31-40k PC for Viewing CCTV DVR output remotely

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shravank30

shravank30

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Hi

We are setting up a 32 CCTV Camera surveillance system in our residential apartment complex

The feed from the cameras will come to 2 DVRs of 16 channel each placed in different locations to minimise cable lengths

The DVRs will be connected to the Security room through LAN Cable and a PC so that the DVRs can be remotely controlled also if necessary and all the 32 thumbnails can be seen on 2 Nos. 32" LCD TVs

The PC will not be used for any other purpose except maybe give the camera feed on internet in future for mobile viewing my apartment owners

As there are 2 DVRs, there will be 2 copies of the CMS software running on the PC each giving a output of 16 thumbnail pictures to the TV
Moroever the Graphic card should be capable of giving 2 different feeds to the 2 TVS so that all 32 Thumbnails can be seen at a time

To process the images data and give the output, does it need more CPU power or more graphic power ?


I wanted the opinion of the members on which configuration PC we should go for which will serve our purpose

Thanks for advising
 
not an expert in it but I would say have a amd quadcore which will cost less than 10-12 for both cpu and motherboard.
motherboard sbould be atx for as many pci slots as possible for future expansion of system.
all the best.
 
it will be more cpu based system than gpu as the cms software is likely to be less or not optimised for gpu acceleration.

so better to have more core cpu than beefier gpu.

as you said feeds would come from lan so that means you should have at least three gigabit lan ports.
 
I'm not sure two copies of the software will work concurrently and if you can have sufficiently fine-grained control over display outputs to split them into exactly 16 images per TV. If you do, that's great. If not use the DVR's video outputs for direct monitoring on the TVs (normally the security wall) and the LAN for internet feeds and archival (if needed). The PC can then also be used for actual monitoring of individual cameras on demand, etc. You will need a small monitor separately for the PC, but that is a small cost.

The application is more latency-sensitive than horsepower-intensive, so a mildly overclocked AMD setup seems to be the way to go from a cost perspective. However if this is a 24x7 application an i5/H77 combo will save you quite a bit of power in the very long run, and be powerful enough to expand the footprint to more cameras or applications. A router to combine the LAN outputs from the DVRs will be quite handy.
 
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cranky said:
I'm not sure two copies of the software will work concurrently and if you can have sufficiently fine-grained control over display outputs to split them into exactly 16 images per TV. If you do, that's great. If not use the DVR's video outputs for direct monitoring on the TVs (normally the security wall) and the LAN for internet feeds and archival (if needed). The PC can then also be used for actual monitoring of individual cameras on demand, etc. You will need a small monitor separately for the PC, but that is a small cost.

The application is more latency-sensitive than horsepower-intensive, so a mildly overclocked AMD setup seems to be the way to go from a cost perspective. However if this is a 24x7 application an i5/H77 combo will save you quite a bit of power in the very long run, and be powerful enough to expand the footprint to more cameras or applications. A router to combine the LAN outputs from the DVRs will be quite handy.
Click to expand...

The DVRs will be kept 100M and 200M away from the security room respectively
So the option of taking the feed directly from the DVR to the TV is ruled out.
Also the idea of using the PC in the security room is to enable us to blow up an individual image if required through the PC on the TV screen itself.
The PC will run 24X7 so low power consumption will be preferred.

I have checked with the DVR manufacturers. We can run 2 copies of the software to control the 2 DVR individually.
Please advise which Graphic card we should go for which is low power consuming and will serve the purpose

Thanks for advising
 
If the vendor is fully confident then it should be ok. Check if you can also select specific video outputs for display so that copy of the software can be sent to an individual output.

You can get a 7750 for lowest consumption at idle among low-end cards. The 6 series is also good but not as good. One tv will connect to the card the other to the onboard, both will need to be enabled.

You cannot use a single graphics card for both displays because one driver cannot accept instructions from two different pieces of software unless you multiplex them.
 
The technical person of the DVR Vendor is visiting me today evening.
I will discuss the points raised by you and then get back to you

Thanks for advising
 
The other way to do it is have both monitors on an extended desktop and render both simultaneously (like two Firefox non-maximised windows). But then you lose control to a very large extent and the operation on one window will affect the other. Also desktop mode tends to be slow, draggy and a power hog whereas DirectX output (in two cards) will be far smoother and easier on resources.
 
cranky said:
The other way to do it is have both monitors on an extended desktop and render both simultaneously (like two Firefox non-maximised windows). But then you lose control to a very large extent and the operation on one window will affect the other. Also desktop mode tends to be slow, draggy and a power hog whereas DirectX output (in two cards) will be far smoother and easier on resources.
Click to expand...

We do not want the operations to be complicated as the security officer who will be manning the TVs, will just have basic knowledge to use the mouse to blow up the thumbnails if he sees any thing suspicious in any one of the 32 camera feeds..
Else he will just sit there watching what is going around

Just had a thought.
Can we not go for 2 Nos. 7670 or similar cards in crossfire so that we can get the 2 outputs independent of each other ?
(I have no idea how crossfire works.Just a thought from the top of my head)

Thanks for advising
 
XFire is when you want more processing power for 3D rendering, and is not available in 2D (desktop) mode. It is not necessary or recommended for your application.

Two video outputs are possible with either two cards or card and onboard (HD Graphics is enough for this and can also drive more than one monitor simultaneously). The problem is two copies of software. The way I see it, it's impossible to use anything but multiple monitors with resizing of windows aka desktop mode unless the software has the ability to talk directly to the driver, and then you will need dual independent displays running off two different video outputs.

There may be solutions outside the Windows environment that I am not aware of.
 
shravank30 said:
To process the images data and give the output, does it need more CPU power or more graphic power ?

I wanted the opinion of the members on which configuration PC we should go for which will serve our purpose

Thanks for advising
Click to expand...

GPU on the PC will hardly if ever be used by most DVR PC software. CPU usage is usually not much, except when the DVR offloads tasks like format conversion (images, video re-encodes) to the PC DVR software in which case CPU utilization will spike based on load. A Core2Duo or equivalent should be more than sufficient. Even then, it depends on whether the vendor's PC DVR software will take advantage of multiple CPU cores. Check with the vendor.

shravank30 said:
The DVRs will be kept 100M and 200M away from the security room respectively
So the option of taking the feed directly from the DVR to the TV is ruled out.
Click to expand...

You can use RG-11 coaxial for cable runs greater than 200m, even though RG-11 is more expensive than the normal RG-6. RG-11 is also armored making it more resistant to damage, both human and rodents. If there is signal attenuation due to the lengths, a repeater will be required.
 
The load on the PC will be uniform all 24 hours as all 32 cameras are streaming the images 24x7 nonstop

As advised I am thinking of going for a I5 or I7 processor based PC with a motherboard that has 2 HDMI out or 1 HDMI and a VGA out

Can you please recommend which CPU and Motherboard combination is best suitable for our purpose ?
We dont mind paying more, if it better VFM for both the items

Thanks for advising
 
CPU - i5 3570

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H [sturdy & robust board]
- Display Options [HDMI, DVI, RGB and Display Port]
- LAN Dual LAN (Intel® Gigabit + Atheros Gigabit Ethernet controllers)
- PCI Only 1 slot
- PCIe - 6 slots
Note: I am unable to find an robust H77 board with the above (top 3 requirement options), ideally 2 more PCI slots will be better

CPU Cooler : CM Hyper 212 Evo [as your RIG will be running 24x7 .... this is the cheapest quality cooling option for the i5, the stock heat spreaders by Intel are crap]

You may also need 2TB x 3 HDD's depending on how long (weeks/months) you want to preserve archived footage.
A Cabinet with very good ventilation & plenty of fans [as your system will be running 24x7] - so Corsair Carbide 400R & fit it with all the possible fans :happy: (keeping in mind air-flow direction)

PSU: Seasonic S12II 520W

RAM : 4GB x 2 (this may seem too much, however for the criticality of running 24x7 if a single 4Gb crashes - you still have the other one > thus minimising downtime to bare minimum)

I do not think there is need for any GPU (unless the dual monitor option works out)

Dunno if these links may serve any purpose but heregoes
http://www.dvrmart.com/mrt-asp-dvr_averdigi-nv6480pcII-pid_541-ctt-product_detail.htm
http://www.apexcctv.com/p-1239-32-camera-pc-based-security-dvr-system.aspx
http://platinum-cctv.com/Alnet_RT16PRO_DVR_Card.asp

Cheers
Terry
 
@Terry
Thanks for the recommendations
The data is stored in the respective DVRs directly which have 2 TB HDD each so I simply need a basic HDD in the PC to run the OS and CMS softwares

Please recommend a motherboard which is easily available in Bangalore
I could not find the prices or sellers for Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H online

Moreover, If I am paying so much, wouldn't a I7 make more sense ?

Thanks for advising
 
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shravank30 said:
@Terry
Thanks for the recommendations
The data is stored in the respective DVRs directly which have 2 TB HDD each so I simply need a basic HDD in the PC to run the OS and CMS softwares

Please recommend a motherboard which is easily available in Bangalore
I could not find the prices or sellers for Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H online

Moreover, If I am paying so much, wouldn't a I7 make more sense ?

Thanks for advising
Click to expand...

An i5-3570 costs 13k and an i7-3770 costs 18.8k ..... almost 6k more, besides an i7 is an overkill.

Motherboard talk to Rahul from theitwares Mumbai - he may have stocks (though not seen online), this is a step-down version of the same board
 
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terence_fdes said:
An i5-3570 costs 13k and an i7-3770 costs 18.8k ..... almost 6k more, besides an i7 is an overkill.

Motherboard talk to Rahul from theitwares Mumbai - he may have stocks (though not seen online), this is a step-down version of the same board
Click to expand...

Actually we are spending close to 7 lakhs for setting up the system as we are going for all high end cameras and DVRs so 5K really does not matter much to us
We may be adding 16 cameras immediately hereafter and 32 cameras next year, so the CPU will have to process feeds from 64 cameras ultimately
Will an I7 be still an overkill ?

The computer components will be purchased and paid for directly by our vendor and he may not be comfortable in sending payment to Rahul as he does not know him.
Had I been making the payment directly, I would have bought from him without a second thought

Thanks for advising
 
Cpu will not be processing any camera feed directly. The i5 and i7 are a waste of money. You have three processes for three DVRs, the DVR handles the feed.

If you had a 48 camera setup using ip cams you would need a great computer. Using dvr, not much at all. In the future you will be hobbled by using this sort of setup.

A H61 board and a G2120 is sufficient for up to 4 feeds. The pc is not priority, ensure you get the right dvr. Cheap ones will not allow good control (for example, if you have to run two copies of software to control two DVRs, it is a cheap shitty DVR company)
 
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cranky said:
Cpu will not be processing any camera feed directly. The i5 and i7 are a waste of money. You have three processes for three DVRs, the DVR handles the feed.

If you had a 48 camera setup using ip cams you would need a great computer. Using dvr, not much at all. In the future you will be hobbled by using this sort of setup.

A H61 board and a G2120 is sufficient for up to 4 feeds. The pc is not priority, ensure you get the right dvr. Cheap ones will not allow good control (for example, if you have to run two copies of software to control two DVRs, it is a cheap shitty DVR company)
Click to expand...

Frankly speaking I have zero idea about how the images will be processed in the PC

We are going for the best possible DVRs available in the market which will record 25FPS in D1 quality for all 16 cameras and all the cameras are 700 TVL, so the amount of data being transmitted is huge.
A single software will control all the DVRs and in fact it can control upto 6 DVRS at a time

The DVR vendor said that as the images from the DVR are transmitted digitally to the PC, the CPU will have to process them and send them to the Monitor and this is CPU intensive work.
That is why I have posted this query, to understand what is technically correct

Thanks for advising
 
shravank30 said:
The computer components will be purchased and paid for directly by our vendor and he may not be comfortable in sending payment to Rahul as he does not know him.
Had I been making the payment directly, I would have bought from him without a second thought
Click to expand...

Errr ..... payments are made to theitwares.com [can be done through NEFT] & not to Rahul. Theitwares along with theitdepot (chennai); primeabgb etc are all reputed online portals for PC hardware. Everything may not be available locally.

I agree with what Cranky has said - the PC need not be a high-end one. I would rather be looking at securing "robust-build-quality" components that can withstand 24x7 running in a security-room environment.

Have you checked the image quality of the DVR - if you freeze and zoom in on the recording, is there still sharpness & clarity [this is the most essential thing of a CCTV]. What codec are they using (eg H264 ?)
D1 CCTV resolution is 704 x 480 pixels and is the highest resolution the CCTV system can record at.

Most of the folks here are selling outdated CCTV solutions & priced exorbitantly. If you guys are spending 7 lakhs - then is your investment future-proof for the next 5 years at least.

refer
http://www.cctvcamerapros.com/DVR-Computer-p/nuuo-pc7000.htm
http://www.sharpvisioncctv.com/
http://www.cctvcamerapros.com/CCTV-Resolution-s/356.htm
 
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