help me with my nvr plan

[reeves1985 0]

Been searching around the forum and there is a lot of very useful information regarding pc vs dedicated nvr systems and the best ways to display to a monitor etc.

 

im hoping someone can help me tailor something that would work for me

 

the background plan:

 

currently I have 2 3mp hik cams and plan on adding a maximum of 2 more. It is a small setup for my property.

 

I plan on running the 2/4 cams to a switch (poe) in the attic and running either a dedicated nas drive or pc based nas of some flavour.

 

for viewing the cams on a separate monitor I plan on using a android device into a monitor (just for basic monitoring and viewing pleasure).

 

as for the nvr. I have plenty of computer bits lying around which I could knock up into a compact sytem to run as a dedicated nas server for recording

 

my main objectives are to keep it as power efficient as possible as it will be running 24/7 and also keep setup costs down.

 

is this the best way to go? or maybe integrated client server setup? (I understand a client/server setup would require a hell of a lot more cpu power)

 

cost is also a factor and I have thought about a dedicated nvr but I don't like the limitations on the lower budget devices without spending lost of cash.

 

all opinions help and advice welcome

[drocer 0]

You can read my thoughts using an i7-3770:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=39387

 

As long as you don't use software motion record, these is no real demand on CPU's. Hikvisions do hardware motion record.

 

Power usage, I found NAS and PC's use the same. ARM dedicated units do use less power but kill expandability. See post above for power consumption.

 

Check operating temps for the switch before putting in attic. Also may sure the power budget is enough for the cameras.

[reeves1985 0]

Thanks I will have a read through

 

Operating temps shouldn't be a problem as the attic is a concerted bedroom this will be inside essentially

 

Do the moment as a test on a spare old pc I had lying around I installed the hik ivms4200nvr software and added the two cams set motion record and hard drive up and it's hitting 100% CPU on 15fps

 

This rig is old and uses a and Athlon 64 x2 3ghz CPU with 65w

The memory is fine like at around 10-15% of 4gb

[drocer 0]

Thanks I will have a read through

 

Operating temps shouldn't be a problem as the attic is a concerted bedroom this will be inside essentially

 

Do the moment as a test on a spare old pc I had lying around I installed the hik ivms4200nvr software and added the two cams set motion record and hard drive up and it's hitting 100% CPU on 15fps

 

This rig is old and uses a and Athlon 64 x2 3ghz CPU with 65w

The memory is fine like at around 10-15% of 4gb

 

Memory isn't an issue. 4GB is enough for <10 cameras.

 

There does seem to be a bug in iVMS-4200 PCNVR. Instead of auto switching from main stream and substream, it will constantly stay at full resolution once you enlarge it once. Disable auto switching on live view and force substreams. CPU processing should drop noticably. Recordings will still be a full resolution.

 

You can even test it out with regular IVM-4200 (client and storage server are modular vs bundled like in PCNVR). Auto switching works fine in that.

[reeves1985 0]

Thanks will have a tinker

 

One thing I have noticed from testing is I set my email up to send me a capture of an event/trigger

 

While the email comes through fine the picture just come as 0bytes and cannot be viewed

Is there a setting for this anywhere on the ivms pc nvr

I have selected the number of captures and the quality on each setting but still doesn't seem to work

[Razer_SE 0]

If the NVR software is working correctly you should have almost no CPU usage. I can connect 14 of them to an i3 and not even use 2%. I have other cams like that running on old dual core Pentiums with no issues at all, it all depends on what software you have.

 

With the right client you can run on Atom based machines easily, if power was really a huge concern. I'll soon have 11 3mp Hik, one 2mp ACTi, one 1mp ACTi, a 5mp Vivotek, 4 analogs made IP through a Axis encoder, and 12 other analogs all running to an i3 with 2gb of ram. It will run fine with no issues at all, even with the client displaying all at once I'll only use about 30-40% of the CPU. With client closed down it will use 1-3%.

[reeves1985 0]

If the NVR software is working correctly you should have almost no CPU usage. I can connect 14 of them to an i3 and not even use 2%. I have other cams like that running on old dual core Pentiums with no issues at all, it all depends on what software you have.

 

With the right client you can run on Atom based machines easily, if power was really a huge concern. I'll soon have 11 3mp Hik, one 2mp ACTi, one 1mp ACTi, a 5mp Vivotek, 4 analogs made IP through a Axis encoder, and 12 other analogs all running to an i3 with 2gb of ram. It will run fine with no issues at all, even with the client displaying all at once I'll only use about 30-40% of the CPU. With client closed down it will use 1-3%.

 

Thanks for your input can I ask which nvr software you are using?

Also when you display the cams what resolution are you using and frame rate

 

At the moment I am just using the free hikvision nvr pc nvr software supplied

Whilst I am setting up it is running as server and client displaying the 2 3mp cams

[Razer_SE 0]

I use Exacq, for a basic 4 camera system it would cost $200. In my eyes it's worth it as I can use such an inexpensive computer to as my NVR.

 

The cameras vary, all are at a minimum of 8fps, none higher than 15 at this location. All cameras record at max resolution, day to day they usually rotate 4 cameras at a time on a monitor running 1920x1080, but you can display them all at once no problem.

 

In this thread not long ago I shared a couple of screenshots of different configurations in hardware and cameras. Towards the end of the first page, and on the next page specifically. I normally do not display all cameras as with as many as I have the views are very small. Some sites do not run the client at all, so they sit and basically idle all the time. I have a couple NVRs that are i3 laptops recoding to an external drive though. No issues so far and am well over a year, and they are in a unheated and uncooled area! Surprised even me lol. I did it to test if it was a viable solution, and it sure is. Makes for a nice compact setup, screen and all. $349 laptop connected to a $150 2tb drive. $500. That's hard to beat, and I have screen, keyboard, mouse, everything needed other than a POE switch, Exacq software license, and cameras! I might swap out the normal internal HD for an SSD if I do this in the future, seeing as that would only add $100 or so.

 

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=39346&hilit=razer_se&start=15

[drocer 0]

I use Exacq, for a basic 4 camera system it would cost $200. In my eyes it's worth it as I can use such an inexpensive computer to as my NVR.

 

The cameras vary, all are at a minimum of 8fps, none higher than 15 at this location. All cameras record at max resolution, day to day they usually rotate 4 cameras at a time on a monitor running 1920x1080, but you can display them all at once no problem.

 

In this thread not long ago I shared a couple of screenshots of different configurations in hardware and cameras. Towards the end of the first page, and on the next page specifically. I normally do not display all cameras as with as many as I have the views are very small. Some sites do not run the client at all, so they sit and basically idle all the time. I have a couple NVRs that are i3 laptops recoding to an external drive though. No issues so far and am well over a year, and they are in a unheated and uncooled area! Surprised even me lol. I did it to test if it was a viable solution, and it sure is. Makes for a nice compact setup, screen and all. $349 laptop connected to a $150 2tb drive. $500. That's hard to beat, and I have screen, keyboard, mouse, everything needed other than a POE switch, Exacq software license, and cameras! I might swap out the normal internal HD for an SSD if I do this in the future, seeing as that would only add $100 or so.

 

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=39346&hilit=razer_se&start=15

 

I wouldn't call exacq lightweight at all--at least the client.

 

i7-3770

15-20% live view of main OR substreams. Tried both windows and linux. I can forgive it if it was the 3MP 30fps main stream, but just the mjpeg 12fps substream? That is terrible.

 

Hikvision camera support was terrible. ONVIF driver = zero advanced config. Hikvision driver = event errors and it takes 5-10min to successful connect to cameras. That is terrible for the OP.

 

_________

 

Laptops and their compents aren't duty tested for 24/7 running, especially the low end.

[reeves1985 0]

I use Exacq, for a basic 4 camera system it would cost $200. In my eyes it's worth it as I can use such an inexpensive computer to as my NVR.

 

The cameras vary, all are at a minimum of 8fps, none higher than 15 at this location. All cameras record at max resolution, day to day they usually rotate 4 cameras at a time on a monitor running 1920x1080, but you can display them all at once no problem.

 

In this thread not long ago I shared a couple of screenshots of different configurations in hardware and cameras. Towards the end of the first page, and on the next page specifically. I normally do not display all cameras as with as many as I have the views are very small. Some sites do not run the client at all, so they sit and basically idle all the time. I have a couple NVRs that are i3 laptops recoding to an external drive though. No issues so far and am well over a year, and they are in a unheated and uncooled area! Surprised even me lol. I did it to test if it was a viable solution, and it sure is. Makes for a nice compact setup, screen and all. $349 laptop connected to a $150 2tb drive. $500. That's hard to beat, and I have screen, keyboard, mouse, everything needed other than a POE switch, Exacq software license, and cameras! I might swap out the normal internal HD for an SSD if I do this in the future, seeing as that would only add $100 or so.

 

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=39346&hilit=razer_se&start=15

 

I wouldn't call exacq lightweight at all--at least the client.

 

i7-3770

15-20% live view of main OR substreams. Tried both windows and linux. I can forgive it if it was the 3MP 30fps main stream, but just the mjpeg 12fps substream? That is terrible.

 

Hikvision camera support was terrible. ONVIF driver = zero advanced config. Hikvision driver = event errors and it takes 5-10min to successful connect to cameras. That is terrible for the OP.

 

_________

 

Laptops and their compents aren't duty tested for 24/7 running, especially the low end.

 

Thanks again

I'm not looking for something that is going to be too taxing to setup

I'm still undecided to run an old laptop as a server and use am android box to get live view on tv/monitor

 

Not sure how good/reliable the android boxes are

As for the live view I'd like to view 2/4 cams live at 15fps at least

[Razer_SE 0]

I wouldn't call exacq lightweight at all--at least the client.

 

i7-3770

15-20% live view of main OR substreams. Tried both windows and linux. I can forgive it if it was the 3MP 30fps main stream, but just the mjpeg 12fps substream? That is terrible.

 

Hikvision camera support was terrible. ONVIF driver = zero advanced config. Hikvision driver = event errors and it takes 5-10min to successful connect to cameras. That is terrible for the OP.

 

_________

 

Laptops and their compents aren't duty tested for 24/7 running, especially the low end.

 

Not sure what was up with your setup, I just opened up 4 3mp cameras on my two year old i5 laptop. Along with 5 other programs open on my dual monitor setup and my CPU only sat at bout 10%, random drops to 1%, spikes to 17%. That is super lightweight, when I'm looking at 18 3mp cameras at once on an i3, while its recording many of those streams, and I'm only at 30% on a i3 I'm super pleased. Same cameras on other software will max out an i7!

 

I do not use laptops as a default, just saying I've used a couple of them successfully with no problems so far, two years non stop and counting!

[drocer 0]

I wouldn't call exacq lightweight at all--at least the client.

 

i7-3770

15-20% live view of main OR substreams. Tried both windows and linux. I can forgive it if it was the 3MP 30fps main stream, but just the mjpeg 12fps substream? That is terrible.

 

Hikvision camera support was terrible. ONVIF driver = zero advanced config. Hikvision driver = event errors and it takes 5-10min to successful connect to cameras. That is terrible for the OP.

 

_________

 

Laptops and their compents aren't duty tested for 24/7 running, especially the low end.

 

Not sure what was up with your setup, I just opened up 4 3mp cameras on my two year old i5 laptop. Along with 5 other programs open on my dual monitor setup and my CPU only sat at bout 10%, random drops to 1%, spikes to 17%. That is super lightweight, when I'm looking at 18 3mp cameras at once on an i3, while its recording many of those streams, and I'm only at 30% on a i3 I'm super pleased. Same cameras on other software will max out an i7!

 

I do not use laptops as a default, just saying I've used a couple of them successfully with no problems so far, two years non stop and counting!

 

No clue why it didn't work. Tried every setting. Hardware motion record was working fine. Exacq client was just too heavy given the price. There shouldn't be some hidden hack/setting/etc to get it lower. So YMMV.