Troubleshooting video loss and poor recordings

Skills you'll practise

• Describe a video fault precisely enough to narrow it to a layer before touching anything
• Check power, link, addressing, stream and credentials, recorder and client in a logical order using logs and device evidence
• Recognise common patterns: dusk failures, power-cut address changes, credential changes, recording gaps and network congestion
• Change one thing at a time and verify the fix in recorded footage under the failing conditions
• Record the cause, fix and evidence so the next technician starts ahead

Course outline

1. 1.Troubleshooting video loss and poor recordingsVideo · 2 min
2. 2.Pin down the symptomLesson · 18 min
3. 3.Check layer by layerLesson · 22 min
4. 4.Fix, verify and recordLesson · 20 min
5. 5.Troubleshooting video loss and poor recordings: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 17 questions
6. 6.Police need footage, and the recorder is running out of daysScenario
7. 7.Final exam8 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out

Sources it draws on

The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.

• Axis Communications white paper: Bitrate control for IP video (VBR, MBR, CBR, average bitrate, GOP length, night noise)
• UK Home Office / Dstl: UK Police Requirements for CCTV Systems (quality, storage, export, playback) (UK example)
• Axis Communications white paper: IR reflections in dome cameras
• ONVIF: Profiles (S, T, G, M video profiles; Profile S deprecation in process; Profile Q deprecated)