Vivotek IP-8332 and Recording Question

[lombana 0]

Got a question for the pro's on here, I finally got the Vivotek IP8332 cameras to replace the low end mega store garbage that I thought might get me by which didn't and I'm super pleased to say these cameras are wonderful, the image from them is crisp and clear and what I expected.

 

That said a quick observation and then a hint from the pro's on how to handle this.

 

The IP-8332 as I have since learned from speaking with Tech Support at Vivotek can only record about 4 seconds at full 1200x800 resolution in 'Excellent' mode at 30 fps in h.264 compression and according to them unless I dumb down the resolution my desire to record a 10 second event is shot.

 

Their own spreadsheet doesn't support these numbers and in fact I should be able to record about 8 seconds based on what they publish but I won't dwell.

 

So it looks like I am going to have to record EVENTS in high res based on motion and then also record a 2nd stream for archive.

 

What I would like to know from you guys that do this for a living and not a guy like me that is tinkering at home, what do you guys setup for a client when you want to archive 24*7, what frame rates, resolutions etc.

 

I have the cams all setup to feed into a 1-TB NAS on motion now and have tinkered with several settings to write 24*7 but feel that I'm missing the boat a little. Should I be archiving at 1280*800 30 fps, or should I do 1280*800 at 5 fps or should I drop down to 640*400 etc etc the issue is that there are so many possibilities that it's clouded my thoughts. Hence the reason for this question.

 

Thanks in advance and if anyone else is running the 8332 let me know what you're doing, you can PM if you prefer.

 

Miguel

[Birdman Adam 0]

You definitely don't need a full 30 FPS. Above 4-5 FPS is good, I'd say 5 is 'on the edge', meaning for many areas its good, but some places you'd want more.

 

I say go for 1280 x 800 @ 5 FPS.

[dvarapala 0]

My "unreliable freeware VMS" (ZoneMinder) can record from my IP8332 at full resolution and full frame rate continuously for as long as I want.

[Korgoth Of Barbaria 0]

You definitely don't need a full 30 FPS. Above 4-5 FPS is good, I'd say 5 is 'on the edge', meaning for many areas its good, but some places you'd want more.

 

I say go for 1280 x 800 @ 5 FPS.

 

 

Low frame rate AND H.264 codec? Nahhh, its not so good idea. You can use 5 fps and H.264 if there is no motion, but H.264 do best @ 15 fps acording to our tests.

 

 

And why You use Vivotek

[dvarapala 0]

And why You use Vivotek

 

A better question is why wouldn't you?

Go ahead, name a megapixel IP camera which has better bang for the buck than the IP8332.

[lombana 0]

My "unreliable freeware VMS" (ZoneMinder) can record from my IP8332 at full resolution and full frame rate continuously for as long as I want.

 

But for that you need to run a frontend server or PC, I'm trying to do it as streamlined as possible, my home is very green, lots of solar power so running a pc 24*7 sucking 200 watts isn't out of the question, but an independent NAS trickling at about 8 watts is more in line with my thinking. I do however welcome your point though.

 

I'm back to testing, I did make some changes per some of the recommendations here and am now going back in the footage to review.

 

I'll post something on here in the coming days when I get closer to a solid conclusion! They don't make this easy though that's all I can say.

 

Miguel

[dvarapala 0]

My "unreliable freeware VMS" (ZoneMinder) can record from my IP8332 at full resolution and full frame rate continuously for as long as I want.

 

But for that you need to run a frontend server or PC, I'm trying to do it as streamlined as possible, my home is very green, lots of solar power so running a pc 24*7 sucking 200 watts isn't out of the question, but an independent NAS trickling at about 8 watts is more in line with my thinking.

 

Ah, well, you didn't disclose that requirement in your original post.

 

However, if you think about it, what is a NAS? It's nothing more than a (dedicated, embedded) computer with a network interface and some disk drives. If you can find a NAS that meets your power specs and runs Linux, maybe you can get ZoneMinder or some other VMS software to run on it. Of course, you can also spend the big bucks and buy Mobotix cameras, which will record to a NAS right out of the box.

 

It's not easy being Green.

[oldvanhalenrules 0]

I have an IP8332, too. I am curious to know if you are able to use the motion detection without any trouble. The window sizing is particularly flaky and the motion sensitivity settings leave much to be desired when I configure them through my browser connected directly to the camera's IP address.

 

Would welcome recommendations on the best third party software to handle motion detection, too.

[Digiscan 0]

I have an IP8332, too. I am curious to know if you are able to use the motion detection without any trouble. The window sizing is particularly flaky and the motion sensitivity settings leave much to be desired when I configure them through my browser connected directly to the camera's IP address.

 

Would welcome recommendations on the best third party software to handle motion detection, too.

Did you find better software?

[Gulfsurfer 0]

I have an IP8332, too. I am curious to know if you are able to use the motion detection without any trouble. The window sizing is particularly flaky and the motion sensitivity settings leave much to be desired when I configure them through my browser connected directly to the camera's IP address.

 

Would welcome recommendations on the best third party software to handle motion detection, too.

 

I'm about to buy one or two of these cams (IP8232) for my weekend home security system. I use Blue Iris and a single Vivo IP7160 right now. I'm using the BI motion detection, only record on events, working good so far.

 

For the OP's power consumption issue, someone over at the BI forum is running this same software on an Atom PC (extremely low power draw). He's running multiple cams, seems to be satisfied.

[n0fx 0]

Got a question for the pro's on here, I finally got the Vivotek IP8332 cameras to replace the low end mega store garbage that I thought might get me by which didn't and I'm super pleased to say these cameras are wonderful, the image from them is crisp and clear and what I expected.

 

That said a quick observation and then a hint from the pro's on how to handle this.

 

The IP-8332 as I have since learned from speaking with Tech Support at Vivotek can only record about 4 seconds at full 1200x800 resolution in 'Excellent' mode at 30 fps in h.264 compression and according to them unless I dumb down the resolution my desire to record a 10 second event is shot.

 

Their own spreadsheet doesn't support these numbers and in fact I should be able to record about 8 seconds based on what they publish but I won't dwell.

 

So it looks like I am going to have to record EVENTS in high res based on motion and then also record a 2nd stream for archive.

 

What I would like to know from you guys that do this for a living and not a guy like me that is tinkering at home, what do you guys setup for a client when you want to archive 24*7, what frame rates, resolutions etc.

 

I have the cams all setup to feed into a 1-TB NAS on motion now and have tinkered with several settings to write 24*7 but feel that I'm missing the boat a little. Should I be archiving at 1280*800 30 fps, or should I do 1280*800 at 5 fps or should I drop down to 640*400 etc etc the issue is that there are so many possibilities that it's clouded my thoughts. Hence the reason for this question.

 

Thanks in advance and if anyone else is running the 8332 let me know what you're doing, you can PM if you prefer.

 

Miguel

 

How do you like the picture quality on the IP8332?

[PumpkinEater 0]

>So it looks like I am going to have to record EVENTS in high res based on motion and then also record a 2nd stream for archive

 

My configuration:

 

Stream 1 for 24hx7 recording:

H.264

1280x800

15 fps

detailed quality

I have configured cyclic recording on a 650 GByte partition (ubuntu file server). That gives me records of the last 14 days. I have mounted the partition from my Win7 notebook, so I have a new network drive for the camera which I can access from the windows file manager. When I need a special record, I can easily step down the directory tree (month->hour) to get the right 60sec record.

 

I also have configured motion detection, juast to know, when events happened. The limited amount of seconds for these events makes it nearly useless.

[MaxIcon 0]

I'd recommend against reducing resolution for more long term storage, unless you don't care about details, in which case you might as well run all VGA anyway. Lower FPS and higher resolution gives more useful data, in my opinion, but it depends on your goals.

 

I'm running 4 1MP Vivoteks ( 3 x IP8332 and 1 x FD8164) and have recently added a 1.3MP Dahua, and the Dahua's image quality is much better than the Vivoteks, especially at night or in low light. The Vivotek's software is better, especially the data stream management and exposure control, but the Dahua costs substantially less. If I were buying new today, I'd go for the Dahuas with little hesitation.

 

I record these 5 cams, a 2MP Messoa, and a VGA Y-cam on a little mini-ITX box running an i3-640 and a 2TB drive, and it draws about 85W, not counting the POE switch. All of these are running at 10 FPS except the Dahua, which I'm testing at 15 FPS, and all are recording on motion detect.

 

It's maxed out with these cameras, but replacing the MB and CPU with a newer gen i5 would draw about the same power and allow a lot more MPs. Likewise, going to an Atom would reduce what you could record, but draw less power.

 

I care more about having a comprehensive, high-res record of events than reducing power draw. YMMV, as always!