How to watch 4K anywhere? How to live stream from PC? How to store locally?

[pwaggs]

One week in and here are a few questions I have that I have not been able to figure out. This is not a "10 reasons why not to buy" but questions from someone trying to get the system to work optimally for them.

Up front:

2 X Arlo Ultra 2 cameras (Running on outside power)

1 X SmartHub

1 X Wired doorbell

All running off of the free 90 smart trial

Ok for my questions:

1. How do I watch 4K video from anywhere that is not live streaming on my mobile phone?

2. How do I watch the live stream from my PC?

3. How do I access the locally stored files on the MicroSD card in the SmartHub from my PC?

4. How do I get the Arlo website to recognize my PC as a trusted login so that I can just use my Windows Hello or fingerprint to logon and not have to find my mobile to acknowledge login?

5. How do I get the Arlo software to not shut down access when more than one authorized device logs on?

6. Is zoom functional or aspirational? I have yet to meaningfully zoom onto anything and result in a useable picture.

7. Am I missing how to get freeze frame photos from the 4K livestream? Why would I want to downgrade resolution to take a photo?

At the end of the day, if somebody steals my car which is parked in front of my house, how do I download the clip of them stealing it at 4K and have that file in a portable format which can be shared? If the police wanted to "zoom" in on  the perpetrator on that clip, even in an Arlo mobile viewer, is that even remotely possible?

[jguerdat]

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@pwaggs wrote:

1. How do I watch 4K video from anywhere that is not live streaming on my mobile phone?

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You will need to subscribe to the Elite subscription which provides 4k recordings. The trial Premier sub gives you 2k recordings. If the camera is set to use 4k live view, you have to be on your home network - won't work over cell service.

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2. How do I watch the live stream from my PC?

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You should be able to use the web client (https://my.arlo.com) to click on the play arrow for each camera. It won't be 4k since most browsers don't support the needed codec.

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3. How do I access the locally stored files on the MicroSD card in the SmartHub from my PC?

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You can't at the moment other than to safely eject the card from the hub to view on the computer. Only the app supports directly viewing local recordings.

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5. How do I get the Arlo software to not shut down access when more than one authorized device logs on?

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Use Settings, Grant Access. If it's for you, use a second email address. Otherwise, use the email address for the other person/people. Use of the primary account will always kick the other device out.

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6. Is zoom functional or aspirational? I have yet to meaningfully zoom onto anything and result in a useable picture.

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For the pan and zoom to crop the view or zooming in on a recording? The issue is that the camera is VERY wide angle so you would have to zoom a lot but then there's the compression used to reduce bandwidth and storage needs. You can duplicate the issue by downloading an appropriate fisheye image from the Internet, realizing that even the 120 degree setting is equivalent to a ~10-12mm DSLR lens. 180 degrees is more like a 6-8mm lens. Resample the image to 3840x2160 and then save it as a jpg with various compression settings. Zoom in to see the (lack of) detail visible. There are limits to what not only the physics but also the software can do.

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7. Am I missing how to get freeze frame photos from the 4K livestream? Why would I want to downgrade resolution to take a photo?

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That may be either a hardware or software limitation - I can't be sure. You can clip a frame from a 4k recording but you can't do that from live view (other than maybe a screenshot but good luck with that).

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At the end of the day, if somebody steals my car which is parked in front of my house, how do I download the clip of them stealing it at 4K and have that file in a portable format which can be shared? If the police wanted to "zoom" in on  the perpetrator on that clip, even in an Arlo mobile viewer, is that even remotely possible?

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Remember that these aren't ID cameras which would require a much longer focal length to get a much narrower FOV. The only way to accomplish this using most cameras of this type is to move the camera closer which effectively does the same thing. Of course, you would need a secure way to do this.

[pwaggs]

1. How do I watch 4K video from anywhere that is not live streaming on my mobile phone?

You will need to subscribe to the Elite subscription which provides 4k recordings. The trial Premier sub gives you 2k recordings. If the camera is set to use 4k live view, you have to be on your home network - won't work over cell service.

Ok, the source documentation really confused me on this one. This is what it says:

The Arlo Smart 3-month trial includes the following benefits:

• Rolling 30-day 4K or 2K cloud recording
  Note: The trial allows streaming and recording in the maximum resolution of your Arlo camera.

So if I have an Ultra 2, I incorrectly assumed that I would be recording at 4K (the maximum resolution of my cameras).

[jguerdat]

I just checked the Ultra 2 FAQ here and see that the trial includes 4k recording so I was wrong relative to the trial. Afterwards, you'd need the Elite plan to get 4k.

[pwaggs]

Thanks for checking out the stats @jguerdat 

So now I suppose it is back to my original question. Outside of the live stream, how is there any way to see 4K video? And then how is there any way to download a 4K copy of a clip?

[jguerdat]

ANy video is viewable via the app. Web browsers won't work due to codec issues but you can always download the video from either the app or web client for viewing using something like the free VLC.

[LandJS]

Just a couple of comments.  Once your trial is done you will need the elite plan for 4K in the cloud, live and to your storage card.  The premier plan will not only cause your cloud recordings to be 2K but also live and storage will only be 2K.  As for most browsers, I believe Safari still is capable of viewing on the portal but not Chrome or the new Edge chromium.  You must download to view.  However computers with the right hardware are capable of viewing just fine.  My 5 year old hp intel I5 would not once Edge updated even with the codec that worked with the old Edge.  My new 11th gen I7 works just fine, nothing more needed and no need to download on the portal.  The newer 11 gen has video capabilities gen 10 didn't.  It is also nice that my new laptop is 4K and my S20+ is also 4K.

[pwaggs]

Hmmm...I'll check this out. I am starting to believe that it is not a computer issue but an Arlo execution issue. Otherwise the clips that I played on my phone from the Arlo cloud would be 4k and they are not. They are 1080p.

So at the end of the day it looks like, the Arlo Ultra 2 streams in 4K but it does not record in 4K.

[jguerdat]

It can record in 4k IF you have an Elite subscription (Premier is 2k).

[pwaggs]

Yes, that is what the specs say. But I certainly have not gotten it to work yet. And nobody here has managed to confirm that they have a recorded 4K clip. And certainly Arlo support has not been able to provide any amplifying information.

Again, I still like the system, but I am not convinced yet that the recordings are actually in 4K.

My base station is being swapped out right now by Arlo, so I'll try once again when I get MicroSD support back. But my online clips are definitely 1080p and not 4K as advertised.

[LandJS]

I checked the videos on my SD card and can confirm they are 4K.  I also downloaded a video from this morning from the portal using my pc and can confirm that it to is 4K.

[pwaggs]

So, it must have been my SmartHome, because I received a replacement Arlo SMartHome today (previous one had the broken MicroSD card) and the 4K streaming and saving is all working automatically. I have not downloaded yet, but everything is labeled with a nice 4K logo and the file sizes correlate to 4K file sizes. So I'll do a little more poking around, but I think that I can safely say now that 4K is in fact there even with the free trial, if your SmartHome is functioning as required. If it is not, contact Arlo immediately. The unit saves 4k, not just 1080P.

[LandJS]

Glad to hear it's working now.

[pwaggs]

Ok, so final verdict is in, the problem was in my old SmartHub. 4K works great now for live streaming and cloud and locally stored clips.

A couple of things that I can't figure out related to 4K now.

1. Screen pic/grab in 4K? The little camera disappears as soon as you move from 1080p to 4K. There are several work arounds by downloading etc and using VLC, but Arlo must be working on a way to take a quick pic from the 4K stream or replay as well as the 1080p capability.

2. 4K zooming, or all zooming is still a disaster. I am pretty sure it is because the compression is applied before the zooming and you are really just doing a digital zoom of a compressed file by enlarging the pixels. If it was decent digital zooming you would zoom and then compress. But that would take longer probably. Anyway, the only way to get zooming anywhere approaching the Arlo adverts would be to have a true optical zoom, which I am guessing we are years away from or would be MUCH more expensive.

[quibble]

Hiya... So watching this thread but think I've confused myself so hoping someone can help!!

I know that a premier or elite subscription means I record in the cloud at 2K or 4K but...... What about recoding on the hub?? Can I record 4k on the SD card in the hub but only 2K in the cloud??

[pwaggs]

No, the software logic behind the Arlo will only allow the SmartHub to replicate whatever is being recorded on the cloud. either 2K or 4K but both the same.

[quibble]

Grrrrrrr!!    That's a pain in the ______!

Thank you - what I feared but not what I hoped for. Looks like I'll either have to go with no subscription or the more expensive subscription, then

[SinisterStairs]

Another aggravation I've found is that the two-way speaker/mic is practically useless for conversation.  Because everything routes through Arlo, even with local storage/recording enabled, there's up to a ~6-7 second delay on what I see/hear and what's already happened.

[pwaggs]

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@SinisterStairs wrote:

Another aggravation I've found is that the two-way speaker/mic is practically useless for conversation.  Because everything routes through Arlo, even with local storage/recording enabled, there's up to a ~6-7 second delay on what I see/hear and what's already happened.

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This is true. I think that we need to realize that the local storage does not impact the processing speed. It is simply either a backup of the cloud, or your primary storage if you are using a non cloud based 2K system. 

Nothing is processed locally with Arlo. It is all cloud processed. The SmartHub does nothing except handle communications and encryption between the cameras and the cloud. I have read on other forums that if a camera is plugged in with AC power it will speed up the processing loop by doing some of the video processing on the camera before it is uploaded to the web (zoom for example), however, there is nothing to indicate this is true.

The camera records at a fixed focal length etc, transmits image to smarthub. SmartHub compresses and encrypts and transmits to cloud. Cloud does any sort of post processing, zoom etc and retransmits to smarthub where video is made available to user (cloud and local).

Even if you are watching a live 4K image from your camera, it is a post processed image from the cloud and not directly from your home unit.

[G_Vitt0]

Hi, 

I am not if U guys ever used the original Arlo Cameras.

My experience with Netgear in general, back then it was their Best Ever Home User-Friendly Security Cam, or with Arlo brand, is just THAT: "Home User-Friendly Security Cam".

It was never designed to be anything else. The video quality is much better than Blink, the App interface is easier and cleaner too. Cost?? keeps climbing with every new iteration on both.

Which brings the right question to the fore. Why am I still buying either of them?

Simple: because I used to.

If u want something that is NOT designed to appeal to the 1990's average Joe first and foremost, don't shop on the Consumer-oriented market, shop at the Pro level, pay a manageably higher cost of ownership, but do get the Features, Quality, Support, and deal free not to look at and share somebody else traumatized experiences.

P.S. I am not a Consumer Electronic's Guru. But I am not technically challenged either. "Been there, done that, messed around"