How to improve recording framerate?

[norad]

I have a PC running Windows 7 and iSpy 64 bit. 3 cameras are connected to it: 2 Foscam 9826w and 1 Foscam 8910w, all connected via ethernet cable.

The 9826w cameras are setup in iSpy via VLC plugin and are showing 24-26 fps while showing video (either with motion or not). However, the video that is recorded on motion detection only has around 15-20 fps depending on how fast something is moving in front of the camera.

These cameras are in a closed car parking space and I use them to check license plates. The problem with this is that at 15fps the license plates are blurry when a car passes in front of the camera at speed, and I cannot read the license plate.

Question 1: Would I be able to read the license plate better if the video was recorded at 25fps instead of 15fps?
Question 2: What is a better solution to increase recording fps: Get a better camera, or upgrade the PC CPU?

The PC has an SSD disk.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Alex

 

[bp2008]

1: No, higher frame rate will not help. What you need is faster shutter speed (a.k.a. exposure time). I don't know if Foscam has this option, but if they do it will be in the camera's web interface.
2: What is the PC's CPU? What is the utilization % when recording and when not recording? Better cameras would definitely not be a waste of money, and if you get Hikvision cameras for example then you can run their IVMS software which is probably a lot more efficient than iSpy.

 

[norad]

Thanks bp

I am on a tight budget so I would first try to find a solution that doesn't involve changing the cameras... I will check to see if there is an option for shutter speed, although I doubt it... The CPU is a quad core i3-4130 @ 3,4 GHz, and CPU is around 40-45% when not recording and spikes to 65-70% when recording

 

[bp2008]

That CPU usage is acceptable. It doesn't get too close to 100%. I don't know why the frame rate drops though. I suspect if you used Blue Iris with Direct to Disc enabled you would get better CPU usage and the frame rate would not drop during recordings. But either way 15 FPS should be a great plenty for security video, and the motion blur is not related to the frame rate so fixing the recording frame rate won't fix the blur.

FYI your CPU is only dual core, but it has hyperthreading which means it performs kind of like a quad core.

 

[fenderman]

Have you tried recording to SD card on the 9826? Does it exhibit the same problem? The issue is most likely the camera itself. Foscam is a poor choice overall...There are cheaper better cameras for your purpose.

 

[Sam909]

Currently I am testing Foscam FI8905W with Xeoma program. It is listed as a supported device on their site.

The camera is nicely auto-detected, and displays. However, I am getting very slow frame rates (1-3 fps). What can I change to make this better (URL variables/options specific to the Foscam FI8905W)? What performance should be expected with the following setup?

Can anybody help?

 

[DaveP]

However, I am getting very slow frame rates

1 - 3 is bad (except at night, when its kinda normal'ish for what you have)

 

[bp2008]

If you are running that on WiFi, it may have a poor signal or there may be too much interference (a strong signal can still have interference that makes it perform like a poor signal).