BI Application & Compatability

[Mike K]

I'm Building A new Security system for my farm because I have been robbed 7 times sense 1997. So far I have not purchased any of the necessary components for my network. From the research I have done, it strikes me that BI software looks very good, but I can't figure out if it will work for what I want. I envision a system with 5 to 6 IP cams both inside and outside, one of witch will feature 2 way audio, a high speed router, a NVR, and my laptop. Comcast cable service & modem. Some questions as Follow:

1) Can the BI software be used without the BIs cloud? (I want to use my own Cloud)

2) Will BI software work with any NVR? Cams? (Noting that most, if not all NVRs, and Cams, have their own SW.)

3) Will BI work in a Microsoft system with windows 10.0

Hope someone can enlighten me on this?

 

[biggie]

@Mike K I am kind of new to this myself, but can answer some of your questions.My network is kind of set up like this Verizon Fios router>BI Dedicated PC>POE Switch> Cameras. I personally have 9 cameras up and functional, but have another 5 which will eventually put in service. BI definitely works with Windows 10 as that is what I have been using. The list of compatible brands is extensive, but check here for yourself http://blueirissoftware.com/technology/

 

[pozzello]

1) there is no BI cloud. it's windows software that records to your local hard drive, or NAS.
it can record to the cloud if you use something like dropbox, etc... the BI software pulls the streams
directly from your cameras and provides various interfaces, including a windows console, web interface
(so you can access via browser from wherever if you set up your router to allow it), and also has an
android and IOS (iphone/ipad) app (these are basically specialized web interfaces)

2) BI will work with just about any camera that is IP-based (not analog). Ive never used a hardware NVR,
but I imagine you could pull streams into BI from an NVR if you needed to.

3) yes, definitely.

 

[Mike K]

@Mike K I am kind of new to this myself, but can answer some of your questions.My network is kind of set up like this Verizon Fios router>BI Dedicated PC>POE Switch> Cameras. I personally have 9 cameras up and functional, but have another 5 which will eventually put in service. BI definitely works with Windows 10 as that is what I have been using. The list of compatible brands is extensive, but check here for yourself http://blueirissoftware.com/technology/

biggie, Thanks for the tested cameras link. Very long list.
Are you using a NVR or a NAS with you system? My system must be wireless cameras.

 

[Mike K]

1) there is no BI cloud. it's windows software that records to your local hard drive, or NAS.
it can record to the cloud if you use something like dropbox, etc... the BI software pulls the streams
directly from your cameras and provides various interfaces, including a windows console, web interface
(so you can access via browser from wherever if you set up your router to allow it),

So your saying that my security system LAN must include a dedicated PC with the BI SW that routes the data files to a NAS?? My farm is remote from where i live and so my laptop is not in the farm LAN. I had assumed that the BI software would reside in my laptop. Or, is it installed in both PCs?

 

[ipcamal]

BI is your NVR. Its not a viewer. So you would need to keep your BI computer at the site or get an nvr and use that. You can get a small form factor desktop that will be the size of the nvr. Or you can just buy the nvr itself and use that

 

[biggie]

@Mike K I am using a PC tower which has a 250gb SSD for Windows and BI. The BI database and 50gb of newest video files are also stored here. I then have two 4TB drives which are set up as one spanned drive. Once the new folder gets full, BI pushes the files over to the spanned drive. I have 9 cameras running at the moment and have almost two months of video stored. This, of course, is different for each person and depends mostly on how you set things up. 7 out of my 9 are on motion record only and the other two record 24/7 as an overview.

I don't have experience with a BI PC outside of the LAN, but I would imagine that you could do it with port forwarding set up for each camera through the router. The big issue with that is that you would need to open up all of those ports. BI, from my understanding, acts as kind of a funnel..it takes all of the feeds on the LAN and pushes them out over one port via the web server. This makes management of the security of the network a little it easier for me since I do not have the experience of most of these other guys.

As posted on numerous threads here, you can get a PC for under $350 that can handle 5 or 6 cameras easily. Just search up top for Haswell or Skylake in the forums.

 

[Mike K]

Just so I'm sure about this, your saying my choices are:

A small PC (desk top) with the BI, or
A NVR without the BI.?

 

[ipcamal]

Correct

 

[pozzello]

right. BI is a software-based NVR. a good one...

 

[biggie]

Yes, I agree with the two above.

 

[Mike K]

Correct

OK got it. So now if I am going with a network using BI, I would need a NAS that has maybe 2T to 4T as external data storage working off the desktop?

If that is correct, would I have to spend another $60 to download the BI software to my laptop for remote viewing?

 

[pozzello]

why external storage? internal is fine too. the amount of disk you need would be determined by how many cams, their resolution/bitrates, if they are recording only motion or continuous, and how long you want to keep it. As an example I've got a couple weeks of data using 400Gb for 12 cams, total of 32MP at 10fps, recording motion only to the internal drive on my BI server box.

BI has remote view capabilities in the form of a web interface, an Android and a an IOS app. the only thing you can't do remotely by default is make configuration changes,
which must be done from the console (ie, on the BI server,) but even that can be done remotely if you're careful about your networking setup to allow it...

 

[Mike K]

why external storage? internal is fine too. the amount of disk you need would be determined by how many cams, their resolution/bitrates, if they are recording only motion or continuous, and how long you want to keep it. As an example I've got a couple weeks of data using 400Gb for 12 cams, total of 32MP at 10fps, recording motion only to the internal drive on my BI server box.

BI has remote view capabilities in the form of a web interface, an Android and a an IOS app. the only thing you can't do remotely by default is make configuration changes,
which must be done from the console (ie, on the BI server,) but even that can be done remotely if you're careful about your networking setup to allow it...

"BI server box" ??

I anticipate a total for 6 cams for a total of 30mp at 30fps, but they would all be recording on motion only. I think internal file storage would be ok if the hard drive were large enough to handel a month worth of storage. Also I recently saw a 2T usb flash drive that should work too.

What brand and model desktop are you using? What would you recommend? Are you hard wired to your router or Wifi?

 

[anijet]

Are you hard wired to your router or Wifi?

Always hard wire the computer with BI installed to the router (or switch). Also hard wire any cameras you can. The less wireless you have the fewer problems you will have. Many of us have learned the hard way. I do have a Hik 2432 wireless but it is close to the wireless router and is working OK.

 

[pozzello]

by "BI server box", i mean whatever PC you have BI installed on. sorry if that was unclear.

best way to trim file sizes is to reduce frame rate. you don't need 30fps to keep an eye on stuff around the farm. 10fps is plenty,
but you can adjust that later as you see fit.

the important thing for a BI server is a fast enough processor. anything with intel i7-4790 CPU is a good choice.

 

[Mike K]

by "BI server box", i mean whatever PC you have BI installed on. sorry if that was unclear.

best way to trim file sizes is to reduce frame rate. you don't need 30fps to keep an eye on stuff around the farm. 10fps is plenty,
but you can adjust that later as you see fit.

the important thing for a BI server is a fast enough processor. anything with intel i7-4790 CPU is a good choice.

OK I think i'v got it now. I will start developing component selections, and maybe include in a seperate post for critique later.

Thanks to all for your help!