[Support]: The video is being recorded to the archive with consistent stuttering, as if at low FPS

[GKorytov]

Checklist

• I have updated to the latest available Frigate version.
• I have cleared the cache of my browser.
• I have tried a different browser to see if it is related to my browser.
• I have tried reproducing the issue in incognito mode to rule out problems with any third party extensions or plugins I have installed.
• I have asked the AI at https://docs.frigate.video about my issue.

Describe the problem you are having

I have a reproducible error.

Hardware:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz
4 Cores, 8 Threads @ 3.4GHz, Sandy Bridge
Intel HD Graphics 2000

Memory: 16Gb (2x8) DIMM 1333 MHz

Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Home Assistant Supervised
Frigate 0.16.2 addon
config.yaml

The video is being recorded to the archive with consistent stuttering, as if at low FPS.

If you run the command:
ffmpeg -hwaccel none -i "rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/Preview_01_main" -f segment -segment_time 10 -segment_format mp4 -strftime 1 -c:v copy -c:a aac -reset_timestamps 1 /home/username/frigate/output_%02d%02h%02m%02s.mp4

then the video is recorded smoothly and cleanly.

I cannot get Frigate to record to the archive as smoothly as ffmpeg does.

I have checked this situation on several cameras of different classes - the result is the same.

Steps to reproduce

1.Install OS
2.Install HA Supervised
3.Install Frigate and Run
We are looking at the recordings in the folder:
\media\frigate\recordings\2025-10-21\12\test_cam\

Version

0.16.2-4d58206

In which browser(s) are you experiencing the issue with?

Google chrome 141.0.7390.108

Frigate config file

mqtt:
  enabled: false


ffmpeg:
  hwaccel_args: []


cameras:
  test_cam:
    enabled: true
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/Preview_01_main
          roles:
            - record


record:
  enabled: true
  retain:
    days: 1
    mode: all


snapshots:
  enabled: false

detect:
  enabled: true
  
version: 0.16-0

docker-compose file or Docker CLI command

none

Relevant Frigate log output

2025-10-21 11:49:31.781674908  [INFO] Preparing Frigate...
2025-10-21 11:49:32.182135040  [INFO] Starting Frigate...
2025-10-21 11:49:34.936089081  [2025-10-21 14:49:34] frigate.util.config            INFO    : Checking if frigate config needs migration...
2025-10-21 11:49:34.949469358  [2025-10-21 14:49:34] frigate.util.config            INFO    : frigate config does not need migration...
2025-10-21 11:49:37.104144943  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.app                    INFO    : Starting Frigate (0.16.2-4d58206)
2025-10-21 11:49:37.111423170  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.app                    INFO    : Creating directory: /tmp/cache
2025-10-21 11:49:37.122961945  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] peewee_migrate.logs            INFO    : Starting migrations
2025-10-21 11:49:37.131450963  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] peewee_migrate.logs            INFO    : There is nothing to migrate
2025-10-21 11:49:37.138203017  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.app                    INFO    : Recording process started: 431
2025-10-21 11:49:37.144458329  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.app                    INFO    : Review process started: 438
2025-10-21 11:49:37.148015114  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.app                    INFO    : go2rtc process pid: 112
2025-10-21 11:49:37.161466910  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] detector.cpu                   INFO    : Starting detection process: 456
2025-10-21 11:49:37.162572295  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.detectors              WARNING : CPU detectors are not recommended and should only be used for testing or for trial purposes.
2025-10-21 11:49:37.164013885  INFO: Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.
2025-10-21 11:49:37.170808515  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.app                    INFO    : Output process started: 474
2025-10-21 11:49:37.205854951  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.app                    INFO    : Camera processor started for test_cam: 503
2025-10-21 11:49:37.219357169  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.app                    INFO    : Capture process started for test_cam: 510
2025-10-21 11:49:37.571288956  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.api.fastapi_app        INFO    : Starting FastAPI app
2025-10-21 11:49:37.685672763  [2025-10-21 14:49:37] frigate.api.fastapi_app        INFO    : FastAPI started

Relevant go2rtc log output

2025-10-21 11:49:31.926525825  [INFO] Preparing new go2rtc config...
2025-10-21 11:49:31.960625958  [INFO] Got IP address from supervisor: 192.168.2.90
2025-10-21 11:49:31.987889772  [INFO] Got WebRTC port from supervisor: 8555
2025-10-21 11:49:32.361542377  [INFO] Starting go2rtc...
2025-10-21 11:49:32.483255290  14:49:32.483 INF go2rtc platform=linux/amd64 revision=fa580c5 version=1.9.9
2025-10-21 11:49:32.483260678  14:49:32.483 INF config path=/dev/shm/go2rtc.yaml
2025-10-21 11:49:32.483651751  14:49:32.483 INF [api] listen addr=:1984
2025-10-21 11:49:32.483734378  14:49:32.483 INF [rtsp] listen addr=:8554
2025-10-21 11:49:32.484200343  14:49:32.484 INF [webrtc] listen addr=:8555
2025-10-21 11:49:41.509836539  [INFO] Starting go2rtc healthcheck service...

Operating system

Debian

Install method

Home Assistant Add-on

Network connection

Wired

Camera make and model

RLC-820A and XMEYE 5Mp POE

Screenshots of the Frigate UI's System metrics pages

Any other information that may be helpful

What mainly confuses me is that the same parameters, when running ffmpeg manually and when recording through Frigate, produce different results in quality.

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

Based on your configuration and the stuttering issue you're experiencing, there are several potential solutions to improve recording quality.

First, your current configuration lacks a detect stream, which means Frigate is using the high-resolution recording stream for both detection and recording (1). This can impact performance. You should configure separate streams:

cameras:
  test_cam:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/Preview_01_main
          roles:
            - record
        - path: rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/Preview_01_sub  # lower resolution stream
          roles:
            - detect

(1)

Since you're experiencing stuttering similar to the issue described in the GitHub discussion, you might benefit from optimizing your FFmpeg configuration for lower latency and better threading (2). Consider adding specific input arguments:

cameras:
  test_cam:
    ffmpeg:
      input_args: preset-rtsp-generic
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/Preview_01_main
          roles:
            - record

(3)

For your Intel HD Graphics 2000 hardware, you could try enabling hardware acceleration, though results may vary with older hardware:

ffmpeg:
  hwaccel_args: preset-vaapi

(3)

The stuttering issue you're experiencing has been reported before, where recordings show periodic pausing every few seconds despite the camera streaming at consistent frame rates (4). This can be related to how Frigate processes the video pipeline compared to direct FFmpeg recording (5).

If the issue persists, you might need to experiment with custom FFmpeg arguments that more closely match your manual command. You can also try using the restream feature to reduce connections to your camera, which might improve stability (6).

📚 Sources:

1. Getting Started
2. Optimize threading+latency of ffmpeg configuration
3. Camera Specific Configurations
4. [Config Support]: Periodic pausing / stutter in recordings
5. Video pipeline
6. Restream

---

Have another question? Just tag @inkeep.

[GKorytov]

Detection on the camera is disabled, only recording is left.
The Intel HD Graphics 2000 does not support the high resolution of modern cameras and has to be disabled entirely.

[NickM-27]

This is not a bug, Frigate uses ffmpeg. You just simply need to change your args.

Most likely if you use

ffmpeg:
  input_args: preset-rtsp-restream

it will remove the stuttering

[GKorytov]

That helped.
The recording is no longer jerky.
Thank you!