RLK8-800B4 Preview Mode Resolution

bdparr155

I have just purchased and installed a new RLK8-800B4 POE security system to replace an existing 4 channel wireless 1080P (2MP) Swann system. All is mostly fine with the new system with the exception of the quality of the video streams shown in preview mode.

I have a 1920x1080p Monitor (Native resolution) connected directly to the Reolink NVR. The NVR's HDMI output is set to this native resolution to match that of the monitor via the NVR's interface. I have 4 cameras and the preview mode set to show these 4 cameras but the quality of the streams in this mode is arguably awful. If I open a camera to full screen, the image is great and what you would expect from a 4K camera. Is this normal?

I ask this question because the Swan system this Reolink unit replaced showed all four cameras in its preview mode (4 cameras) perfectly clear and pin sharp. So much so that the video shown in 4 camera preview mode on the Swann system easliy surpasses this Reolinks 4 camera preview mode and they were only 2MP cameras.

Why is the video feed such low resolution when in preview mode? I like to be able to view all 4 cameras at the same time with some kind of legibility. Feels like a step backwards to me.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Crimp On

My Reolink cameras are not connected to an NVR. (I use the Windows Client directly.)
One of the things that I was not expecting when I first got Reolink cameras was the support for different simultaneous video resolutions. (Clear, Standard, Fluent). I had thought, "it's a 4mp (or 5mp) camera. That's what I should be seeing."

Just checked the new Windows Client software. In "one camera" mode, it allows all resolutions (right click). In 4-camera mode, only the standard and fluent resolutions are available. The default appears to be "Fluent", which I find dreadful.

(probably should not have responded since I do not have an NVR, but I just hate it when I ask a question and no one seems to notice.)

bdparr155

So I just had a look at what options I have using the Windows client. When in one camera view mode, I get "Clear", "Standard" and "Fluent". "Clear" being full resolution, "Standard" would be the equivalent of what I am seeing on my monitor connected directly to the NVR when in 4 camera preview mode and "Fluent", which appears to add quite a bit of blur to the "Standard" image softening it to the point of near illegibility. Not sure why anyone would want or need that setting.

4 camera preview mode on the Windows Client has "Standard" and "Fluent" options only. Again, "Standard" being the equivalent to what the monitor connected to the NVR shows when in 4 camera preview mode. Surely the NVR has enough processing power and bandwidth to display 4x 8MP cameras at once in preview mode on a monitor connected directly to it. At the very least, a higher resolution than the current "Standard" mediocre resolution I am seeing now.

Would definitely like to see this improved.

Crimp On

Have been pondering "what is possible" in regard to the video resolution displayed by the Reolink Client. My computer screen has a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. In full screen mode, that amounts to about 960x540 pixels for each of four cameras. My 4MP cameras have a resolution of 2560x1440 and the 5MP cameras are 2560x1920. What "magic" can Reolink use to display a 2560x1920 picture inside a window that is 960x540?

When the Reolink Client is not in full-screen mode, of course, there are even fewer pixels to work with.

My cameras FTP the "Clear" stream (2560x1920) and I often use the VLC player to look at them. And,they look plenty sharp. VLC has options to display in different aspect ratios, so converting a picture to fit a specific size screen seems like "something programmers can do."
I have not found a way to "shrink" the playback screen on VLC, but it is easy to do with 5KPlayer. When the screen gets drastically smaller, the picture begins to look a lot like "Fluent" resolution (640x480). i.e. "jagged lines".

Reading the entire post (above), I realize now that there may be a difference between "Preview" mode on the NVR and what the Windows Client is doing. Maybe this is something to ask Reolink support about? i.e. email to support@reolink.com

bdparr155

I'm not exactly up to speed with regards to the science of how this is done except to say that I believe it would simply be a case of scaling the image to fit. You start off with the set native resolution of the camera and scale it down to fit. This would in turn increase the Dots or Pixels per inch across the viewable image. At least that's how I would like to see it done. In this case though, I would say they are using an interpolation algorithm or some such technology to do their 'Magic'.

I believe that they are simply lowering the resolution when displaying all 4 or more cameras to simply save on bandwidth. At least that would be case for the client on a computer which receives its data through a LAN or WAN network. In my case however, if you have a monitor connected directly to the NVR itself, there shouldn't be any bandwidth limitations as such, so technically, the NVR should be able to display 4 streams @ 3840x2160 all at once. At the very least, it should be able to display 4 streams at a scaled down 1920x1080 resolution. My low end Swann NVR-480 wireless 4 channel 2MP NVR could display 4 streams at once at the full 1920x1080 resolution. In fact, the image put out by one camera on the Swann unit was worse in full screen than when in this so called 4 stream preview mode. I'd argue this Reolink unit is lucky to be displaying at anything greater than about 896x504, 1024x576 or there about's when previewing 4 camera streams at once.

I was kind of hoping some of the dev's or mod's would scan this forum from time to time and maybe explain what is going on here.

Thanks for your input though. Appreciated.