Video resolution on Pro 2 on Smart Plan. Unable to read truck logo or license plate.

[IshmaelB]

I have 5 Pro2 cameras which I just put on a Smart Plan.

How soon before I see better video resolution in the cloud recordings?

The video resolution had degraded from when I first installed these cameras.  

It used to be good, then it got worse and worse until you could not read a truck logo and lettering, much less a license plate, at 20 feet!

[StephenB]

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@IshmaelB wrote:

much less a license plate, at 20 feet!

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Reliably reading a license plate at 20-25 feet isn't going to happen - no matter what the bitrate is.  If that's your purpose, you'll need another camera (and Arlo doesn't offer any that can do that).

The short answer is that 1080p isn't a high enough resolution for that (given the 130 degree field of view of the camera) - even with no compression loss.

I posted a more complete explanation here: https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro-2/Already-updated-case-but-says-that-I-never-updated/m-p/1825...

[TomMac]

Agree, the P2 was never good for plates at the distance of 20ft....

As previous mentioned , there are really two types of security cameras; 1) ID cameras 2) Activity cameras.

ID type have really tight designed FOV and are set to focus on a smal area

Activity cameras will tell what/where/when but persons/car plate are to small for good ID

Needed are a combo of both unless you go out and purchase specialize cameras that can do both ( tilt/pan/zoom)

[IshmaelB]

As for license plates, you can't read them when the vehicle is *standing still*.

Truck lettering and logos at 25 mph or less should be readable.  It USED TO BE!!!

[StephenB]

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@IshmaelB wrote:

As for license plates, you can't read them when the vehicle is *standing still*.

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Again not a surprise (and you never could).  There just aren't enough pixels.  You get 30-35 pixels horizontally on a US license plate at that distance, and you really need something much higher (60-100). 

Plus there's glare/lighting issues, so mounting angles become critical for license plate reading. 

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@IshmaelB wrote:

Truck lettering and logos at 25 mph or less should be readable.  It USED TO BE!!!

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Picture quality definitely dropped off some for people w/o a paid subscription.  That includes me (my newer cameras are on a paid subscription, but the pro2s I am still using are not).

[jguerdat]

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@StephenB wrote:

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@IshmaelB wrote:

As for license plates, you can't read them when the vehicle is *standing still*.

Again not a surprise (and you never could).  There just aren't enough pixels.  You get 30-35 pixels horizontally on a US license plate at that distance, and you really need something much higher (60-100).

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It still amazes me that people think HDTV resolution is actually high resolution. 4k, yes. 1080p, not so much. Grab any image taken at 1080p (~2 megapixels) or resize one to that resolution and try to zoom in on details...

[StephenB]

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@jguerdat wrote:
It still amazes me that people think HDTV resolution is actually high resolution. 4k, yes. 1080p, not so much. Grab any image taken at 1080p (~2 megapixels) or resize one to that resolution and try to zoom in on details...

TV and movies are produced, and the producers control the size of the field of view (and depth of field) so everything they want to be seen is seen.  

The original footage is shot in at least 4K (often 8K), and generally they are using optical zoom so they aren't losing detail as they zoom in.

Very different from a security camera application.

[MikeG1970]

None of the responses to this thread change the fact that the quality of the recordings have gotten worst.  I was impressed with Pro2 when I first got them.  I see the degraded quality since then.  Everyone sees it and Arlo remains quiet when asked.

Arlo has compressed the recording so much that the video quality is horrible.  The only solution is new hardware and a monthly charge.

I will be upgrading at end-of-year and can assure Arlo, the upgrade will not be Arlo hardware.   I dont like their bait-and-switch tactics.

-MikeG