Black out screens on random basis

Forum for questions and support relating to the 1.24.x releases only.
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pebl
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:36 pm

Black out screens on random basis

Post by pebl »

I am using ZM 1.24 and have this frequent problem. I will have all six camera displays on the screen (mixture of Dlink 900W and Dlink 920W.) Seemingly as it feels like it, one of the screens goes black or sometime several at once. Sometimes they come back on by themselves in about a minute, but some don't. At that time, I have to go to the ZM console and click on the IP address and save the file again. When I redisplay, it usually has a camera picture. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to which one. I have even deleted all the cameras and put them in different order and no change.
Anyone seen this problem before. I'm using Opera 10.10, ZM 1.24 and apache2.
TechGuy
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:16 pm

Re: Black out screens on random basis

Post by TechGuy »

pebl wrote:I am using ZM 1.24 and have this frequent problem. I will have all six camera displays on the screen (mixture of Dlink 900W and Dlink 920W.) Seemingly as it feels like it, one of the screens goes black or sometime several at once. Sometimes they come back on by themselves in about a minute, but some don't. At that time, I have to go to the ZM console and click on the IP address and save the file again. When I redisplay, it usually has a camera picture. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to which one. I have even deleted all the cameras and put them in different order and no change.
Anyone seen this problem before. I'm using Opera 10.10, ZM 1.24 and apache2.
This can happen if the stream is broken. It must restart the stream and during this period you can get the black screen. Check the zmc log. This could be cause by insufficient network bandwidth, or zmc is crashing and restarting.
pebl
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:36 pm

Post by pebl »

The log isn't giving me much help. Most all looks normal with connections to a camera. I searched for "err" and get back, as an example:
(date) (system) zmc_m18(3834): ERR [Select error: Interrupted system call]
Also:
(date)(system) zm_m12(13545)" ERR [ Can't connect to remote camera: Interrupted system call]

The odd thing is, I can bring up a web browser on the same computer and the camera will come right up, consistent, no errors, no blackouts.

Do I have some settings that might be incorrect? I use the factory for everything. Changed nothing, but the camera setups.
TechGuy
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:16 pm

Post by TechGuy »

pebl wrote:The log isn't giving me much help. Most all looks normal with connections to a camera. I searched for "err" and get back, as an example:
(date) (system) zmc_m18(3834): ERR [Select error: Interrupted system call]
Also:
(date)(system) zm_m12(13545)" ERR [ Can't connect to remote camera: Interrupted system call]

The odd thing is, I can bring up a web browser on the same computer and the camera will come right up, consistent, no errors, no blackouts.

Do I have some settings that might be incorrect? I use the factory for everything. Changed nothing, but the camera setups.
It could be caused by dropped or corrupted packets. You can turn on "EXTRA_DEBUG" and set EXTRA_DEBUG Level to "4" or higher. See if that provides more detail of the problem.

You can also check to see if there is an updated camera firmware release (although a newer firmware could cause problems - did for me with an ACTi Camera)
pebl
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:36 pm

Post by pebl »

I happen to think, the problem is ZM shows "Low Bandwidth" instead of high. I have a 1Gb backbone, the machine ZM runs on is a 1Gb card and the internet connections to all the cameras are coming in at 54M. I can't figure out how to let ZM know I have or to use HIGH bandwidth. I think that's where most of my drops are coming from
TechGuy
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:16 pm

Post by TechGuy »

pebl wrote:I happen to think, the problem is ZM shows "Low Bandwidth" instead of high. I have a 1Gb backbone, the machine ZM runs on is a 1Gb card and the internet connections to all the cameras are coming in at 54M. I can't figure out how to let ZM know I have or to use HIGH bandwidth. I think that's where most of my drops are coming from
I believe the bandwith settings apply only to the Web interface and not the IP Camera I/O. I would turn on debugging to see what errors are occuring. It could also be a bad network card driver. If your camera's are wireless there is a chance for corrupted packets, sometimes caused by the weather or moving objects that reflect\bounce the signal causing signal distortion.
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