my BI system build

I currently have a Hikvision DS-7616NI-I2/16P with six Hikvision cameras and three Dahua Starlight turrets. As I've gotten to know the NVR and I've read on here, I decided to switch to BI. I looked for a good deal (<$500) i7-7700 machine and didn't see anything that was what I wanted. So, I bought a Dell Outlet OptiPlex 7050 mini-tower i7-7700, 16GB, 256GB SSD and a Netgear GS724TPv2 24-Port Gigabit PoE+ Smart Managed Pro Switch 190W Power-over-Ethernet+. All told I'm a little under $1100 for both shipped. I think I'll end up with 1-2 more indoor and 3-5 more outdoor cameras as I build out my system.

I was thinking I'd use this as a build log, and share what I learn as I put this system together. One of the mistakes I made was ordering Hikvision stuff because of recommendations from a friend that does CCVT stuff for a living. In hindsight I'd rather have bought Dahua from the start. More bang for the buck with the 2MP Starlights. I also would have skipped the NVR and went BI from the start. Live and learn. I found IPCamTalk a after my first order was placed.

I currently have the following:
Hikvision cameras:
(1) DS-2CD2142FWD-I 4mm dome
(1) DS-2CD2142FWD-I 2.8mm dome
(1) DS-2CD2742FWD-IZS 2.8-12mm varifocal dome
(1) DS-2CD2335FWD-I 2.8mm 3 MP Ultra-Low Light Network Turret Camera
(1) DS-2CD2335FWD-I 6mm 3 MP Ultra-Low Light Network Turret Camera
(1) DS-2CD2H35FWD-IZS 2.8-12mm varifocal 3MP turret
Dahua:
(3) IPC-HDW5231R-Z - I've installed Silicon Power 64GB High Endurance MLC MicroSDXC Memory Cards in each of these cameras.

I have two WD Purple 4TB drives for storage. I'll update when the Dell computer arrives.

I welcome feedback, advice, etc.

Nice, I bought a Dell Optiplex 5050 during Black Fri.

Welcome to BI. You should try out @bp2008 UI3 when you get a chance.

Plus, leverage the BI mobile app on IOS when you are on the go.

drunkpenguin said:

I think the number one thing people do wrong the first time (myself included) is improper camera placement. So think this out real good and even test one powered up before mounting and running cables. Be sure to have at least one good "face shot" cam. I've got mine around a corner so you don't even know the cam is there until you reach the front door, by that point might as well smile. I recently redid this one because I had it in a horrible place originally.

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Good advice @drunkpenguin

@actran I have the BI demo version running on my 5 year old Dell Precision i7 laptop with 32GB RAM. Three cameras at too high of frame rate and the CPU was crying. Needless to say I’m sold on BI, and I’m not gonna worry too much about setting it up until the new machine arrives. I will definitely use UI3. It looks great! As does the iOS app. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment! I appreciate it!

@drunkpenguin I appreciate the advice. I have a coworker that has some CCVT installation experience. He stopped by and we went through placement. I think I’m on the right track. I’m going for ID at each point of entry of the building, inside and outside as well as what I’m calling “scene” cameras to help tell the story.

Thanks again! I appreciate the input!

The POE switch arrived. I bought in on Amazon Warehouse deals for about $50 less. I moved all cameras to the new switch with the NVR plugged in as well. When I ran the trial version of BI on my laptop I quickly saw how nice it will be for when I'm wanting to get a clip of something caught on camera. I've read so much about Intel video driver memory leaks and whatnot that I'm a little nervous about the 24/7 reliability of a Windows based system. Considering keeping the NVR to ensure I have video coverage should the Windows based system have an issue. The I7 machine (and a new monitor) will be here early this week. I also received two more of the Dahua Starlight turrets from Andy.

@slodat BI is stable on my side. You should have a good experience with it once you have a license and decent hardware. People who have problems with BI memory leaks can overcome it with a clean Windows install and the right Intel video driver.

Related, if you are still running BI in demo mode, you're going to get higher CPU utilization because direct-2-disk is not truely activated.

slodat said:

The POE switch arrived. I bought in on Amazon Warehouse deals for about $50 less. I moved all cameras to the new switch with the NVR plugged in as well. When I ran the trial version of BI on my laptop I quickly saw how nice it will be for when I'm wanting to get a clip of something caught on camera. I've read so much about Intel video driver memory leaks and whatnot that I'm a little nervous about the 24/7 reliability of a Windows based system. Considering keeping the NVR to ensure I have video coverage should the Windows based system have an issue. The I7 machine (and a new monitor) will be here early this week. I also received two more of the Dahua Starlight turrets from Andy.

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With the proper Intel Driver, my BI system will run well past 30 days without issue.

Got the BI system going today. With 9 cameras totaling 28MP, at 15 fps H264 continuous recording, 6 fps live view I’m at ~26% CPU, 2.39G RAM.

I’ve enabled direct to disk and hardware acceleration on each camera. Video driver info:


Status:


Seems to be working well. Sent the NVR back to amazon. I know I’ll have a lot of tweaking to get things dialed in.

The Optiplex 7050 MT only holds one 3.5” hard drive. I have two 4TB Purple drives from the Hikvision NVR I returned. I’m not keen on modifying the 7050’s case at this point. It does have two more internal SATA channels and power..

I got the iOS app working today along with geofencing to switch profiles when I’m in the shop and away. This was a major frustration with the NVR. It didn’t have even the most basic implementation.

My CPU utilization continues to go down as I get things sorted out.. about 12%, 2.2GB when running as a service as read on the iOS app.

I have a lot of conduit to run to get the cameras in service. It is nice to have them burning in on the bench while I get it all sorted out.

I am very happy I switched to Blue Iris.

Got the 6U rack I bought on Amazon mounted along with the UPS, POE switch and Optiplex. Lots of conduit to run. I do have one outdoor camera permanently mounted and the rest temporarily setup to give the Optiplex running BI some burn in time. I added another of the Hikvision domes. 10 cameras total currently.



I’m really impressed with BI! More to follow.

I got the five indoor cameras up and running. The network cable temporarily tie-wrapped to conduit to make sure camera placement is good. One outdoor is permanently mounted and working great. My outdoor lighting is bright enough to keep the Dahua Starlights in full color mode at night. It covers my main entry door (far right of image), another door off to the far left and the two rollup doors. There will be another camera looking toward this side of the building. Motion detection seems to be picking up what I want it to. Again, really happy with Blue Iris!

Nighttime shot:

slodat said:

I got the five indoor cameras up and running. The network cable temporarily tie-wrapped to conduit to make sure camera placement is good. One outdoor is permanently mounted and working great. My outdoor lighting is bright enough to keep the Dahua Starlights in full color mode at night. It covers my main entry door (far right of image), another door off to the far left and the two rollup doors. There will be another camera looking toward this side of the building. Motion detection seems to be picking up what I want it to. Again, really happy with Blue Iris!

Nighttime shot:

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Nice job @slodat .

slodat said:

I got the five indoor cameras up and running. The network cable temporarily tie-wrapped to conduit to make sure camera placement is good. One outdoor is permanently mounted and working great. My outdoor lighting is bright enough to keep the Dahua Starlights in full color mode at night. It covers my main entry door (far right of image), another door off to the far left and the two rollup doors. There will be another camera looking toward this side of the building. Motion detection seems to be picking up what I want it to. Again, really happy with Blue Iris!

Nighttime shot:

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Just remember still shots don't tell you the whole story. You need to walk through the video and see how well it can ID your face.

looney2ns said:

Just remember still shots don't tell you the whole story. You need to walk through the video and see how well it can ID your face.

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Copy that. This camera’s primary role is ID at the door on the very far right of the image. It does very well at this. It’s around 65” off the ground and you face it when at the door. I’ve grabbed several photos when people come to the door and I think it will be good for ID on this door. Because it faces the building it’s also good thus far for motion/activity at the building. This area is about 45’ from the street and there’s a 3’ elevation gain from the street. So, no one wondering by the camera without being on my property close to one of the four doors in the FOV.

I appreciate the comments and advice. Thank you!

System has been up and running for about seven months. Took a bit of time to the cameras mounted. All in all things work great. I’m using the iOS app via OpenVPN.

After unsuccessful attempts to get Windows built in time server to work with my cameras I installed Meinberg NTP. Once installed, I changed each camera to NTP and setup DST rules. It’s working well. Highly recommended.

Wish I would have found the Dahua starlights before I bought the Hikvision cameras. I’ve occasionally tuned the motion settings to eliminate false triggers by birds and such. Very happy with my BI system. It runs about 13% CPU with about 30MP @ 15fps, continuous recording.

I installed a Ubiquiti NanoBeam AC wireless bridge between two buildings I own that are about 1.5 blocks apart. It’s working well with about 260Mbps. I have one 3MP camera running 15fps over the bridge to my BI server. It’s running great. I’ll add a few more when funds allow.



The speed test shows about 100Mbps sustained throughput.

Nice project, great updates. Keep em coming.

Installed a couple of always on indoor lights. Now my main shop indoor cameras are full color with the normal lighting turned off. I’ll do the same at the other building. One more outdoor light and all will be full color, 24x7.