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Night-time image quality is poor

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Symptoms

  • Video is sharp during the day but grainy, blocky, or washed out at night
  • Detections degrade after dark

Cause

Night scenes are harder: infra-red lighting, reflections, and higher compression all reduce image quality, which in turn reduces detection reliability.

Resolution

  1. Clean the camera dome or lens — IR reflects off dust and smears badly.
  2. Remove or angle away reflective surfaces close to the camera.
  3. Check that nearby lighting has not changed (a new lamp or a failed one both matter).
  4. If the image is blocky rather than grainy, raise the bitrate cap for the night profile.

Verification

The night image is usable for a full evening and detections return to normal.

Escalate if

Quality stays poor after cleaning and lighting checks — the camera may need repositioning or a setting change from seeo support.