What's up with quality of my ultra 2

[pariemala]

Hi all, I've had arlo for a while now. I was using the pro 2's for the longest time but decided to upgrade. I'm on a smart hub now, and everything is setup such that I should be recording in 4k, and it says it is, but the quality is not 4k. I searched but couldn't find anything that fixed the problem. Here is a grab from my driveway, my car is not that far, yet can't even make out license plate.

[jguerdat]

Your image didn't make it. A link to a sample video might be better anyway.

The issue that many folks don't grasp is that these are ACTIVITY cameras, not ID ones. The difference is in the angle of view with the Ultras being 180 degrees, making them as wide angle as possible, vs. an ID camera using a much longer focal length and a rather narrow view so details can be seen. The Ultra had a 4k sensor but you have to realize that each pixel has to cover a large area compared to the ID camera. That limits details it can capture but is then modified by bitrate and compression which then reduces the details more. 

If you want those details, move the camera closer to the object so more pixels are used in that area. 

[DannyBearAgain]

It is a shame as I recall being able to easily read the number plates of my vehicle in my drive way when I first purchased my pro2 HD cameras back in 2018. 

Then the numbers went blurry after a month when arlo introduced the bitrate reduction for non subscription users. Then they altered the compression format to compensate as users began to notice what they were up to.

[StephenB]

---

@DannyBearAgain wrote:

It is a shame as I recall being able to easily read the number plates of my vehicle in my drive way when I first purchased my pro2 HD cameras back in 2018. 

I'd love to see higher bitrates, and personally I would give up some retention to get it.

That said, there are a lot of issues reading license plates - it is more challenging than most people realize.

You normally need about 100 pixels horizontally across the plate to get a clear image of all the text.  Note you can check this at any bitrate. Just take a snapshot of the vehicle from the camera (making sure the camera isn't digitally zoomed).  Then use a photo editor that shows you the pixel coordinates of the cursor.  FWIW, the old Microsoft Paint program will give you this.  Most of the folks posting about this here aren't getting anywhere close to the needed number of pixels.

There are other barriers

• if the vehicle is moving, then motion blur makes it hard (often impossible) to read the plate
• glare from the headlights (and even tail lights) at night make the plate too dark to see anything

[jguerdat]

---

@DannyBearAgain wrote:

It is a shame as I recall being able to easily read the number plates of my vehicle in my drive way when I first purchased my pro2 HD cameras back in 2018.

---

Check the specs on the Pro 2, also. The 130 degree FOV is much smaller (although not like an ID-type camera) than any of the newer cameras. The original Arlo cameras were 110 degrees. They've only gotten wider over time. Still 110 degrees equates to a 12mm DSLR lens which is pretty extreme. A camera user with a FOV of 180 degrees had better keep his feet out of view although the Ultra's 180 degrees is measured diagonally, not in a circle.

And then there's the bitrate...