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Video appears too dark or has bright spots

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Video often appears dark during the day when there is a large difference between the brightest area of the image and the darkest area of the image. At night, there may be objects in the camera's field of view that reflect off of the IR (infrared) lights and cause glare.

To troubleshoot dark video or poor night vision:

  1. Verify that there are no objects (e.g., the corner of a table, a railing, a gutter, street lights etc.) in the camera's field of view that may cause glare from IR lights at night.
  2. Verify that the camera lens is free of dust and smudges.
  3. View live video on another streaming device, and verify that the live video is still dark.
  4. If the live video is dark on multiple streaming devices, adjust the Video Device Image settings. For more information about adjusting the Video Device Image settings, see below. 
  5. If changing the Video Device Image settings washes out the image, try changing the positioning or angle of the camera so exposure is more desirable.
     
    Example: If the camera is placed in a dark room facing outside, bright sunlight may cause the camera to adjust its exposure to light areas and, as a result, render the image too dark. Attempt to include more of the dark area in the view to lessen exposure-related issues.

Change Video Device Image settings

Camera settings can be changed to alter or improve image quality using the Alarm.com app or Alarm.com customer website.

Alarm.com app
  1. Log in to the Alarm.com app.
  2. Tap Video .
  3. Tap Settings.
  4. In Video Devices, tap to select the desired video device.
  5. In Settings, tap Video.
  6. Tap Image Settings.
  7. In Advanced Image Settings:
    • Use the Night Vision Sensitivity dropdown menu to select High, Normal, or Low.
    • Use the Max Exposure dropdown menu to select Automatic, or choose from a range between 1/5 second and 1/480 second.
       
      Note: When HDR is enabled on compatible cameras, the exposure setting is set to Automatic and cannot be manually changed. The VDB755P and VDB750 will always be Automatic as HDR cannot be turned off for those models.
       
  8. In Image Quality:
    • Use the Brightness slider to adjust the brightness.
    • Use the Contrast slider to adjust the contrast.
    • Use the Saturation slider to adjust the saturation.
    • Use the Sharpness slider to adjust the sharpness.
  9. Tap Save.
Alarm.com customer website
  1. Log in to the Alarm.com customer website.
  2. Click Video.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Select the desired video device.
  5. Click Video.
  6. Click Image Settings.
  7. In Advanced Image Settings:
    • Use the Night Vision Sensitivity dropdown menu to select High, Normal, or Low.
    • Use the Max Exposure dropdown menu to select Automatic, or choose from a range between 1/5 second and 1/480 second.
       
      Note: When HDR is enabled on compatible cameras, the exposure setting is set to Automatic and cannot be manually changed. The VDB755P and VDB750 will always be Automatic as HDR cannot be turned off for those models.
       
  8. In Image Quality:
    • Use the Brightness slider to adjust the brightness.
    • Use the Contrast slider to adjust the contrast.
    • Use the Saturation slider to adjust the saturation.
    • Use the Sharpness slider to adjust the sharpness.
  9. Click Save.

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  1. Article type
    Troubleshooting
    Product area
    Video
  2. Tags
    1. indoors
    2. infrared
    3. night
    4. outdoors