Support / Someone waves at the camera and the screen shows it seconds later

The picture is a few seconds behind

Last updated:

What is normal

A quarter of a second to one second is normal for a camera on the same Wi-Fi. The camera takes time to encode a frame, the network takes time to carry it, and the app keeps a small buffer so that a late frame does not freeze the picture.

What ViewTile adds, and the setting for it

The buffer is the Video delay setting, a quarter of a second by default. Shorter feels more live and stalls more easily; longer copes with a weaker network. If the delay bothers you and the Wi-Fi is good, set it to the shortest value.

Where the rest comes from

The camera’s keyframe interval. The app can only start showing a picture from a keyframe, and after any interruption it waits for the next one. A camera set to one keyframe every four seconds adds up to four seconds every time. Most cameras let you set this on their own page under Configure › Stream as the keyframe or I-frame interval; one or two seconds is a good value.

The small stream. On the wall the smaller stream is used, and some cameras encode it with more delay than the main one. Full screen uses the main stream, so compare the two before blaming the network.

Wi-Fi extenders and mesh hops. Every hop between the camera and the phone adds a little; a camera on a cable is always the quickest.

When the delay keeps growing

A delay that starts small and grows over minutes means the camera sends more than the network carries; the buffer fills until the stream stalls and reopens. Lower the camera’s bitrate, or let the wall drop to the small stream — see The stream starts and keeps dropping.