Troubleshootinng. IP cam set to 30fps 1920x1080 but only giving 15-16fps actual?

[icerabbit]

I'm still in my trial phase, trying to gather some more knowledge and practical experience as to how to move forward for a permanent install.

For ordinary use, I may not care about >15fps, but I want and will need to go higher FPS on at least two cameras, to have the best chance of capturing identifying details of moving cars, like a car tag and maybe other relevant details, driver, occupants, ...

In my first test setup it seemed that Synology Surveillance Station was always lagging some and had poor image quality (two-three year old DS), poorer than the live view on the hikvision directly. Blamed that on the Syno hardware & software.

Now I have my DS-2CD2032 hooked up with a stretch of 15ft (or so) cat5e to the same POE switch that I'm running a system with Axxon Next on.

Axxon has a nifty little utility that allows a data overlay for each incoming stream what the FPS is incoming from the camera and onto the client viewer. as well as the bandwidth used.

No matter what I try for settings on the Hikvision, it will reportedly only do ~15FPS. Doesn't matter if I set 20 up to 30.

This is on the display overlay, and counted frames in actual recording.

Question is: why?

Bandwidth used for the camera is reported at ~ 1MB/s. CPU use for the entire system is 5-10%. So it shouldn't be a computer capacity problem.
The 720 Foscam runs at ~20FPS depending on time of day, slower at night, haven't fiddled with it more, so it shouldn't be a software problem in Next.

While I've talked to Axxon support on something else, I've quizzed them on this. They're suggesting a quite detailed network analysis with live traffic analysis etc ... but I'm thinking it is not the 1MB/s of data flowing over an otherwise seemingly fine and typically dormant home gigabit network, which by the way starts out with a decent router and runs over Cat 6 to a few GB switches each with a variety of systems attached.

I shut down synology surveillance, to avoid the double pull that was happening. No change in FPS.
No browsers are looking at the live streams or anything.

I'm thinking maybe it is the camera?

[TABLE="class: deviceinfotable"]
[TR]
[TD="class: rowheader deviceinfotd"]Model[/TD]
[TD="class: deviceinfotd"]DS-2CD2032-I[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: rowheader deviceinfotd"]Serial No.[/TD]
[TD="class: deviceinfotd"]DS-2CD2032-I20140402nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: rowheader deviceinfotd"]Firmware Version[/TD]
[TD="class: deviceinfotd"]V5.1.0 build 131202[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: rowheader deviceinfotd"]Encoding Version[/TD]
[TD="class: deviceinfotd"]V5.0 build 131128[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: rowheader deviceinfotd"]Number of Channels[/TD]
[TD="class: deviceinfotd"]1[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Any other hikvisions that are exhibiting the same trait?
Common issue?
Common solution?
What to look for? Change?
?

I'm going to be on the road for a few days, so I won't be able to try anything right off the bat, unless I can somehow do it all remotely, but next remote login isn't working for me yet (... blame windows? haha). Anyway. I wanted to quiz the community on this, before I head to the airport. Maybe solve the mystery. Or hit the ground running when I get back.

Thanks in advance.

 

[icerabbit]

Camera settings: H264, 1920x1080, highest quality, constant rate, 8000kbps, frame rate 30, key frame 30, ...

I've tried medium high, variable bit rate, 4000kbps. Same 15 fps.

I had bumped it up from default and into constant to see what the camera was capable of and since the trial setup includes a lot of garden space and trees, the image quality kind of demands it.

 

[Kenjusticejr]

I have the same problem on one particular camera, stuck at 12.5 FPS..... same model..... Only thing I haven't tried is resetting the camera back to factory settings.... pretty sure there is an option to reset everything except the IP information from the maintenance tab...or one of the tabs....

other cameras purchased at the same time, probably came off of the assembly line at the same time, work at 25fps just fine, but one is stuck at 12.5...

when I finally get around to trying to fix the problem, I'm going to reset the camera back to factory, and delete it from BI and start fresh.... so, my only recommendation is trying the same.

 

[networkcameracritic]

Also, check the Exposure Time under image, if it's hard to get 30fps if the max shutter is set to 1/15th. Does this happen at night only or all the time? As for compression settings, ironically the higher the bit rate means less compression, should be faster. Do other cameras you have report 30fps? What is your network topography like, for example, is your NVR PC and camera on the same switch? Is it a gigabit or 100Mbps switch and if so, does it have a GigE uplink port? How many cameras are on the network?

 

[icerabbit]

Layout is a star essentially with decentralized switches. Not the big switch(es) serving nn lines in a central location, due to a combination of line length and primarily retrofit across floors in a fully finished house, so there are a few lines going to a different location, where a local switch is hooked up to the wall point. It is not that there's that much traffic, it is convenience of bringing hard line internet where it is needed. With regards to the cameras - test setup with axxon pc hooked up to the living room tv - you get this slice/branch:

Modem + Gig Router + Gig Switch (basement) -- > cat 6 (nn ft) -- > Gig Switch (tv room serving smart tv, apple tv, ...) -- > Cat 5e (6ft) --> Gig POE Switch with 6 ft line to Axxon PC + 16ft cat 5e POE lines to Hikv1 + Hikv2

I was hopeful that the exposure would be the key, but checking that this morning: 1/60s.

Second bullet came in, same model, different lens. Both hikvision bullets report 1/2 the framerate that they are set at. 15 instead of 30. 12 instead of 24. Day/night doesn't seem to matter.

As far as something that works fps wise: indoor ptz foscam over wifi does 20 fps as it is set and asked to do.

So, yes, test setup axxon pc / nvr & two hikvision 3mp are on the same switch that serves POE.
POE Switch has gig e and gig e back to router via tv room switch.
There are two 720p foscam PTZ (sam's club sale) on wifi.
The bandwidth coming into the axxon pc is ~3MB/s with 2x 1080p & 2x720p
Should be no sweat for gig e.

Haven't messed with firmware on the cameras. They were sent from cctv and operate otherwise fine in English.

I appreciate any other thoughts to solve this mystery.

PS: camera setup is anticipated/planned to be two poe switches, one on each end of the house, each serving two or three 3mp cameras (elongated house, cameras looking in different directions at each end), cat 6 to the camera and from the poe switch back to central.