Hardware Acceleration

[Lonster]

I have a Dell Optiplex 7040 with Intel 530 integrated video. I have 5 Dahua turret cameras controlled by Blue Iris. When I turn on hardware acceleration in BI and restart it, all 5 cameras show 'No Signal'.

I tried to see if I had to turn acceleration on in the graphics card settings, but when I went to the Troubleshoot tab in settings, the 'Change Settings' button is grayed out.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[fenderman]

I have a Dell Optiplex 7040 with Intel 530 integrated video. I have 5 Dahua turret cameras controlled by Blue Iris. When I turn on hardware acceleration in BI and restart it, all 5 cameras show 'No Signal'.

I tried to see if I had to turn acceleration on in the graphics card settings, but when I went to the Troubleshoot tab in settings, the 'Change Settings' button is grayed out.

What am I doing wrong?

You are using Windows 7 running as a service and ha...Can't have all 3...If you want the last 2 use Windows 10

 

[Lonster]

You are using Windows 7 running as a service and ha...Can't have all 3...If you want the last 2 use Windows 10

I must be misunderstanding the whole hardware acceleration thing. I thought the optimum set up was to have a PC with integrated graphics so hardware acceleration could be used. I didn't realize the operating system played a role.....actually I thought Win7 was the preferred OS to use with BI.

I ordered the PC with Win7 Pro, but it also came with a license for Win10 Pro. Am I better off wiping it and loading 10 on it? The PC is used for cameras only, and I plan to eventually have a least a dozen cameras, probably more.

What's the advantage of using hardware acceleration?

 

[hmjgriffon]

I must be misunderstanding the whole hardware acceleration thing. I thought the optimum set up was to have a PC with integrated graphics so hardware acceleration could be used. I didn't realize the operating system played a role.....actually I thought Win7 was the preferred OS to use with BI.

I ordered the PC with Win7 Pro, but it also came with a license for Win10 Pro. Am I better off wiping it and loading 10 on it? The PC is used for cameras only, and I plan to eventually have a least a dozen cameras, probably more.

What's the advantage of using hardware acceleration?

About half the CPU usage...

 

[Lonster]

Thanks, that helps me understand more. The PC has an i7 6700, BI shows 27% - 35% usage no matter of it's idle or recording all 5 cams at the same time. While playing around with the settings just to see what it could do, I set it to trigger all cams if one cam triggered, and it never went above 35%. I don't know if that's normal or too high for 5 cameras, but if hardware acceleration is only for CPU usage, I'm not going to worry about that for the time being.

I'm still learning what settings will give me the best picture, today I was messing with hardware acceleration. I've been changing each cam from full res and max frame rate to lowest res/frame rate, and various settings in between. I need a couple cams to give me the best they can do, others not so much. All are indoor and lights are on, so low light/IR ability isn't a concern for the cams I've placed so far. I have these in a apt building with indoor public storage units on the first floor.
Since installing the cameras a couple weeks ago I've watched tenants in the apts above go downstairs and take things from various areas, but I can't see what they're grabbing...it's blurred or out of focus. I can't lock the areas they're taking stuff from, there are main electric panels and main water shut offs that tenants and emergency responders need to access to. One tenant grabbed a new roll of paper towels and shoved it down his coat before walking out the door, but I'm not going to expose the fact that I now have cameras over a roll of paper towels. I want to see what else goes on when I'm not there (I live an hour away and only go there on the weekends).

There's one camera in a main area that I'm trying to get as best as it can be. It's the newest model Dahua 8mp turret with a 4mm lens (I don't have the model number right now). It's mounted on the ceiling, about 11' high, and I want to clearly see a range from 10 to 20 feet from its position (plus the added height distance). The picture is clearly focused about 5' in front of it (plus ceiling height, so 8' - 10' total), but anything beyond that is somewhat blurred. I can't move the camera closer because I want it to remain in it's not so easily seen position. Any tips on what setting might help?

 

[fenderman]

Do a clean install of 10 or don't run as a service...Your usage is way above normal... See threads discussing solutions...

 

[hmjgriffon]

Thanks, that helps me understand more. The PC has an i7 6700, BI shows 27% - 35% usage no matter of it's idle or recording all 5 cams at the same time. While playing around with the settings just to see what it could do, I set it to trigger all cams if one cam triggered, and it never went above 35%. I don't know if that's normal or too high for 5 cameras, but if hardware acceleration is only for CPU usage, I'm not going to worry about that for the time being.

I'm still learning what settings will give me the best picture, today I was messing with hardware acceleration. I've been changing each cam from full res and max frame rate to lowest res/frame rate, and various settings in between. I need a couple cams to give me the best they can do, others not so much. All are indoor and lights are on, so low light/IR ability isn't a concern for the cams I've placed so far. I have these in a apt building with indoor public storage units on the first floor.
Since installing the cameras a couple weeks ago I've watched tenants in the apts above go downstairs and take things from various areas, but I can't see what they're grabbing...it's blurred or out of focus. I can't lock the areas they're taking stuff from, there are main electric panels and main water shut offs that tenants and emergency responders need to access to. One tenant grabbed a new roll of paper towels and shoved it down his coat before walking out the door, but I'm not going to expose the fact that I now have cameras over a roll of paper towels. I want to see what else goes on when I'm not there (I live an hour away and only go there on the weekends).

There's one camera in a main area that I'm trying to get as best as it can be. It's the newest model Dahua 8mp turret with a 4mm lens (I don't have the model number right now). It's mounted on the ceiling, about 11' high, and I want to clearly see a range from 10 to 20 feet from its position (plus the added height distance). The picture is clearly focused about 5' in front of it (plus ceiling height, so 8' - 10' total), but anything beyond that is somewhat blurred. I can't move the camera closer because I want it to remain in it's not so easily seen position. Any tips on what setting might help?

How many mp are each cam? What frame rate are you running them at when you get 35%? I've got 4 2mp cams right now running 15 fps and my cpu idles around 4%... thats recording 24/7. Do you cams auto focus? If you want the best picture its pretty simple, run them at the highest bit rate they will do, try to get good lighting, or good IR if its dark, if they have auto focus that should pretty much do it, if you've got 8mp cameras you should be able to read the newspaper in their hand practically lol but the low light performance is probably going to suck nuts no matter what.

 

[Lonster]

I knew I'd be getting a lot of cameras over time, so when I I bought the first few I ordered them with different lens to see what would work best for the different indoor areas cameras would be placed. I've got 4 Duhua HDW4431C-A cameras, which are 4mp. One has a 2.8mm lens, one 3.6mm, one 6mm and one 8mm. The 5th camera is a HDW4830EM-AS, this is 8mp and has a 4mm lens.

I've been playing around with the settings so I don't remember exactly what they were at 35%, but probably 20fps each. When I first installed everything I had some ghosting and jerkiness on a couple cameras, but after adjusting some things they don't do that anymore...maybe a little jerkiness once in a while but no ghosting. I've always left the bit rate at what the Dahua Config software defaults it to (it's on the low side, less than 2000) until yesterday. I didn't mess with the 4mp cameras, just the 8mp camera. BI doesn't recognize it as a Dahua, so it defaults to generic. I used the Dahua Config software to set the camera to the highest resolution it allowed, which I think was 3042x2078, and the max frame rate it would allow, which was 25, and the highest bit rate it recommended (don't remember the exact setting but over 10k). I then deleted the camera from BI and added it again. On the video tab, BI just had a question mark for resolution. I manually set the frame rate to 25.

I attached a pic of the 8mp camera. The gray door is the only entry door to the entire first floor. This is the camera that 11' high. The bench to the left is where I've watched people take things, but I can't see what's in their hand. One time it was something right next to the soda machine, another time it was something next to the yellow bin. Should I be able to zoom in and and have a clear picture of the things around the yellow bin, or is this the best a camera at this price point is going to do for me? I know I could put a 6mm or 8mm camera there and that might help, but it'll reduce what I can see side to side, which is something I don't want to do if I don't have to.

EDIT - the snapshot isn't with the camera settings at their highest. I don't know if that makes a difference but wanted to point it out. I have the jpg setting in BI set to 100%.

 

[hmjgriffon]

I knew I'd be getting a lot of cameras over time, so when I I bought the first few I ordered them with different lens to see what would work best for the different indoor areas cameras would be placed. I've got 4 Duhua HDW4431C-A cameras, which are 4mp. One has a 2.8mm lens, one 3.6mm, one 6mm and one 8mm. The 5th camera is a HDW4830EM-AS, this is 8mp and has a 4mm lens.

I've been playing around with the settings so I don't remember exactly what they were at 35%, but probably 20fps each. When I first installed everything I had some ghosting and jerkiness on a couple cameras, but after adjusting some things they don't do that anymore...maybe a little jerkiness once in a while but no ghosting. I've always left the bit rate at what the Dahua Config software defaults it to (it's on the low side, less than 2000) until yesterday. I didn't mess with the 4mp cameras, just the 8mp camera. BI doesn't recognize it as a Dahua, so it defaults to generic. I used the Dahua Config software to set the camera to the highest resolution it allowed, which I think was 3042x2078, and the max frame rate it would allow, which was 25, and the highest bit rate it recommended (don't remember the exact setting but over 10k). I then deleted the camera from BI and added it again. On the video tab, BI just had a question mark for resolution. I manually set the frame rate to 25.

I attached a pic of the 8mp camera. The gray door is the only entry door to the entire first floor. This is the camera that 11' high. The bench to the left is where I've watched people take things, but I can't see what's in their hand. One time it was something right next to the soda machine, another time it was something next to the yellow bin. Should I be able to zoom in and and have a clear picture of the things around the yellow bin, or is this the best a camera at this price point is going to do for me? I know I could put a 6mm or 8mm camera there and that might help, but it'll reduce what I can see side to side, which is something I don't want to do if I don't have to.

EDIT - the snapshot isn't with the camera settings at their highest. I don't know if that makes a difference but wanted to point it out. I have the jpg setting in BI set to 100%.

so even at 8mp, if you blow a snapshot of the video up you can't tell enough detail? you need two cameras my friend, one to cover the whole room, and another that is zoomed in on the vending machine and table. I'm kinda surprised 8mp isn't a good enough picture to blow it up but I don't know what the total distance is from the camera lens to the vending machine if you drew a straight line? you could get a $170 starlight camera and mount it up there next to this one and zoom it in since it's motorized zoom, that should let you be able to tell what they are taking and nail them. Don't know how hidden a second camera will be but lol perhaps if they knew there was a camera there they would stop stealing and you wouldn't have to worry about it.

 

[fenderman]

Note that remoting into the system using any remote viewing software will significantly increase cpu usage...you also need to enable hardware acceleration..