Is Your Avigilon Video Feed Pixelated or Blurry?
A clear, high-quality video feed is the cornerstone of an effective Avigilon security system. When your footage becomes pixelated, blocky, or blurry, it compromises your ability to identify crucial details, which can be a major security concern. This issue can stem from a variety of factors, ranging from network constraints to camera settings.
This troubleshooting guide will help you systematically diagnose the cause of pixelated video in your Avigilon system and provide clear, actionable steps to restore the crisp, detailed image quality you expect.
## Common Symptoms of Video Quality Problems
First, let's identify the specific signs of poor video quality you might be experiencing. Understanding the symptom can help you narrow down the potential cause.
- Blocky Live Video: The live stream from one or more cameras appears distorted and blocky.
- Blurry Recordings: When you review recorded footage, it lacks sharpness and important details are obscured.
- Motion-Based Pixelation: The image quality degrades significantly whenever there is movement in the scene.
- Poor High-Resolution Display: The video looks particularly bad when viewed on a large, high-resolution monitor.
- Intermittent Quality: The video feed alternates between being clear and pixelated.
- Visible Artefacts: You can see compression artefacts, which look like small, distorted squares, in the image.
- Low-Bandwidth Mode: The Avigilon Control Center (ACC) client may indicate that the camera is streaming in a lower quality mode.
## Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide
Follow these steps to find and fix the source of your video quality issues.
### 1. Check Network Bandwidth and Stability
The most common cause of pixelation in an IP camera system is an inadequate network connection. Avigilon's high-resolution cameras require a stable, high-bandwidth connection.
- Run a Bandwidth Test: Use network diagnostic tools to check the available bandwidth between the camera and the Avigilon server. There may be other devices on the network consuming bandwidth, leading to congestion.
- Check for Packet Loss: Packet loss is a key indicator of an unstable network. Even a small amount of packet loss can cause significant video distortion. Check the network switch ports for error counters.
- Cable Integrity: Inspect the network cable running to the camera. A damaged or low-quality cable (e.g., not rated for the required speed) can severely impact performance.
### 2. Adjust Camera Settings in Avigilon Control Center (ACC)
The settings of the camera itself play a huge role in the final image quality. Incorrect configuration can lead to the system trying to save bandwidth at the expense of clarity.
- Bitrate: In the camera's settings within ACC, find the 'Compression and Image Rate' section. If the maximum bitrate is set too low, the camera will be forced to over-compress the video, causing pixelation. Increase the maximum bitrate limit.
- Compression/Quality Level: Avigilon cameras allow you to set a quality level. A lower number generally means higher quality and less compression. Ensure this is set to an appropriate level (e.g., 20 or lower for high detail).
- Resolution: Confirm that the camera is set to stream at its native, high resolution. Sometimes, a secondary, lower-resolution stream (substream) might be displayed by mistake.
### 3. Verify Camera Focus and Lens Condition
While often a software or network issue, do not overlook the physical state of the camera.
- Clean the Lens: The camera's outer lens dome or window can accumulate dust, dirt, or water spots, leading to a blurry or hazy image. Clean it carefully with a microfibre cloth.
- Check the Focus: If the image is blurry rather than blocky, the lens focus may need adjustment. For cameras with remote or auto-focus, trigger the auto-focus routine from the ACC software. For manual focus lenses, you will need to adjust it physically at the camera.
### 4. Server and Client Performance
The performance of the server recording the video and the client viewing it can also be a bottleneck.
- Server Load: Check the CPU and network utilisation on your Avigilon NVR or server. If the server is overloaded, it may struggle to process and record high-quality video streams, potentially leading to corrupted or poor-quality recordings.
- Client Machine Resources: If the pixelation only occurs on a specific viewing station, that computer's graphics card or CPU may not be powerful enough to decode multiple high-resolution streams simultaneously. Try viewing the camera on a different machine to confirm.
By methodically checking your network, software settings, and hardware, you can effectively eliminate pixelation and restore the high-definition clarity that your Avigilon system is capable of.