Motion Support

The Motion Wiki Support pages are here for you if you have a technical question or any question about the use of Motion. Motion is free software and does not include support, so please do not contact the developers directly if you have installation questions. This support web is for Motion users by Motion users. Developers are monitoring this web but do not necessarily answer all questions.

Note that if you have questions about Linux, Camera drivers, Special Uses of Motion etc you probably have a better chance getting an answer by joining and asking the MailingList.

Ask a Support Question:

Before you ask a question, please check:

• Motion Guide - This guide is a very detailed document. There are many hours of work behind getting it to what it is today. So take a little time to actually read the guide if you not already did.

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Questions already answered
  • AnsweredQuestions lists questions that are already answered.
    (Use WebSearch to find answers to your question that are already written - faster than waiting for a new answer!)

• How to ask a new question
  • Each question is a wiki topic - please ask a new question in a new topic, rather than adding to a current one where it can get lost.
  • Please read the SupportGuidelines now so that you know what information to include, helping you get a quick and useful answer - filling in this form is not enough for installation problems
  • You need username and password to edit pages - please create your own account in UserRegistration.
  • Once you submit the form below you are taken to the new support topic in edit mode where you have the chance to write more information. You need to save this page to really create the support topic.
  • After the topic is created you can edit it again as often as you want and you can attach files (e.g. your config files) to the topic.
  • In case you find the answer by yourself after submitting a question: We would appreciate if you could document this here in your question and set the SupportStatus to AnsweredQuestions. That way you help making the Support web self-organized and more useful.
  • Foswiki will not make line breaks unless there is an empty line. If you copy and paste config file text or error text into the support question topic it looks awful and unreadable. To fix this put your text between a line that says <verbatim> and one that says </verbatim>. The default text already have these tags. Paste in your text between these verbatim tags.
    
    

    Topic name:	SupportQuestion2012x02x12x020604
    Title	Short Title
    Question:	Ask your question. If you want to paste error output text or similar text where new-lines must be preserved, paste it in the field below.
    Verbatim Text:	Paste in your error messages, config settings, terminal window output etc in this text field.
    Note: Be descriptive; the SupportGuidelines tell you what to include. You can expand on it in the next screen if necessary
    Motion version:		Example: 3.2.12
    ffmpeg version:		Example: 0.4.8 or 0.4.9pre1
    Libraries installed:		xmlrpc, ffmpeg, mysql, postgresql
    Server OS:		Fedora Core 2, kernel 2.6.8
    Submitted By		Write your WikiName prefixed by 'Main.'
    		Note: Question is submitted after you Create and Save the following page

Already Asked Questions

Questions Asked but Not Yet Answered:

Headline	Age	Last Change
Motion "unknown config options" with the standard given motion.conf	9	05 Feb 2012 - 15:37 MiguiPda
Motion compile fails on Beaglebone (arm7) with "Error: bad instruction `emms'"	10	02 Feb 2012 - 20:37 JerryReed
2 usbcams on 1 usb bus with 15 fps is possible - how to set frames per second?	15	29 Jan 2012 - 00:05 GeJansen
Motion with Logitech cam works for the first time, the second always fails	16	28 Jan 2012 - 10:05 TosiaraT
How to configure to capture only at specified times of day	18	25 Jan 2012 - 14:19 AlbertoLopez
Motion on OpenSuse 12.1 x64	37	07 Jan 2012 - 01:35 RaoEl
Motion Paused while ptz moving	45	30 Dec 2011 - 09:46 AlfredoMarchini2
OSMF Player (Instead Combozola) Live Stream	77	28 Nov 2011 - 11:49 EduardoCosta
Picture corruption, 'setup_mode on', 2 Logitech QuickCams	348	28 Oct 2011 - 21:46 AngelCarpintero
[[SupportQuestion2011x10x06x163706][motion: [0] Thread 3 - Watchdog timeout, did NOT restart graceful,killing it!]]	129	07 Oct 2011 - 09:43 AndyHarris
mysql connections in sleep state	137	29 Sep 2011 - 08:39 PeterTar
error on my cam GRANDTECH MEGAPIXEL IP CAM	137	28 Sep 2011 - 22:34 FedericoDalZotto
low fps in detected motion	141	24 Sep 2011 - 15:37 EvgenyPolupanov
Using motion as a tool to log amount of motion	152	14 Sep 2011 - 07:05 LukasRuge
on_movie_start	169	06 Sep 2011 - 20:28 FlorinAnton
Motion not recognizing the webcams	165	31 Aug 2011 - 18:14 ChesterLou
Motion + pwcbsd + FreeBSD 8.1p2 amd64 + USB Quickcam 4000 Express	166	31 Aug 2011 - 08:20 B3r3N
on_event_start not working in daemon mode on Fedora 14	180	16 Aug 2011 - 23:40 MichaelMullins
should on_event_start run more than once per event?	188	09 Aug 2011 - 03:18 FrankMildan
It looks like motion is running with interrupts off, ignoring the scheduler, or something even more wonky on OMAP3 (gumstix) system	195	02 Aug 2011 - 02:25 ThorFarrish
Motion detection Algorithm	203	25 Jul 2011 - 11:31 AyhiIlhi
Palette fail on composite input	218	09 Jul 2011 - 22:01 TravisSimonds
Logitech C200 auto exposure control	228	30 Jun 2011 - 11:44 UrosS
Order of time of motion detection ?	240	17 Jun 2011 - 22:53 AsmaaElassal
Light level changes causing false events	420	09 Jun 2011 - 18:13 AndrewBurgess
Camera refocusing causes false positive motion detection	392	09 Jun 2011 - 18:00 AndrewBurgess
Live Streaming in format other than MJPEG	252	06 Jun 2011 - 06:46 PranavTipnis
Quantization table 0x00 was not defined	267	21 May 2011 - 13:41 AlexeyRod
How to secure access to your cam ports?	335	15 Mar 2011 - 11:09 DannyKeuleneire
on_picture_save - calling rsync	342	08 Mar 2011 - 13:30 MichaelS
how it knows page sis a jpg and multiple jpgs/movies per page example	375	03 Feb 2011 - 01:49 DavidH
IP Camera Aviosys-9060AK: Unable to open video device.	656	18 Jan 2011 - 20:39 PavelM345
webcam server: need to NOT write jpeg files, and bind to a different interface	397	11 Jan 2011 - 23:01 LeeAllen
solid white image	398	10 Jan 2011 - 22:14 StoneObscurity
mjpeg with uvcvideo cam logitech HDPro C910	399	09 Jan 2011 - 19:44 EmmettBrown
Random picture using motion on synology with uvc-drivers (mjpg-streamers works)	404	04 Jan 2011 - 22:42 RolandEgli
Fedora 14 motion daemon stops after a few seconds	413	26 Dec 2010 - 13:19 BRUNETJeanPhilippe
How does DLink DCS 5230 use PTZ with Motion?	426	13 Dec 2010 - 12:18 UweHeidrich
how to restrict access to camera streaming	441	29 Nov 2010 - 10:51 IgorBunjevac
Airlink101 SkyIPCam500 Wired Night Vision Network Camera	441	28 Nov 2010 - 18:07 DanEger
very slow frame from only one camera on arm9 s3c2410 paltform.whycan you help me!!	447	23 Nov 2010 - 03:06 LikelinuxLikelinux
Captured image has wrong colors (displacement of chrome data)	472	29 Oct 2010 - 11:07 JorgeNerin
USB Video device permissions need changing before motion can connect	478	23 Oct 2010 - 08:22 DazzConway
Adjusting resolution from 640x480 to 176x144 - Wouldn't seem to be USB related	598	23 Oct 2010 - 07:59 DazzConway
LINKSYS WVC200 camera connection	478	23 Oct 2010 - 07:20 JorgeOvallos
put password on streaming page	504	27 Sep 2010 - 07:57 JeromeBzh
mp4 h264 streaming	527	05 Sep 2010 - 11:14 FlorinAnton
No auto exposure with Logitech Quickcam express	527	05 Sep 2010 - 08:14 DazzConway
Streaming server	528	02 Sep 2010 - 19:48 AntonioTellechea
adding camera in runtime	543	18 Aug 2010 - 21:04 FlorinAnton
BT878 video (IVC-200), VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT: Invalid, VIDIOCGCHAN): Invalid	550	17 Aug 2010 - 05:16 DougDuBoulay
USB webcam bad immage at 640x480, all good at 352x288	580	30 Jul 2010 - 10:51 PavelM345
Moving objects in video are transparent	579	27 Jul 2010 - 19:57 JokubasJokubas
Trigger / Post Cap etc. in upper left of video	566	26 Jul 2010 - 13:02 DavidPickard
USB disconnects	572	21 Jul 2010 - 05:19 CeeJay
How to add audio to my .avi captured file?	596	26 Jun 2010 - 12:27 LouisCroisez
OpenSuse 11.2 JPEG Library Issue	600	25 Jun 2010 - 07:39 DanieWeideman
IP cam TP-SC3130G Unable to open video device	620	03 Jun 2010 - 06:54 ArturMullanurov
netcam and bktr0 not working in one config..	805	17 May 2010 - 11:19 JeffMcCorney
Motion can't open device after capture	639	15 May 2010 - 10:41 PabloGNU
Problem with image quality or stream authentification	652	02 May 2010 - 18:40 AngelCarpintero
Many green lines on a image!	755	27 Jan 2010 - 16:02 JeffMcCorney
Advanced suppression/timeout of motion detection	747	27 Jan 2010 - 08:08 MichlSchmid
Increase motion detecting sensitivity/ have motion recording everything between hours?	815	19 Nov 2009 - 16:22 NateLeDuc
Divide Screen/Multiple cameras	934	22 Oct 2009 - 21:03 AxelAmthor
Functionality of old Minimum_Gap in 3.2.11?	849	17 Oct 2009 - 18:02 AdemRudin
video device fatal error - Closing video device	867	08 Oct 2009 - 01:16 AngelCarpintero
Static mask file and smart mask at the same time?	1013	06 May 2009 - 11:14 DominicH
ACTi Video Server - Getting connected	1172	28 Nov 2008 - 10:03 ChrisPike

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Up to 10 Most Recent Support Questions that have been Assigned:

Headline	Age	Last Change	Assigned To
Error selecting input 0 VIDIOC_S_INPUT: Device or resource busy and ioctl (VIDIOCGCAP): Invalid argument	61	05 Jan 2012 - 03:15 AngelCarpintero	AngelCarpintero
foscam fi8918w libjpeg decompression failure	67	08 Dec 2011 - 10:51 AngelCarpintero	AngelCarpintero
Problems with generating films and linux kernel error	87	22 Nov 2011 - 09:12 AngelCarpintero	AngelCarpintero
Motion exits with "sync error in proc xxxx: Invalid argument" and "mcapture error in proc xxxx: Invalid argument"	655	06 Oct 2011 - 11:05 OsgPCQ	AngelCarpintero
ioctl(VIDIOCGMBUF) - Error device does not support memory map	355	23 Feb 2011 - 21:24 AngelCarpintero	AngelCarpintero
motion on beagleboard - choppy images	624	02 Jun 2010 - 19:30 AngelCarpintero	AngelCarpintero
Green Output from USB Capture on Sheevaplug	644	18 May 2010 - 15:07 JohnCrake	AngelCarpintero
Incomplete frames making it into motion video stream	850	24 Mar 2010 - 16:41 AngelCarpintero	AngelCarpintero
How to prevent the "Unable to open video device" generated image files?	740	24 Mar 2010 - 12:25 AngelCarpintero	AngelCarpintero
[[SupportQuestion2010x01x16x153032][[Vloopback] Compatible webcams]]	757	22 Jan 2010 - 12:38 AngelCarpintero	AngelCarpintero

See all AssignedQuestions.

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The 100 Most Recent Support Questions that have been Answered:

Headline	Age	Last Change
Normal motion stream on mini http server	40	04 Feb 2012 - 23:54 AngelCarpintero
No action happening for on_event_start, on_movie_end, etc,, running in daemon mode	30	24 Jan 2012 - 11:49 AngelCarpintero
linux/videodev.h not found	57	05 Jan 2012 - 03:17 AngelCarpintero
Translate movement into direction	83	30 Nov 2011 - 21:02 AngelCarpintero
Unknown webcam is not working :(	83	22 Nov 2011 - 09:18 AngelCarpintero
Can't get on_movie_end to do anything	1056	11 Nov 2011 - 18:08 JohnR
Panasonic bl-c121	102	11 Nov 2011 - 09:20 AngelCarpintero
cannot compile motion 3.2.12 with latest ffmpeg	267	31 Oct 2011 - 03:53 AngelCarpintero
Motion detecting changes long after objects have stopped moving	137	30 Sep 2011 - 10:41 JasonWestervelt
Logitech Quickcam cool using spca5xx-le driver	1432	08 Jun 2011 - 08:58 HenryFord
Motion does not identify /dev/video0 on Ubuntu Lucid, but VLC can see it.	393	26 Apr 2011 - 10:19 DavidLeeming
How is it possible to restart only one thread?	365	17 Feb 2011 - 02:56 AngelCarpintero
Problems in resolution using a Trust Webcam	641	07 Feb 2011 - 20:15 ChuckHeron
ffmpeg enconding to flv to fast (msmpeg4 is ok)	1209	28 Jan 2011 - 21:15 FlorinAnton
How can I check why I cannot reach the motion webserver at localhost on the given port in the motion.conf ?	442	01 Dec 2010 - 20:12 BenZandstra
Maximum number of cameras	506	07 Nov 2010 - 11:43 AngelCarpintero
Multiple usb cams - unable to open device	472	29 Oct 2010 - 02:04 OctavianStolnicu
Disable Auto exposure?	873	29 Jul 2010 - 16:00 YannickDrolet
How to take pictures less frequently during motion?	617	06 Jun 2010 - 18:58 AngelCarpintero
black screen on web preview	654	30 May 2010 - 11:28 AngelCarpintero
unable to compile vloopback 1.3 in gentoo	641	16 May 2010 - 00:55 AngelCarpintero
Simple logitech webcam, /dev/video0 fatal error	645	15 May 2010 - 17:54 AngelCarpintero
Have motion run only at certain times.	905	02 May 2010 - 13:59 AngelCarpintero
set a color for the motion outline box	658	28 Apr 2010 - 22:00 AngelCarpintero
Conceptronic C54netcam2 problem	845	28 Mar 2010 - 22:22 AngelCarpintero
HTTP authentication for STREAM URl	917	28 Mar 2010 - 15:19 AngelCarpintero
Running motion on a Nokia N810	1158	21 Mar 2010 - 18:53 AngelCarpintero
More than 2 usb webcams in motion?	786	21 Mar 2010 - 18:53 AngelCarpintero
How to allow only certain IP's connect to my webcam??	699	16 Mar 2010 - 13:28 AngelCarpintero
Ubuntu 9.10 and Motion as Daemon	810	23 Feb 2010 - 08:18 FranzFoedermayr
configure pthread support	738	05 Feb 2010 - 22:51 AngelCarpintero
Port Password Protect	761	15 Jan 2010 - 00:20 AngelCarpintero
How configure to handle *30 simultaneous clients* for 2 hours? (online class!)	766	09 Jan 2010 - 23:11 AngelCarpintero
Video4Linux Loopback Device "resize"	791	21 Dec 2009 - 08:33 AngelCarpintero
046d:08cc logitech Orbit	795	10 Dec 2009 - 09:10 AngelCarpintero
ZONEMINDER FAULT!	796	09 Dec 2009 - 21:37 DarkPhoinix
i can make in linux-2.6.32 errors 409: error 469: error ...	797	09 Dec 2009 - 15:32 AngelCarpintero
Saved files are root.root how do you change?	801	04 Dec 2009 - 10:15 AngelCarpintero
Could not fetch initial image from camera -- no driver info is given.	874	15 Nov 2009 - 18:16 AngelCarpintero
smart_mask_speed silently kills motion	843	15 Nov 2009 - 18:11 AngelCarpintero
two webcams and motion.conf	848	15 Nov 2009 - 17:59 AngelCarpintero
motion video record and video from live http server jump up and down	878	15 Nov 2009 - 17:16 AngelCarpintero
mjprox, deny access to cgi-bin?	853	15 Nov 2009 - 16:12 AngelCarpintero
How to config motion to use ipCams	824	15 Nov 2009 - 13:38 AngelCarpintero
myIp:8081 ! the pictures are black, blue, grey	878	21 Sep 2009 - 09:49 AngelCarpintero
Unable to find a compatible palette format with pac207 webcam	1118	08 Sep 2009 - 10:48 AngelCarpintero
Logitech Quickcam Sphere MP - Pan & Tilt do not work	1475	11 Aug 2009 - 04:19 AngelCarpintero
How to disable warnings about corrupt image?	1060	10 Aug 2009 - 00:21 AngelCarpintero
Canon raw mjpeg stream failure? Failed to read first camera header - giving up for now	1079	10 Aug 2009 - 00:00 AngelCarpintero
MSI Starcam Clip II problem	1249	09 Aug 2009 - 23:59 AngelCarpintero
White pictures when using multiple inputs on one card	1254	09 Aug 2009 - 23:58 AngelCarpintero
Error capturing first image	1322	09 Aug 2009 - 23:57 AngelCarpintero
Motion and dv4l, problem similar to Support Question 2008x 08x 14x 014531?	1127	09 Aug 2009 - 20:28 AngelCarpintero
Logitech 46d:092f QuickCam Express Plus didn't work.	1181	09 Aug 2009 - 20:25 AngelCarpintero
Kernel oop when accessing vloopback device	924	08 Aug 2009 - 23:01 AngelCarpintero
Images are Grey with "Unable to open Video Device" printed top left - Genius Eye 312	921	06 Aug 2009 - 01:36 AngelCarpintero
PJPG Unable to find a compatible palette format.	1210	06 Aug 2009 - 00:51 AngelCarpintero
opensuse 11	1184	06 Aug 2009 - 00:38 AngelCarpintero
Motion on Freebsd	958	05 Aug 2009 - 19:51 AngelCarpintero
Motion stalling in Ubuntu 9.04	1017	05 Aug 2009 - 19:47 AngelCarpintero
Does Linux Preemption Matter?	1123	05 Aug 2009 - 19:41 AngelCarpintero
Two cameras don't work together	922	05 Aug 2009 - 18:35 AngelCarpintero
Memory map error when adding a new Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000	1308	05 Aug 2009 - 16:36 AngelCarpintero
Motion.conf is not making sense	928	03 Aug 2009 - 20:49 AngelCarpintero
Many destroyed frames ==> permanent motion detect	947	12 Jul 2009 - 22:29 AngelCarpintero
Motion won't write video files after ubuntu 8.04-9.04 reinstall	1019	12 Jul 2009 - 09:56 AngelCarpintero
Webcam stream only displaying Ghost Images	946	11 Jul 2009 - 21:55 AngelCarpintero
List current used options from motion.conf	1036	09 Jul 2009 - 09:00 AngelCarpintero
Huffman table 0x00 was not defined	1033	09 Jul 2009 - 08:59 AngelCarpintero
Authentication for the mini-http server	1035	09 Jul 2009 - 08:57 AngelCarpintero
YUYV not working with USB 1.1	1060	09 Jul 2009 - 08:27 AngelCarpintero
emailing of pictures	1005	09 Jul 2009 - 07:56 AngelCarpintero
Running Motion	969	09 Jul 2009 - 07:55 AngelCarpintero
sync error + mcapture error	974	09 Jul 2009 - 07:46 AngelCarpintero
Weird behaviour with two cams	990	09 Jul 2009 - 07:42 AngelCarpintero
Unable to open video device	998	08 Jul 2009 - 07:54 AngelCarpintero
2 webcams on same webpage possible?	992	08 Jul 2009 - 07:53 AngelCarpintero
Low Camera Resolution Problem	1000	08 Jul 2009 - 07:52 AngelCarpintero
at a total loss	959	08 Jul 2009 - 07:41 AngelCarpintero
VIDIOC_QBUF: Device or resource busy	1002	08 Jul 2009 - 07:37 AngelCarpintero
Not able to display the captured frames from Logitech QuickCam USB Camera.	1008	08 Jul 2009 - 07:31 AngelCarpintero
Motion via Internet	985	03 Jun 2009 - 20:07 DonatoOcchilupo
v4l2_next problem with two webcams	1656	12 Apr 2009 - 12:51 KennethLavrsen
Problem to connect Axis 210A to motion	1073	09 Mar 2009 - 04:33 AngelCarpintero
password for stream port	1077	03 Mar 2009 - 00:56 AngelCarpintero
3.2.11 on opensuse11.1 won't compile	1126	01 Mar 2009 - 23:51 AngelCarpintero
Eventnumbers with Motion	1104	14 Feb 2009 - 22:09 AngelCarpintero
Problems with internet Explorer	1110	31 Jan 2009 - 18:29 AngelCarpintero
Where are jpeg/mpeg files stored?	1117	31 Jan 2009 - 18:17 AngelCarpintero
V4L2_PIX_FMT_PAC207 ( PAC207 ) not supported	1123	22 Jan 2009 - 20:19 AngelCarpintero
Motion doesn't work if first to access web-cam.	1565	21 Jan 2009 - 20:21 JonathanMiner
Motion time based traffic	1160	14 Dec 2008 - 14:38 AuxAux
Rain and Infrared Camera during Night	1812	13 Dec 2008 - 19:44 FlorinAnton
The videos in play mode is very speed...	1171	12 Dec 2008 - 09:29 AngelCarpintero
Disabling all captures	1166	05 Dec 2008 - 17:35 AngelCarpintero
Brightness issues Creative Webcam NX Pro (model PD1130)	1170	29 Nov 2008 - 20:12 AngelCarpintero
Remote control with user and password	1173	28 Nov 2008 - 02:57 AngelCarpintero
Can't establish connection to server at localhost:8080	1174	27 Nov 2008 - 03:38 AngelCarpintero
Are 'working device' camera drivers installed with the Motion installation?	1174	27 Nov 2008 - 03:35 AngelCarpintero
Not insert mysql records in my DB	1175	25 Nov 2008 - 04:28 AngelCarpintero

See all AnsweredQuestions.