Anybody using BI for more than 30 cameras?

[murcieme]

I am looking for advice on what to do as a next step. I am currently running 27 cameras at 1250 Mp/s using BI5, and the system runs at about 75-80% CPU usage on an i7-7700. It does the job, but runs a bit sluggish at times.

I plan on adding another 5-10 cameras, and if I am going to stay with BI (which I would like to) then I assume I need to use an i9-990k.

I rely on UI3 to display the feeds for real time awareness, and seem to have an issue with displaying more than 25 at a time.

Is my usage in line with BI5?

Thanks for the advice and the help!

 

[SouthernYankee]

check other systems to compare.

Blue Iris Update Helper

Blue Iris Update Helper

biupdatehelper.hopto.org

Look at tuning your system, The CPU utilization seems high.

 

[murcieme]

I agree. I have followed the guide multiple times. Cant seem to understand why it is so high.

 

[erensfd]

Is the cpu utilization 75-80% with UI3 running? If so, how much does it improve when you close that? What resolution do you have selected in UI3?

 

[murcieme]

Minimal change without UI3 running. Running on a chrome browser at 1440.

I swear I have tried everything, and cannot get the CPU usage down. Standalone computer not being used for anything else.

 

[bp2008]

The stream resolution you select in UI3 is only a maximum limit by the way. Blue Iris has fairly conservative defaults for group video frame resolution and frame rate that help to keep remote viewers from consuming too much CPU.

Running 1250 MP/s on an i7-7700 at 75-80% CPU suggests the configuration has already been pretty well optimized, assuming there is little to no usage of "Limit decoding". It is a heavier load than I would recommend even on an 8th-gen CPU (with 2 extra cores) due to how little CPU time it leaves for remote viewing, exports, Windows Update, etc. Of course if you are willing to enable Limit decoding on a bunch of cameras, then you could get the CPU usage on that i7-7700K down drastically and open up some room for expansion.

Intel's 9th gen is already 18 months old, so I would hesitate to buy one of those. I'm expecting 10th gen to be out within a few months, based on this: Intel LGA 1200 Socket Confirmed For Upcoming Intel 10th Generation CPUs

AMD Ryzen 3000 series would also not be a terrible choice right now. A 3700X or better paired with reasonably fast memory (DDR4-3600) should be close to the same performance as Intel, but with better energy-efficiency (counter-balanced by having no Quick Sync and no integrated graphics at all). On the plus side, Quick Sync can be a pain in the ass for some users, and you side-step that entirely if you go with AMD.

 

[murcieme]

I appreciate the assistance! I assumed I was maxed out on this i7, and I agree with a i9 being replaced soon.

I never thought about using a Ryzen paired with DDR4. I have to upgrade this computer immediately. Im not too worried about power consumption. i9 or 3700x- that is the question lol!

 

[DognamedTank]

One way to cut the CPU usage is to decide which cameras need BI motion detection to trigger alerts/recordings, and which ones would be OK to off-load the trigger to the camera's motion detection. It also helps to remove overlays that are generated by BI and use the overlays generated by the cameras. If you really want to cut CPU usage when you're not viewing the stream, you can also select "Limit decoding unless required." This comes with some downsides to the motion detection and responsiveness. Using a combo of these, I had 25 cameras (about ~1,000 Mp/s) running on a i7-4790 at about 50-60%.

 

[murcieme]

Added a few more cameras, and reduced quality to keep the system stable. Now I am have difficulty keeping the system stable and reviewing clips.

We have multiple buildings and am thinking it might be best to just split the system. Keep 20 or so cameras on system running BI, and then the others on another system. The downside would be the ability to monitor the facilities on one large TV.

Thoughts on doing this, or upgrade the CPU as mentioned in above threads?

 

[pozzello]

yes, split the cams onto multiple BI servers. maybe you have room for a second 4K TV next to or below/above the current one.
or maybe your current display has a PIP or split-screen feature so you can show feeds from both BI's on the same screen...
of course, more cams on the same screen makes them all smaller, so more screen real estate makes sense for monitoring.

 

[gfaulk09]

I would just buy a GPU.. offload some the cameras onto an NVIDIA gpu. Cheaper than a new build. I’m running close to 40 cameras with a 9900k. A little over kill. But cpu is only 35% utilized with all cameras recording simultaneously and with UI3 open.

 

[crw030]

If you could make use of a graphics card down the road you could buy one now to offload a little of the processing (buying you some time), and then Blue Iris has a new feature that uses SUBSTREAMS for motion and basic playback. Here’s the thread where everyone is discussing it: 5.2.7.0 - RTSP sub-streams for high-MP cameras

The feature is basically BETA software at this moment, but several guys are seeing drastically reduced CPU usages that were testing out the feature (but also crashes and other problems that have yet to be worked out).

So I’d sit on 27 cameras until the kinks are worked out of that new substream feature. If you need the cameras sooner, I’d grab a graphics card to boost the capacity just that little bit UNTIL that feature is ready for prime time. Then you might very well be able to handle those cameras on the system you got, pull the graphics card out and use it in a gaming rig or something.

It’d sure save a lot of money over adding a 2nd system or building a powerhouse 9900k system.

 

[SouthernYankee]

Please provide a screen shots. full frame (use windows 10 snip & sketch tool)
1) windows task manager process tab sorted by memory (most at the top), Must contain, memory, disk, network, GPU, GPU engine columns
2) windows task manager performance, GPU
3) Blue Iris Setting about tab
4) Blue iris status (lighting bolt graph) clip storage
5) blue Iris status cameras
6) Blue iris settings clips and archiving tab , for the NEW folder, stored folder, alerts folder. (three screen shots)