Camera issues

2021-10-04T19:54:57+00:00

Introduction

Reporting a problem or restating you still have a problem will not lead to resolution. This article is an example of a good ticket that led to a resolution. A resolution could be a bug fix or a settings change that resolves the issue. In this example, BI engineering had to fix the connector to the camera.

Customer ticket

I recently am noticing realtime slippage in what i see in blue iris and what i am seeing when viewing the camera directly from a browser. This time delay can be 10+ minutes. Restarting blue iris fixes the issues temporarily but they come back. I am using fast SSD storage for new recordings, and the database. I am recording direct to disk, I am not using any sort of overlay in blue iris or rendering the video as it comes in. The server it is running on is a Dell PowerEdge R620 with 12 logical processors with hyper threading so 24 cores total with 32GB of ram. There is no video card in this server. There does not appear to be any sort of resource contention issue. I have the server stats below and have taken a crystal disk mark test with Blue Iris turned off on the disk that is storing the Blue Iris Database and where "new" recordings are kept. I have also attached a copy of my config. I am seeing this time slippage on 4k cameras. I have screenshots of their configs for both blue iris and for the camera itself attached below as well.

Code:

Opening 192.168.254.68 port 80...HTTP Get / request...OKONVIF GetSystemDateAndTime2021-12-23T02:26:26.000ZRequesting device information...Manufacturer: BoschModel: AUTODOME IP starlight 7000 HDFirmwareVersion: 7.10.0076GetCapabilities...Querying servicesHas Search services: /onvif/search_serviceHas Imaging services: /onvif/imaging_serviceHas media services: /onvif/media_serviceHas RTP_RTSP_TCP, requesting profilesprofile token 0profile name H26x_L1S1profile source is 1profile source config is 1profile token 1profile name H26x_L1S2profile source is 1profile source config is 1profile token 2profile name JPEG_L1S3profile source is 1profile source config is 1requesting URI for profile 0RTSP URI: /rtsp_tunnel?p=0&h26x=4&aon=1&aud=1requesting URI for profile 1RTSP URI: /rtsp_tunnel?p=1&inst=2&h26x=4&aon=1&aud=1requesting URI for profile 2RTSP URI: /rtsp_tunnel?h26x=0&aon=1&aud=1Has Event services: /onvif/event_serviceRelayOutputs: 4RelayOutput: Output_1/Bistable/openRelayOutput: Output_2/Bistable/openRelayOutput: Output_3/Bistable/openRelayOutput: Output_4_(Relay)/Bistable/openInputConnectors: 7Has Device IO services: /onvif/DeviceIO_serviceAudioOutputs: 1Has PTZ service: /onvif/ptz_servicePreset: 1=ForwardPreset: 2=Left 90 DegreePreset: 3=Right 90Done

Comments/Feedback

Clear and concise explanation of issue
The issue is with camera connectivity, so really the bold highlights is the essential information. The user is clearly an IT professional based on the tools referenced. The information is informative but definitely not necessary.

I recently am noticing real-time slippage in what i see in blue iris and what i am seeing when viewing the camera directly from a browser. This time delay can be 10+ minutes. Restarting blue iris fixes the issues temporarily but they come back. I am using fast SSD storage for new recordings, and the database. I am recording direct to disk, I am not using any sort of overlay in blue iris or rendering the video as it comes in. The server it is running on is a Dell PowerEdge R620 with 12 logical processors with hyper threading so 24 cores total with 32GB of ram. There is no video card in this server. There does not appear to be any sort of resource contention issue. I have the server stats below and have taken a crystal disk mark test with Blue Iris turned off on the disk that is storing the Blue Iris Database and where "new" recordings are kept. I have also attached a copy of my config. I am seeing this time slippage on 4k cameras. I have screenshots of their configs for both blue iris and for the camera itself attached below as well.

Supporting evidence
The supporting evidence is often the missing piece. Why is it important?

1. Supporting evidence provides clarity to the issue, making it much easier to understand what you are trying to do.
2. It establishes credibility that we know you know what you are doing. We take comments like "Have been a BI user for many years..." with a grain of salt. Show us vs telling us you know what you are doing.
3. It let's us jump into troubleshooting immediately. There is no back and forth on please share a screenshot of or send your camera settings etc.

Additional comments on supporting evidence for this ticket:

Screenshot/Video
Visual of delay by overlaying stream from Camera UI against UI3. Clever, but not necessary. Simple screenshots of console or a video would have sufficed.

Connecting cameras - best practices
If you notice in the Connecting cameras article, there are three main steps to connecting cameras:

Camera setup: Setting the camera correctly to work well with BI.
Camera connector: The actual connector settings to a camera.
Video tab: Server settings that can affect the video.

This user shared exactly those settings in supporting evidence to help us confirm his setup.

Camera setup

By providing a screenshot of the encoding settings, there is complete clarity on the Camera setup for review by Support.

Camera connector (IP Config Dialog)

IP Config settings: Easiest way to know the connector settings is by sharing a screenshot. Helps confirm whether the connector settings are correct or can be improved.

The output of the Find/Inspect dialog from ONVIF is also of benefit.

Code:

Opening 192.168.254.68 port 80...HTTP Get / request...OKONVIF GetSystemDateAndTime2021-12-23T02:26:26.000ZRequesting device information...Manufacturer: BoschModel: AUTODOME IP starlight 7000 HDFirmwareVersion: 7.10.0076GetCapabilities...Querying servicesHas Search services: /onvif/search_serviceHas Imaging services: /onvif/imaging_serviceHas media services: /onvif/media_serviceHas RTP_RTSP_TCP, requesting profilesprofile token 0profile name H26x_L1S1profile source is 1profile source config is 1profile token 1profile name H26x_L1S2profile source is 1profile source config is 1profile token 2profile name JPEG_L1S3profile source is 1profile source config is 1requesting URI for profile 0RTSP URI: /rtsp_tunnel?p=0&h26x=4&aon=1&aud=1requesting URI for profile 1RTSP URI: /rtsp_tunnel?p=1&inst=2&h26x=4&aon=1&aud=1requesting URI for profile 2RTSP URI: /rtsp_tunnel?h26x=0&aon=1&aud=1Has Event services: /onvif/event_serviceRelayOutputs: 4RelayOutput: Output_1/Bistable/openRelayOutput: Output_2/Bistable/openRelayOutput: Output_3/Bistable/openRelayOutput: Output_4_(Relay)/Bistable/openInputConnectors: 7Has Device IO services: /onvif/DeviceIO_serviceAudioOutputs: 1Has PTZ service: /onvif/ptz_servicePreset: 1=ForwardPreset: 2=Left 90 DegreePreset: 3=Right 90Done

Video tab

Video tab clearly explains video settings.

Camera stats

The final step of the Connecting cameras - best practices article is to check the camera stats. Is the video working well with BI. Easiest way to know how the camera is performing is via the camera stats (General tab).

Camera stats. Camera stats are the easiest way to know whether the camera is setup correctly. From above I know the mainstream is connected but the sub stream is not. The FPS and key frame ratio are both very low. Something is NOT right with the camera encoder settings or the camera stream.

Summary

From the Checklist, there are 3 distinct steps to connecting a camera.

Camera settings
Connector settings
Video tab (BI server settings)

The user provided the Camera settings, Connector settings, the Video tab and the BI camera stats up front. This allowed support to dive into next steps and resolution immediately. Instead of screenshots of IP Config dialog and Video tab, it is easier if users just send the camera settings. Camera settings -> General tab -> Export

Final Resolution

We ran further tests such as connecting the camera to VLC.
The final resolution turned out to be engineering had to get involved to fix the BI connector.

Submitting a ticket / Next steps

Before opening a ticket go through the self-help content. The Connecting cameras article of the Checklist walks through connecting cameras. Good guide for connecting cameras the first time and double-checking your settings.

Review the troubleshooting guides in the Cameras section of the Troubleshooting toolkit to self-correct.

If you need support, the following information is needed:

Support info

It's easy to share support info. It's important as well in order to understand your computer stats and the version of the software you are running.
Before submitting a new ticket, click the Help button (? button).
Copy Email support info to copy critical system info to the clipboard.
Then paste the clipboard into the top of your support email. Below is a snippet from my "Email support" button.

Email to: support@blueirissoftware.com

Support data:
Version: Release 5.3.8.12 x64 (1/22/2021)
Service: No
License: XXX
Name: John V
Email: @yahoo.com
Support: Basic

Issue

Clearly articulate the issue. Playback from the mobile app sometimes has a black screen is NOT sufficient.

Is this true for all cameras?
Does playback work from the console? UI3? mobile app?
With UI3 or the app, does playback work from the LAN? WAN?

What are the steps to reproduce the error.

Additional information

Camera stats. Status button -> Cameras tab -> Export
Settings on the camera. Screenshot of camera encoding settings.
Camera settings. Camera settings -> General tab -> Export.
Server health: Confirm any and all errors in the logs were addressed and resolved prior to submitting a ticket.

Remote testing
Similar to this ticket (see final resolution section), occasionally engineering needs to get involved in order to tweak the BI connector to get the camera to work. If the issue is still not resolved, we will need remote access to the camera.

If asked, please send a WAN address for this camera for testing purposes with necessary ports, usually just 80 and 554 (RTSP) and 8999(ONVIF if available). Don't forget a temp login as well. If you put the camera on the internet we can take a look. This video explains how to do so. To be clear, we need direct access to the camera, not the BI web interface.

Send your camera settings as well. Camera settings -> General tab -> Export.

Statistics: Posted by varghesesa — Mon Oct 04, 2021 7:54 pm