Reducing bandwidth between cameras and Frigate e.g. don't record in HQ when there isn't motion

[gilesm2]

I have a dozen+ cameras working well in Frigate, and am now adding some remote cameras. Some of these are on 4g+VPN links so bandwidth is restricted (and has a cost). Are there some methods to reduce bandwidth usage? (This is nothing to do with Live View, or UI bandwidth, which is what most of the previous github discussions I have read are about).

e.g. if a camera has a detect (LQ) and record (HQ) stream, can I save the detect stream until motion is detected, whereupon it starts saving the record stream? This on its own would reduce bandwidth hugely.

I believe there is a workaround with Home Assistant: if a camera is defined for the LQ stream and another for the HQ stream, the HQ one can be told to record only when motion is seen on camera "LQ". But it's not ideal having every camera twice...

Thanks!

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

Based on the available documentation, Frigate doesn't natively support dynamically switching between detect and record streams based on motion detection to reduce bandwidth(1)(2).

However, you can configure Frigate to only record when motion is detected, which would reduce the bandwidth used for the record stream. You can set up recording with motion-only retention(1):

record:
  enabled: True
  retain:
    days: 3
    mode: motion

(1)

This configuration means recording segments are only kept when motion is detected, but Frigate still needs to receive both the detect stream (for motion/object detection) and the record stream (for recording) continuously(2)(3).

For your bandwidth-constrained remote cameras, the most effective approach within Frigate's current capabilities would be:

1. Use only a single lower-resolution stream for both detect and record roles(2)(3)
2. Configure motion-only recording to minimize stored footage(1)

cameras:
  remote_camera:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://camera_address/low_res_stream
          roles:
            - detect
            - record
    record:
      enabled: True
      retain:
        days: 3
        mode: motion

(1)(2)

The documentation notes that if you define only one stream without assigning a detect role, Frigate will automatically assign it the detect role, and it will always decode a stream to support motion detection and other features(2).

Unfortunately, the feature you're describing (conditionally pulling the HQ stream only when motion is detected) isn't currently supported in Frigate's architecture, as both streams need to be continuously available when configured(2)(3).

**

📚 Sources:

1. Recording
2. Camera Configuration
3. Camera setup

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[gilesm2]

Good AI bot. I do understand the record vs detect config. The key point in the response, which indicates "no" as an answer is "Unfortunately, the feature you're describing (conditionally pulling the HQ stream only when motion is detected) isn't currently supported in Frigate's architecture, as both streams need to be continuously available when configured"

[hawkeye217]

Yep, just a human here confirming that the AI is correct.