4.2.8 - January 7, 2016 - Hardware Acceleration

fenderman

Staff member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
36,897
Reaction score
21,250
EDIT: if you are seeing an error stating "MSVCP120.dll is missing"
Follow @Audioadam's advice here
https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/7979-Fresh-win-10-install-and-BI-but-dll-is-missing?p=70744&viewfull=1#post70744


4.2.8 - January 7, 2016

  • Happy New Year!
  • Hardware video decoding has been introduced for H.264 using the Intel QuickSync technology. Use the website ark.intel.com to determine support for your processor. During initial testing, CPU demand appears to be cut by 1/3 for H.264 camera streaming. The option must be enabled on Options/Cameras and may then be overridden on a per-camera basis on each camera properties Video/Network page. As we learn more about what these chips can do, more will be leveraged, and it appears there is much to learn!
  • With cloned camera windows, PTZ commands are now properly sent to the parent window.
  • A bug was discovered and fixed which may have been a cause for some reported crashes occurring at the beginning of H.264 encoding sessions.
  • Bugs fixed with regard to the way in which "re-triggers" work together with the "Wait until trigger at least" option on the Alerts page in camera properties.
  • New support and maintenance plans have been developed in an effort to handle the ever-increasing demand and to more effectively balance this with time spent on software development. A software license remains perpetual, and NOT a subscription. However, that license now includes one year of Basic support via email. In order to remain current with support, you may choose to optionally sign up for the Extended support plan via the new link on the Options page. Extended support includes continued access to email support, software updates and all major version upgrades that occur while you are covered. There's also a Priority support option which adds a dedicated inbox together with the possibility for enhanced support via phone or remote desktop as deemed necessary to assist you.
 

frankred

Getting the hang of it
Joined
May 14, 2015
Messages
302
Reaction score
16
I updated to 4.2.8 and enabled Options>Cameras "Use Intel HD hardware acceleration for H.264 decoding. I also set each camera to Camera Properties > Video > Configure > Hardware Decoding: Yes. I restarted the BI service. My CPU usage seems to be the same.

I am using an HP Elitedesk 800SFF with i7-4770. The processor and the PC should support QS. What am I missing here?

http://www.intel.com/buy/us/en/product/desktop/hp-elitedesk-800-g1-tower-pc-429943/technical-specifications
http://ark.intel.com/products/83505/Intel-Core-i7-4770HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

[url]http://ark.intel.com/products/83505/Intel-Core-i7-4770HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

[/URL]
 

fenderman

Staff member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
36,897
Reaction score
21,250
I updated to 4.2.8 and enabled Options>Cameras "Use Intel HD hardware acceleration for H.264 decoding. I also set each camera to Camera Properties > Video > Configure > Hardware Decoding: Yes. I restarted the BI service. My CPU usage seems to be the same.

I am using an HP Elitedesk 800SFF with i7-4770. The processor and the PC should support QS. What am I missing here?

http://www.intel.com/buy/us/en/product/desktop/hp-elitedesk-800-g1-tower-pc-429943/technical-specifications
http://ark.intel.com/products/83505/Intel-Core-i7-4770HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

http://ark.intel.com/products/83505/Intel-Core-i7-4770HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz
I have also not seen a difference on the one system i tested. Those cams are not recording direct to disk so I dont know if that matters. It shouldnt.
The support info is in the blue iris options about tab.
 

frankred

Getting the hang of it
Joined
May 14, 2015
Messages
302
Reaction score
16
I have also not seen a difference on the one system i tested. Those cams are not recording direct to disk so I dont know if that matters. It shouldnt.
The support info is in the blue iris options about tab.
I tried to find some sort of tool to verify that my system supports QS but I didn't find anything...

Thanks for the info on the Support options. I see Extended is $30 annually and Priority is $60 annually. I also see that my particular license runs for 1 year since it was activated. I have until September...
 

fenderman

Staff member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
36,897
Reaction score
21,250
I tried to find some sort of tool to verify that my system supports QS but I didn't find anything...

Thanks for the info on the Support options. I see Extended is $30 annually and Priority is $60 annually. I also see that my particular license runs for 1 year since it was activated. I have until September...
Your processor supports it http://ark.intel.com/products/75122/Intel-Core-i7-4770-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz
Yes, those are the prices and they are really cheap. I can see some folks complaining that this is being implemented retroactively but like he says in the release notes he needs to balance support and development. It also allows for folks who need hand holding to get phone and teamviewer support. You will still have access to the software updates etc.
 

Chust

Getting the hang of it
Joined
Nov 10, 2014
Messages
428
Reaction score
38
Is the update safe for AMD users? Meaning are there any risks to updating?
 

Chust

Getting the hang of it
Joined
Nov 10, 2014
Messages
428
Reaction score
38
Doesn't AMD processors have the ability for this? If so, will BI offer this for AMD users?
 

fenderman

Staff member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
36,897
Reaction score
21,250
Is the update safe for AMD users? Meaning are there any risks to updating?
Doesn't AMD processors have the ability for this? If so, will BI offer this for AMD users?
I wouldnt update particularly since you wont see any improvement. Wait until the release has been out of a week or so.
Ken indicated that his is also working on nvidia acceleration so you would need an nvidia card.
 

Ssayer

BIT Beta Team
Joined
Jan 5, 2016
Messages
19,579
Reaction score
70,735
Location
SE Michigan USA
Ken must have temporarily taken this update down as I just checked from BI and it says I'm up-to-date with 4.2.7.1
 

bp2008

Staff member
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
12,666
Reaction score
14,005
Location
USA
... and my 4.2.6.5 x64 is saying it is up to date already ...

Given that you guys are reporting hardware acceleration isn't working yet I'm going to hold off on this update ...
 

bp2008

Staff member
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
12,666
Reaction score
14,005
Location
USA
... and my 4.2.6.5 x64 is saying it is up to date already ...

Given that you guys are reporting hardware acceleration isn't working yet I'm going to hold off on this update ...
So much for that idea.

I installed.

It works, CPU usage down from 35-41% to 11-15%! The trick is, after enabling hardware acceleration, you need to close Blue Iris (stop the service if necessary) and start it again.
 

fenderman

Staff member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
36,897
Reaction score
21,250
So much for that idea.

I installed.

It works, CPU usage down from 35-41% to 11-15%! The trick is, after enabling hardware acceleration, you need to close Blue Iris (stop the service if necessary) and start it again.
HOLY CRAP! That is awesome!!!
 

hik78

n3wb
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
14
Reaction score
5
So much for that idea.

I installed.

It works, CPU usage down from 35-41% to 11-15%! The trick is, after enabling hardware acceleration, you need to close Blue Iris (stop the service if necessary) and start it again.
Is that with direct-to-disk?
 

bp2008

Staff member
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
12,666
Reaction score
14,005
Location
USA
These are my new CPU usage, memory usage, and CPU temperature stats. i7-3770k. It is 20 cameras, 63 total megapixels, approximately 6 FPS average.

Just Blue Iris running, with a couple of remote viewing stations on 24/7 pulling video around my house. (CPU usage used to be 35-41%)



With my java app running, pulling full resolution jpeg frames from all cameras (CPU usage used to be 70-80%)



- - - Updated - - -

Is that with direct-to-disk?
Most cameras have direct to disk enabled, yes. One camera (the weather cam) does not have it enabled.

- - - Updated - - -

Memory usage does not appear to have changed noticeably.
 

fenderman

Staff member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
36,897
Reaction score
21,250
I just tested a system that dropped from 55 to 30. Interestingly the system where all cams but one are recording with encoding (not direct to disk) I am not seeing any real improvement (even after a reboot)...
 
Top