DSC-BRAIN USER GUIDE · TROUBLESHOOTING
Camera shows no frame
Test source first; USB passthrough and the wrong video node; ffmpeg missing; credentials; motionEye ports; lights-on only.
● verified for 9.0.0 · firmware train 8.2.0.0
● last verified 2026-09-17 · mirrored 2026-09-15
Always start with Test source
Settings › Devices › Cameras › the camera › Test source. The error it returns is the diagnosis.
USB webcam
- No devices listed: the webcam is not passed through to the brain container. On the Pi,
ls /dev/video*; setDSC_CAMERA_DEVICE=/dev/video0in/opt/dsc-hub/.envand recreate the container (docker compose up -d brain). A stop/start is not enough; a recreate is. - Two nodes:
video0is capture,video1is metadata. Pick the one whose Test returns a frame.video10and up are the Pi's own codec nodes. - Dark or blurry frames: auto exposure and focus have not converged on frame 1. Raise warm-up frames in the camera's controls.
- Controls disabled with a reason: the matching auto gate is on (auto exposure disables exposure time). Switch to manual first.
IP, RTSP, MJPEG
- 401 / 403: credentials. Basic or Digest for HTTP; embedded in the URL for RTSP.
- Timeout: wrong host or port, or the camera limits concurrent streams.
- ffmpeg missing (the card says so): RTSP and framing need it. It ships in the brain image from 8.1.0; a container that predates it needs the image update.
motionEye satellite
Streaming on, port 8080 + camera number (8081 for camera 1), streaming auth matching what you entered. If you changed the port, put it in Stream port.
Frames stop at night
Expected: lights-on only is the default. Turn it off per camera if you want dark frames.
Black frames are not proof of darkness
The kit has no light reading for the 4×8 lamp (a bound lamp plug shows power at the socket, not light); a black frame may be exposure, not a dark tent.
DSC-Brain user guide · Camera shows no frame · this page is edited on the site; the Notion original was retired after the mirror
