CPU usage over 110% and very bad video quality

[cy2201]

0. Reviewed guide and contributing documents? (Yes/No): Yes
1. version [x.y.z, hash, other]: 4.4.0
2. installed as a package or compiled from sources [deb, rpm, git, other]: deb
3. standalone or part of third party [motion, MotionEyeOS, other]: standalone motion
4. video stream source [V4L (card or USB), net cam (mjpeg, rtsp, other), mmal]: 1. cam: Raspberry Pi Camera and 2. cam: RTSP (tapo C200)
5. hardware [x86, ARM, other]: Raspberrry Pi 4 Model B Rev. 1.4 with 4 GB RAM
6. operating system [16.04, Stretch, etc, FreeBSD, other]: Raspbian Buster

Introduction

Hi, I installed motion on a Raspbian, Raspberry Pi 4 and I'm facing performance and video quality problems. First of all, I use motion since 5 years and never had a fluent video but that was okay for my purposes. All my videos are stuttering.

I setup a new Raspberry system and have more problems with stuttering, bad focus and high CPU usage.

Here are zipped videos recorded with a Raspberry Pi Camera V2.1:
videos.zip

In the first video you can see I am "jumping". I'm missing frames in the video. And the videos are not sharp although I use V2.1 camera. The second camera has a good quality but the videos are stuttering too, it's like frame jumping.

My config:

motion starts as cronjob after reboot. @reboot motion in crontab -e.

/etc/motion/motion.conf:

# Start in daemon (background) mode and release terminal.
daemon on

# Start in Setup-Mode, daemon disabled.
setup_mode off

# File to write logs messages into.  If not defined stderr and syslog is used.
log_file /home/pi/motion/motion.log

# Level of log messages [1..9] (EMG, ALR, CRT, ERR, WRN, NTC, INF, DBG, ALL).
log_level 6

# Target directory for pictures, snapshots and movies
target_dir /home/pi/motion

# Text to be overlayed in the lower left corner of images
text_left Frame: %q | FPS: %{fps}

# Text to be overlayed in the lower right corner of images.
text_right %d.%m.%Y\n%T

# Always save pictures and movies even if there was no motion.
emulate_motion off

# Despeckle the image using (E/e)rode or (D/d)ilate or (l)abel.
despeckle_filter EedDl

# Number of images that must contain motion to trigger an event.
minimum_motion_frames 1

# Gap in seconds of no motion detected that triggers the end of an event.
event_gap 60

# The number of pre-captured (buffered) pictures from before motion.
pre_capture 3

# Number of frames to capture after motion is no longer detected.
post_capture 2

# Command to be executed when a movie file is closed.
on_movie_end /home/pi/rasp_motion_scripts/gdrive_uploader.sh %f subfolder

# Output pictures when motion is detected
picture_output off

# File name(without extension) for pictures relative to target directory
picture_filename %Y%m%d%H%M%S-%q

# Create movies of motion events.
movie_output on

# Maximum length of movie in seconds.
movie_max_time 30

# The encoding quality of the movie. (0=use bitrate. 1=worst quality, 100=best)
movie_quality 60

# Container/Codec to used for the movie. See motion_guide.html
movie_codec mkv

# File name(without extension) for movies relative to target directory
movie_filename %Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S-cam%t

# Port number used for the webcontrol.
webcontrol_port 8080

# Restrict webcontrol connections to the localhost.
webcontrol_localhost on

# Type of configuration options to allow via the webcontrol.
webcontrol_parms 0

text_scale 2
text_changes on
locate_motion_mode on
locate_motion_style redbox

camera /etc/motion/camera1.conf
camera /etc/motion/camera2.conf

/etc/motion/camera1.conf:

camera_name RPI Cam
camera_id 101
video_device /dev/video0
width 1280
height 720
framerate 40
threshold 8000

# Stream
stream_port 8081
stream_localhost on
stream_authentication user:pass
stream_quality 40
stream_maxrate 15

/etc/motion/camera2.conf:

camera_name tapo C200
camera_id 102

# this is actually the high resolution URL of TAPO C200. rtsp://192.168.1.38/stream2 is the low quality URL
netcam_url rtsp://192.168.1.38/stream1
netcam_userpass camera:aaa00587809

width 1920
height 1080
framerate 24
threshold 5000

text_right ""

# Stream
stream_port 8082
stream_localhost on
stream_authentication user:pass
stream_quality 40
stream_maxrate 20

Logs

motion.log:

motion.log

top output:

top.txt

Questions

1. Is the CPU usage normal? It's always between 80 and 150 %.
2. How can I improve the outputted video quality of both cameras?
3. Is my config okay?

Thanks a lot.

[Mr-Dave]

I'd say to try the passthrough option on the second camera. Also may want to use htop to see what thread is consuming the most. My guess is that it is for the second camera. The cpu levels seem fairly typical since decoding a 1920x1080 x264 image at 24fps is a big processing load.

[cy2201]

ps.txt

Thx. But what do you mean with passthrough? Do you mean the movie_passthrough option in motion? I can try.

But what about the general problems with video quality and stuttering? I have these issues with one camera only, too.

Thanks.

[Mr-Dave]

I'd say to start with just the PI camera and then move on to adding the other. My first observation is that the PI cam resolution is terrible. My camera on a zero doesn't look nearly that bad. Since you are buster, and using the project release deb, you can use the mmal options. Otherwise perhaps setting of the options in video_params may improve the colors, etc.

Next, looking at the htop, I'd recommend showing the thread names. F2/Display Options/Show Custom Thread Names The thread names can provide insight into any bottlenecks.

Next, on the config, you may want to also revise the post_capture to something like 60. That can sometimes help make a better movie

Finally, yes the movie_passthrough is the option I was referring to which would be used for the rtsp camera.

[cy2201]

I set post_capture to 60.

camera1.conf is now:

camera_name RPI Cam
camera_id 101
video_device /dev/video0
width 1280
height 720
framerate 40
threshold 8000

# Stream
stream_port 8081
stream_localhost on
stream_authentication user:pass
stream_quality 40
stream_maxrate 15

# added new
mmalcam_name vc.ril.camera
auto_brightness 1

camera2.conf:

camera_name tapo C200
camera_id 102

netcam_url rtsp://192.168.1.38/stream2
# added new
netcam_high_url rtsp://192.168.1.38/stream1
netcam_userpass user:pass

width 1920
height 1080
framerate 24
threshold 5000

text_right ""

# Stream
stream_port 8082
stream_localhost on
stream_authentication user:pass
stream_quality 40
stream_maxrate 20

# added new
movie_passthrough on

The video of the netcam is more fluent now. But CPU usage is between 140 and 200 % now.

The video quality of the RPI cam is still bad. I shot a photo with raspistill. No difference. Is the cam broken? Or do I have to install additional software / drivers maybe? I have other RPI cams but their images / videos are not ugly like of this one.

Edit: Since I set netcam_high_url I see this message in log:

[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:28:11] netcam_rtsp_ntc: The network camera is sending pictures in a different
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:28:11] netcam_rtsp_ntc: size than specified in the configuration file.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:28:11] netcam_rtsp_ntc: The picture is being transcoded into the size 
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:28:11] netcam_rtsp_ntc: requested in the configuration.  If possible change
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:28:11] netcam_rtsp_ntc: netcam or configuration to indicate the same size
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:28:11] netcam_rtsp_ntc: to possibly lower CPU usage.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:28:11] netcam_rtsp_ntc: Netcam: 640 x 360 => Config: 1920 x 1080

Last full log:

[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_startup: Motion 4.4.0 Started
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_startup: Using default log type (ALL)
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_startup: Using log type (ALL) log level (INF)
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] become_daemon: Motion going to daemon mode
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_startup: Motion running as daemon process
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] conf_output_parms: Writing configuration parameters from all files (3):
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] Thread 0 - Config file: /etc/motion/motion.conf
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] daemon                    on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] setup_mode                off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] pid_file                  
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] log_file                  /home/pi/motion/motion.log
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] log_level                 7
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] log_type                  ALL
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] quiet                     on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] native_language           on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] watchdog_tmo              30
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] watchdog_kill             10
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] camera_name               
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] camera_id                 0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] target_dir                /home/pi/motion
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] video_device              /dev/video0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] video_params              
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] auto_brightness           0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] tuner_device              
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] roundrobin_frames         1
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] roundrobin_skip           1
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] roundrobin_switchfilter   off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_url                
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_params             
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_high_url           
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_high_params        
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_userpass           
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] mmalcam_name              
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] mmalcam_params            
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] width                     640
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] height                    480
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] framerate                 15
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] minimum_frame_time        0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] rotate                    0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] flip_axis                 none
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] locate_motion_mode        on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] locate_motion_style       redbox
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] text_left                 Frame: %q | FPS: %{fps}
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] text_right                %d.%m.%Y\n%T
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] text_changes              on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] text_scale                2
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] text_event                %Y%m%d%H%M%S
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] emulate_motion            off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] pause                     off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] threshold                 1500
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] threshold_maximum         0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] threshold_tune            off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] noise_level               32
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] noise_tune                on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] despeckle_filter          EedDl
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] area_detect               
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] mask_file                 
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] mask_privacy              
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] smart_mask_speed          0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] lightswitch_percent       0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] lightswitch_frames        5
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] minimum_motion_frames     1
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] event_gap                 60
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] pre_capture               20
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] post_capture              60
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_event_start            
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_event_end              
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_picture_save           
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_area_detected          
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_motion_detected        
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_movie_start            
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_movie_end              /home/pi/rasp_motion_scripts/gdrive_uploader.sh %f subfolder
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_camera_lost            
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] on_camera_found           
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] picture_output            off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] picture_output_motion     off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] picture_type              jpeg
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] picture_quality           75
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] picture_exif              
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] picture_filename          %Y%m%d%H%M%S-%q
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] snapshot_interval         0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] snapshot_filename         %v-%Y%m%d%H%M%S-snapshot
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_output              on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_output_motion       off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_max_time            30
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_bps                 400000
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_quality             60
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_codec               mkv
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_duplicate_frames    off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_passthrough         off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_filename            %Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S-cam%t
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_extpipe_use         off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_extpipe             
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] timelapse_interval        0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] timelapse_mode            daily
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] timelapse_fps             30
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] timelapse_codec           mpg
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] timelapse_filename        %Y%m%d-timelapse
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] video_pipe                
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] video_pipe_motion         
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_port           8080
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_ipv6           off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_localhost      on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_parms          0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_interface      0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_auth_method    0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_authentication 
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_tls            off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_cert           
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_key            
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_header_params  
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_lock_minutes   5
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_lock_attempts  5
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webcontrol_lock_max_ips   25
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_port               0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_localhost          on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_auth_method        0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_authentication     
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_tls                off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_header_params      
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_preview_scale      25
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_preview_newline    off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_preview_method     0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_quality            50
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_grey               off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_motion             off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_maxrate            1
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_limit              0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] database_type             
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] database_dbname           
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] database_host             localhost
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] database_port             0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] database_user             
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] database_password         
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] database_busy_timeout     0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] sql_log_picture           off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] sql_log_snapshot          off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] sql_log_movie             off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] sql_log_timelapse         off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] sql_query_start           
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] sql_query_stop            
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] sql_query                 
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_type                0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_auto                off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_port                
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_motorx              0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_motorx_reverse      off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_motory              0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_motory_reverse      off
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_maxx                0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_minx                0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_maxy                0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_miny                0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_homex               128
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_homey               128
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_iomojo_id           0
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_step_angle_x        10
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_step_angle_y        10
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_move_wait           10
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_speed               255
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_stepsize            40
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] track_generic_move        
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] camera                    
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] camera_dir                
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] Thread 1 - Config file: /etc/motion/camera1.conf
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] camera_name               RPI Cam
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] camera_id                 101
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] auto_brightness           1
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] mmalcam_name              vc.ril.camera
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] width                     1280
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] height                    720
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] framerate                 40
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] threshold                 8000
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_port               8081
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_authentication     <redacted>
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_quality            40
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_maxrate            15
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] Thread 2 - Config file: /etc/motion/camera2.conf
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] camera_name               tapo C200
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] camera_id                 102
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_url                <redacted>
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_high_url           <redacted>
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_userpass           <redacted>
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] width                     1920
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] height                    1080
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] framerate                 24
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] threshold                 5000
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] movie_passthrough         on
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_port               8082
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_authentication     <redacted>
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_quality            40
[0:motion] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] stream_maxrate            20
[0:motion] [NTC] [STR] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webu_start_strm: Starting camera 101 stream on port 8081
[0:motion] [NTC] [STR] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webu_strm_ntc: Started camera 101 stream on port 8081
[0:motion] [NTC] [STR] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webu_start_strm: Starting camera 102 stream on port 8082
[0:motion] [NTC] [STR] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webu_strm_ntc: Started camera 102 stream on port 8082
[0:motion] [NTC] [STR] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webu_start_ctrl: Starting webcontrol on port 8080
[0:motion] [NTC] [STR] [Nov 26 05:29:18] webu_start_ctrl: Started webcontrol on port 8080
[0:motion] [NTC] [ENC] [Nov 26 05:29:18] ffmpeg_global_init: ffmpeg libavcodec version 58.35.100 libavformat version 58.20.100
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] translate_init: Language: English
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_start_thread: Camera ID: 101 is from /etc/motion/camera1.conf
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_start_thread: Camera ID: 101 Camera Name: RPI Cam Device: /dev/video0
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_start_thread: Camera ID: 102 is from /etc/motion/camera2.conf
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_start_thread: Camera ID: 102 Camera Name: tapo C200 Service: rtsp:
[1:ml1:RPI Cam] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_init: Camera 101 started: motion detection Enabled
[1:ml1:RPI Cam] [NTC] [VID] [Nov 26 05:29:18] vid_start: Opening MMAL cam
[1:ml1:RPI Cam] [NTC] [VID] [Nov 26 05:29:18] mmalcam_start: MMAL Camera thread starting... for camera (vc.ril.camera) of 1280 x 720 at 40 fps
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] main: Waiting for threads to finish, pid: 4267
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:18] motion_init: Camera 102 started: motion detection Enabled
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [VID] [Nov 26 05:29:18] vid_start: Opening Netcam RTSP
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_rtsp_set_parms: Setting up norm stream.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_rtsp_set_path: Setting up rtsp via netcam
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_rtsp_set_options: norm: Setting rtsp/rtmp
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_rtsp_set_options: norm: option: rtsp_transport = tcp
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:18] netcam_rtsp_set_options: norm: option: allowed_media_types = video
[1:ml1:RPI Cam] [WRN] [VID] [Nov 26 05:29:18] set_video_port_format: A high frame rate can cause problems with exposure of images
[1:ml1:RPI Cam] [WRN] [VID] [Nov 26 05:29:18] set_video_port_format: If autoexposure is not working, try a lower frame rate.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:19] netcam_rtsp_open_context: norm: Opened camera(tapo C200)
[1:ml1:RPI Cam] [NTC] [VID] [Nov 26 05:29:19] create_camera_component: MMAL camera component created
[1:ml1:RPI Cam] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:19] image_ring_resize: Resizing pre_capture buffer to 1 items
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:19] main: Threads finished
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:19] main: Motion terminating
[0:motion] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:19] motion_remove_pid: Closing logfile (/home/pi/motion/motion.log).
[1:ml1:RPI Cam] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:19] image_ring_resize: Resizing pre_capture buffer to 21 items
[2:av0:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_hwdecoders: norm: HW Devices: 
[2:av0:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_hwdecoders: norm: vdpau (not implemented)
[2:av0:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_hwdecoders: norm: vaapi (available)
[2:av0:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_hwdecoders: norm: drm (not implemented)
[2:av0:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_init_swdecoder: norm: Initializing decoder
[2:av0:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_open_codec: norm: Decoder opened
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [ENC] [Nov 26 05:29:21] ffmpeg_avcodec_log: deprecated pixel format used, make sure you did set range correctly
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_read_image: norm: capture_rate not specified in netcam_params. Using 16
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: 
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: ******************************************************
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: The network camera is sending pictures in a different
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: size than specified in the configuration file.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: The picture is being transcoded into the size 
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: requested in the configuration.  If possible change
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: netcam or configuration to indicate the same size
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: to possibly lower CPU usage.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: Netcam: 640 x 360 => Config: 1920 x 1080
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: ******************************************************
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_ntc: 
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_set_parms: Setting up highres stream.
[3:nc3:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_handler: norm: Camera handler thread [3] started
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] util_check_passthrough: pass-through enabled.
[3:nc3:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_set_options: norm: Setting rtsp/rtmp
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_set_path: Setting up rtsp via netcam
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_set_options: highres: Setting rtsp/rtmp
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_set_options: highres: option: rtsp_transport = tcp
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_set_options: highres: option: allowed_media_types = video
[3:nc3:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_open_context: norm: Opened camera(tapo C200)
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:21] netcam_rtsp_open_context: highres: Opened camera(tapo C200)
[2:av0:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_init_swdecoder: highres: Initializing decoder
[2:av0:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_open_codec: highres: Decoder opened
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_copy_stream: Stream copied for pass-through
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_read_image: highres: capture_rate not specified in netcam_params. Using 16
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [CRT] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] motion_init: Substream not available.  Image sizes not modulo 16.
[4:nc4:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_handler: highres: Camera handler thread [4] started
[4:nc4:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_set_options: highres: Setting rtsp/rtmp
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:23] image_ring_resize: Resizing pre_capture buffer to 1 items
[3:av3:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_init_swdecoder: norm: Initializing decoder
[3:av3:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_open_codec: norm: Decoder opened
[3:nc3:tapo C200] [INF] [ENC] [Nov 26 05:29:23] ffmpeg_avcodec_log: deprecated pixel format used, make sure you did set range correctly
[4:nc4:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_open_context: highres: Opened camera(tapo C200)
[3:nc3:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_connect: norm: Camera (tapo C200) connected
[3:nc3:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_connect: norm: Netcam capture_rate is 16.
[3:nc3:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:23] netcam_rtsp_connect: norm: Camera source is 15 FPS
[4:av4:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:25] netcam_init_swdecoder: highres: Initializing decoder
[4:av4:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:25] netcam_rtsp_open_codec: highres: Decoder opened
[4:nc4:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:25] netcam_rtsp_copy_stream: Stream copied for pass-through
[4:nc4:tapo C200] [NTC] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:25] netcam_rtsp_connect: highres: Camera (tapo C200) connected
[4:nc4:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:25] netcam_rtsp_connect: highres: Netcam capture_rate is 16.
[4:nc4:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:25] netcam_rtsp_connect: highres: Camera source is 15 FPS
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:27] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 66
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:27] image_ring_resize: Resizing pre_capture buffer to 21 items
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:28] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 82
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:28] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 84
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:28] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 88
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:28] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 92
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:28] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 96
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:28] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 100
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:28] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 104
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:28] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 106
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 110
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 114
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 116
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 120
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 122
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 126
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 130
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 132
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 136
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:29] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 138
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:30] netcam_rtsp_pktarray_resize: highres: Resized packet array to 142
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:33] motion_detected: Motion detected - starting event 1
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [EVT] [Nov 26 05:29:33] event_ffmpeg_newfile: Source FPS 17
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:29:33] util_check_passthrough: pass-through enabled.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ENC] [Nov 26 05:29:33] ffmpeg_passthru_codec: pass-through mode enabled.  Changing to MP4 container.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [ENC] [Nov 26 05:29:33] ffmpeg_passthru_codec: Pass-through stream opened
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [EVT] [Nov 26 05:29:33] event_newfile: Writing movie to file: /home/pi/motion/2021-11-26_05-29-31-cam102.mp4
[0:st0] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:40] webu_answer_strm: Connection from: 127.0.0.1
[0:st0] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:29:48] webu_answer_strm: Connection from: 127.0.0.1
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:30:38] mlp_actions: End of event 1
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:36:40] motion_detected: Motion detected - starting event 2
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [EVT] [Nov 26 05:36:40] event_ffmpeg_newfile: Source FPS 19
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [NET] [Nov 26 05:36:40] util_check_passthrough: pass-through enabled.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ENC] [Nov 26 05:36:40] ffmpeg_passthru_codec: pass-through mode enabled.  Changing to MP4 container.
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [INF] [ENC] [Nov 26 05:36:40] ffmpeg_passthru_codec: Pass-through stream opened
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [EVT] [Nov 26 05:36:40] event_newfile: Writing movie to file: /home/pi/motion/2021-11-26_05-36-39-cam102.mp4
[2:ml2:tapo C200] [NTC] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:38:08] mlp_actions: End of event 2
[0:st0] [INF] [ALL] [Nov 26 05:39:38] webu_answer_strm: Connection from: 127.0.0.1

[Mr-Dave]

You can try:

1. Lowering the frame rate on the Pi camera and that could improve the images as well as performance.
2. Once the url was changed on the camera to low res, motion is now resizing the images which takes a lot of CPU so change the resolution to match the camera.
3. Should consider lowering the stream_maxrate the default is 1 but it has been increased significantly.
4. This is running as a daemon so ensure that the all prior instances are manually killed before starting a new instance.

[cy2201]

Thanks. CPU usage is between 30 and 50 % now. But the quality of the first cam is still very bad. I think this is a hardware issue, not motion related.