LPR Security Camera W/ Long Range 8-32mm Lens. / Blue Iris

jmfranzen

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Just joined recently and have some questions about License Plate Recognition LPR Security Camera W/ Long Range 8-32mm Lens. I have a copy of Blue Iris on a computer and wonder if I have to also install the recognition software fro this camera on same computer and wonder if this will overwhelm the computer resources? Also can Blue Iris take full advantage of all the features of this camera without using the software that comes with he camera, IE can I adjust everything on the camera without switching to the app for this camera? Lastly what are the mounting restrictions(distance, angles, etc) and for nighttime use is IR or regular LED flood lights better?
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wittaj

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You still have a lot to learn LOL. Please see the LPR subforum

Need way more details. How far would the plates be from the camera? If it is more than 50 feet, a 32mm lens will struggle. You need to get the angle as close to straight on the plate as possible.

Which camera - does it have ANPR built-in? If so, BI can do nothing with that data.

Regardless of the camera, BI simply takes the video that is fed to it. Any changes to the camera settings themselves have to take place within the camera GUI.

Regarding a camera for plates (LPR) - keep in mind that this is a camera dedicated to plates and not an overview camera also. It is as much an art as it is a science. If you want to capture plates, you need a camera just for that.

During daytime it may act as an overview, but at night the shutter tends to need to be faster to capture the plate, and the faster the shutter, the darker the image.

Most of us run B/W to take advantage of the reflective properties of a plate which is why we can run a faster shutter to get the plates. Once you decide to keep it in color, the shutter speed slows way down and might not be fast enough to actually capture a plate.

Very few people have enough light to run LPR in color at night. Those that do usually have street lights and are close to a stop sign intersection where the cars stop for a moment.

At night, we have to run a very fast shutter speed (1/2,000) and in B/W with IR and the image will be black. All you will see are head/tail lights and the plate. Some people can get away with color if they have enough street lights, but most of us cannot. Here is a representative sample of plates I get at night of vehicles traveling about 45MPH at 175 feet from my 2MP camera (that is all that is needed for plates):

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Most of us use a non-ALPR camera such as the 5241-Z12E (has focal length that can reach 200 feet, but some have gone further) and then either use Plate Recognizer (paid subscription after 2500 plates/month) that is integrated with BI or we use another 3rd party application like OpenALPR (that does not connect to BI). This is only needed if you want the tech to read the plate. If you just want to be able to see with your own eye, it isn't needed.

But if your camera can read plates automatically, BI can do nothing with this information - you would need to get a compatible NVR to do that.

 
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jmfranzen

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I currently have 2 license cameras. Neither of which work, as they don't hold their settings, and the software used to manage them seems to have been created back in the 1980's. The camera I am looking at is sold in the store on the ipcamtalk website. Location is an entry to a small neighborhood with one lane in and one lane out. I can install regular lighting and/or IR lighting and the camera will be mounted along the side of the road within 20 feet of the cars passing by. Have one camera setup near the stop sign at top of the drive where most cars stop for a few seconds. Is there someone who manages the store on this site and is there a tech support person who answer pre-sales and after sales questions on camera bought in the IPcmatalk site?
 
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