[Linux-based NVR] Why is the video playback choppy or jumpy when using the fast-forward function?

Question

Why is the video playback choppy or jumpy when using the fast-forward function?

Answer

Considering the performance of Linux-based NVRs (ND series), these NVRs are designed to play only I-frames when the playback speed is higher than 1x to reduce their processing load. If camera-specific settings or an NVR setting are configured to reduce the number of I-frames in order to lower bandwidth, it will cause more significant choppy or jumpy playback.

To minimize choppy or jumpy playback, you can adjust the following camera settings and an NVR setting:

• Turn off "Dynamic Intra Frame Period" of the recording stream (default is Stream 1) for the cameras.
• Lower the "Intra frame period" to add more I frames per second in the video recordings for the cameras. (This will increase camera load and may cause frame drop.)
• Turn off "Activity Adaptive Streaming (AAS)" on the NVRs.

Turn off "Dynamic Intra Frame Period" for the camera:

You can turn off "Dynamic Intra Frame Period" on the camera:

1. Access the camera configuration interface and navigate to "Configuration > Media > Video".

2. Select the "Stream" tab which will show all streams available in the camera.

3. Click on "Video Settings for Stream 1" to access the configurations for Stream 1 used for recording.

4. Uncheck "Dynamic Intra Frame Period" to disable the I-frame reduction feature. 

You can also turn off "Dynamic Intra Frame Period" for the camera on the NVRs:

1. Access the ND configuration interface and navigate to "Camera > Media."

2. Select the camera whose configurations you want to change, and click on "Video" to modify its settings.

3. In the "Main stream" section, uncheck the "Dynamic Intra Frame Period" feature.

Lower the "Intra frame period" for the camera:

Please note that this will increase the number of I-frames in the video and enhance smoothness, but it will also increase camera loading to cause frame drop.

You can change the "Intra frame period" value to 1/2 S or 1/4 S on the camera. 

You can also change the "Intra frame period" value to 1/2 S or 1/4 S from the NVR for the camera. 

Turn off "Activity Adaptive Streaming (AAS)" on the NVR:

When turning on the "Activity Adaptive Streaming" on the NVR, the NVR will not record I frames when there is no motion, so the lack of I frames will cause choppy or jumpy playback while using fast-forward function. You can turn off AAS on the NVR for the camera as the following steps:

1. Access the ND configuration interface and navigate to "Camera" > "Recording".

2. Select the camera whose configurations you want to change, and click on "Recording option" to uncheck the "Activity Adaptive Streaming (AAS)" option.