RTSP stream with sound but without video... sometimes

[Povilas.Sid]

Hey,

I have got a IPC-HDW4631C-A of ebay. I tested it by installing it indoors and it worked fine for almost half of year. Then I installed it oudoors and it was working fine... until it did not. At first it seamed like short term outages and then it started not working for longer. Yesterday I ran a reset using web interface and it worked fine. Until the evening. This morning it is not working again.
Now then I mean 'not working' there were many different states: Web ui non accessible; no rtsp streams etc. but the most common state is: Stream is available but there is no video, just audio and I can access web panel.
My question is:
Where is the problem? Cable? Bandwidth (should not be but I read that can be an issue)? Camera?
Context:
It is winter and it is cold and wet right now outside. I am running frigate NVR that is using RTSP streams. I am using only one RTSP stream at 1080p

 

[TonyR]

My first choice would be a problem with the cable and/or its connectors. Moisture and the resulting corrosion at the connection of the male RJ-45 to the female RJ-45 on the camera's pigtail is especially subject to corrosion.

When weather permits, open up that connection and inspect it. Clean both with either DeoxIT 5 or other good contact cleaner, allow to dry, coat the male with dielectric grease then plug it in and out of the female several time to thoroughly spread the grease.

Test it and if works OK temporarily protect the connection from direct exposure to the elements and leave it to see if it's corrected. If it's OK after a couple of weeks or when you think the problem has been corrected then you can proceed to properly weather-proof the connection as here.

FWIW, I have a couple of solid-copper, 100 ft. Ethernet patch cables and a male-to-male RJ45 coupler I use as a troubleshooting measure....with it I can temporarily bypass the in-place suspect cable with one or both of the cables to see if the issue with the in-place cable is corrected. Of course, a thorough inspection of the connectors is in order when doing so because, again, corrosion of the RJ-45's is very common.

 

[Povilas.Sid]

My first choice would be a problem with the cable and/or its connectors. Moisture and the resulting corrosion at the connection of the male RJ-45 to the female RJ-45 on the camera's pigtail is especially subject to corrosion.

When weather permits, open up that connection and inspect it. Clean both with either DeoxIT 5 or other good contact cleaner, allow to dry, coat the male with dielectric grease then plug it in and out of the female several time to thoroughly spread the grease.

Test it and if works OK temporarily protect the connection from direct exposure to the elements and leave it to see if it's corrected. If it's OK after a couple of weeks or when you think the problem has been corrected then you can proceed to properly weather-proof the connection as here.

FWIW, I have a couple of solid-copper, 100 ft. Ethernet patch cables and a male-to-male RJ45 coupler I use as a troubleshooting measure....with it I can temporarily bypass the in-place suspect cable with one or both of the cables to see if the issue with the in-place cable is corrected. Of course, a thorough inspection of the connectors is in order when doing so because, again, corrosion of the RJ-45's is very common.

Thanks for very detailed answer! I suspected that the problem may be in the cable so I re terminated the end of the cable going into the switch did not seam to have much effect. It is strange though I did use the included connection protector that comes with: something similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Tedgetal-Waterproof-Connector-Shielded-Ethernet/dp/B095JZSGYG

so I was not expecting moisture to be the issue considering other 2 cameras are fine at one other has it's connection not sealed at all.
Weather is not too too bad (its above freezing) but the moisture in the air is quite high, so if that was the culprit probably bad time to do cable replacements.
Also I am sure the products you suggested would be ideal but if I will even try to use something I will have to find something cheaper/local. Only one of those is shippable to me + it's extra 20 EUR on top, so at that price of 70 EUR it makes more sense to keep replacing the cable :/ Thanks for good keywords to look for!

UPDATE: I had an idea... I turned off IR and it started working! Is it increased power consumption from IR?

 

[wittaj]

It is always like any gambling situation.

Just because 2 cameras are fine doesn't mean the 3rd camera wouldn't have an issue.

Thermal temperature differences based on location of the cameras can be different - two cameras may get morning sun and other camera doesn't as an example. Moisture in the air can be drawn out and settle on the connectors during temperature swings. Dielectric grease helps prevent the corrosion from happening.

It may not be the cable connection - it could be the camera pigtail connection that has the corrosion. Especially if you re-terminated the end point.

And just because you don't see corrosion doesn't mean none is there. Many people have brought a camera back to life with Deoxit on pigtail connections that didn't show any visible corrosion.

 

[TonyR]

Also I am sure the products you suggested would be ideal but if I will even try to use something I will have to find something cheaper/local.

Yes, I figured something local but comparable would work for you.

UPDATE: I had an idea... I turned off IR and it started working! Is it increased power consumption from IR?

Very possible....more current flowing through a higher resistance due to corrosion can cause a voltage drop, possibly below the camera's lower operating limit.