Error 201 Unable to Load load stream or a clip file

[markyylon]

I know lots of people are having this problem and I've had it for the 2 years I've had Arlo Cameras.

When I watch a timeline video on my laptop I get an error message that shows:

Error 201 Unable to Load load stream or a clip file

Works fine on Android phone and iPad but whenever it plays in a Windows Browser Chrome, IE and Firefox I get the error message.

Has anyone who experienced this problem managed to understand how to resolve it?

Many thanks

[ShayneS]

Hi @markyylon

Is it possible to test this on another network when trying to play these videos or live view?

[markyylon]

what do you mean by another network?

[jguerdat]

Cell service or a different WiFi connection than the one at home.

[MWVincent62]

Try using Chrome to view instead of Internet Explorer. You might have install Chrome first.

[MyTwoCents]

Hi,

    This error persists.  People have reported it for a long time... they give up or for whatever reason the problem appears to go away and somebody closes the topic. When it returns ...oh well. 

   This problem is not solved.  Perhaps AWS can assist.  Please, search the code or API to find where the error (201 Unable to Load load stream or a clip file) is thrown.  Then look at the conditions that would throw the error.  Then fix the problem, issue fix information to customers or consult with someone who is expert in this type of functionality.  

   I so much want to love Arlo CVR instead I am wondering if video proof will actually be viewable....after I have paid for it.  

   Please, developers love their code (i did) and can't really believe that there is a CRITICAL error in their masterpiece.  In this case there IS an error.  It may be intermittent but an error nontheless.  It is an error that has the effect of providing an unreliable/really useless product (CVR) for a price.  

   Please escalate to you best troubleshooter.  Customers deserve as much.  Please do not close the topic until it is CERTAIN that the problem is solved.  Certainty might be 1 year w/o a complaint.  Otherwise  the error is just being churned thru a system of denial.

   Awaiting a lovely embrace with my Arlo CVR experience

Peace,

MyTwoCents

[MyTwoCents]

Symptoms of this problem in my setup and my opinion (as a witness to the behavior):

1) If there is no activity the CVR works fine….most of the time ( I only saw error once when there was no event). Actually this is unfortunate...the error occurs where you really need to see the video.

2) If there is an alert, the video surrounding (usually after) the alert on the timeline has HLS Error 201 Unable to Load load stream or a clip file and an error parsing fragment, no tag found, and it identifies the clip.  I am guessing but I think the problem occurs during the writing of the video. We just see the error when we want to play the video fragment (which I think is corrupted already). The API cannot parse the corrupted video fragment.

3) Generally the times on the timeline do not match the event.  Example:  Alert clip shows event at time 10:03 . The event on the timeline is positioned at time 10:03:05 however the video at that time does not show the event.   The actual event shows in the CVR video at 10:11:06.  This requires that you hunt for the actual video footage.   
 
Anyway, I guessed that there may be a resource issue since there are lags and corrupt segments.  So I decided to decrease the resource load.  Early this morning I restarted the camera and turned off the push notification.   Here I was trying to increase the probability that the video fragments are WRITTEN correctly.
 
The two alerts I have today are synced with the CVR timeline and the video is good.!!!!
 
Because two examples are not enough to say this works, I went out and walked in front of the camera for a minute.  Surprisingly, the video was recorded and it is viewable (no error), at the correct time BUT I did not receive an email, as I did for the other 2 alerts.  Push notification is off so I did not expect an alert on my phone.  

I recall a previous time when the email came really late... so it may still arrive (hour later has not arrived...so no).  I did this test again and again no alert was emailed nor a clip saved in the library.
Since last night I turned off push notification AFTER I did a restart, I decided to restart the camera again. Then I walked in front and made lots of motion. Still no email or clip. But the video played without error. (Actually this is bad too. An event you need to know about happens, with no notification you have to look thru the timeline 2 or 3 minutes at a time to find the event...hopefully there are clues as to where to search)

Next I turned off the camera and turned it back on. Now finally, I received an email and got a clip in the library. The green event indicator was at the correct time on the timeline AND the CVR video showed the correct event. The question is what happened with the camera, the software, the server responsible for the alert logic or other components between the 9am alert and this one at 3pm. I had not changed a thing during that time.

HOPEFULLY this post will help you to look at your system step by step to see what it is doing. Yes, we should not have to do this ...but hopefully it will help them to fix the problems.

Anyway, I am not really sure but maybe this is a good strategy to help you to get a little functionality from this system...until it is fixed (remaining hopeful).
1) Turn off push notifications to your phone (look at your email or the library in the app instead). Of course I do not know but I think they have a resource problem in their code or in an API they are using. By turning off push notification you are asking for less so it needs less resources. Try it. Seems to help me a little.

2) Remove all power from the camera (a restart is not always effective) every 24 hours if having problems. Set a schedule. Shut it down completely. This will release resources. (not helpful if on vacation)

3) Test it. Don’t Trust it Verify it.

4) If this topic is closed and you still have this problem consider it a lesson learned and go elsewhere. I am hopeful the that will not happen and they will take this issue seriously.

Best Wishes
MyTwoCents

[ShayneS]

@MyTwoCents

  Have you tried contacting customer support regarding this issue? I have attached the link here for you - Arlo Tech Support

[MyTwoCents]

Hello Shayne,

   I have read so many posts about this issue and seen the customer support response...going back years.  I have looked at the knowledgebase.   "Drop a line" is not working right now.  I tried the chat weeks ago and that did not work...no one came on.  This Community is also listed in the link you gave me...so that is how I communicated.   Thank you for replying.

   Anyway, I chose to detail in a systematic way what is happening here.  Please pass this along to the engineers who might investigate the problem.  I hope they look at the video fragment write processes as I suspect that is where the problem is....writing, pushing, and emailing requires resources... and the CVR video fragment gets corrupted....therefore cannot parse for playback.   It is a thought.

   I will monitor my system and check in here to see if others continue to get this error.  If not, great.  If so...well...  

  I would not recommend closing this topic until it is truly fixed.  

By the way all network configuration is the same whether Arlo works or not.  

Best,

MyTwoCents