Advice on using Bi for HTTP streaming

[Flyballz335]

Hi
I have an NVR with 20 3MP IP cameras that I want to have display in an application called ActionTiles. It’s a web dashboard for the SmartThings hub.
My NVR supports RTSP streams, but ActionTiles can only handle HTTP streams. I have been using a couple of Raspberry Pi 3 B+ with MotionEyeOS that can get the RTSP stream from my NVR and then make it available as HTTP. It’s good when it works, but it’s incredibly unreliable. I might be asking too much of the RPi’s for my needs, as they frequently hang and have to be rebooted.

The reason for my post is that I think I finally need to invest in Blue Iris.
1. Can I setup Blue Iris to get the RTSP streams from my NVR and have it make them available as HTTP?
2. If so, what kind of system requirements might I need? Would the general BI hardware recommendations still apply when the software is being used this way?
3. If you think I’d be better off replacing the NVR with BI, would you suggest anything different in terms of the PC specs besides additional HD space for the recordings? I’m assuming I would also need to get a PoE switch to power/connect my cameras, and then I would set these up as network cameras in BI?

Thank you in advance!

 

[looney2ns]

BI can run circles around any NVR capability wise.
You can also try it free for 15 days.
Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris | IP Cam Talk

 

[TonyR]

1. Can I setup Blue Iris to get the RTSP streams from my NVR and have it make them available as HTTP?

Yes.

2. If so, what kind of system requirements might I need?

See link above supplied by @looney2ns .

Would the general BI hardware recommendations still apply when the software is being used this way?

Yes.

3. If you think I’d be better off replacing the NVR with BI, would you suggest anything different in terms of the PC specs besides additional HD space for the recordings?

Correct, such as WD Purple for the clips. Ideally, a SSD for the Windows 10 O/S, BI program and BI db folder; WD Purple for the clips.

I’m assuming I would also need to get a PoE switch to power/connect my cameras,

Yes.

and then I would set these up as network cameras in BI?

Yes.
If you decide to use the NVR, you set BI up to look at the NVR's LAN IP, the NVR's RTSP stream and each cam will have a config page with the same IP as the NVR LAN but with a different cam # selected from a drop-down on the "video config" page. Or forget the NVR, just use a POE switch and set up each cam in BI, each cam with a unique static IP address.

 

[Flyballz335]

Thank you for the information! Besides a PC to run BI, is the only other hardware required a PoE switch? If you, would you have any advice/recommendations? Not sure if it would matter, but I have QSee 3MP cameras.

 

[TonyR]

Thank you for the information! Besides a PC to run BI, is the only other hardware required a PoE switch? If you, would you have any advice/recommendations? Not sure if it would matter, but I have QSee 3MP cameras.

Assuming your cams are, in fact- POE-capable, then no...the POE switch powers the POE cams and also gets them onto your LAN via Ethernet so the BI server can "see" them.
BV-Tech, TP-LINK and Netgear make perhaps the most recommended POE switches around here.