Blue Iris And Camera Setting Questions

[XrayDoc88]

I've connected my first Dahua IP camera and I've read the cliff notes and multiple forum threads. I have a powerful Intel Core i7 CPU computer. I still have questions:

1. I have a choice of four codecs in the camera, H.264, H.264B, H.264H and H.265. Can I use H.265 with Blue Iris? Will it cause issues when using a browser for viewing and UI3?
2. In the cameras I should leave "smart codec" set to "off"?
3. Do you recommend CBR or VBR and what quality for VBR?
4. My camera has 2 sub-streams. Will I decrease bandwidth and possibly CPU load if I disable the two sub-streams? What would I use the sub-streams for? I'm recording the main stream continuously.
5. When using the direct-to-disc recording option in BI5, I assume that any BI5 overlays are not recorded, correct? Any camera generated overlays would be present, correct? Is it generally better to only use camera generated overlays?
6. If my computer is fast enough, is there a downside to re-encoding the camera feeds in BI5?
7. It looks like BI5 doesn't even have an option to re-encode to H.265. Perhaps that's a reason to stick with direct-to-disc recording and let the camera send a H.265 feed?
8. My camera is a varifocal variety. I guess that doesn't support the PTZ controls for zoom and I can only zoom using the camera web interface?

I'm sure I've forgotten some other questions, but these will help me get going! Thanks!

 

[sebastiantombs]

1 - BI now does support H265. It didn't for a long time, but with the update to version 5 it now does.

2 - Set "smart codec" to off. BI does not handle that well.

3 - I use CBR for some cameras and VBR for others. It depends on how much detail/quality you want from each camera.

4 - The substreams are not used, unless you use them yourself. They can stay on or be shut off with no effect on network traffic either way unless they are used. BI now supports substreams. This feature is relatively new and still has a bug or two that appear from time to time, but it can drop CPU utilization dramatically. I use it on all but one, POS, of my cameras.

5 - Never use the BI overlays. They add to CPU utilization. The date/time stamp and camera names from the camera will be recorded by BI.

6 - I don't know why you'd want to re-encode everything. You can export anything needed in several formats when you need to for some reason.

7 - BI has been slow with H265 and, again, why re-encode?

8 - Have you enable PTZ controls in the camera config? I have several Dahua varifocals, 2231, 5231, 5442 series, and can change focal length from BI with the PTZ enabled on the BI console and in the camera config. When you setup the camera initially, did you let BI identify the camera or did you set it to a specific Dahua model?

 

[samplenhold]

^ as stated above.
Personally I have only been using the 264 varieties. The 265 takes less space, but I have not had a space issue so I have not looked into changing my cams.

 

[XrayDoc88]

When I added my camera I chose Dahua from the drop down menu. I think it was identified as something like "new v5". It's model IPC-T5442T-ZE. When I look at the camera web interface settings, there is no option for PTZ. It's not a PTZ camera. When I tried to use the PTZ controls in BI5 to zoom, nothing happened.

I noticed another Dahua camera setting under video called "watermark'". If that is enabled, what does that do? I didn't see the default writing as an overlay.

 

[lcam]

When I added my camera I chose Dahua from the drop down menu. I think it was identified as something like "new v5". It's model IPC-T5442T-ZE. When I look at the camera web interface settings, there is no option for PTZ. It's not a PTZ camera. When I tried to use the PTZ controls in BI5 to zoom, nothing happened.

I noticed another Dahua camera setting under video called "watermark'". If that is enabled, what does that do? I didn't see the default writing as an overlay.

Try the auto discover route instead of selecting the model and see if you can control your zoom.

 

[looney2ns]

The varifocal cams are not designed to be used to zoom in and out on an ongoing basis. The purpose for a VF, is to set the proper fov at the time of install, and then leave them alone.

 

[XrayDoc88]

The varifocal cams are not designed to be used to zoom in and out on an ongoing basis. The purpose for a VF, is to set the proper fov at the time of install, and then leave them alone.

So the lack of zoom control with PTZ interface is normal, correct? Any idea about the watermark question? Thanks!

 

[samplenhold]

 

[looney2ns]

So the lack of zoom control with PTZ interface is normal, correct? Any idea about the watermark question? Thanks!

You can control the zoom with BI, when properly set up. Use the find/inspect to add to BI, then click the PTZ tab in the cam setup and see if it's enabled.
The water mark is so you can use Dahua's viewing software to confirm the video has not been tampered with.

Read the builtin BI help file.

 

[XrayDoc88]

It sounds like enabling watermark wouldn't add much for a home installation. So you can only verify the watermark with software other than BI?

 

[looney2ns]

It sounds like enabling watermark wouldn't add much for a home installation. So you can only verify the watermark with software other than BI?

You are over thinking this, it adds a lot if you ever need to use the video in court. They will want proof the video is original. The software is free to download from Dahua's site. It's call Smartplayer.
Enable it, it is completely insignificant in the data steam of things.

 

[XrayDoc88]

Gottcha! Thank you.

 

[MrSurly]

I have the IPC-T5442T-ZE running in BI with PTZ controls and while the zoom buttons in the PTZ controls will NOT zoom the cam, simply mousing over the view and scrolling the wheel zooms fine. BUT it MAY be just digital zoom (fake)

 

[fenderman]

I have the IPC-T5442T-ZE running in BI with PTZ controls and while the zoom buttons in the PTZ controls will NOT zoom the cam, simply mousing over the view and scrolling the wheel zooms fine.

The mouse is controlling the software based digital zoom not the cameras optical varifocal. You have something set incorrectly. Regardless, you dont want/need to control this via BI. The varifocal is not a zoom function. Its intended to be set at the time of install which can be done via the web interface.

 

[MrSurly]

The mouse is controlling the software based digital zoom not the cameras optical varifocal. You have something set incorrectly. Regardless, you dont want/need to control this via BI. The varifocal is not a zoom function. Its intended to be set at the time of install which can be done via the web interface.

No question, In fact right after posting, I edited to add that it was likely just digital.
*there is NO doubt that I have several settings wrong, btw.
I'll be posting shortly with a plea for storage settings help.

 

[looney2ns]

No question, In fact right after posting, I edited to add that it was likely just digital.
*there is NO doubt that I have several settings wrong, btw.
I'll be posting shortly with a plea for storage settings help.

Read attachment for storage settings. FYI, the built in Blue Iris help file.....is very helpful.