Security Camera Video Loss: Reasons & Solutions

Security Camera Video Loss: Reasons & Solutions

Video loss is an extremely common occurrence in the realm of CCTV and surveillance footage. Seemingly for no reason, your video feeds, be they IP or analog cameras, can experience a loss of footage. A message will show on your monitor that the feed has been interrupted, or the feed will appear black on your screen. What could cause something like this to happen? This guide will explore more into the most common problems and what you can do to diagnose them

Related: How VMS Solutions Enhance Municipal Surveillance

What Does Video Loss With Security Cameras Mean And How It Can Affect Your Home Or Business

When you lose your security camera feed, this means that your recorder isn’t receiving signals from your cameras. A few things may happen when you lose your feed. If your security system loses one or all of the video signals, it may appear as a “signal lost,” “no video,” or a similar message, or your screen may turn black altogether.  

This problem can happen regardless of what surveillance system you have. It can affect  HD-TVI, DVR, HD-CVI, AHD, IP, and NVR video types equally.  In short, this means that the signal or feed isn’t reaching your recording device. This is a big problem that either means the camera is not emitting a signal, or it is being interrupted in some way while in transit to your receiver. 

Related: Types Of Surveillance Systems

Common Reasons For Video Loss With Security Cameras And Their Fixes

There are a few common reasons for video loss that can be frustrating and expensive to remedy. But it will be important to get your system up and running again to keep your business operating smoothly and safely. 

Issues With The Cables Or Wiring

Issues With The Cables Or Wiring

If your signal is interrupted along the way to your receiver, you may have issues with your cables or wiring leading to the recording device. Cables are essential in CCTV operations, and if one cable is damaged, it can ruin the feed. These may either be ethernet or coaxial cables affecting the function. 

Cameras that require a hard-wired connection are much more apt to experience video loss. However, cord and cable problems can cause issues with almost every system type. Here are some of the best ways to diagnose and fix cable issues: 

  • Check all cables to make sure they aren’t twisted, bent, or otherwise in a bad position. 
  • Make sure all connections have power and are tightly plugged in 
  • Walk the entirety of any exposed cabling to ensure there is no damage from weather or animals
  • Test the camera by using spare cabling to diagnose if the problem lies with the camera or wiring and cabling. 
  • Use and replace cables with only equipment from reputable and well-known brands

Security camera system acting up? Contact TriStar Security Services to get you back up and running quickly with expert service. 

Faulty Or Out-of-date Firmware Or Hardware

Once you have checked the basics of power and cabling to make sure everything is tight and supposedly undamaged, you can move ahead to checking hardware and firmware. Your video loss may be because of old equipment, old hardware, faulty firmware, or all of the above. 

You will want to make sure that you have updated all of the software and firmware that you can. If this is beyond your skills, you can hire an expert security consultant to come and diagnose your system. 

Here are some things that you can check on your own: 

  1. Check for any updates in your DVR, NVR, or IP camera devices. You can contact the manufacturer to ask them if you have the latest versions installed. 
  2. Research quality equipment that you can replace old and faulty hardware with.

Low Bandwidth Or Weak WiFi Signal

Low Bandwidth Or Weak Wi-Fi Signal

A faulty network connection can easily throw a wrench in your security camera system. Systems that rely on WiFi to transmit their signal to a viewing and recording device are IP and WiFi cameras. If your network is set up poorly and not synced with devices correctly, you will experience issues in the video feed. Issues with bandwidth on congested networks can also slow and disrupt the feeds. Here are some other common issues related to bandwidth and WiFi: 

  • Too many cameras using the same network for signal
  • Not enough bandwidth on the internet causing a bottleneck of data 
  • The cameras are too far away from the network signal
  • Too many WiFi signals in the area are disrupting the network
  • The WiFi signal is weak (due to the service provider or other reasons)
  • Network hardware connections aren’t secured or plugged in properly 

Not Enough Power

Security systems can eat a large amount of power to function. An insufficient power supply can easily disrupt your video feed. Here are some common issues related to power supplies: 

  • The power supply doesn’t supply enough amps to support your equipment
  • Loose connections
  • A broken POE (power over ethernet) switch
  • The cabling is too long, leading to a drop-off in power
  • Old power cabling 

You can check all these issues and replace any broken equipment to get your system back to working properly. 

Related: The Importance Of Correct Security Camera Installations

Problems With Infrared Night Vision Blocks

If your night vision capable cameras are having problems specifically in low light situations, or the feed shows as a black screen with no message, your cameras may have a faulty Infrared (IR) block. 

If your picture is black at night, this is a classic indicator of a bad IR block. To diagnose the IR block, you can do the following: 

  1. Cover the camera lens until the IR LED lights turn on. (If they do not, you have a problem). 
  2. To check if your IR lights aren’t turning on, access your camera system to make sure they are set to activate automatically.
  3. Use external lights to provide a visible image.

Looking for expert security and surveillance system installation and repair? Contact TriStar Security Services today.