivity all the way down to 1, but it still makes no difference.  The TV flickering triggers the motion detection just as often - every couple of minutes, all night long.

Would changing the brightness level on the cam make a difference?  Is there any way to force the cam into night vision?

[jguerdat]

Changing brightness won't help except for brightness in the room itself. Make sure you're changing sensitivity in your modes, not in Settings for the motion detection test. Also, be sure to save the changes.

[Laynard · Accepted solution]

Looks like I stumbled upon a solution for this problem - at least for my case.  I tried switching the video quality from 720 to 1080, and that somehow causes the cam to go into night mode when the room is half-dark.  In night mode, the TV flickering does not trigger the motion detection.  Works for me!