Common problems

[Frankthedoc]

This post is intended to help those struggling to get motioneyeos working and to provide information for the FAQ. I think this is fantastic software, very user friendly and tweakable compared to my experience of the software that comes bundled with cameras. Thank you Calin.

My system:
1080p unbranded starlight camera, IP wired interface, RSTP communication
Anran H264 IR switching camera, IP wired interface, RSTP communication
100Mbit domestic wired network
Raspbery Pi B+, upgraded to Odroid XU4 (32GB SD card)

Issue 1 - Raspberry Pi won't boot, rainbow screen. Tried different SD cards, tried different image writing software. Root cause - wrong image downloaded due to me thinking I had taken a Pi 2 out of the toy box. The Pi+ (v1.2) looks very much like the Pi 2, but has a different CPU. Solution - download correct image.
Issue 2 - Horrific time lag on system when using motion detection - up to two minutes between motion detection and image capture. Tried reducing frame rate and resolution dimmers, but couldn't find a usable compromise. Root cause - motion detection is CPU-intensive; I don't think the basic Pi has the computing power to process HD images for motion in real time. Solution - there are various benchmark scores available on the internet for the hardware that is supported by motioneyeos. I bought an Odroid XU4 as it is the most powerful on the list, but a Pi 3 might have worked fine.
Issue 3 - Pixellated noise, stripes and repeated blocks on the captured images. This is something that occurred a lot when I used the Pi+ and also when I tried reducing the camera resolution via the Odroid. Root cause is beyond my ability to prove, but I suspect it is an overloading of the CPU again. Solution - I've reverted back to using the camera's native resolution and have reduced the number of captured images per event in order to save space in my inbox. I've also temporarily disabled the IR camera while the system settles down. I've also disabled the internal two camera interfaces that switched on automatically with the Odroid.
Issue 4 - I'm embarrassed to admit this, but when I switched from the Pi to the Odroid, I couldn't understand why the settings were hidden. Root cause - the PC I was using had stored my admin log-in for the Pi and I had become so used to having the settings available every time that I didn't realise that I was using the system at a privileged level. Solution - after 24 hours of annoyance, rebooting and re-imaging of the Odroid, I logged in by clicking on the "blue man" icon on the screen. Argh!
Issue 5 - For one of my cameras (the Anran) I got a grey screen and "Cannot connect to device" message. Root cause - the Anran has two output streams (low and high resolution), but one address. The user must choose one of these streams in order to view anything, and the rstp URL syntax for this is quite specific. Solution - put all of the URL syntax into the the IP camera address, including the user and password options, then leave the user and password boxes blank. Success!

[ccrisan]

Thanks. Parts of this will go to the "official" wiki.