Avigilon 1.3 MP Lightcatcher dropping frames

[cglaeser 0]

Today I installed a new Avigilon 1.3MP Lightcatcher dome. The install went well but the camera is dropping data blocks within the H.264 frames. I've tried various settings from 8 fps to 15 fps, and the Keyframe Interval from as low as 2 to as high as 30 and many settings in between. The Avigilon server is standalone HP Windows 7 64 bit i5 4 GB ram desktop with three cameras. The cameras are two 1.3 MP and one analog connected to an Axis video encoder. The two cameras are connected to a Netgear 10/100 POE switch and the switch is connected to an HP gigabit switch for the LAN. Any suggestions on how to track down the bottleneck?

 

Best,

Christopher

[ssmith10pn 0]

Plug the server directly into the Netgear switch and see what happens.

How long is the cable run from the Netgear Switch to the Light Catcher and how is it terminated?

 

I could go on and on but you have to isolate the issue first.

You could factory default the camera just to be sure.

[cglaeser 0]

Thanks, I moved the server to the 10/100 POE switch with the camera and that did not fix it. Here are two things I noticed.

 

1. The gain on this 1.3MP Lightcatcher camera can be set considerably higher than other Avigilon cameras. The default is 60 db, whereas the maximum gain on other Aviligon cameras is 36 db. I reduced the gain from the default 60 db to 36 db. That reduced the bandwidth and reduced the problem at night. But it did not eliminate the problem.

 

2. The bandwidth of this camera seems excessive when compared to 5 MP cameras from the same manufacturer. Here are the settings:

 

5 MP, H.264, max resolution, 7 fps, 14 keyframe interval, gain 36 db

1.3 MP, H.264, max resolution, 8 fps (can't set it to 7 fps), 16 keyframe interval, gain 36 db

 

The current bandwidth of the 5 MP is 8.8 Mbps and the 1.3 MP is 7.9 Mbps. The scenes are not the same but both have grass and leaves that can increase bandwidth due to detail. The max bandwidth setting of the Aviligon cameras is 12 Mbps. I'm guessing the 1.3 MP Lightcatcher is sometimes hitting that limit. Two questions:

 

1. Does the Mbps of the 1.3 MP camera seem high compared to the 5 MP camera with similar settings?

 

2. If an Avigilon camera exceeds the max Mbps, how does it handle this situation. Just it just drop some of the data blocks within a frame, or is there a more graceful way of handling this? I will test this on a 5 MP camera by reducing the max Mbps and see what happens.

[cglaeser 0]

I cranked up the frame rate on the 5 MP to 13 fps and dropped the max bandwidth to 4 Mbps. The 5 MP handled it just fine. I expect there was less forensic detail, but somehow the 5 MP managed to squeeze 13 fps into 4 Mbps without dropping any data blocks within a frame.

[cglaeser 0]

How long is the cable run from the Netgear Switch to the Light Catcher and how is it terminated?

 

The cable is a 100' Cat 5e patch cable that I purchased already terminated. I also connected the camera to different 50' Cat 5e patch cable and the problem was still present.

 

I tried several different ports on the 10/100 POE switch and the problem did not improve. Do you suppose it could be a defective switch? I could purchase a POE injector to bypass the POE switch and see if that fixes the problem.

[ak357 0]

 

I tried several different ports on the 10/100 POE switch and the problem did not improve. Do you suppose it could be a defective switch? I could purchase a POE injector to bypass the POE switch and see if that fixes the problem.

Team viewer ID and password please

[cglaeser 0]

Team viewer ID and password please

 

Sent via TV chat.

[ssmith10pn 0]

Need to rule out the switch. Disconnect all other cameras from the switch.

[cglaeser 0]

Need to rule out the switch. Disconnect all other cameras from the switch.

 

Alex connected via Team Viewer and we disconnected the other camera on the POE switch. It is an aging Axis 1.3 MP MJPEG that was generating 15 Mbps. The Avigilon 1.3 MP began working just fine. Appears to be a problem with the Netgear 10/100 POE switch. Will purchase a POE injector and test.

[thewireguys 3]

 

5 MP, H.264, max resolution, 7 fps, 14 keyframe interval, gain 36 db

1.3 MP, H.264, max resolution, 8 fps (can't set it to 7 fps), 16 keyframe interval, gain 36 db

 

I recommend you adjust your key frames to 1 per second on your cameras.

 

A) your not going to see much of a bandwidth improvement using 2 per second vs 1 per second

 

B) more importantly scrubbing video will be much improved

 

Also the bandwidth your seeing from the lightcatcher is normal and is typical from all low light cameras.

[cglaeser 0]

I recommend you adjust your key frames to 1 per second on your cameras.

 

Thanks, will do.

 

I have a 24 port non blocking HP gigabit switch for my LAN. It appears there are problems with the Netgear 10/100 POE switch, so I'm thinking of getting a rackmount POE injector and patch it to the HP switch as needed. This one looks good http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EQBR7M8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2SZCFXJT89WME

 

Comments?

[cglaeser 0]

The 12 Port gigabit power injector arrived today. It's a nice addition to my HP ProCurve 24 port non blocking gigabit switch. Now, I can easily add POE to any port on the switch. Neither device has a fan which is another requirement for me.

 

Thus far, there have not been any dropped data blocks, confirming that the Netgear POE switch was either defective or could not keep up.