ZM settings for recording motions from a Raspberry Pi NoIR filter camera stream

[bosun]

I have an x86 Core i5 16GB RAM running fully updated Ubuntu Desktop 22.04 LTS running Zoneminder 1.36.33. Into this I stream a Raspberry Pi 4 4GB RAM with a Raspberry Pi NoIR camera v2.1 via rtsp video at 1280x960px at 24fps. This system records in pink in the daylight and blue in the dark with the aid of a pair of IR lights. the purpose is to monitor foxes moving through my outdoor patio at night.

I am failing to suitably record motion.

The ZM server entries are:

Code: Select all

General:

Name= Cabin NoIR
Notes= blank
Server= None
Source Type = Ffmpeg
Function= Monitor

Analysis FPSs = blank
Maximum FPSs = blank
Alarm Maximum FPSs = blank
Reference Image Blend %ges = 12.5% (Outdoor)
Alarm Reference Image Blend %ges = 12.5%
Triggers = None available

Source:

Source Path = rtsp://192.168.1.24:8554/stream1
Method = UDP
Options = blank
SourceSecondPath = blank
DecoderHWAccelName = blank
DecoderHWAccelDevice = blank
Target colorspace = 32 bit colur
Capture Resolution (pixels) = 1280 960 1280x960 960p
Preserve Aspect Ratio = blank
Orientation = Normal
Deinterlacing = Disabled

Buffers:

Image Buffer Size (frames) (?)	= 3
Maximum Image Buffer Size (frames) (?) = 0
Warmup Frames = 0
Pre Event Image Count = 5
Post Event Image Count = 5
Stream Replay Image Buffer = 0
Alarm Frame Count = 1
Estimated Ram Use	Min: 37.5MB Max: Unlimited

I have been changing the Reference Image Blend %ges and Alarm Reference Image Blend %ges downwards to little effect, except at 1.25% the system stops recording in 9 seconds bursts in response to movement, and instead records everything, continually in 9m59s chunks (~1GB each) - irrespective of movement. Most of the documentation is sadly far beyond my understanding. Somewhere I read that the some default values are designed for cameras in the distant past and are no longer expected to be used! How do people know what values to use?

I am quite lost as to what to try next, as there are so many different setting one can adjust. Any recommendations for settings with a 'no infra-red filter' camera designed for the night would be most welcome.

[burger]

You didn't mention your zone settings. Those matter the most. Zones is the last option on the console page. Farthest to the right. See:
https://wiki.zoneminder.com/Dummies_Guide#Example_Zone

I uploaded an example image with settings that will not miss motion. They will however, generate false events. You can avoid this by having a filter delete any events with a low alarm count, or use ZMES (or both). You will need more CPU resources to run ZMES, and install can take an hour or two.

[bosun]

Thank you, I shall investigate further.