Audio playback problems

[MOH]

Have never been able to get audio playback to work when playing an alert within Camect or when playing a recording within Camect. I can hear audio just fine when monitoring LIVE. Using Amcrest IP8M-T2499E’s recording audio using AAC. I may have misunderstood but I thought this was to be addressed with the last update. Are any other users with Amcrest/Camect combos successfully getting video and audio recordings and if so, any suggestions for solutions? Should I be using one of the other codecs for audio that Amcrest supports?

Also, video clips downloaded from Camect play video, but not audio. I tried both MKV and ASF container formats utilizing VLC as a player (VLC is current update with all the included codecs that it comes packaged with).

What AV player are other users utilizing to play the Camect video clips? Also, are users converting the downloaded clips, and if so, what program are you using? I ask since I assume law enforcement prefers video files in a more “common” or universal container formats such as mpeg etc.

Thanks as usual for any help.

[CamectArup]

We did indeed attempt to fix an audio playback problem that sounds very much like what you're reporting. It sounds like it didn't help for you. 

Assuming it's still happening for you today, Could you make an attempt to play audio on a camera that should have it, and, when it fails, use Report Bug right after to submit logs for us to take a look? 

Since you also mentioned that you have never had audio recording work, please also make sure that your cameras are configured to actually record the audio (i.e. you need both "fetch audio" and "record audio" checked in the device tab of home settings, or in the "basic" tab of the camera settings of the  camera, if that camera does not have "use home settings for audio and video" checked.  If you don't have "record audio" checked, you'll hear the audio in live view but it won't be recorded. 

[Michael H]

Arup,

Thank you as usual for your quick reply. All cameras are set to use the home audio and video settings and both “fetch audio” and “record audio” are checked on the home settings (each camera also shows grayed check marks for “fetch audio” and “record audio” as they are set to use the home settings). I will send a bug report. Thanks again.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 24, 2020, at 9:33 PM, CamectArup <ar...@camect.com> wrote:

We did indeed attempt to fix an audio playback problem that sounds very much like what you're reporting. It sounds like it didn't help for you. 

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[Robert Switala]

I have a number of the T2499E’s.  I just pulled a clip at random.  Using VLC I hear the audio.  Do you have Audio | Audio Track | Track 1 checked?

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[Michael H]

Hi Robert,

Yes, Track 1 is selected in VLC. What are your IP8M-T2499 settings (frame rate, resolution and audio codec settings)? 

[Tony Welle]

Not attempting to hijack the thread... 

As a data point I am using various Dahua cameras and all of those with audio are recording and playing back properly. I am using the global home device setting as opposed to individual cameras.

[Michael H]

Tony,

No problem at all. All help in the form of data points is helpful to help me diagnose the problem.

[Robert Switala]

Hi Michael - these are the settings on four of them - the other two are the same except they are set to 4K .  The clip I pulled was from the 1920x1080.  I did install the latest firmware (I usually wait a little after it is released prior to install.

BTW - did you find an app to use to convert to a different format for police?  I’m using a Mac and HandBrake will encode to an MKV file.  It is available, I think, for Windows too.

On Oct 25, 2020, at 9:46 AM, Michael H <mohcame...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Robert,

Yes, Track 1 is selected in VLC. What are your IP8M-T2499 settings (frame rate, resolution and audio codec settings)? 

On Sun, Oct 25, 2020 at 5:45 AM Robert Switala <robn...@mac.com> wrote:

I have a number of the T2499E’s.  I just pulled a clip at random.  Using VLC I hear the audio.  Do you have Audio | Audio Track | Track 1 checked?

<Image 10-25-20 at 8.43 AM.jpg>

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[Phillip Liang]

I have a Samsung camera and encounter the same problem.  Playback only see video but no audio.

two days ago I bought a Amcrest camera ( the one recommended by Camect)  and encounter the same problem.

So I guess somewhere in software needs attention. 

I use Chrome to view and playback.  Live view has both audio/video but recording does not have audio.

Can Camect QA  test internally with Amcrest and confirm ?

thanks.

Phillip

[Robert Switala]

I’m using H.264H encoding and I get the audio on the clips.  The only diff that Michael pointed out his Amcrest is using H.265.  He’s going to test and see if changing that makes a diff.

Philip - what encoding is the Samsung set to?

Shortly after getting Camect I experimented with H.265 but I turned it off since I was having busy issues.  In retrospect that’s because I was trying to run six cameras at 8 MP each - or about 48 MP - twice the recommended value of 24 Megapixels!

Rob

[Michael H]

To Robert and everyone else who chimed in:

You guys are the best (this is a great forum)!

I changed all my Amcrest cams to H.264H per Robert’s settings just to see if this was the issue. Audio remained AAC encoded at 8000. After doing this, audio plays back when playing back from Alerts! Also, downloaded clips play back with audio! Video clips are now downloaded in MP4 format. Before, when cameras were set to H.265, they would download as MKV files (without the audio). I suppose the extra processing necessary to decode H.265 on the fly was playing havoc with the ability of the audio coding to keep up. I believe however, that the Camect was supposed to handle H.265 which I generally prefer in other applications due to superior compression for storage reasons.

One other thing that still occurs however, is that if play the Alert clip (by clicking on the bell icon), if I go back to replay the clip without first exiting the window, the same audio problem occurs. However, I can avoid this by first existing to live view, then going back and clicking on the bell icon again. When I do this, the clip plays with audio again.

I do notice a little lag between the audio and video (audio lags slightly behind the video about 1/10-2/10ths of a second?) but this is a minor issue for me.

Ideally, perhaps Camect staff can address the replay issue so that it is more convenient to repeatedly review an alert clip without having to exit the Alert window each time, and can also check on the audio/video lag issue. Also, as Phillip suggested, perhaps test an Amcrest to see if a software fix can address the H.265 issue.

Per Arup, I sent in a debug log to Camect when the cameras were still set to H.265 hoping they could use the info to address the problem.

Anyway, thanks again to Robert for his time and effort in helping out. Hope this information can help others as well.

[Tony Welle]

On my six Dahua cameras (2-8M, 2-4M and 2-2M) I’m running h.265, smart codec and VBR without any issues. Originally, I was using h.264 and CBR (Blue Iris preferred) that created a storage issue on Camect due to the high bit rate. With H.265 and VBR, I still set a high bit rate but unless there is significant motion, the average stream rate is 50% or less than that of the CBR stream rate. Not suggesting this is the answer, but wanted to point out that H.265 also works with the software. I have no wireless in the mix. When I download, I also get .mkv format files, but the audio is also present.

Cheers!

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[Michael H]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the info. For all the reasons you state, that is why I prefer H.265. I don’t think I had Smart Codec selected. I’ll have to try that too. What bitrate were you using on your 8M cameras?

[Michael H]

Tony,

Tried your settings (Smart Codec on) with H.265. Unfortunately reverted to same audio problem. Was really hoping that would work.

[Jack]

I just tried playing downloaded Camect clips for Amcrest ASH21, the only audio camera I have.

Recorded at h.265. no audio plays.  There's some loud noise in first second, then silence.

Recorded at h.264, audio plays.

[CamectArup]

Yesterday's software update included an attempt to fix the audio issues that you guys have been seeing. Please let us know if the issue is resolved now or not. Thanks!

[MOH]

Hi Arup,

I haven’t been able to try resetting and retesting from H.264H to H.265 (I am at work and don’t have local access to the cameras’ IP GUI). However, I did test remote playback of alerts (still on H.264H) and was able to get audio to play correctly without having to exit the Alert playback mode each time. So at least some of the software update seems to be working (thank you so much!).

When I get a chance, I will switch a camera back to H.265 and see if audio works on the recordings.

[Jack]

I just downloaded a H.265 Amcrest ASH21 clip and it plays audio with android VLC.

[Jack]

I typically use H.265 on my cameras because of significant reduction of bandwidth and storage.  I have not not studied impact on Camect.  The main disadvantage I've seen is if you distribute H.265 videos, many basic viewers don't work because of no H.265 codec, unless it's been added.  More capable viewers like VLC do have it.  If needed, I convert a H.265 clip to H.264.
Interestingly, the ASH21 camera I used to successfully play Camect clip video/audio, has a default of H.265.   I think it's default to improve wifi performance and use less SD card storage when used with the intended Amcrest Smart Home app.

[Phillip Liang]

Hi, I have two newbie questions :

1. how do I know what is the firmware version on my cametc ?

2. how do I download video clip to play on VLC locally ?
Thanks.

Phillip

[Jack Hickey]

Hi Phillip,

To check which Camect  firmware version you are on, click on Home Settings (cog wheel) and then the "i" next to Home name. Here your firmware version is displayed. 

To download a clip to play in VLC, find the beginning of the clip by using the plus and minus magnifying glass icons to change the timeline duration, or to more quickly reach the video if it's further in the past, the second level timeline (bar above). Click on the start clip marker ( [ ) at the start of the clip you want to capture and end clip marker ( ] ) at the end. After you have done this you will be given an option to view, share, or download the clip. To download the clip, click on the downward arrow icon on the right.

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[Phillip Liang]

Thanks Jack for the tips.

I am able to playback online and clips both with audio and video.

the new firmware fix the problem. 

Thanks.

Phillip

[Jack Hickey]

Hi Phillip,

I'm glad to hear you're able to successfully play back your clips with the new firmware update. More tips like these can be found in our Learning More About Camect Guide linked off of our welcome page.

Thanks,

Jack