Choppy recording from Reolink RLC-511

[lordmerchant]

Hi, I'm looking for some help trouble shooting an issue Im having with choppy video playback for 2/4 of my cameras.

My system is

Ryzen 52600
16GB 2400mhz DDR4
GTX 750 Ti
256GB SSD for database
4TB WD PURPLE for New & Stored

I run 4 Cameras

2 x 5MP Reolink rlc 511 - these are wired via Cat 6 to my Netgear GS116PP PoE switch

2 x 1080 Jennov ip cameras ran wirelessly

The Jennov works fine and use the following settings.



The Jennovs work well and I'm pleased with their performance.

Here are my Reolink settings - the problem I am having is that with various settings I have tried the video recordings are choppy. I have renewed all cables connecting them to the switch and tried a different switch also.



Any help or pointing out of obvious errors would be much appreciated.

 

[lordmerchant]

I also forgot to add that the data-path from the cameras DOES NOT pass through any router other than the network switch which is gigabit (even though cams are 100mbps I believe) so I am assuming a bottleneck is not an issue.

 

[TonyR]

Welcome to IPCT!

Have you read this in the Wiki ? ==>> Troubleshooting Streaming Problems

BTW, here's a great explanation of why Reolink cams and Blue Iris don't play well together, by member @wittaj ==>> HERE

 

[lordmerchant]

thanks Tony, I'll study both of these resources.

 

[SouthernYankee]

Send the POS reolink cameras back. Do a search on reolink cameras on the forum. They use non standard communication recording format

 

[wittaj]

In addition to my post that @TonyR linked, take a look at this thread...

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Executive Summary: DO NOT be a sheep. Ask what a reviewer can be missing, ask if a reviewer is using hype words to sell the cheapest product. Test your cameras and kits right away. Just do a bench test. Test real world conditions. Test moving suspects. Test at night, test at day. Use a test rig...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[lordmerchant]

I thought I had done my due diligence when I opted for the Reolink - seems not. The key frame interval makes sense - I specifically remember setting this up on my Jennovs now!

 

[looney2ns]

If you want reliable trouble free experience, Stick with International versions of Dahua and Hikvision cams.
Read this

 

[TheWaterbug]

Is the problem worse at night? I had a similar problem with my Reolink cameras. At long last I think I have figured this out. The culprit is the "3D Noise Reduction" feature in the camera. 3D noise reduction tries to average non-moving portions of adjacent frames in an attempt to reduce temporal noise. The non-RTSP stream received by the Reolink client does this properly, and outputs frames in order. The RTSP stream does not do this properly, so it repeats some frames or outputs them out of order, which results in the stuttering effect that you see here. If you turn off the 3D Noise Reduction, then the RTSP stream works properly, although the bit rate goes way up. Other manufacturers, such as Amcrest, implement 3D Noise Reduction properly in their RTSP streams.

 

[wittaj]

If only that was the only problem with reolinks at night

 

[The Automation Guy]

I have one Reolink camera that I bought before I found this site. It does suck, but I still use it in a non-critical area.

Reolink has issued a recent firmware update that allows a user to change the key frame rate. I have installed the firmware on my camera and it does seem to make it more stable. I never had terrible reliability with that camera as some on this forum have had, but it definitely had it's glitches sometimes. I haven't noticed those glitches since, but again it's a non-critical camera that I rarely look at.

Long story short, I would suggest that you update the firmware on your camera. Usually we say if the camera's not broken, then don't update firmware, but I think this is a clear case where the camera isn't reliable and the new firmware should help with that problem.

 

[TheWaterbug]

I have one Reolink camera that I bought before I found this site. It does suck, but I still use it in a non-critical area.

Reolink has issued a recent firmware update that allows a user to change the key frame rate. I have installed the firmware on my camera and it does seem to make it more stable. I never had terrible reliability with that camera as some on this forum have had, but it definitely had it's glitches sometimes. I haven't noticed those glitches since, but again it's a non-critical camera that I rarely look at.

Long story short, I would suggest that you update the firmware on your camera. Usually we say if the camera's not broken, then don't update firmware, but I think this is a clear case where the camera isn't reliable and the new firmware should help with that problem.

What model? One of the terrible-r things that Reolink has done lately is to orphan a hardware platform (e.g. no further firmware updates) a year after selling them.

 

[The Automation Guy]

What model? One of the terrible-r things that Reolink has done lately is to orphan a hardware platform (e.g. no further firmware updates) a year after selling them.

The Reolink RLC-410 which is pretty old. (I bought it nearly 4 years ago). I think they released this firmware to their entire line of cameras.

 

[TheWaterbug]

Reolink use(d) the same marketing part numbers for at least two different hardware generations.

I have an older RLC-411S and RLC-423S that are both of the IPC_3816M platform that has been orphaned.

I have somewhat newer RLC-410, RLC-420, and RLC-420-5MP units based on the IPC_51316M platform, and those were updated as recently as Mar. 14, 2021.

Can you share what hardware version your RLC-410 is?

 

[The Automation Guy]

I just checked and it is a RLC-410 with hardware # IPC_51216M running firmware version V3.0.0.136_20121100. I do recall now having to double check the hardware version prior to installing the latest firmware, but obviously mine matched the allowable versions.