Considering purchasing this software--would my iMac be a good fit?

AlaskanOffGridder

Hello all, excited to learn about this software. I'll be running two PTZ cameras and one fixed camera to start although I expect to increase my number of cameras. I am wondering if my hardware would be a good fit though before I pull the trigger. I am hoping to at some point make use of AI to use sound to slew the various cameras depending on audio input, and to visually detect a variety of things (mostly bears, to keep bear aware on our off grid property).

Any thoughts on the suitability of my hardware and any advice greatly appreciated and thanks in advance!

My iMac stats are:

Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020

Processor: 3.8 Ghz 8-Core Intel Core i7

Memory: 100 GB 2133 MHz DDR4

Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT 8 GB

Storage: 500 GB flash storage & attached NAS using Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s) connection--haven't yet purchased NAS

Network: CAT6 cables POE powered cameras to WiFi Router (iMac connect to router via 10GB ethernet)

Ben

Great to hear you are looking at SecuritySpy as your solution! Your iMac is a modern machine with a good amount of power, and will easily be able to cope with a few high-res cameras. Please refer to our system requirements calculator - putting in some common numbers (e.g. 10 fps, 8 MP resolution, H.265 encoding), you will see that your Mac can handle up to 15 cameras at these specs. Therefore, using 2-4 cameras like this will be easy for the machine (and in this case it would be fine to use the Mac for other things at the same time if you need to).

For only a few cameras, a NAS is overkill. The calculator will also give you an estimate for how much storage space is required. For example, with 4 cameras with the above specs, doing motion-based capture, and retaining the footage for 4 weeks, you'll need around 270 GB. In this case, just go for a 1 TB external SSD connected by USB - they are cheap, reliable, and offer plenty of speed.

AlaskanOffGridder

Thanks for the quick response Ben. Much appreciated. Just ran a speed test on the 500GB of internal flash storage and it's read/write is about 2300MB/s. I imagine most of the processing will be done there, so I'll just try to ensure I have no bottlenecks for the rest of the network.

Will do some more search on the software and likely buy it in a week or so after a short trip out of town.

Thanks again for the info!

Ben

Internal flash drives are very fast, but it's a bit of a waste to use this for storage of video files for SecuritySpy (limited storage space, other processes like Time Machine can interfere, and constant use of the disk for video recordings will shorten its life). Much better to use an externally-connected USB/Thunderbolt drive for SecuritySpy's recordings.

Robbie

@AlaskanOffGridder Just an FYI from the POV of a user, my SecuritySpy server resides on a 2018 i7 mac Mini with 16GB RAM. Eight cameras saving to an external SSD. I use the machine as a multimedia server at the same time and never had an issue with SecuritySpy, which barely registers on the CPU and GPU. 😀

TSI

Just my three cents:

1. Security Spy is the Best Choice for a software based NVR. Certainly on the Mac and probably on any platform. Well worth the investment considering the fantastic support, stable and fast performance, and robust development cycle.
2. I have installed Dozens of SS systems. I have never had good luck with the Intel iMac. Of all of the systems that I have installed, those have given me the most trouble, They CRASH the most, Lock up, kernel panic, corrupt their OS, etc.
3. I have found that the very inexpensive Mac mini M1 is a Real Winner. I prefer to run Monterey, but I have systems running newer OS's that work great also. I have installations with 80 or more cameras recording and displaying on one little Mac mini. Very Impressive.

AlaskanOffGridder

Appreciate the inputs, many thanks!