Camera FPS not recording smoothly

[Kingkoopa]

I'm testing out setting up a security camera system with a new server and am having problems with smooth recording clips and possibly NVDEC not working. System specs follow.

PowerEdge r910 running ESXi 6.7
VM running Windows Server 2008 R2
Quad Octo-core Xeons
More than enough ram for anything
nVidia GT710 passthrough (will upgrade to GT1030 if needed. Needs to be low power card)
Storage on Raid 10 15k drive arrays
Reolink 5MP cameras running on PoE (Purchased Bullet, Dome, and non-PTZ 4x Zoom cameras for testing)

The live view runs at a perfectly smooth 30+ fps at full resolution, but the recorded clips are only recording at around 15fps, dipping as low as 8 and up to 19 and look very choppy.
I have them set up with a large receive buffer, as RAM usage is absolutely no issue. They are set with a 5 second pre-trigger video buffer and are configured with max resolution and max rate for image format (2560x1920 @ 322581(31.00 fps))
They are also set to use NVDEC HA decode, although the system logs are stating that nVidia HWVA not compatible for some reason (The GT710 is on the list for capable of NVDEC for H.264 AVCHD)

Can anyone give some clarity on what may be causing my choppy recordings? Is NVDEC (or some sort of hardware acceleration) required for smooth recording and playback? Thanks very much.

 

[SouthernYankee]

Reolink cameras are crap. They do not have a fixed Iframe, which prevents smooth processing and recording. Reolink do not adhere to the h.264 or h.265 standards.
A VM is unreliable for constant performance to run BI.
Hardware acceleration does not work on most VM setups.

 

[fenderman]

demo mode could cause this as well

 

[Kingkoopa]

Thanks for the reply's. I have since found that the recordings are actually saved at 30fps. I downloaded a recording and played it on my local machine and it's perfectly smooth. It's the playback directly from the server that is choppy. Is that to be expected? Also, what is the best way to cut down on CPU usage?

 

[Kingkoopa]

demo mode could cause this as well

I'll try registering then. I purchased BI, I just haven't registered my install yet since I knew I would be uninstalling and reinstalling the VM a few times onto different machines. Is there a limit to the number of times I can register the product? (It would only be installed on one machine at a time).

 

[sebastiantombs]

Look in the WiKi, in the blue bar at the top of the page. Lots of great information in there including the Cliff Notes and how to minimize CPU usage. 30FPS just isn't needed for a surveillance system right off the top.

 

[Kingkoopa]

Look in the WiKi, in the blue bar at the top of the page. Lots of great information in there including the Cliff Notes and how to minimize CPU usage. 30FPS just isn't needed for a surveillance system right off the top.

I noticed the wiki and did enable Direct to File recording, but didn't notice too much of a CPU drop. I'm seeing about 15-20% CPU load with 2 cameras running. Is that basically just the overhead for the software?

 

[sebastiantombs]

I don't think so. I'm running 11 cameras at under 20% utilization. I do use hardware acceleration, though, and restrict frame rate to 10FPS. This is on an i7-6700K. One camera is a Realstink I bought before I knew any better. If you want to get frustrated, have a look at the camera stats for you cameras, bit rates and iframe rates.

 

[Kingkoopa]

I don't think so. I'm running 11 cameras at under 20% utilization. I do use hardware acceleration, though, and restrict frame rate to 10FPS. This is on an i7-6700K. One camera is a Realstink I bought before I knew any better. If you want to get frustrated, have a look at the camera stats for you cameras, bit rates and iframe rates.

Specs for one of the cameras I have is 5MP with a max bitrate of 8192 Kb/s. Says frame rate is 25 FPS. What brand has a better cost/performance? I have until March 27th to request a refund for these if needed. So many other IP cameras seem to not follow the 802.3af/at standard and use some crappy proprietary PoE.

 

[sebastiantombs]

If you think FPS/MP is a price and performance issue, you're right. Unfortunately you haven't looked at what Blue Iris actually is seeing from your cameras. I have a 4MP Realstink set at 25FPS and 8192 Kb/s. It actually produces about 400 Kb/s with a frame rate of 4FPS and an iframe rate of .4. If you buy low cost, you get low performance. Any Dahua or Hikvision will outperform those, hands down, but you will pay for that performance. My 2MP Dahuas run at their set rate of 10FPS, 4096Kb/s and an iframe rate of 10 which is far better than the "settings" in the Realstink. Realstink throttles everything to what they think you need, not what you want or set it for.

Read the Cliff Notes in the Wiki, in the blue bar at the top of the page It'll show you what to look for in a camera other than price to get the performance uou actually want.

 

[Kingkoopa]

Attached is a clip from the bullet camera. VLC reports it running at 30fps with a content bitrate fluctuating between 6500 and 10000 kb/s.

I also looked up Dahua cameras I couldn't find any documentation on their website that says it follows 802.3af/at protocol for PoE. Only "Enhanced" PoE, whatever that is supposed to be. (Edit: nvm. I found the 802.3af on the dahua cams)

 

[sebastiantombs]

I'll ask again, have you even looked at the Cliff Notes in the WiKi? Learn from a reliable source rather than compare based on advertising claims and price only. ePoE is extended PoE and will go out to 800 feet reliably. Try that with your Reolink. Dahua isn't a highly regarded brand here on IPCT for no reason while Reolink is a despised brand for a reason. If you're happy with them, by all means enjoy yourself and ignore the facts.

 

[SouthernYankee]

Read, Study,Plan before spending money.
Surveillance cameras do not need to run fasted than 15 FPS, You are not shooting a Hollywood movie.
Look at the PassMark ratings on CPUs.
For BI CPU STATS: Blue Iris Update Helper
What you are running is a 9 year old room heater, you are wasting electricity. Measure you power consumption, and calculate the cost of running that. Get a used stanalone PC for blue iris.
Blue Iris does not support multiple CPUs.

--------------------------------------------
My standard welcome to the forum message.

Please read the IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes and other items in the IP Cam Talk Wiki. (read on a real computer, not a phone). The wiki is in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Read How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!) in the wiki also.

Quick start
1) If you do not have a wired monitored alarm system, get that first
2) Use Dahua starlight cameras or Hikvision darkfighter cameras if you need good low light cameras.
3) use a VPN to access home network (openVPN)
4) Do not use wifi cameras.
5) Do not use cloud storage
6) Do Not use uPNP, P2P, QR, do not open ports,
7) More megapixel is not necessarily better.
8) Avoid chinese hacked cameras (most ebay, amazon, aliexpress cameras(not all, but most))
9) Do not use reolink, ring, nest, Arlo cameras (they are junk), no cloud cameras
10) If possible use a turret camera , bullet collect spiders, dome collect dirt and reflect light (IR)
11) Use only solid copper, AWG 23 or 24 ethernet wire. , no CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum)
12) use a test mount to verify the camera mount location. My test rig: rev.2
13) (Looney2ns)If you want to be able to ID faces, don't mount cams higher than 7ft. You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
14) Use a router that has openVPN built in (Most ASUS, Some NetGear....)
15) camera placement use the calculator... IPVM Camera Calculator V3
16) POE list PoE Switch Suggestion List
17) Camera Sensor size, bigger is general better Sensor Size Chart


Cameras to look at
IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED . Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+) - 4MP starlight
.................... Dahua IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED review
IPC-T5442TM-AS ..... Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ - 4MP starlight+
IPC-B5442E-ZE ...... Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+
IPC-T2347G-LU ...... Review of the Hikvision OEM model IPC-T2347G-LU 'ColorVu' IP CCTV camera. (DS-2CD2347G1-LU)
IPC-HDW2231R-ZS .... Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
IPC-HDW2231T-ZS-S2 . Review-OEM IPC-T2231T-ZS 2mp Varifocal Starlight Camera
IPC-HDW5231R-ZE .... Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE
IPC-HFW4239T-ASE ... IPC-HFW4239T-ASE
IPCT-HDW5431RE-I ... Review - IP Cam Talk 4 MP IR Fixed Turret Network Camera
IPC-T5241H-AS-PV ... Review-OEM IPC-T5241H-AS-PV 2mp AI active deterrence cam
DS-2CD2325FWD-I
N22AL12 ............

New Dahua N22AL12 Budget Cam w/Starlight

Did anyone use these yet? Thoughts, comments, etc. appreciated. Dahua N22AL12 Minimum Illumination Color: 0.005 lux at F1.6 Full specs here https://us.dahuasecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Datasheet_2MP_Fixed_MiniDome_Network_Camera_N22AL12_v001_001.pdf

ipcamtalk.com

-- low cost entry

Other dahua 4MP starlight

https://ipcamtalk.com/threads/dahua-4mp-starlight-lineup.42000/#post-388253

My preferred indoor cameras
DS-2CD2442FWD-IW
IPC-K35A

https://ipcamtalk.com/threads/review-dahua-ipc-k35a-3mp-cube-camera.37581/#post-373517

If interested in Blue Iris and other setup items see the following post

Newbie Starter Guide to IP Cam System – VPN setup – Computer Hardware – Blue Iris – Dahua Cameras

This is an intermediate / newbie guide for people just starting out looking for a surveillance setup. I know this setup might not be for everyone and there are many options. You can find a lot of this information in the Wiki: IP Cam Talk Wiki | IP Cam Talk A great place to start in the Wiki...

ipcamtalk.com

Before asking a question search the forum first...
The best way to search the forum is to use Google
In the google search window enter.. site:ipcamtalk.com ?????? ..where ?????? is the items/terms you are interested in.
Example site:ipcamtalk.com PALE MOON BROWSER

Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan
Test do not guess

 

[looney2ns]

Return the Reolink....today. Stick with Hikvision, Dahua or IPCT's own brand of cameras.

 

[Kingkoopa]

Why do I get the feeling that the Dahua cameras on Amazon aren't genuine. The model numbers don't match to their website, yet the stated specs match exactly, and the design is close, but not exact. And the price for the model numbers searched from the Dahua site are over 3 times as expensive.

HOME_NEW

us.dahuasecurity.com

Amazon.com : Dahua 4MP PoE IP Security Camera IPC-HDW4433C-A 3.6mm Lens, 4 Megapixels Super HD 2688x1520 Outdoor Surveillance Camera Dome with Built-in Mic for Audio, 50m IR Night Vision, H.265, IP67 Waterproof, ONVIF : Camera & Photo

Amazon.com : Dahua 4MP PoE IP Security Camera IPC-HDW4433C-A 3.6mm Lens, 4 Megapixels Super HD 2688x1520 Outdoor Surveillance Camera Dome with Built-in Mic for Audio, 50m IR Night Vision, H.265, IP67 Waterproof, ONVIF : Camera & Photo

www.amazon.com

 

[sebastiantombs]

Read the Cliff Notes for heavens sake! Here's a review of a "Loryata" which is a rebranded Dahua to put your 802.3af doubts to rest -

Review-Loryta OEM 4MP IPC-T2347G-LU ColorVu Fixed Turret Network 4mm lens & Junction Box

OEM 4MP IPC-T2347G-LU ColorVu from EMPIRETECANDY 4mp ColorVu Network Camera I also have the matching junction box for this camera to check out. Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store...

ipcamtalk.com

Use the search tool or Google using site:ipcamtalk.com ??????? where ????? is what your looking for.

If you want a 4MP the 5442 is the one to go to and that Loryata is using the same sensor and, probably is a 5442 at least in terms of the electronics.

Contact Andy at King Security/Empire Tech. Typically five day delivery to the East Coast. Not "Prime" speed but pretty fast for half a world away.

kingsecurity2014@163.com
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: EmpireTech Andy
Andy's AliExpress store: Empire Technology Co., Ltd - Amazing prodcuts with exclusive discounts on AliExpress
Andy's Amazon store: EmpireTech-Andy @ Amazon.com:
forum: EmpireTech Andy

 

[Kingkoopa]

Read the Cliff Notes for heavens sake!

I see. Very confusing having different models under the same brand. So it's safe to say that the cheap Amazon Dahua I posted is probably one of the aliexpress ones with the hacked firmware that's been imported to post on Amazon?

 

[sebastiantombs]

I can't say definitely, but would bet it is a hacked POS that, if you try to upgrade the firmware in, with turn into a brick.