PC & capture card recommendations

Post here to ask any questions about hardware suitability, configuration in ZoneMinder, or experiences. If you just want to know if something works with ZoneMinder or not, please check the Hardware Compatibility sections in the forum, and the Wiki first. Also search this topic as well.
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slim
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2015 6:33 pm

PC & capture card recommendations

Post by slim »

I'm trying to build a pc based system using analog cameras. I have analog wiring run for 15 cameras, and they terminate in
my office space. I'd like the system to run quietly since I work next to the termination point. I only plan to record motion
events for future reference, and not record continuously. I understand the higher camera count will require more processing
power and therefore more cooling. I've read the faq on reducing processor load and will implement the suggestions therein. However:

Are there ZM supported capture cards with onboard motion detection? (lower main cpu loading)

If not, are there any recommended cards for my scenario? I did run across bluecherry, but I couldn't tell if they support
motion detection with ZM. The cards are somewhat expensive too.

Appreciate any advice,
John
slim
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2015 6:33 pm

Re: PC & capture card recommendations

Post by slim »

So no one has any recommendations? Is anyone using capture cards anymore or just the IP cams?

Thanks,
John
SteveGilvarry
Posts: 494
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:12 pm
Location: Melbourne, AU

Re: PC & capture card recommendations

Post by SteveGilvarry »

IP cameras have taken over, some analog cards still work but hit and miss with some older chipsets no longer support by kernel. I think it came up in a few threads and the alternative was ip convertors. But have a look around forum as we do get the odd person in now and then working on a card.
Zoneminder does its own motion detection or can be triggered by external calls, but nothing that offloads motion to a card.
Production Zoneminder 1.37.x (Living dangerously)
Random Selection of Cameras (Dahua and Hikvision)
river100
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:52 pm
Location: Louisiana

Re: PC & capture card recommendations

Post by river100 »

video capture cards don't seem to do as well as they used to.
There are pretty expensive if you get a good one and hard to find.
I have been using video encoders made by Grandstream. They make a 4 port encoder that cost around 80 usd. Model number has 3504 in it I think.
I'm running 4 of them on one server zm ver 1.28.1
Nice pictures at 352 x 240 or close.
AndyNY
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:36 pm

Re: PC & capture card recommendations

Post by AndyNY »

I have been using Bluecherry cards for years, I am on my third one. They explicitly support Zoneminder, and I have had excellent results with them. Their customer service has been excellent too. I just got a PV-149 PCI-e 4 channel 120fps and all the cameras show at least 30fps at 640x480 in Zoneminder.

http://store.bluecherry.net/product-cat ... 16fd43adaa

Andy
jtech
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 5:37 pm

Re: PC & capture card recommendations

Post by jtech »

I've still got a 16-port Bluecherry PV-155 as well which is still running fine.

Bought it back in 2008 for $195.

Apparently analog cameras are less cpu intensive since they present the raw video to be examined.
Problem is most cameras are lower resolution..

Using it right now with the following old CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+
Cpumark: 1139
single thread: 678

It handles 4 cameras at 640x480 just fine with a few zones in each with modect.

I did bump down the FPS for each camera to 6 FPS max, with Alarm 13 FPS max.
It's usually about 0.8 load average.
Gary S
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:39 pm
Location: Bismarck, ND

Re: PC & capture card recommendations

Post by Gary S »

Likewise here. I'm running a PV149 card with 4 cameras at 768x482. They are cameras with 16:9 aspect ratio so the weird resolution I'm using. They run at 30fps with very little load on the ZM server.
The BT868 chip cards like my PV149 and my older PV143 may not be supported by the newer Linux kernels. I can't say because I haven't tried them that way, but the issue has come up for others.
I'm running mine on Linux Mint 17.1 which isn't the newest. They have relesed 17.2 and 17.3 already with newer kernels.
john3354
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 5:33 pm

Re: PC & capture card recommendations

Post by john3354 »

Since this thread already exists, does anyone have a recommendation for a capture card that supports 16 channels of video *and* audio? I really need a card that does both, and not just audio.
Gary S
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:39 pm
Location: Bismarck, ND

Re: PC & capture card recommendations

Post by Gary S »

Have you checked Bluecherry to see what they have that might do the job?
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