Question Building and optimizing a PC for security recording

[Torn Mind]

After realizing there is no good 24/7 "cloud" security camera option anymore--vintage Nest Aware is on the road to death and its new replacement is utterly unwieldy garbage, the DVRs and NVRs with crappy *nix installs are also huge time wasters with filesystems all over the place---so I decided that I might as well spend the same money and some kind of get PC out of it where I can view the videos without having to go through all that nonsense.

I guess I just want something that can run Blue Iris and not screw up.

Case probably needs as many drive spaces for hard drives as possible.

Mobo will probably included higher end LAN hardware. Will probably need slots to be a mix of PCI and PCIe. I probably need capture cards because I have a ton of old wired DVR cameras and old IP cams that could be used.

If I can get away with just buying someone's used throwaway, I'll consider it, but I've been out of the loop for maybe 6-8 years in terms of hardware.

 

[Tech Junky]

Big capacity cases.... I use a Meshify 2 case and it has an internal rack in storage mode that can mount up to 13 drives. I have 5 in it in a Raid 10 with a hot spare using Linux. The R10 provides 450MB/s of speed and redundancy if there's a failure.

PCIE is the only version for slots on current mobo's though as PCI is about extinct at this point.

For a variety of options for bandwidth ASRock has the best mix and number of slots. I'm using a z690 Steel Legend that has 5 slots of varying speed and length. https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z690 Steel Legend/index.asp

There are some tricks depending on how loaded you want to make the storage as there's a limited number of ports to plug drives into on the board and PSU. If you're going to max things out you'll need a HBA which slots into the MOBO and gives you 6-8 additional drive ports. For the PSU side there's cables you can use to split the power off a single output, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096KDM9H2 Using one of these in my setup to keep things clutter free to feed the 5 drives off a single output.

As to the cards you want to use that's up to you as you know your HW for the cameras better than I do. If it's all IP traffic as it should be then it should be as simple as feeding them into a MUX card for recording.



Looking at the specs they have listed though it doesn't mention needing a capture card but a decent GPU.

So, it comes down to budget and how much you want to put into this setup. A base configuration though should be under $1000 for a full fledged case/mobo/cpu/ram/psu/fans with the prices coming down on ADL / 690 pairings. When I built mine new with a 12700K / SL w/o massive storage everything came in right at about $1K for an operational system. Running Windows though will be the hurdle because it complicates things with storage configurations that are much easier to do in Linux w/o expensive HW controllers.

The 8 Best DIY Security Camera Apps and Software for Linux

Looking for a DIY security webcam client for Linux? These Linux-compatible apps are ideal for any DIY security cam project.

www.makeuseof.com

I would setup the system with Ubuntu or whatever flavor you feel comfortable with and test out the options in the link to see if they will work with your current cameras. If it doesn't work well then switching to Windows shouldn't be a huge issue other than reconfiguring the drives. Linux though has better file system options than Windows and is less prone to issues when on 24/7. I have my system setup as my router / DVR / AP / firewall / etc. which means it has to be 24/7 operational and stable. I built more for performance though while rolling in 5-6 devices into a single box and handling DVR functions efficiently.

The need for the GPU listed above though shouldn't really matter since you'll likely be remote viewing from another device anyway. I wouldn't waste the cash on a GPU on the box though and put the money towards something more useful like a faster NIC / switch. I suspect though these cameras aren't recording in 4K which means bandwidth shouldn't be a huge issue with a cheap gig switch. Maybe throw a quad port gig NIC into the box for redundancy. Using some network commands in Linux you could feed the cams into the box and isolate them from the internet by putting them into a different subnet or VLAN.

 

[Torn Mind]

After some brainwork, I realized that I have an old, unused Z87 ATX board (MSI G41 PC Mate) that's sat around for years; I never got around to reselling it.

I could buy some desktop refurb for $100 off ebay and raid the refurb machine for a 4770/4670 and RAM and get a working machine.

Most of the cameras I wish to restore to use were originally meant for those cheap *nix DVRs. So it has those BNC connectors and need an external power source. Some are IP cameras from 4-7 years ago.

I'm comfortable in Windows more than Linux. I want to get to the files easy and that means NTFS for me.

PSU is good. I think I have too many known good old ones. lol

 

[Tech Junky]

Nothing like a spare parts box sometimes. Though in this case switching to all IP cams might be the better idea than dealing with cabling back to the PC with those old BNC models.

NTFS is horrid though when it comes to this sort of thing. Enabling SMB in Linux is easy and then it's open to any client to view w/o any issue. Using EXT4 is more resilient than NTFS any day.

Reusing the old board / CPU / RAM saves some cash unless you need more RAM. There's a million ways to put something together though. You could build it for more than a single purpose though and use it as a NAS / Plex / DVR since it's storage centric already. Linux isn't as bad today as it was even a couple of years ago when it comes to making it work. I've been playing around with it casually for at least a decade and a bit more seriously for the past few years with my current setup. At this point I've completely gotten rid of the GUI and all of the bloatware bundled into the generic setup. Everything I do at this point is SSH / CLI based or DL a package that gives a browser GUI.

 

[Torn Mind]

Does seem like sticking to BNC is not a very cost effective option. I have to get an encoder anyway to make the streams IP compatible.

 

[Tech Junky]

i don't think an encoder should be necessary. For instance I have a quad tuner ATSC3 box for DVR functions that works great but, Plex doesn't support the audio codec as Dolby hasn't licensed it out or Plex doesn't want to pay for it. Either way I have a couple of options to get recordings with audio. From a PC I can just use VLC or the built in web page for the tuner to view w/ audio and on Plex just tell it to use the ATSC2 channels instead of the ATSC3 channels.

The feed from your IP cameras for video shouldn't be transmitting in an odd format that requires transcoding though. It's possible though if they're using some captive codec but, translating it into an MP4 or some other extension shouldn't be a big ask. For instance Plex records in a "ts" format which ultimately is a MPEG2 stream from the tuner. VLC understands it just fine but, Windows is a bit dumb about it. Then again I try to use windows "features" as little as possible with all the analytics they try to collect on every little thing you do.

Spending money on additional HW if it's not truly needed to make it work seems like a bad path to me. Things have changed quite a bit over the years with surveillance equipment and how they integrate into modern deployments.

When to use Encoders and Decoders in Surveillance

Use encoders to convert analog to IP signals and decoders to display video on analog monitors. Enhance surveillance flexibility and compatibility.

www.a1securitycameras.com

IP Camera Configuration

This guide explains how to setup an IP camera, the settings that I use, and what they mean. It also provides tips to optomize your camera for your use case.

myeasytek.com

From just glancing at things getting rid of the old BNC cameras will negate the need for en/decoding the video which simply converts the analog signal to a digital format for viewing/playback.

For the storage side of things cams with H.265 will be more efficient in saving space on the HDDs. Getting into the details on the cams will help figure out which path to go down for a few things besides just setting up the DVR function for viewing them.

I look at it this way....

Blue Iris = Plex
Quad tuner = IP cams

Since BI handles the management of the streams like Plex does from the tuner (4 streams) it's quite similar other than TV isn't broadcast in Analog format anymore. IIRC the tuner pulls the stream from the antenna in MPEG2/MP3 V/A but the tuner for ATSC3 pushes HEVC/AC-4. It gets complicated trying to keep track of things between different iterations of things but, the devil is in the details on how to make them work w/o blowing your budget on things you don't need. Just like speeding Plex up with some trickery that allows an Intel iGPU to quickly handle things now w/o needing a dGPU for the same functions. Running things like comskip to strip out commercials w/o a dGPU in the past used to take forever and now it's quite fast using just the CPU. With this in mind Intel is the better option vs AMD.

 

[Torn Mind]

i don't think an encoder should be necessary. For instance I have a quad tuner ATSC3 box for DVR functions that works great but, Plex doesn't support the audio codec as Dolby hasn't licensed it out or Plex doesn't want to pay for it. Either way I have a couple of options to get recordings with audio. From a PC I can just use VLC or the built in web page for the tuner to view w/ audio and on Plex just tell it to use the ATSC2 channels instead of the ATSC3 channels.

The feed from your IP cameras for video shouldn't be transmitting in an odd format that requires transcoding though. It's possible though if they're using some captive codec but, translating it into an MP4 or some other extension shouldn't be a big ask. For instance Plex records in a "ts" format which ultimately is a MPEG2 stream from the tuner. VLC understands it just fine but, Windows is a bit dumb about it. Then again I try to use windows "features" as little as possible with all the analytics they try to collect on every little thing you do.

Spending money on additional HW if it's not truly needed to make it work seems like a bad path to me. Things have changed quite a bit over the years with surveillance equipment and how they integrate into modern deployments.

When to use Encoders and Decoders in Surveillance

Use encoders to convert analog to IP signals and decoders to display video on analog monitors. Enhance surveillance flexibility and compatibility.

www.a1securitycameras.com

IP Camera Configuration

This guide explains how to setup an IP camera, the settings that I use, and what they mean. It also provides tips to optomize your camera for your use case.

myeasytek.com

From just glancing at things getting rid of the old BNC cameras will negate the need for en/decoding the video which simply converts the analog signal to a digital format for viewing/playback.

For the storage side of things cams with H.265 will be more efficient in saving space on the HDDs. Getting into the details on the cams will help figure out which path to go down for a few things besides just setting up the DVR function for viewing them.

I look at it this way....

Blue Iris = Plex
Quad tuner = IP cams

Since BI handles the management of the streams like Plex does from the tuner (4 streams) it's quite similar other than TV isn't broadcast in Analog format anymore. IIRC the tuner pulls the stream from the antenna in MPEG2/MP3 V/A but the tuner for ATSC3 pushes HEVC/AC-4. It gets complicated trying to keep track of things between different iterations of things but, the devil is in the details on how to make them work w/o blowing your budget on things you don't need. Just like speeding Plex up with some trickery that allows an Intel iGPU to quickly handle things now w/o needing a dGPU for the same functions. Running things like comskip to strip out commercials w/o a dGPU in the past used to take forever and now it's quite fast using just the CPU. With this in mind Intel is the better option vs AMD.

I don't know, but what I came I across was that the capture card might need software to run it as a security system.

Geovision DVR Cards

CCTV Camera Pros sells Geovision DVR Cards. Geovision cards turn your PC into a Video Surveillance Recorder. Best Geovision Prices and Selection at CCTV Camera Pros.

www.cctvcamerapros.com

Best CCTV Video Capture Card?

I'm looking at setting up a CCTV server running FreeBSD and was specifically looking at GeoVision GV-1480B cards, but wanted to check a) if FreeBSD supports them and b) if not (or even if so) what the best/most-reliable/high-resolution realtime CCTV capture cards are which work well with FreeBSD...

forums.freebsd.org

BNC Capture card for CCTV?

Hey, Thinking of setting up a low powered system for my outside Camera recording. The camera i have has a BNC connector, Although I'm confused to what sort of card i would need to put inside the computer. Assuming it would would be something like this? Pci Capture card?

forums.overclockers.co.uk

It's enough learning to make someone's head explode. Plus, it's dying tech...

 

[Tech Junky]

dying tech

Like I said before get rid of the analog and the IP cams won't need a card. The BI software is your capture card as it aggregates the feeds. Once the data hits the drives you can manipulate it from the software. Not to mention digital IP cams have better optics than the older cams.

 

[Torn Mind]

Like I said before get rid of the analog and the IP cams won't need a card. The BI software is your capture card as it aggregates the feeds. Once the data hits the drives you can manipulate it from the software. Not to mention digital IP cams have better optics than the older cams.

I'll probably just revive the old DVR systems as a failsafe, maybe sell a few spares for some change on ebay, and focus on acquiring some new PoE cameras.

Searching on craigs, a Haswell E-system popped up for $140. But given that demand for desktops is so dead...I'll gamble and wait another day or two and offer 100-120, or maybe not.

CPU: i7-5820K CPU
MEM: 32 GB DDR4
GPU: GeForce GT 710
MB: ASRock X99X Killer
STORAGE: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB 3D NAND NVMe Gen3x4 PCIe M.2 (Expanded by PCIe)
PSU: Corsair AX760I
OS: Linux Manjaro Plasma (Won't really matter to me, but w/e)

 

[Tech Junky]

That's already a fire sale and would work for a DVR for the cams. Could make some money back by selling the GPU.

The only issue might be the case for drives.

 

[Torn Mind]

That's already a fire sale and would work for a DVR for the cams. Could make some money back by selling the GPU.

The only issue might be the case for drives.

I'm not sure who makes the case, but it has a max of 8 drive bays.

Spoiler: link to listing

i7-5820K, 32GB, 1TB, GT710 - computers - by owner - electronics sale

Custom built back in 2015, upgraded few times. Got new machine, no longer needed. Works great. CPU: i7-5820K CPU @ 3.30GHz 6-core (12 thread) (sells for $30 on ebay) MEM: 32 GB DDR4 (4x8GB, CORSAIR,...

washingtondc.craigslist.org

 

[Tech Junky]

I'd pull it apart and clean it and assess what needs to go back in. Maybe swap all of the fans while it's apart for good measure.