How to Fix Frigate Birdseye View Not Updating in Real Time
- go2rtc/restream latency for birdseye
- Server load / encoding the birdseye stream
- High-res inputs straining birdseye
Problem Description
Your Frigate Birdseye view freezes, lags behind real-time, or only updates when objects are detected. The combined overview is not showing live camera feeds continuously. This happens when the system lacks CPU to composite multiple camera feeds, when Birdseye mode is set to 'objects' or 'motion' instead of 'continuous,' or when the detect stream FPS is too low.
Why This Happens in Real Homes
Birdseye lagging or not updating in real time is a performance and delivery issue — Birdseye is a composite stream Frigate generates and restreams, so latency comes from the encoding load on the server and how the view is delivered to the browser. A CPU-strained server or a high-latency player makes the overview freeze or fall behind.
Reduce the load Birdseye puts on the server by enabling hardware acceleration and using camera sub-streams (not full-res) as inputs, and deliver Birdseye through a low-latency path (WebRTC/MSE via go2rtc) rather than the heavier jsmpeg. Limit the number and quality of tiles if your hardware is stretched, and ensure adequate bandwidth to the browser. A lighter, hardware-accelerated Birdseye updates smoothly.
Symptoms
- Birdseye freezes/lags
- Not updating in real time
- Birdseye behind reality
- Stale birdseye view
- Laggy overview
- Birdseye stutters
- Delayed birdseye
- Frozen overview tiles
Recognize these? Here's what usually causes it.
Common Causes
- go2rtc/restream latency for birdseye
- Server load / encoding the birdseye stream
- High-res inputs straining birdseye
- Network/browser performance
- jsmpeg vs low-latency delivery
- CPU overloaded generating birdseye
- Bandwidth to the browser
- Config not optimized
Most fixes happen in the first 3 steps.
Do not run maximum quality Birdseye settings on constrained hosts.
Tools & Requirements
Step-by-Step Solution
Check the Birdseye restream quality
Birdseye generates a combined video stream by stitching camera feeds together. If Birdseye updates are laggy or frozen: the compositing process may be CPU-bound. Check Frigate's system dashboard: look at the Birdseye FPS counter. It should match your configured detect FPS (typically 5-10 FPS). If Birdseye FPS is lower than detect FPS: the system does not have enough CPU to composite all cameras. Reduce the Birdseye resolution: birdseye: width: 1280, height: 720.
Check if Birdseye mode is set correctly
If Birdseye mode is 'objects' or 'motion' for a camera: the feed only updates when there is an active detection or motion event. Between events, the camera shows a static snapshot or disappears entirely. This is intended behavior to save CPU — Birdseye only re-renders when something changes. If you want a continuously updating view of all cameras: set birdseye: mode: continuous on each camera. This uses more CPU because every camera frame is composited into Birdseye constantly.
Verify the detect stream FPS
Birdseye uses the detect stream, not the record stream. If your detect stream FPS is set very low (detect: fps: 2): Birdseye updates only 2 times per second, making it look choppy or frozen. Increase detect FPS to 5-10 for smoother Birdseye updates: cameras: your_camera: detect: fps: 5. Higher detect FPS increases CPU load — use the minimum FPS needed for reliable detection. Most object detection models work well at 5 FPS.
Check for FFmpeg process health
If the camera's FFmpeg process crashes or hangs: the detect stream stops, and Birdseye freezes on the last frame. Check Frigate logs for 'Camera [name] process is not running' or FFmpeg errors. Cameras that intermittently drop RTSP connections cause Birdseye to freeze during the reconnection period. Set a reasonable FFmpeg retry interval: ffmpeg: retry_interval: 10 (retries the connection every 10 seconds on failure). Some cameras need the RTSP transport changed from TCP to UDP or vice versa for stability.
Reduce the number of cameras in Birdseye
Birdseye compositing scales with the number of cameras. Each camera requires decoding, resizing, and compositing into the Birdseye frame. With 8+ cameras on a modest system (Intel NUC, Raspberry Pi 4): the CPU may not keep up. Options: limit Birdseye to only important cameras (set birdseye: enabled: false on less important ones), reduce individual camera detect resolution, or add a hardware-accelerated FFmpeg build (Intel QSV, VAAPI) to offload decoding.
Quick Solutions
Still having issues? This is usually the deeper cause below.
If this comes back after following these steps, check whether a recent app or firmware update reset a default setting — the fix works, but the setting gets reverted silently.
Birdseye quality should balance situational awareness with system capacity.
This issue almost always looks more complex than it is — the majority of cases trace back to a single setting, a stale credential, or a default that shipped wrong.
- go2rtc/restream latency for birdseye
- Server load / encoding the birdseye stream
- High-res inputs straining birdseye
- Network/browser performance
- jsmpeg vs low-latency delivery
Before you go — try one of these (they fix most cases).
Official Manufacturer Manual
Frigate provides official product documentation through their online manual rather than downloadable PDF. Access setup guides, troubleshooting steps, and product specifications for your Frigate Birdseye Lag.
Source: docs.frigate.video
Need More Help? Frigate Support
Note: The contact information below connects you directly to Frigate's official customer support team, not Trunetto. They can help with warranty claims, device replacements, and advanced technical issues.
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