Cameras & doorbells

[RJ34120]

I have a new Outdoor Camera setup at our home in Florida.  I have the camera with a solar panel and a subscription. 

The first issue I have been noticing is that when motion is detected and recorded, the first part of the recording is not captured.  The camera views a small patio area outside our screened pool cage and when animals cross in front of the camera it gets the video beginning with the animal halfway across the patio.  The video makes it look like the animal suddenly appears halfway across the patio.  Other cameras I've had would constantly record and then back up and start to save the video a few seconds before the motion was sensed.  Can Roku cameras be set to do this?

The second issue is that when I have the camera set to AUTO for night vision, the recordings are distorted as the camera switches from ON to OFF as they switch from color to B&W.

The most notable examples of these problems are when large cats, Florida Panthers and Bobcats, visit at night.  I get videos, but they are mostly useless due to the AUTO setting and the switching it does between modes.  Also, the animals are spooked when the camera starts clicking when the relay inside the camera do their work switching between modes.  I can leave it set to ON, but I get 100% B&W.

I have examples of the videos produced by the camera but don't know how to attach them.

[RokuEuniceL]

Hi @RJ34120,

Thanks for posting here in the Roku Community!

We're glad to assist you with your problem with motion detection with your Roku outdoor camera. We'd like to know more about it so we can further assist you.

• When did this issue occur?
• How far is your Roku outdoor camera from the Wi-Fi network?
• Can you send us a photo instead? (You can attach from this community thread.) You should see that icon on top of the text that you'll write.

In the meantime, please try to restart your modem and router to help clear the cache and improve internet speeds. Also, please try restarting your Roku outdoor camera and ensuring that the firmware is up-to-date.

We'll be waiting for your updates.

Kind regards,

Eunice

[RJ34120]

This is a still from the video which starts out black, switches to night vision and then black again.  I'd love to send you the videos that show the problems with AUTO set.  Issue occurred 9-14-2023.  The camera is new, and this video was taken withing a few days to a week of mounting the camera.  It works fine with the exception of missing the initial motion and not being able to use AUTO mode.  I get a strong signal and the firmware is all up to date.

[RokuTakashi]

Thanks for keeping us posted, @RJ34120 

Since you've mentioned that the camera only records motions that are detected in the middle view it might be that your camera is positioned to have a wide view but only detects motion in a specific area. The detection zone feature allows you to define a specific area where your device will detect movement. Everything outside of the zone is ignored and will not trigger an event recording.

You can define the motion detection zone in the smart home app.

1. Tap Home from the navigation bar
2. Select your camera or doorbell
3. Tap Settings in the corner
4. Tap Detection settings
5. Tap Detection zone
6. Toggle the detection zone on
7. Tap and drag to select the motion detection zone
8. You can tap Undo to revert recent changes or tap Clear to remove all selected grids

Please keep us posted on what you find out. 

All the best,
Kash

[RJ34120]

If you look at the still frame (photo) that I uploaded, you can see the green box defining my motion sensing area.  I don't think that is the problem.

[RJ34120]

I added 32GB sd cards to my outdoor camera and the base.  The app recognizes both the sd cards and shows 0 of 29.71GB and I formatted them using the Roku App, but I don't see any options anywhere to set up continuous recording.

[RokuERey · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the update, @RJ34120!

A few keys to note: Roku Outdoor Camera SE is not available for continuous recording due to potential battery drain. However, you can still set up a scheduled recording if you'd like. For more information, we have our support page here that can help you: How to set up and view recordings on your Roku Smart Home camera or video doorbell.

Thanks,

Rey

[RJ34120]

It seems strange that the SD card continuous recording is not available since I have a solar panel attached to the camera.  It also seems strange that I have to get on a ladder to pull the card to see its contents.  Maybe this can be changed in a software update?  I still have an unresolved problem with the AUTO setting on the camera.  I had an 8 second video of a Florida Panther and about 1-2 seconds was visible, the rest was ruined by the mode switching back and forth.  On top of that the audible clicks scared the cat away!