Howdy - newbie and need help :)

[tompope]

Howdy all,

I am trying to setup 30 Axis IP camera with Blue Iris. (i want a better NVR) One of the reasons I am looking at BI is my current NVR chokes on this many cameras. Is there a document that details best practice for someone with a setup like mine? I want to make sure that I record on motion but want to keep the CPU to a manageable level.

I see on setting up the cameras an option "Trigger using the camera's digital input or motion" and this, to uneducated me, seems like a good way to keep the server running smooth and still record when I need it. If I enable this, is there anything in the camera setup I need to check off as well?

Any other options on setting up AXIS cameras with BI so that I can have 30 on the server with no issue?

My server:
32GB RAM
2 XEON Procs (8 core)
10TB storage (raid 5)
OS on SSD
4 x1GB network adapters (bridged)

Thanks in advance!

edit: i emailed support for a manual/documentation but they just pointed me to the download - anyone know where any documentation for BI is located?

edit 2: with just 4 cameras on BI, it is already keeping the PROC at 47% steady (across 8 cores) - this is insane.

 

[fenderman]

The help file in blue iris is the manual.
Axis cameras should work with the "Trigger using the camera's digital input or motion" ..this only triggers the recordings so you can disable everything in the motion tab, but you still needs to setup everything else...
What xeon processors are you running?

 

[tompope]

help file? really? wow...

XEON X5460. (3.2GHz)

hopefully doing what you mentioned will help, as i won't be able to get 10 cameras on this server like this.

edit: did as you mentioned, had no impact on CPU usage

the four cameras i have on the system currently are running at:
1. 1280x720
2. 720x480
3. 720x480
4. 800x600 (with mic)

are there any other settings that can lower the ridiculous CPU utilization?

 

[fenderman]

The help file is the best way to have a user manual..you can pull a help screen in any dialog box you are in. It also makes it easy to add new info on added features and changes.
The X5460 is an old processor..but since you have dual cpus it should be fine (though your power usage will be through the roof)..
Did you disable regular motion detection? You should be recording direct to disc and using the bvr container...direct to disc helps a ot.
Make sure you exclude blueiris.exe from being scanned by your antivirus.

 

[tompope]

wont argue with you about help file, just not my cup of tea

i disabled motion detection in BI, had no noticeable difference. i have no idea if i am recording direct to disc - anywhere to verify that? av is turned off for this.

 

[fenderman]

wont argue with you about help file, just not my cup of tea

i disabled motion detection in BI, had no noticeable difference. i have no idea if i am recording direct to disc - anywhere to verify that? av is turned off for this.

in each camera, its in the record tab>configure

 

[fenderman]

Also, he help file has a full list of things that will reduce cpu utilization..direct to disc, limit live preview frame etc..

• Can you lower the capture frame rate on one or more of your cameras? For an IP camera, this also must be done from within the camera's own browser interface--ideally the frame rate that the IP camera is sending should match the value you specify in Blue Iris.
• Can you lower the resolution on one or more of your cameras?
• Can you remove one or more video overlay graphics or text (and take a note that Transparent items use the most CPU)?
• Can you switch to the BVR recording format? This is more efficient than either MP4 or WMV.
• If you are running multiple cameras, can one of them be eliminated?
• Can you minimize the Blue Iris "Console?" When the BI Console is minimized, no CPU time is used to draw to the screen
• Speaking of redrawing the console screen, when BI Console is processing live cameras for the console view it consumes a lot of CPU overhead and this overhead can be significantly reduced by setting "BI Console > BI Options > Cameras > Limit live previewrate (does not affect recording)" from the default setting of 30 FPS down to 5 FPS. In my case, this resulted in the BI Console reporting that the CPU usage had dropped from approximately 72% (@ the 30fps default) down to 32% (at the 5fps new setting).
• If you are running as a service, do not leave the BI Console instance running when you no longer need it.
• Turn off Windows Aero (switch to Windows Vista or 7 "basic" display mode). Aero is pretty, but it uses more CPU cycles to draw to the screen.
• Are you using the "Pre-Trigger Frames" option on the Record tab? This option will use more CPU cycles so the lower the better...unless you need it.
• Switching from H.264 to XVID codec recording will save CPU time on slower processors. Install that from XVID.org. When installed, it will become an option on the Record/Format page in camera properties.
• For an IP camera, you can eliminate re-encoding video altogether during recording by using the Direct-To-Disc option on the Recording format page.