Axis 241Q - Do I need to upgrade?

ShoreRam

Hello,

Facing and interesting problem with my cameras - Cutting a long story short, when my 241Q is running without SecuritySpy attached, frame rate is 25, as I was expect. Turn on SecuritySpy and this plummets to 2-3 FPS. I can cope with some degradation in the rate, but this is a bit much. I've fiddled with a few settings to no avail.

Is there something obvious I'm missing?

thanks, Micheal

ShoreRam

I should probably point out that these measures are when viewing directly from the Axis server, though of course, viewing in Security Spy produces similar results.

thanks, Micheal

Ben

Hi Micheal,

There are a few things that could be causing this:

1. It sounds like you are viewing the video in two different clients simultaneously (SecuritySpy and something else - a web browser perhaps), so that the device is having to supply multiple streams from each if its inputs - is this the case? If so, this will significantly degrade the frame rate.

2. Your network may not be able to keep up with the data rate, especially if your Mac is connected wirelessly, or if you are using JPEG video data. The 241Q can supply both JPEG and MPEG-4, and the latter has a much lower data rate, so I recommend that you set MPEG-4 in the Format setting in the Video Device Settings window for each of the 4 incoming streams. Also it's better if you can connect your Mac by wired ethernet instead of wirelessly.

3. Your Mac may not be fast enough to cope with the incoming data. Check Activity Monitor and see how much of your Mac's CPU is being used.

ShoreRam

Thanks Ben:-

1. That was the case while I was testing, but even if I close the web browser directly linked to the Axis Live view, still getting the very slow frame rate. Obviously SecuritySpy is permanently browsing so that is 1 feed I guess.

2. It's all wired, I think I've tried with both JPEG and MPEG-4, but only for individual cameras, I will change them all and see.

3. Not sure this can be the issue as when SecuritySpy is not running, I connect from Mac to Live view and get 25 MBPS. I will check the CPU as well.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, I've no problem replacing both the server and Mac Mini if that's what I need to do!

Ben

Hi again,

In SecuritySpy I presume you have all four feeds coming in? This is 4x the bandwidth and processing that has to be done by a web browser showing only one feed.

Let's explore other options before replacing the Mac, as even a modest Mac mini should be able to handle these 4 feeds at a good frame rate. What version of SecuritySpy are you using? Make sure you to try the latest version as this has much better network performance than older versions.

ShoreRam

Thanks again!

Really don't think SecuritySpy is the issue, I think it's the video server - I'm remote now, which should me that the local browser I had connected to the server has timed out and now the feed that is properly setup for MPEG-4 is running at 10-11 FPS, which is a large improvement. I'll check the other feeds later.

If I may, 1 more question, the AXIS P7214 claims to be able to run concurrent 30 FPS feeds, in you opinion, would SecuritySpy be able to take advantage of this or would the same degradation exist? Purely a vanity requirement really.....

thanks, Micheal

Ben

Hi Michael,

The P7214 does indeed claim to be able to deliver video at full size and frame rate per channel, and there is no reason why this wouldn't operate at this level of performance with SecuritySpy.

It's a bit difficult to determine what the 241Q is actually capable of, in terms of frame rate delivered when all four channels are being used. The spec sheet states "MPEG-4 and Motion JPEG streams can be sent simultaneously from each channel and at full frame rate." but notice that this doesn't state that this can be achieved with each channel running at full resolution.

The 241Q spec sheet then states that MPEG-4 video is sent at up to 20/17fps (NTSC/PAL) and JPEG video should be sent at 30/25fps. However this is only quoted for CIF resolution, which is a quarter of full resolution. This strongly indicates that the frame rates that can be obtained at full resolution when all four streams are in use would be significantly lower.

So I would concur that the performance you are seeing is a limitation of the video server's processing capabilities (it is a number of years old now, and has been discontinued and replaced by more capable models).

ShoreRam

Thanks, as ever, for all your support Ben. I upgraded to the P7214 and it's definitely done the trick from a streaming perspective. Now the recording is okay, but a little 'jittery'. I have Macmini 1.1 dating back a LONG time with 1.66ghz dual core processor. With 4 cameras am I asking a little too much of this old boy?! Micheal

Ben

Great to hear the P7214 is performing well. To check if your Mac mini is struggling, open Activity Monitor and see how much CPU is being used by SecuritySpy and other applications. As your Mac has a dual-core processor, the theoretical maximum CPU usage will be shown in Activity Monitor as 200%. So if the usage of all applications combined is near this level, the Mac mini is working at its limit.