Upgrading question, How easy?

S

Stev Wolf

Young grasshopper
May 7, 2017
91
7
I have been running BI on a windows 7 computer for many years now. Its worked ok. with 3 cameras. That's all I have. Yes its a bit slow but has worked for me.
It appears that outlook mail does not work with this version of BI software version 4. Yes I know there are work arounds but I would rather have it work out of the box.

So it appears the proper solution is to upgrade to 5. Since I'm already a user it appears and upgrade to 5 is about 30 dollars.

My question is if BI 4 has worked well enough for me on this computer, will BI 5 work on this computer. I believe it is an intel Core 2 4300 1.80 x2
I recognize that may will say it as I have seen in the past that it should not work with BI 4 but it does. This is the only thing this computer does.

Second question is, how easy is it to upgrade. I would hate to loose all the settings I have set up.

Thank you.
 
Blue Iris 5 should be compatible with windows 7 so I don't expect that to be an issue. More concerning is the CPU (and the rest of the system built around it). The Core 2 Duo E4300 came out in 2006 and has extremely poor performance by modern standards. You probably don't have a huge amount of RAM in that system either.

Generally, as years of development go into a piece of software, it gets less efficient. However Blue Iris 5 has the capability to use sub streams alongside main streams so the machine does not have to decode main streams 24/7 anymore, which actually reduces CPU usage substantially and this should more than offset any increase in CPU load (but you do need to take actions to configure sub streams properly). I would hazard a guess that, if you have enough RAM in that system to account for any additional overhead required by Blue Iris 5, you may be able to run it okay as long as you set up the sub streams as recommended.

Here is the old Blue Iris 4 to 5 migration guide thread: Blue Iris 4 to 5 Migration Guide

Some settings should transfer okay, but some have changed and you may lose some of the configuration. Anyway your first step should be to make a backup of Blue Iris's registry settings. Open regedit and export the Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Perspective Software\Blue Iris section. You can also make a backup via Blue Iris's settings window but the regedit method has the benefit of the backup file being readable and editable in a text editor. For example it can be very nice to make a copy of your registry backup and delete the Registration section from it so that you don't overwrite any of your activation status when you restore the backup.

The main things I would be concerned with checking after the upgrade are:

  • Do the camera streams all load, and does recording still work?
  • Make sure direct to disk recording is still enabled.
  • Configure sub streams as per the sub stream guide: Sub Stream Guide
  • After configuring sub streams, check the motion detection zones you may have configured in case they got lost in the change (this used to definitely happen, not sure if it was ever properly fixed).
  • Review other motion detection settings. If you want it to perform like it did in Blue Iris 4, make sure the selected algorithm is "Simple", not "gaussian" or "edge vector". (I still use Simple mode myself).
  • Particularly after configuring sub streams, you may need to adjust the min object size for motion detection.
  • Make sure PTZ still works if any of your cams support that.
  • Make sure you are recording to BVR format (not AVI, MP4, etc).
  • Consult the CPU optimization guide as needed: Optimizing Blue Iris's CPU Usage

This should be obvious but when Blue Iris 5 offers to install codeproject AI software, say no. That system will not have the resources to spare.
 
Stev Wolf said:
intel Core 2 4300 1.80 x2
Click to expand...
Here is the current recommend hardware.

The CPU you are using is from 2006. Its 19 years old.
Launch Date
Q3'06

You could pick a used Intel gen 8 PC for under $200 likely under $150 and have more future proofing. Also a lot faster more modern cpu.

Windows 7 reached the end of its support on January 14, 2020
Windows 10 End of Support is October 14, 2025

I would do a hardware and OS upgrade as well.
 
True, Im aware support ended long ago. I still get updates I think because this is an enterprise version, not sure. But it does work well enough currently. Purchasing a new computer really just for one feature emailing, I'm not really going to do. I can use google. And there is a work around but I wanted to avoid this. Soon windows 10 will end.

Thanks.
 
As bp2008 said, it will work on Win7 and many here are still running Win7 and BI5. It is more an issue of your hardware.

No real issue with running an older OS if the computer is only used for BI and not used for other things like surfing the net and stuff.

Running an older version of Windows is no different than folks using an NVR that is running an older firmware that is rarely updated, except for your computer is at least getting antivirus updates.
 
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bp2008 said:
Blue Iris 5 should be compatible with windows 7 so I don't expect that to be an issue. More concerning is the CPU (and the rest of the system built around it). The Core 2 Duo E4300 came out in 2006 and has extremely poor performance by modern standards. You probably don't have a huge amount of RAM in that system either.

Generally, as years of development go into a piece of software, it gets less efficient. However Blue Iris 5 has the capability to use sub streams alongside main streams so the machine does not have to decode main streams 24/7 anymore, which actually reduces CPU usage substantially and this should more than offset any increase in CPU load (but you do need to take actions to configure sub streams properly). I would hazard a guess that, if you have enough RAM in that system to account for any additional overhead required by Blue Iris 5, you may be able to run it okay as long as you set up the sub streams as recommended.

Here is the old Blue Iris 4 to 5 migration guide thread: Blue Iris 4 to 5 Migration Guide

Some settings should transfer okay, but some have changed and you may lose some of the configuration. Anyway your first step should be to make a backup of Blue Iris's registry settings. Open regedit and export the Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Perspective Software\Blue Iris section. You can also make a backup via Blue Iris's settings window but the regedit method has the benefit of the backup file being readable and editable in a text editor. For example it can be very nice to make a copy of your registry backup and delete the Registration section from it so that you don't overwrite any of your activation status when you restore the backup.

The main things I would be concerned with checking after the upgrade are:

  • Do the camera streams all load, and does recording still work?
  • Make sure direct to disk recording is still enabled.
  • Configure sub streams as per the sub stream guide: Sub Stream Guide
  • After configuring sub streams, check the motion detection zones you may have configured in case they got lost in the change (this used to definitely happen, not sure if it was ever properly fixed).
  • Review other motion detection settings. If you want it to perform like it did in Blue Iris 4, make sure the selected algorithm is "Simple", not "gaussian" or "edge vector". (I still use Simple mode myself).
  • Particularly after configuring sub streams, you may need to adjust the min object size for motion detection.
  • Make sure PTZ still works if any of your cams support that.
  • Make sure you are recording to BVR format (not AVI, MP4, etc).
  • Consult the CPU optimization guide as needed: Optimizing Blue Iris's CPU Usage

This should be obvious but when Blue Iris 5 offers to install codeproject AI software, say no. That system will not have the resources to spare.
Click to expand...
This does make sense. I cant remember what the memory is right now but I tried to max it out knowing that this was important. Of course I know there was limitations to Win7. Eventually I will buy a new computer but if its not broken etc. And its such a small number of cameras usually 2 sometimes 3.
Thanks.
 
wittaj said:
As bp2008 said, it will work on Win7 and many here are still running Win7 and BI5. It is more an issue of your hardware.

No real issue with running an older OS if the computer is only used for BI and not used for other things like surfing the net and stuff.

Running an older version of Windows is no different than folks using an NVR that is running an older firmware that is rarely updated, except for your computer is at least getting antivirus updates.
Click to expand...
Your point of an NVR is well taken. While this is a home system i Have worked on camera installs with 40 and 50 cameras. One on a computer we never upgraded and another on an NVR which we never upgraded. I have no idea what was running on the NVR, probably some linux version or some Windoes Appliance OS software. Yes perhaps not ideal, and we shall see, but no harm in trying and if need be upgrade if we have to.
Thanks.
 
I was going to suggest getting a "new" computer, but then I realized you are only running 3 cams, probably quite less than 4k resolution. You should be fine with simply upgrading to BI5, especially if you keep the frame rates down to 15fps or less. You should be aware that the cost of upgrading to BI5 has gone up a bit (about $40 now, IIRC) but it is still quite worth the expense.
 
DaveK said:
I was going to suggest getting a "new" computer, but then I realized you are only running 3 cams, probably quite less than 4k resolution. You should be fine with simply upgrading to BI5, especially if you keep the frame rates down to 15fps or less. You should be aware that the cost of upgrading to BI5 has gone up a bit (about $40 now, IIRC) but it is still quite worth the expense.
Click to expand...
Well on never knows in the end. Anyway no harm in trying. Thanks.
 
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