BlueIris UI3 - frame rate

[slepax]

Not sure if this is a UI3 or server issue.

I've replaced one of the cameras from some unbranded 5MP (Ali Express) to Reolink RLC-811A 8MP.

The image quality is much better, but I try to play a video on UI3 that was recorded using the new camera there is quite a significant delay until the video starts and it is quite choppy at the start but after about 1-2 seconds it starts running much smoother. I have also noticed on the bottom left that the FPS is very low, starting from 1 and then going up to 15 after 1-2 seconds (coinciding with the the video playing smoother).

When I play videos from the old camera they start almost immediately and play much quicker and smoother, and the FPS is around 15 from the start of the video.

My question is then - what would make the FPS starts lower? Is that the UI? The server? The network? The file size or the fact the new camera has higher MP?

Thanks!

 

[TonyR]

Unfortunately Reolinks are known to not play well with Blue Iris. LOTS of threads on IPCT about that fact.

Insure the Reolink is set for H.264, Frame Interval = 1.
You may also have to turn off hardware acceleration

 

[slepax]

I already have a Reolink doorbell and I am extremely happy with it, that's why I decided to get another one of the same brand. Oh well.

"Insure the Reolink is set for H.264, Frame Interval = 1" - is that in the Reolink camera or on in BI?
"You may also have to turn off hardware acceleration " - I assume that's in BI? Just double checking..

 

[TonyR]

I already have a Reolink doorbell and I am extremely happy with it, that's why I decided to get another one of the same brand. Oh well.

I have 2 Reolink db's myself....but no Reolink cameras.

"Insure the Reolink is set for H.264, Frame Interval = 1" - is that in the Reolink camera or on in BI?

In the camera.

"You may also have to turn off hardware acceleration " - I assume that's in BI? Just double checking..

In Blue Iris.

 

[slepax]

Stream is already H264, and hardware acceleration was already disabled.

Just wanted to add that it's just the replay on the UI that is not working well.
If I convert/export the video and play it on my computer then it plays very well.

Does that give a hint to anything?

Thanks.

 

[slepax]

I'll put down my findings here just in case anyone else comes across this issue.

1) Reolink automatically adjust the codec to H265 for images 8MP or higher
2) BI in the 'stats for nerds' will show the stream as being H264, only VLC actually showed the stream is H265
3) Reducing the image to 4MP and having H264 (confirmed in VLC) and I still had the same issue

What seems to effect the issue the most is probably a combination of frame rate and resolution. I suspect it has something to do with the volume of data.

Basically 8MP with FPS of 10 and the issue is almost completely eliminated, but 8MP with FPS of 25 and I issue is back. I reduced the FPS to 15 at 8MP and for me that's a good compromise.

 

[bp2008]

UI3's stats for nerds shows it is H.264 because when Blue Iris streams any video to UI3, it re-encodes that video to meet the specifications of the chosen streaming profile (which can be either H.264 or Jpeg). Whether live or recorded, it doesn't matter. It also doesn't matter what the source video format was. A source of H.264 will still be decoded by Blue Iris and re-encoded to H.264 if H.264 is what the client app requested. The only exception to this is if you have enabled the "direct to wire" streaming method in the streaming profile either in Blue Iris web server advanced settings, or in UI3's own streaming profile configuration --- which I do not typically recommend because it adds stream startup delay and possibly introduces other compatibility issues, makes it impossible to adjust bit rate or resolution, etc.

So anyway, your Blue Iris server needs to transcode the video in realtime. Higher resolutions and higher frame rates make this require more computation, maybe more than your system can provide, in which case you can get reduced frame rates, stuttering, and delays. It is not uncommon for a 4K stream at a high frame rate to be more than it can handle in realtime unless you have very good single threaded performance on your CPU and it isn't under a heavy load.

H.265 sources also can be a little more CPU intensive to decode than H.264 which can further slow it down. Playing recordings can also be problematic, especially if they are not stored in ".bvr" format. For example when you export to MP4 and try to play the MP4, you will probably find the Blue Iris really sucks at it. Even if it is ".bvr" format, if the hard drive is particularly busy or faulty it may have trouble reading the file promptly. Or the video might use unusual encoding features that make the video difficult to decode.

If your Blue Iris server has recent Nvidia graphics, you can try using hardware accelerated decoding and/or encoding (these are configured in different places) to speed it up. Intel integrated graphics can also be used for decoding, though this is sometimes known to introduce more problems than it causes. Intel can also be chosen for encoding acceleration but in my experience it has zero effect (not actually working).

 

[IsthisthingON]

l The only exception to this is if you have enabled the "direct to wire" streaming method in the streaming profile either in Blue Iris web server advanced settings, or in UI3's own streaming profile configuration --- which I do not typically recommend because it adds stream startup delay and possibly introduces other compatibility issues, makes it impossible to adjust bit rate or resolution, etc.

Sorry to follow up on this. You’re suggesting disabling direct to wire, even while using h264?

 

[bp2008]

Sorry to follow up on this. You’re suggesting disabling direct to wire, even while using h264?

If it works well and you are happy with it, then great, keep using it.

Just be aware of the limitations and side-effects of direct-to-wire:

• It only works when streaming individual cameras that have their main stream set to H.264. (non-functional for streaming a camera group)
• The video can't start in UI3 until the next i-frame arrives in the stream.
• There is a higher chance of playback issues such as corruption, video delay, or failure of UI3 to decode the stream at all.
• Blue Iris can't add overlay text or graphics.
• None of the other settings in the streaming profile can work on a direct-to-wire stream (bit rate, resolution, fps, etc).

It doesn't work at all during multi-camera streams for example because Blue Iris has to encode those streams, there's no way around that. So if most of your viewing is on groups of cameras, then having direct-to-wire enabled has little effect except to slow down transitioning to single cameras when you click on them.