Security Spy Generated Error Reports

B_Mitchell
B_Mitchell
in General

Every so often I will get a warning about a camera such as this: Warning: media stream problem with camera "Whitehurst". Excessive packet loss. 6.17,10,835. The camera causing the issue is a Amcrest #P8M-2496EW-28MM (Ultra HD 4K). Also receive warning from my Amcrest Model AD410 WiFi camera: Error from camera "Doorbell", it will be closed. Network device error. The operation timed out. 6.17,70900,800.

I am using a QNAP TR-004 with 4 WD Purple-Pro 8T Drives configured as RAID 5 that is directly connected to my M2 Mac Mini running Security Spy (8 cameras) via Thunderbolt/USB-C cable.

Any advice would be appreciated as I am not a computer geek, but trying my best to learn more about running the cameras on my Home Network.

Is there a published chart in how to interpret the number codes at the end of the Warning, or are they just for Security Spy tech wizards to assist in figuring out the issue?

Thank you!

Comments

  • Ben
    Ben

    It seems that some video stream packets are being lost between the camera and the Mac. Common causes and possible solution are:

    • Unstable network connection. Ideally, you want the Mac and cameras to be connected via a high-quality Gigabit-speed central switch.
    • Avoid WiFi wherever possible. If you have to use it for a camera, make sure the camera has good WiFi signal. Do not use it for your Mac - that should be wired.
    • Camera firmware: make sure all cameras are running the latest firmware version offered by the manufacturer, as older firmware can be buggy.
    • Camera frame rates: if your cameras are currently streaming at high frame rates, reducing this could help with this problem. We recommend a frame rate around 10fps for general purpose.

    In terms of the error messages, we have tried to add a useful description for most error codes that users will encounter (e.g. 835 means excessive packet loss; 800 means timeout). The other other number in the message is for us to be able to quickly locate where exactly in the codebase the error was generated.

  • B_Mitchell
    B_Mitchell

    Ben,

    Seven of my eight cameras run directly to my POE NETGEAR GS116PP. Nothing else is on that switch. My Doorbell Camera is my only WiFi camera. My GS116PP is connected to one port in my NETGEAR JGS524 Gigabit switch which has all my other hard wired ethernet connected devices. My M2 Mac Mini's sole purpose is running Security Spy. It is connected to one port on JGS524. The M2 Mac Mini is running Sonoma 14.8.4. Should I go ahead and upgrade my OS to macOS Tahoe 26.3? I do not see a reason to upgrade the OS unless it helps Security Spy.

    I will look to see if there are any firmware updates for the Amcrest cameras and how to upload them.

    I reduced the frame rate on one camera that was generating the error report. We shall see if that helps.

    Thank you for the suggestions!!!

  • Ben
    Ben

    It sounds like your network setup is solid. One thing I should also have mentioned is to make sure you are running the latest version of SecuritySpy.

    Another thing to check is to make sure that all cameras that can support H.265 encoding are set to H.265 rather than H.264. This will result in lower bandwidth and therefore less chance of network problems.

    Upgrading macOS is unlikely to help with this specific problem, but it's worth a try if the other changes aren't helping.

    If you email us and include a debug file, we'd be happy to look in more detail at your settings to see if we can suggest anything further.

  • B_Mitchell
    B_Mitchell

    Yes sir. I have already updated to the latest Security Spy 6.18. My iPhone and Apple TV Security Spy apps are up to date, too.

    I purchased all my cameras from Amcrest. The format on all but the WiFi Doorbell camera has Profile: ONVIF and Format: RTSP. I believe this is the default setting. There is an option to switch the Format to H.265 RTSP. The AD410 Doorbell camera has Profile: Amcrest and Format: RTSP with no other options. If I change the Profile to ONVIF, the Format options change to be the same as the other cameras. Is switching from RTSP to H.265 RTSP an experiment worth trying?

    It has been ten days since I received my last error report which was the one I shared with the forum previously.

    Is the best place to edit the settings on the cameras on the Mac under Security Spy app / Settings / Cameras? I have not tried accessing them from the web browser.

    I really thank you for your attention to details!!

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