Resolution: 2048x1536 vs 19920x1080 Tradeoffs?

[PeteCress 0]

Just fired up a HikVision DS-2CE2032-I - tb used with Blue Iris.

 

Turns out that my preferred video player cannot handle 2048x1536 clips, so I downsized the cam's rez to 1920x1080.

 

What are the tradeoffs?

 

I get a few more fps with the lower rez (22 vs 15).

 

Aspect ratio changes so that I get more vertical and less horizontal coverage with the higher rez.

 

I'm seeing significantly better detail when I zoom a snapshot with the higher rez.

 

Is there anything else?

[buellwinkle 0]

To me it depends on the situation. For example, my driveway is square, if I want to cover it better, a 4:3 aspect ratio makes more sense. My side yards are narrow, having a wider 16:9 format hurts more than it helps. In my backyard that's wide but not deep, I use the wider aspect ratio of 1080P. Every situation is different, but for me, I see more use for 4:3 than 16:9.

[MaxIcon 0]

I run my Hik 2032s at 1080p for the wider coverage, and recently did some night testing at 3MP while comparing to a Dahua 4300S.

 

I found that the 3MP Hik image had some artifacts that make me think it's the scaled image and the 1080p is the direct sampled image. They weren't major, but they were noticeable when

zoomed in.

 

I haven't looked to see if the same artifacts show up in day mode.

 

Aside from that, it's all about the aspect ratio, as BW says.

[drocer 0]

Aspect ratio as mentioned.

FoV increases/decreases as you change.

FPS changes increases/decreases CPU demand (more power used) of Blue Iris (poorly optimized software)

 

The trade-offs are completely dependent on individual cameras and power consumption.

[PeteCress 0]

I found that the 3MP Hik image had some artifacts that make me think it's the scaled image and the 1080p is the direct sampled image. They weren't major, but they were noticeable when

zoomed in.

 

I tried it both ways with alert snapshots where a bag of topsoil was in the pic - with lettering on the bag.

 

Zooming both pics to the same apparent bag size showed significantly better resolution in the higher-rez image. More than just a bit of the fuzzies: lettering was readable on the higher-rez image that was illegible on the other.

[ssmith10pn 0]

My side yards are narrow, having a wider 16:9 format hurts more than it helps.

 

In that situation I like to take a 16:9 and rotate it so it's portrait instead of landscape.

 

[drocer 0]

My side yards are narrow, having a wider 16:9 format hurts more than it helps.

 

In that situation I like to take a 16:9 and rotate it so it's portrait instead of landscape.

 

I wish rotation was built into hikvision firmware vs just that stupid mirror/flip option.

[MaxIcon 0]

I found that the 3MP Hik image had some artifacts that make me think it's the scaled image and the 1080p is the direct sampled image. They weren't major, but they were noticeable when

zoomed in.

 

I tried it both ways with alert snapshots where a bag of topsoil was in the pic - with lettering on the bag.

 

Zooming both pics to the same apparent bag size showed significantly better resolution in the higher-rez image. More than just a bit of the fuzzies: lettering was readable on the higher-rez image that was illegible on the other.

 

I'd be interested in seeing some samples of that. I did a variety of resolution tests on the Hik 2032 bullet, and saw very little difference between 1080p and 3MP. It was close enough that there was no obvious winner.

 

I'm assuming both alert snapshots use the same jpg quality setting.

 

Maybe something's changed since then, but on cams that do direct sampling, like Dahua, the resolution is identical between the 3MP and 1080p, just the FOV is wider. That is, you still get the same number of pixels per foot in either mode, and get more pixels horizontally and vertically in the higher res.

 

The Hik doesn't do this, but scales one of them like so:

Hik 3MP going from 1080p (1920 x 1080) to 3MP (2048 x 1536):

7% increase in horizontal pixels, 20% decrease in field of view

42% increase in vertical pixels, 18% increase in vertical field of view.

 

Compare this to the Dahua:

Dahua 3MP going from 1080p (1920 x 1080) to 3MP (2048 x 1536):

7% increase in horizontal pixels, 7% increase in field of view

42% increase in vertical pixels, 42% increase in vertical field of view.

[buellwinkle 0]

The Hikvision 5.1 firmware supports portrait mode, it's called "rotate" in the image settings but have not seen what it does in the NVR software I'm using but does work from the browser.

[PeteCress 0]

I'd be interested in seeing some samples of that....

I hate to say it, but I'm going to have to call bullsh*t on myself.

 

http://tinyurl.com/jw9psnk

http://tinyurl.com/kmkuyvx

 

If anything, the 1080 image is marginally better (look at the trailing "L" on the red-marked topsoil bags).

 

Before you put me up to checking, I would have bet the mortage money on my original statement.

 

The only thing I can cite in hopes of saving face is that there have been at least a half-dozen changes between BI and the camera itself since my original so-called observation.

[MaxIcon 0]

Yeah, this is the conclusion I'd expect. Not much difference, but with slightly better 1080p performance, though not enough to matter in the real world. Maybe the previous tests were with a lower res image like 720p.

 

This takes it back to the preferred FOV and aspect ratio.

[ride525 0]

Yeah, this is the conclusion I'd expect. Not much difference, but with slightly better 1080p performance, though not enough to matter in the real world. Maybe the previous tests were with a lower res image like 720p.

 

This takes it back to the preferred FOV and aspect ratio.

 

This is interesting to me, as I've been thinking of getting the Hik 12mm bullet to be able to identify license plates of cars going by (at least in daytime). I was a bit concerned that my Lorex NVR may "lose" some quality, since the hikvision 12mm camera is 3mp, and my Lorex NVR is 2MP (1920x1080). But this thread says (if I understand it correctly), that the 2mp on the Lorex will be at least the quality of the 3mp.

(But sounds like the 2mp will lose some FOV to the 3mp, most especially in vertical.)

 

Thanks to everyone for testing this.