Troubleshooting playback issues with MOBOTIX IoT cameras using decentralised recording
Introduction
This guide applies exclusively to MOBOTIX IoT cameras (M1x, D1x, Q1x, S1x, T2x, v26, x6, etc.) that manage and store their recordings independently.
With this decentralised recording concept, storage is handled directly by the camera:
- on the internal SD card or
- on an external file system (NAS/file server) via SMB or NFS.
Recording management, archiving and playback organisation are handled entirely by the camera. MxManagementCenter (MxMC) serves solely as a client for accessing live images and recordings.
The recordings are based on the MOBOTIX MxPEG codec and are not managed by centralised recording software.
This guide expressly does not apply to MOBOTIX MOVE cameras.
With MOBOTIX MOVE systems, recording is usually carried out via centralised video management or recording software (e.g. MOBOTIX HUB, Milestone, Nx Witness or other VMS solutions). In these architectures, the causes of playback issues often lie with the recording server, the database or the central archive and must therefore be analysed differently.
As MxManagementCenter does not store any video data itself, playback issues can be caused by the camera, the archive, the network, the storage medium or the client PC.
The following checklist will help you to systematically narrow down the actual cause.
1. Camera settings relevant to recording
Please provide the following parameters for the camera(s) in question:
- Camera model
- Firmware version
- Image size (pixels)
- JPEG quality (%)
- Frame rate (fps)
- Live or full-screen recording
- Average data rate of the recording (if known)
2. Recording type
- Continuous recording or event-based recording
- Estimated number of events per day
- Does the problem affect all recordings or only certain time periods?
- Does the problem affect one or more cameras?
3. Archive configuration
-
Internal SD card or external archive
-
Archive type:
- SMB
- NFS
-
Archive size
-
Retention period (days)
-
Number of archive sequences
-
Status of the archive at the time of the error:
- Newly created
- Partially full
- Almost full
-
Are any archive warnings or errors displayed on the camera?
4. Storage device
-
Type of NAS / file server
-
Manufacturer and model
-
Available storage capacity
-
Number of MOBOTIX cameras recording simultaneously
-
RAID configuration (if applicable)
-
Network connection between camera and NAS:
- 100 Mbit
- 1 Gbit
5. Narrowing down the problem
Please test the following access methods:
| Access method | Result |
|---|---|
| Browser accessing the camera directly | OK / Not OK |
| MxMC Playback via the camera | OK / Not OK |
| MxMC Playback via network share | OK / Not OK |
| MxMC Playback via mounted drive (type ‘Local’) | OK / Not OK |
| Another camera in the same archive | OK / Not OK |
6. Client PC (MxMC)
- MxMC version
- Windows version
- RAM
- Graphics card
- Local user or domain user
- Does the problem occur on several PCs?
- Does playback work on another computer?
7. Playback client’s network connection
- 1 Gbit LAN
- 100 Mbit LAN
- Wi-Fi
- VPN connection
If known:
- Network utilisation
- Packet loss
- High latency
8. MxMC HealthCheck and infrastructure check
Before carrying out an in-depth analysis of playback issues, an MxMC HealthCheck should be performed on the affected cameras.
The HealthCheck serves to assess the general condition of the camera and to identify potential causes of faulty or incomplete recordings at an early stage.
As MOBOTIX IoT cameras manage their recordings independently, problems can be caused by both the storage medium and the network connection to the archive.
Checking the storage system
For cameras with local SD card recording, particular attention should be paid to the following points:
- SD card status
- Signs of SD card wear and tear
- Archive status
- HealthCheck warnings
- Camera reboots or watchdog events
- Errors in the camera log
A worn-out or faulty SD card can result in damaged, incomplete or missing recordings.
Checking the network connection
For cameras with NAS-based recording (SMB/NFS), the entire transmission chain between the camera and the storage device must also be checked.
The following points should be checked:
- Whether the NAS is accessible from the camera’s perspective
- Network stability between the camera and the NAS
- Packet loss
- High latency
- Duplex or link speed issues
- Switch port errors
- Overloaded network segments
- Brief connection interruptions
- SMB or NFS error messages in the camera log
Further questions to help narrow down the issue
- Are other cameras on the same NAS recording without any issues?
- Do the gaps in the archive occur on several cameras at the same time?
- Are there any network warnings or switch messages at the same time?
- Has the camera’s actual network connection been checked (100 Mbit / 1 Gbit)?
- Are SMB or NFS timeouts being logged?
Background
MxManagementCenter does not store any video data itself. The recordings are managed by the MOBOTIX IoT camera and stored either locally on an SD card or on a NAS system.
If the camera is unable to write reliably to the NAS due to network issues, this can result in gaps in the archive or corrupted sequences. These often only become apparent during subsequent playback in the browser or MxMC and are therefore frequently misinterpreted as a pure playback issue.
When dealing with NAS-based archives, it is therefore important to always consider the entire system chain:
Camera → Network → Switch → NAS → MxMC Client
and not just MxMC or the storage medium itself.
9. Actions already taken
- Restarted the camera
- Restarted the NAS
- Restarted MxMC
- Created a new MxMC project
- Deleted the local MxMC configuration
- Performed an archive check
- Completely deleted and rebuilt the archive
- Updated the firmware
- Tested a different version of MxMC
10. Error description
Please describe the issue as accurately as possible:
- Black screen
- Grey screen
- No timeline
- Missing sequences
- Long loading times
- MxMC crashes
- Playback works in the browser but not in MxMC
- Playback works via the camera but not via the network share
- Playback only works on certain PCs
Recommendation
Before carrying out any further fault analysis, you should always check the following:
- The camera’s HealthCheck status
- The condition of the recording medium
- The network quality between the camera and the archive
- Any error or warning messages in the camera log
- Whether playback works correctly directly via the browser
Only once these components are working correctly should you look for the cause in the MxMC client or in the local MxMC configuration.