Advice on building a Linux computer with ZoneMinder

[the lemming 0]

Hello

 

Is it possible to build a cheap computer with a Linux OS to run ZoneMinder and a couple of cameras?

 

So far I have a DVR setup from a local store but it records in a propriety format which can only be viewed on the player. Not exactly a good idea especially if I want to provide evidence to the police.

 

I would very much appreciate comments on the ZoneMinder software

 

I would also appreciate advice on what hardware I would need for my cheap computer.

 

The motherboard, processor, RAM, PSU are a given but it is other stuff that I would appreciate recommendations on.

 

Cheers

[Birdman Adam 0]

It is very much possible. I will say that zoneminder is not very forgiving for people who don't know their way around linux. Right now my machine is running Ubuntu w/zoneminder installed. Got 3 cameras at ~5 FPS each going. Its an older Dell desktop with 1GB of DDR RAM, a P4 processor, and a 1TB SATA drive for storing pictures. Once you get it set up - it's wonderful, but getting there was somewhat hard.

 

The capture cards from Bluecherry work great - make sure to order the optional heatsink for the BT878 chip(s). I have the PV143 = 4 channels at 30FPS total. They have versions in PCI for older mobos and PCI-Express as well. Make sure you narrow down results by 'Video4Linux supported' - these are the plug&play ones for linux. Also, they record in 640x480, so you don't quite get the full 720x480 of D1.

 

When building try to use at least a dual-core processor - ZM will benefit from this a LOT. Since ZM is constantly working on streams from each camera, being able to chew on 2 (or maybe 4) at once instead of 1 (and not have to jump back and forth between them) will help. Make sure you have good airflow, those chips get warm (too hot without heatsink). You need as much RAM as the streams of video (they are held in buffer), and more on top of that. If your recording from HD cameras then youll need more RAM!

[the lemming 0]

Thanks for the advice which is much appreciated.

 

Just had a look at how much a cheap computer would cost with a monitor and I'm thinking that a netbook would come in at roughly the same price.

 

Small, cheap and got a built in monitor.

 

Can you envisage any probs with a little netbook for running and storing surveillance footage?

 

Cheers

[Soundy 1]

A netbook should work as long as you're using it only as an NVR (just to capture and store the streams). I don't think it would work well as a VMS - you'd want to view the video from a separate machine.