Hardware for 15-20 analog cameras?

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SyRenity
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Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2005 2:43 pm

Hardware for 15-20 analog cameras?

Post by SyRenity »

Hi.

I have an acquittance who's looking to place DVR system in his warehouse, and I'm trying to convert him to ZM :).

He has a large quantity of cameras planned (15-20), so I wonder what hardware he should use? Are there any good&cheap cards that can handle this and are supported by ZM?

Thanks in advance.
jameswilson
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Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:07 pm
Location: Midlands UK

Post by jameswilson »

15 - 20 at cif should be fine on nay modern dual core machine.
depending on framerate will depend on card choice mate.
As im quite happy with 2-4 fps then id probably go with 2 4400r 's
James Wilson

Disclaimer: The above is pure theory and may work on a good day with the wind behind it. etc etc.
http://www.securitywarehouse.co.uk
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Lee Sharp
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Post by Lee Sharp »

Frame rate is key. The PV-155 is a very nice 16 port card, at a slow rate. (About 5fps) The PV-183-16 is also a 16 port card, but with twice the chips, so twice the rate. (About 11fps) There are also several 8 chip, 8 port cards out. Keep in mind that the max chips you can have is 16. (Limitation of the bt878 driver) But with 16 chips, you are pushing 480 fps over the buss and maxing out the system... So you can get 16 cams at 120, 240, or 480 fps...

Now the system will depend on things like frame rate, image size, and ring buffer. But ram is cheap. 2 gig minimum will cover a lot. 4 gig if you want to play in 64bit land. (Which is very nice!) For CPU, I have to preface with the fact that I only use Intel chipsets. There are known timing issues with other chipsets, and I just don't want to waste any more time with those headaches. (I have waisted Days on this, and no more) So since Intel chipsets only support Intel chips... Core2Duo is my choice. It runs cooler than a Pentium D, and heat is already a problem with capture cards and big hard drives. So price the sweet spot. For example, today I am looking at these prices. http://www.dark-circuit.com/directron/s ... core2a.php If your motherboard supports 1333fsb, the E6750 is the most bang for the buck. Just a $20 more than the E6550 for 1/3 of a gig in speed. If you have a non-1333mhx motherboard, the E4600 is not a bad choice. Either will work up to 480fps, but the faster buss and CPU gives you some more headroom.

Now if he is just nervous about going with a home built system with no support, shoot me a pm. We sell ZM based solutions, so I can give you some hard data on systems in production, or sell you a "Name" behind it.
SyRenity
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Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2005 2:43 pm

Post by SyRenity »

Thanks for the explanation.

I understand it's possible to have maximum of 16 cameras on 15 fps or 30 fps, depending on the card type. What are these cards?

Also, is it possible to have 2 cards of the same type, and overcome the 16 cameras limit?

Thanks.

(Lee, PM sent.)
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Lee Sharp
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Post by Lee Sharp »

There is a max of 16 bt878 chips which can host 1, 2 or 4 cameras. That means a max of 64 cameras in a single PC, but at a low frame rate. Now each chip will capture at 30fps, but changing channels looses a frame here and there, so you get 30, 12, and 5. If you try and do 3 cams on a 4 port chip, you can get anything from 8 to 2 fps depending on how the hardware muxes the chip. Yes it gets complex. :) Using ProVideo as an example (Because the work well, are well supported, and carried by a company that supports ZoneMinder) lets look at some differences. http://store.bluecherry.net/SearchResul ... 3&Click=51

The PV-143 has a single chip and 4 ports. You can use it well in a single camera, 2 cameras, or 4 cameras. If you just have one cam, and it is the only one looked at, you can actually get 30fps from that cam from this card! But with 4 cams, it is 5fps each.

The PV-149, on the other had has 4 chips and 4 ports. Each port has a dedicated chip, and can capture at up to 30fps. This can be a lot of data and a lot of heat. You can set ZM to run at 5fps, and "spool up" to 30fps when an event is detected. This cuts down on both heat and load.

The PV-149-8 is the same card, but with split chips. Each chip supports up to 2 channels. The cables are numbered with 1-4 being chips 1-4 channel 1, and 5-8 being chips 1-4 channel 2. Distributes load nicely. One thing to be aware of... Split chips will only work at the same settings in both frame rate, and size / color density.

The PV-183 and PV -183-16 are just 8 chip versions of the PV-149. You can put up to 2 PV-183's in a single box, and up to 4 PV-149s in a single box. You can also mix a PV-183, and 2 PV-157s (a 4 chip 16 port) in a single box. However, this makes setting you modprobe options more complex.
SyRenity
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Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2005 2:43 pm

Post by SyRenity »

Hi.

Back here with my friend who (still) wants to cover his warehouse.

Is there any card on the market, compatible with ZM, which provides 16 channels real-time capture?

Thanks in advance.
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Lee Sharp
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Post by Lee Sharp »

Not that I know of. However, we frequently put two 8 port real time cards in a single computer. I actually have one sitting in a box right now. (A deal fell out) Want it? ;)
SyRenity
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Post by SyRenity »

Why not :)? PM'ed.
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