Arlo Removes Local 4K Recording from Premiere Plan

[LandJS]

JamesC an explanation please on why 4K live is now only 2K live ?

[Jester_aero]

It terms of my issues with the ultra, I solved it... I sold my Arlo ultras.
With the money I brought Eufy cam 2 cameras. With a discount they were less than half what my Arlo cameras cost me!! It’s only been a day but so far but The load time to view a live feed is less than half of what Arlo was, there’s no monthly subscription, massive battery life and the base has a reserve battery to keep working through power outage. The only down side is no night light on the camera ( but I still have the Arlo lights providing that). Any ways I spend a crap ton on the Arlo ultra cameras and Arlo support won’t make an effort to PROVIDE SUPPORT when I email or call them. Arlo has burnt its customers by dropping free features and hiding them behind a paywall. So if u guys are over it to, I’d recommend Eufy.

[michele5389]

I was looking about the Eufy cams as well. How long have you had them?

[pjama]

I have recently moved from the 1st year subscription included plan with the purchase (1) of my Ultra system to paid subscription Premier plan. I find on the change over, everything, EVERYTHING has gone to 2K:

1) I too have got "Local 2K Live Streaming" as the turn on/off option in the android arlo App. This isn't expected.

2) Videos recorded before the subscription change over were stored as 4K (2) on my SDCard. Now they are 2K (2) only. This isn't expected.

3) The videos on the portal library are now labelled as 2K BUT prior to the subscription change over they were not labelled at all. I DID expect to be limited to 2k on the portal library with my new subscription. What I DIDN'T expect was that my 1st year included subscription was only 1080p (and per above my SDCard recording would also go to 2K). If I download a pre subscription changeover video from the portal library using my PC browser and play it in a local player, I find it is 1080p (3)! Now I feel a bit silly here because when I first got my Ultras, I visually compared the videos to my Pros and they were obviously better and I thought well that's better but disappointingly not a lot better. So all this time, except for my SDCard, I've not got 4K videos from my Ultra cameras on the portal. I'm sure I've missed it in the fine print that I don't read somewhere but I bet the print about this is little gotcha is a lot more obscure than the "4K" blazoned everywhere.

For a purchased subscription, I did have some sympathy for Arlo, with people complaining about portal videos being a lower format than the camera was capable of while expecting the SDCard and Live to be a different/higher format. I THOUGHT, well why would they record in one format then translate? That would be pretty resource intensive. Surely they'd just record in the paid for format and save that everywhere. Well as it turns out they can AND do translate as evidenced by my pre subscription change over videos where portal vids are 1080p and the SAME videos on the SDCard are 4K. I'm feeling significantly mislead and ripped off here with my SDCard and Live vids being downgraded to 2k to match my subscription.

############################################################
# ARLO
# Can I have my 4k SDCard and Live videos back PLEASE!
# This is no less than what was reasonably expected
# when I bought this system.
# A bit of good PR wouldn't go astray either.
#
############################################################

(1) I won't call it free because this system isn't cheap and I purchased it on the understanding that the promised videos on SDCard would be a viable option which it turned out not to be but that's a whole different discussion.

(2) My video player says the properties of what are I think are nominated as 1080p, 2K and 4K respectively:
1080p = 1920x1072 H.264 (High Profile) 718kbps
2k = 2560x1440 H.256 (Main Profile), 1066 kbps
4k = 3840×2160 H.256 (Main Profile), 3180 kbps

(3) this pre subscpt change 1080p vs post subscpt change 2k difference theory is supported by the fact my PC Firefox browser happily plays pre subscpt change 1080p and barfs on the 2k vids per other threads in this forum. I can also confirm if I download a video in the android app it's also 1080p.

[LandJS]

I've been warning people about this on here since January. No it is not advertised or mentioned anywhere that you will lose it until it happens.  It is so unadvertised that the Arlo moderators even told me on here for more than a month that I was wrong and it was just a bug even after I mentioned that their own support people said they were wrong.  You won't however hear them saying it anymore.

[JamesC · Accepted solution]

Due to hardware limitations, Arlo Ultra cameras cannot stream to the cloud in 2K and simultaneously record locally in quality higher than 2K. When subscribing to an Arlo Smart plan, the maximum supported resolution for live streaming, cloud recordings and local recordings will be consistent with the maximum supported resolution for the selected Arlo Smart plan.

For more information on this, take a look here: What are the available Arlo subscription plans and how much cloud recording is available?

JamesC

[Jester_aero]

So are youI saying that recording 2k to the cloud and 4K locally is too much for the system? Is that what it is?
So when many of us brought the system it recording 4K locally and 1080p to the cloud, that was achievable? Also was it bug or intentional that other Arlo ultras not on a plan started recording locally in 2k rather than 4K.

[Jester_aero]

I’ve had for several days now. The image quality is only 1080p so it isn’t as sharp as the ultras. The ultra video quality is good. But honestly the quality is still really good. The no subscription cost is pretty great. Where I love they sell the eufycam2 camera with the home base 1. Which I prefer as the homemade has its own battery so can keep working in a power cut. Also the base and cameras have an alarm.

[ChrisJM]

So JamesC... you're saying a hardware limitation limits local streaming or recording to 2k? Yet paying more money per month makes the hardware limitation go away and allow 4k streaming and recording with Arlo Ultra cameras?

[pjama]

Hi @JamesC,

I know this is what the doco says NOW but it certainly didn't when I bought my system and it certainly wasn't the case for my free first 12 months of subscription.

For my first 12 months, I  had 4K on my SDCard and mostly(*) had 4K local streaming BUT 1080p on the portal library so it CAN be done. I would very much like my local 4K back and 2K on the portal library that I'm now paying for.

I can appreciate that technically the cams can't "stream" both but that's just a cop out. Arlo have done the two different formats before by some other method than "streaming".

(*) I think that was changed in the app at some point independent of subscription.

[LandJS]

I am loving this.  After 7 months of screaming BS, I've got company.  

[Newtledog]

I'm kind of giving up on Arlo. Not really due to this issue (though it's clearly disingenuous and a bit sleazy of the company), but more because the entire product seems a bit too half baked. Battery life is mediocre if you have any volume of traffic. The 4k video is OK but not spectacular. And when you enable 4k you lose object tracking.

The smart alerts are, well, not smart. They kind of generally, mostly work but not terrific or really very reliably. The system kind of generally mostly works, but mysteriously loses cameras which need to be reset. I've got 3 cameras and they had to replace one. Over all it's not terrible, but certainly not good. It's sufficient until my free year of cloud storage ends, then I'll look for another system. Everything about it is slow, even with terrific bandwidth to the cameras. Too bad, it's so dam pricey

MC

[MShep84]

This is not a solution. If the cameras are not capable of delivering what I paid for I will submit a refund request now....

[huanyu]

I am currently on "Arlo Smart Premier 1 year" subscription that come with the arlo ultra kit. The video store in the cloud is 1080p instead of 2K. I can do 4k live stream locally. Is there something misconfigured? or the free subscription come with Arlo ultra kit is limit to 1080p cloud recording?

I did submit a support case about 6 weeks ago but still not getting replied. 

[trinatron]

@JamesC 

I'd be happy with your explanation, only if Arlo also explain why on the free 1 year subscription, the Ultra cameras could stream and record locally in 4K while also uploading to the cloud in 1080P.  Just because the cloud recordings has changed from 1080P to 2K shouldn't make a difference.

[MShep84]

Arlos response. Openly admit changes, but regardless there business practices are totally not acceptable and in my opinion will be there downfall with competitor plus HomeKit security video alternatives offering much better value.

I encourage everyone to fill out reviews, tell your friends and ensure others know what to expect if they waste there money on Arlo

- expensive subscription (free and better value alternatives available)

- half bakes HomeKit (A waste if your embedded into HomeKit like I am)

- unacceptably notification delays and lag in live streaming (makes it impossible to have a live conversation with someone) no delays with HomeKit because it’s all done locally I suspect.
- constantly not delivering on promises (still no Zigbee or Z-Wave Support)
Cheers

Matt

[michaeljf69]

Like others here I bought a Arlo Ultra kit specifically for its 4K capability.

I was disappointed that the Smart Premier subscription it came with only did 1080p in the cloud but at least I had a 4K local version should I need the extra resolution. When the new subscriptions came out I assumed I could just take up the 2k recording and have the same 4K local recordings.

To now find out that isn't the case and Arlo are going to nerf my local 4K quality if i don't take out a top tier subscription is just not right. To claim that it is not technically possible is a cop out. You can do it with my current subscription, so it can be done.

Instead Arlo appear to have made a commercial (not technical) decision to force users to pay more to increase revenue. By changing the rules after my purchase and reducing the advertised features of a product unless the highest priced subscription is taken out it contravenes the deceptive and misleading parts of Australian consumer law (and I suspect many other countries as well).

My current subscription runs out in September. If I am not able to purchase what I consider to be an equivalent cloud subscription (1080p or 2k) and still maintain local 4K recording then the product is being returned and a full refund sought.

[Spike13]

The term “cop out” does not accurately describe what Arlo has orchestrated here. These are intentionally misleading and disingenuous marketing tactics from a company that has spiraled so far that their support department simply runs interference and they are not honoring the warranties on the Ultra systems.

[Shark10006]

My Ultra cameras have not been able to stream in 4k  for over 2 months now! I only get a black screen, and can only hear the sounds, but no picture at all! (1080 works fine, but if I choose 4k, in 90% of the time I get a black screen). I have been in contact with the support, and sent them a screenshot of the black screen, but no-one has even bothered to answer after that!

So hopefully I can now finally get an answer from the support this way!!! I also today noticed that the 4k toggle switch in one of my cameras has changed to a 2k toggle switch, but when trying to look at the live stream, it still says 4k (and the screen is still black).

I have a total of 12 Ultra cameras and 5 hubs, all waste of money because I cannot even get live stream in 4k any more! (Worked without any problem for over half a year, before it suddenly stopped working).

Could someone please help me to solve this problem with the black screen (I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S10+ with the latest Android version).

Can Arlo also pls tell me how much do I have to pay monthly for 10 (or 12) cameras after my free 12 months Smart Premier subscription ends in August. I can only find prices for 5 or 1 camera, but I need a subscription for at least 10 cameras, and maybe for all 12, depending on the price!

[LandJS]

So Arlo is now saying we officially changed the plan so to bad no more complaining.  Well here is what I will do and hope so do others.  If you go into a store and find an Ultra without the 4K disclaimer without a elite plan, go to store management and point out that you will not only be making a complaint against Arlo but against the store.  Get them pulled from the shelves now.

[srandall25]

For the last year, under the Premiere plan ($2.99 per camera) I could stream locally and record to the base station or hub in 4K, while cloud recording was in standard HD. Now Arlo has changed the Premiere plan to 2K streaming and recording on all 3 (base station, local streaming and cloud). So for those who have been under the Premiere plan, expect a decrease in quality in local streaming and recording upon renewal with the same plan. If you want 4K local recording as you once had; you’ll have to pay almost double in price per camera, $4.99. Thanks Arlo!

[dcfox1]

How many cameras do you have? The 5 camera plan is cheaper then individual cams even for 4. 

[LandJS]

Actually they started that back in January at least.  When your first year ended they would find an excuse to drop you to a 2K or 4K  plan that keeps you from getting the original back.  All the fighting with them in the world wouldn't change it and now for at least a month they even posted that all you'll get without Elite is 2K for everything.  You can go with no plan and get your 4K back but it's Elite or no plan if you want the 4K they sold you.  Since only the account holder can view it with no plan and only on your phone it's pretty pathetic.  With those limitations I'm looking at the Lorex Fusion NVR, it's eithernet cables but people are running power to their Arlo's to get the 3 sec look back and other features anyway.  Lorex let's you add 2 wireless cams to it and the fusion also includes the doorbell option and window and door sensors  and does it for half of my 7 cam Arlo setup.

[srandall25]

This is ridiculous. Just doesn’t seem right that they take away our local 4K recording and make it contingent on the plan you pay for. These plans should only pertain to our cloud services in my opinion. It’s now become very clear to me that Arlo realized that 4K streaming alone wasn’t enough for people to want the Elite, that they had to remove local 4K streaming and recording to force you to the Elite. Arlo has very cleverly thought through this and made the 4K local recording an option WITHOUT cloud service but NOT with Premiere cloud service. So ridiculous. We’re being penalized for not buying into the Elite now.