Computer for BI

[miceacas]

I have an old machine that needs a new day job... and it happens to line up pretty well with the system reqs I came across.

i5 4430, 8 GB RAM, and it does have a 120GB Evo 840 in it, but I am not 100% sure if that is required. I did read that "clips" should be stored on there in the hardware wiki, but being new to BI and never actually using it, I don't know what that is exactly.

A little background, I am trying to gather up some hardware to start testing a home system that will eventually have 4-8 IP cameras, I currently think I am going for 4 MP (2K?) which I think should be the quality I am looking for. Obviously there is more to it than megapixles and I respect that fact, but being able to punch in with resolution is something I take very much for granted on my 45.7 megapixle DLSR... I figure at least a few MP on the camera would be nice. Although I am not sure what sort of a CPU hit this would cause. The CPU I have should support quicksync without issue, and its not a slouch, but I understand the demands of video encoding. If there is a way to do less encoding, that is possibly fine. I am really not sure of how to properly balance said system, do I need an overpowered CPU so it can more easily write to disc? Or would multiple discs be more desirable for 1) longer storage span and 2) multiple discs should increase the amount of concurrent streams with less compression.

Any advice would be great!

P.S. I have no cameras picked out yet, or a PoE injector/switch, so any info on that front would be helpful!

 

[Q™]

Have a read of this @miceacas: Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris | IP Cam Talk

 

[miceacas]

Have a read of this @miceacas: Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris | IP Cam Talk

Yes, that is where I got the assumption that the i5 will suffice, and looking at the "Performance Data" page looks to support this. I am just double checking since I am new to this. And I am still somewhat unsure why an SSD is required.

Is the main CPU hit transcoding the video for storage? Is there no option or reason to store directly without transcode? I have no idea about most of these topics, but harddrives are CHEAP so space shouldn't be a huge issue, and I also don't plan for these cameras to analyse the frame and only record if something moves. I have a DVR in my house currently and this is going to be in addition to. Re-running coax will be a paint, so depending on how this goes I may start swapping those out or may not. Point is, for these cameras I plan for them to record 24/7/365 regardless of motion. I assume scanning for motion is also a big CPU hit?

 

[bp2008]

Well that is fairly weak as i5 CPUs go, but if you run into performance problems you can always use Blue Iris's "Limit decode" feature on a few of the cameras to cut it back down again until you get a better system.

 

[bp2008]

There's also a wiki page about Optimizing Blue Iris's CPU Usage | IP Cam Talk. The first recommended setting is to enable the "direct to disc" feature which disables transcoding.

 

[bp2008]

Motion detection is not really a big CPU hit. Blue Iris decodes the incoming video whether you detect motion or not, and that decoding is by far the biggest CPU user of a properly tuned system. This is why the "Limit decode" option has such a huge impact on CPU usage.

 

[miceacas]

@bp2008 is the CPU to slow for a 4-5 2mp camera setup in your opinion? From what I have read I think it should suffice, but I am not certain. I can always test it out and see how it does, I have the computer just sitting here.

Also, what exactly does the limit decode feature do?

 

[bp2008]

No, it should be fine for that.

"Limit decode" makes Blue Iris skip decoding most of the video frames in order to reduce CPU usage. It still records everything like normal. It just can't display live video smoothly with this feature enabled, and it affects motion detection accuracy.

 

[fenderman]

I have an old machine that needs a new day job... and it happens to line up pretty well with the system reqs I came across.

i5 4430, 8 GB RAM, and it does have a 120GB Evo 840 in it, but I am not 100% sure if that is required. I did read that "clips" should be stored on there in the hardware wiki, but being new to BI and never actually using it, I don't know what that is exactly.

A little background, I am trying to gather up some hardware to start testing a home system that will eventually have 4-8 IP cameras, I currently think I am going for 4 MP (2K?) which I think should be the quality I am looking for. Obviously there is more to it than megapixles and I respect that fact, but being able to punch in with resolution is something I take very much for granted on my 45.7 megapixle DLSR... I figure at least a few MP on the camera would be nice. Although I am not sure what sort of a CPU hit this would cause. The CPU I have should support quicksync without issue, and its not a slouch, but I understand the demands of video encoding. If there is a way to do less encoding, that is possibly fine. I am really not sure of how to properly balance said system, do I need an overpowered CPU so it can more easily write to disc? Or would multiple discs be more desirable for 1) longer storage span and 2) multiple discs should increase the amount of concurrent streams with less compression.

Any advice would be great!

P.S. I have no cameras picked out yet, or a PoE injector/switch, so any info on that front would be helpful!

to clarify, its not the clips that should be stored on the ssd, its the database. Its a reletively small file.

 

[miceacas]

Thus a 120 GB should be plenty sufficient? All this PC will do is run blue iris, and I suppose I’ll have to work out a VPN solution which will have the be either on a pi or on this machine. But a VPN client takes 0 space...

Thanks!

 

[miceacas]

O shoot. Got my terminology wrong, I am planning 2k, which is 4MP... CPU still enough for that?

 

[looney2ns]

Study everything in the Wiki at top of page.

 

[miceacas]

I have and am, but that only goes so far. This particular thread is trying to inquire about PC hardware needs, only real question is CPU, everything else is pretty well handled from the PC hardware front.

Wiki suggests the i5 I have should suffice, but I am looking for some user feedback. SSD needs are now understood, RAM is easy (I have plenty) and storage requirements will be determined once cameras are selected, PoE injection as well although that is more camera hardware side of things. I even have a quad port intel nic to throw in the PC simply to allow the cameras and PoE switch to be separate from my main LAN (I think, still have to study up on that).

Point is, I have been and am reading what info is available, but sometimes direct questions need direct answers, or at least direct SWAG’s...

 

[fenderman]

O shoot. Got my terminology wrong, I am planning 2k, which is 4MP... CPU still enough for that?

you might want to reconsider 4mp if low light and nightvision shots are important.

 

[miceacas]

Any suggestions? Standard 2MP 1080p with good IR? I do have a camera thread going with no input so far.

Camera options - opinions waned

 

[fenderman]

Any suggestions? Standard 2MP 1080p with good IR? I do have a camera thread going with no input so far.

Camera options - opinions waned

dahua starlight

 

[miceacas]

Ok, slight change of scope.

What if I wanted commercial grade cameras. I am thinking 2-3 very high quality cameras that will perform very well at night. Lets say I want to spend less than 2 grand on the 3 cameras. What would I be looking for? I really want high quality...

 

[bp2008]

Don't think a price under $200 means it isn't high quality. Most of the more expensive cameras out there are simply overpriced because there are people out there willing to pay more for nothing.

For example, here's some random Axis camera you might get from a professional installer: AXIS P1435-LE You could get 3 of those outdated cams for $1800. Or you could get three Dahua HDW5231R-ZE instead for $500 and have better image quality, built-in microphone, H.265, etc.

 

[miceacas]

If that is the top dog, that is fine. I don't want to spend money to spend money, but that is just there as a max budget. If there is a difference in quality for a nice expensive piece of hardware, I am open to it. But if the ~150-200 dollar camera is the one to get, so be it.