Reolinkers’ Week Day 4 – New Firmware: AI Model, FTP, and More

Reolink Fiona

TL;DR:
The new firmware has arrived!
1. AI is more accurate. We optimized the AI model and algorithm and added new features like Alarm Delay and Beta Pet Detection.
2. Smart Spotlight can be triggered when the camera detects a person, vehicle, pet, or all.
3. Improved FTP functions.
4. We have Push intervals.
5. Improved Security.
6. RTSP is upgraded.
7. More optimization

Finally! New firmware for AI products is here. We've done the beta test before, and thank you, every bug hunter.

The full changelog is in the following, but I want to say it's highlight first -- AI detection optimization.

We improve AI person/vehicle detection basically through 2 ways -- algorithm itself and new features.

1. Algorithm
a. We use videos that users reported as false alarms for deep learning to optimize the AI model, which is the fundamental solution.
b. We add "anti-shake" and "identify-regular-frame-changes" features in the algorithm, which can reduce false alarms caused by stationary vehicles.

How they work
We know that the camera locates an object in a box (like the blue frame in the GIF). And AI does not analyze a video but every frame of the video. However, there are tiny changes between consecutive frames in a "seem-to-be-static" video due to sunlight or other reasons.

Accordingly, the box of the car is changing, even though the car doesn't move. Usually, this box changing of the static object is regular. So we can filter out these alarms by "anti-shake" and "identify-regular-changes" features.

2. New features
a. Alarm Delay
Quite a lot of false alarms happen at night or on snowy or rainy days. If snowflakes and raindrops enter the box of the stationary object, resulting in sudden changes and false alarms. To reduce this circumstance, we add the Alarm Delay feature.

How it works
AI may take 20 frames in 1 second to analyze and see how many frames are with the motion. Only when AI detects motions in most of the frames, this motion is considered a true alarm.
Recommended settings
For person detection, 1 second;
For vehicle detection, 1-3 seconds.

b. Pet Detection
It’s a beta feature. We still need more inputs to train our algorithm. Please send false alarms to us. The higher resolution, the better. Appreciated!

Other features that can help reduce false alarms:
Sensitivity, Object Size, and Motion Zone. You can combine and finetune them to your situation and achieve the best performance.

At last, about person/vehicle/pet detection, I want to say there is no best AI, but better AI. Even with these optimizations, detecting objects at night, on snowy days, or under spider web is challenging because of reduced frame rate, blurred background. AI requires continuous reinforcement; that is, we need your inputs, trust, and support for us.

Changelog new firmware v3.1.0.764：

1. Optimized AI detection function

2. Spotlight: You can choose the spotlight is triggered when the camera detects person, vehicle, pet or all.

3. Optimized FTP function:
-- Supported FTPS encryption to improve the security of FTP transfer files.
-- Added FTP upload file type: Video/Image/Video & Image.
-- Added the ability to overwrite file: Overwrite single picture/ Alternatively overwrite two files.
-- Added the Image/Video interval options: You can custom from 2s to ∞ .
-- Optimize the Directory function: generate subfolder by YYYY-MM-DD (Day) or YYYY-MM (Month) or Close (save all files in the same folder).

4. Added Push interval: 20s/30s/1min/2min.

5. Enhance Security:
-- Added switch for RTSP, ONVIF, HTTP, HTTPS service. Users can turn on and off the corresponding network services as needed.
-- Increased the function of locking the device: The device will be locked for 2 seconds after logging in with an incorrect pa*sword to improve login security and prevent malicious attacks.

6. Added the Diagnostic Logs feature: In System-> Maintenance, export diagnostic logs to tech support for analysis.

7. Added the Test error code function for the Email, FTP, push settings, which could help find the cause of the error.

8. Added web certificate import function.

9. Updated RTSP version.

10. Optimized pre-recorded time of videos and solved the problem of too long pre-record time in some scenes.

11. Added Black &White and Color Switching Threshold adjustment function.

Where to download:
Download the new firmware via Download Center – Reolink.
Instruction: How to upgrade the firmware for Reolink Product
Works with Beta Client v.8.7.0, download via:
For Windows:https://home-cdn.reolink.us/files/client/electron-release/Reolink%20Setup%208.7.0.exe
For Mac OS: https://home-cdn.reolink.us/files/client/electron-release/Reolink-8.7.0.dmg
Works with App v.4.29: Download the IOS APP v4.29 from the Apple APP store.
Note:
For the IOS APP, you can download it from the App store now.
For the Android APP, it will be available in the google play store soon.

Note:
--For 5MP models: 510A\520A\510WA\511WA\542WA\523WA
--For 8MP models: 810A\820A\811A\822A\812A\824A\842A\823A
--For 12MP models: 1210A\1220A

We'd like to hear from you. Let us know your feedback or experience with the new AI firmware. How do you like that?

FAQ:

Why Do I Fail to Access the Camera via the Web Browser or Connect to the Third-Party Software after Upgrading My Smart Cameras with the Latest Firmware v.3.1.0764/v.3.1.0804?

You can click on this article to find the solution, https://bit.ly/3iFyuqf.

christopher92

No update for the 410?

Melomax

The software has the the same Model version as the beta version.

you can not upgrade a camera with this software if the beta version has been installed before.

The camera is telling you that it is the same version.

have a nice day.

Ricardo Garcia

it doesn't work very well, people detection is not very sensitive. people pa*s in front of the camera and are not detected. very disappointed

Faasio

Sounds good to me, i have to try it out.

I have version 4.28.0.8.
Why is the new app version not in the Play Store?

burkm

Hi,

First thing I noticed, that the camera RLC-823A no longer has a HTTPS certificate, which is quite unusual, because most browsers signal this as an "error" (HTTP and HTTPS ports are both enabled, but no valid HTTPS certificate had been provided in the corresponding menu fields of the camera's firmware).

A rather "fatal" bug of the "new" camera firmware seems to be, that, if the camera is mounted alongside i.e. the long end of a garage or house wall, the auto-tracking feature at night follows the intruder up to the opposite corner, but the activated spotlight will then "highlight" the (white) wall near the camera so much (closer to the camera even more), that the automatic exposure compensation algorithm of the camera will, as a consequence, darken the surroundings completely, so that everything including the intruder will no longer be detected anymore for several seconds and the auto-tracking mechanism as a result focuses no longer onto the intruder but the nearby wall. When I first realized this, I had my wife walking in front of the camera at night time to the opposite garage corner to test it, and that was, what happened as soon as the spotlight turned on.
The surroundings of the camera were darkened to almost ver dark grey or black because of this "phenomenon" and my wife was no longer visible in the resulting (almost complete) "darkness" visible on the monitor's screen, because the camera focused on the (white) wall and auto-tracking moved the camera as a result in the wrong direction. It took several seconds, until the background lighted up again rather slowly, but my wife had moved away from the corner in the meantime whilst the spotlight (and camera) was still pointing at the corner because of this. My wife was therefore no longer visible on the camera's image, because she had moved outside the viewing angle (wide angle) of the camera following the usual path through the garden. This - naturally - happened only during nighttime, because the spotlight is not been activated during daytime hours. That specific situation must have been missed by the deverloper(s) testing the auto-tracking behavior of the camera...

Another thing, which was quite frustrating, that after some rather minor changes to the detection parameters, the camera would no longer auto-track and restarted working auto-tracking only after resetting it to factory defaults. Because I had continously problems with auto-tracking I cleared the correspsonding "Object size" images, but after that auto-tracking had seized working and I wasn't able to establish something functional there. The actual reasons for this could not be found by the Reolink customer service, because I wasn't able to grant access to the camera from the internet.
Note: All discoveries of mine were made with the latest Beta-Firmware (dated January 7th 2022) and - probably - are still present in the current firmware release...

Faasio

I have already trouble with installing the new app version.
Should i delete the old version first and then instal new one?
I have done this and it still shows 4.28.0.8. Version.

mbzt

Bonjour,

Probléme avec cette version V8.7.0 le réglage ne reste pas, en nette, je régle sur nette, je ferme Client Windows, je relance je me retrouve en standard, pas ce probléme sur ancien V 8.5.2.

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Autre chose ou est pa*sé E1 Outdoor dans le centre de téléchargement .???

milosz1000

Spotlight
Hi, could you tell me, why I don't see SPOTLIGHT option. I use RLC-822, Android App and Windows App is the same, the versions are 4.28.0.8 and 8.7

robin thevenet

Hello,

Following the update of the firmware my rlc 823a, and the application in 8.7.0 on windows.

I can no longer manage motion detection in the app, but it works on the nvr directly.



anyone have this problem?



cordially

Faasio

This post is deleted!

Faasio

About the spotlight in general.
It could be nice if there was a number when you try to settle the spotlight sharpness.
With the slide system it's difficult to get it back excaclly where i want it.

Faasio

I can't find anything about the Pet Detection.

tucker3738

Why has pet detection been removed from the 520a?

I have gone back to using the beta version from last year that had this function.

apogee wilts0r

so after this update the RSTP feed gets connection refused? just me or anyone else have an issue?
820A

burkm

I rechecked my AI detection parameters on my RLC-823A camera having the latest firmware. I use the latest Reolink PC client and tested with the one before that too and the browser interface.
First thing i obeserved, that the resolution of the display is not scaled to the resolution of my display: 2560 x 1440. "Clear" will never work but it always switches either to a much lower resolution of "Balanced" or even "Fluent". Within the client only "fluent" and "clear" is offered as a selection / choice, but only "fluent" can be selected then. Strange.

As soon as I change the object size on the "Person" object size screen two things happen: When I save the changed parameters both sizes (minimum, maximum) are located within each other, then I close the window. After entering that object size screen again, both fields are disjunct, the yellow "minimum size" rectangle is always on the left side, the "maximum size" rectangle is always on the right side. This differs from the original display as presented first time, where both are within each other and always the same size (why?). Therafter the detection of persons movement will no longer work and the same holds true for the "auto-tracking" feature. Even if I setup minimum and maximum for same size and as close as possible to the original (factory setup) sizes, nothing will happen: no auto-tracking (and spotlight) anymore.
What makes me wonder although, that all factory size setups show the same size for minimum and maximum rectangles. What for ???

The logic behind those AI setup parameters is not clear to me...

Faasio

I have to get used to the fact that recorded shots are so much longer than before.
Before the update i had for example 10 recordings from max. 2 minutes and now i have 1 recording from 5 minutes.

burkm

Another "problem" is, that in the "Preview" menu "Basic Settings" no numbers (scaling) are given for the image settings. If you change anything manually there, there is no way in knowing how to return to the default (or previous) settings, because only some (unscaled) sliders are presented for adjusting those values. Pressing the "Default" b**ton saves only those settings, whatever they are currently, but does not provide any "reference" for being able to go back to factory defaults.

burkm

I just discovered another "bug" in the current firmware for the RLC-823A: I changed the option for "Black & White" from "Auto" to Manual" in the menu interface. This change ( to 119) has worked as expected, because of a visible outdoor-lamp the auto-exposure feature had darkend the image to much. But as soon, as a person activated the spotlight during night-time, walking i.e. to the letter box, and the IR-LEDs had been reactivated again after some time, the exposure changed the image. To my surprise, the picture again looked quite dark, as if my prior "Manual" correction (brightness) was no longer active. I checked the cameras setup (browser) and discovered that the exposure compensation Black & White" had been (re-)set to "Auto" again. This seems to happen right after the spotlight had been switched off, ignoring my prior changes and setup to "Manual" mode. This unwanted switch from "Manual" to "Auto" mode seems to be the default action in this situation.

Largamelion

Is it possible to roll back to the previous firmware for the RLC-510A? The detection with the latest firmware is much worse than the previous firmware. Even with MD set to max (50) and smart detection for both person and vehicle to max (100), it still fails to pick up vehicles and people.

My ex came to pick up the kids this morning and I left to work 5 minutes later. That's 4 people and 2 cars on my driveway and not a single thing was recorded!!!

I did some testing when I came home and I have the feeling that all motion gets ignored when my light outside turns on. The lamp is in the detection zone of the camera about 9 feet away. I tried hiding it with a privacy mask or covering it in the detection zone but it didn't make a difference. That still doesn't explain why the detection during the day is so bad though.