Clip Videos are Delayed & Jerky

[TimG]

I even have BI4 installed on a 2nd computer, but it currently exhibits the same delayed and jerky videos.

That might mean it isn't a BI4 issue. If they delay and jerk in a similar manner, this could be a network issue. Ethernet or wifi ?

I would start with PING to check timings around the network/ between pc's, and to cameras.

I guess the question I didn't previously ask is - does live video look smooth ? On one or both PC's ?

[Durango]

Tim, all my cameras (6 total) are wifi, currently connected via a brand new Linksys router. They do not use my fiber optics modem except when I am trying to view them via my browser and/or setting up each camera with the FOSCAM software.

Although I have degrees in Physics & Math, I am self-taught on computers. Which is to say, my knowledge is somewhat limited...especially when it comes to hardware and networks. Plus, my old 86-year old brain is limited on most subjects these days. But I will research how to PING.

When I view the cameras live (using either BI or FASCOM VMS), the videos are delayed & jerky on both PCs.

I'm off to my next appointment. Thanks again for your help.

[TimG]

In that case it does appear to be a network issue. At the time this started did you add any devices at home ? The camera wifi is likely to be 2.4Ghz which is shared by microwave ovens (intermittant use) and could be affected by DECT like phones etc.

PING gives you the time it takes for a connection to devices on a LAN, so is useful as a basic network tool. I would expect to see PING times of a few milli-seconds, and for it to be consistant.

[Durango]

I successfully pinged all my cameras, and the values ranged from 81 ms (a camera sitting on same desk as router) to 923 ms (an outside camera approx 100' away).

I do want to mention a significant data point that just occurred. Yesterday I moved two of my cameras back inside the house...one resides on my computer desk next to the router itself, and the other sits across the room just 10 feet from the router. Neither of these two cameras sitting close to the router show any sign of delay or stuttering. The other four cameras are outside the house, and these are the ones that developed the video problems a couple of months ago. So this leads me to believe, as you suggested, that my network has a problem... it has become either weak, overloaded, or suffering from some sort of interference. How best to test for this? I can try to move my router, although it is sitting where it has for years. I can start turning off some of the other devices, etc.

Tim, when I first reported this video problem, I thought it was an issue caused by BI4, so I came to your forum. But it is now obvious to me that BI4 is not the culprit. Therefore, since you are the busy Moderator of the BI forum, you may not want to further pursue my network problem. If that is the case, I understand and I thank you for your help.

[TimG]

Ethernet hard wired cameras will always be preferred, but clearly wifi has worked well for you for years. I wonder if mesh network wifi adapters would help. That probably depends on the shape of your house and where the cameras are.

For what it's worth, I would expect a ping of around 3 micro seconds for the hard wired cameras around my house, and it would be consistent. A wifi signal will always be half duplex ( Cannot transmit and receive at the same time) where ethernet is full duplex, but if wifi works for you, then it is good enough.

[nh905g]

I ran into issues with Reolink cameras where it was not clear whether the problem was the camera or Blue Iris. VLC (https://www.videolan.org/) is a cross-platform Media Player that can open a network stream independent of Blue Iris. To figure out the syntax, you first need to determine if Blue Iris is using RTSP or RTMP - that information is available on the Blue Iris Video tab/Configure, usually in the Model field. You will also need the Stream profile information for the Main and Sub streams.

After opening VLC, click on Media -> Open Network Stream. For RTSP, the Network URL for my Reolink was rtsp://<camera IP>/<stream profile> using the profile for the Main or Sub stream. VLC will prompt for your camera username/password. For RTMP, the Network URL for my camera was rtmp://<camera IP>/<stream profile> (again, using the profile for the Main or Sub stream). The camera username/password was part of the RTMP stream profile. It may take a while to research network settings for your camera to get the right VLC Network URL syntax. You can run VLC on your Blue Iris computer (in parallel with watching the Blue Iris live view) or another computer to narrow down if the problem is the Blue Iris computer itself.

In my case, I had configured a substream in Blue Iris. A Reolink firmware upgrade affecting RTSP caused the main stream to 'fall behind' the substream by as much as 23 seconds. Blue Iris uses the substream to detect motion but Blue Iris AI uses the main stream for alerts - the AI claimed there was nothing to detect. While waiting for updated firmware, I found out that switching the camera and Blue Iris to RTMP fixed the missing alerts and got rid of intermittent 'choppy' video.

[Durango]

@ Tim - None of my cameras are hardwired to the router. In fact, except for the two mentioned above, they are all outside observing wildlife. They worked for several years that way, then all of a sudden I started experiencing the video problems.

@ nh505g - Thanks for your response. My grasp of BI4 is not as good as yours, but I am going to attempt to implement your solution. But I do have a question. What is meant by AI...is that something unique to BI5? Does it imply artificial intelligence?

[Durango]

@nh505g - I can't figure out how to get the Stream Profile Information and corresponding Network URL for my cameras as needed by VLC. Any hints/suggestions?

[nh905g]

In Blue Iris Settings, I select the Video tab. There should be a Configure button on the right about a 1/4 of the way down that opens up the Network IP camera configuration screen. In my case the IP of the camera is 10.1.2.207, and the Main Stream profile is /bcs/channel0_main.bcs?channel=0&stream=0&user=xxx&password=xxx. In VLC Media -> Open Network Stream, I enter rtmp://10.1.2.207/bcs/channel0_main.bcs?channel=0&stream=0&user=xxx&password=xxx. If the camera is set up to deliver RTSP streams, I would enter rtsp://10.1.2.207/h264Preview_01_main. It can take 10 seconds or so before the stream appears.

I do not recall if Blue Iris created the Main and Sub Stream profiles or if I looked up the syntax on the Reolink support site.

[Durango]

You must be using Blue Iris version 5...I am still using version 4. I do not have the Main Stream Profile on my Video/Configuration screen; in fact, I can't find that Profile anyplace.