Problems getting started ... "unable to provide an image"

[Centaurus17]

Hi,

I ran zm v 1.30 for a long time satisfying ... now I setted up my Debian-server to Debian 11 and I had to install v 1.6 - and I have problems getting started. I'm using Vivothek cameras (i did not change at the camera-setting anything), from my old installation I have screenshots from the working configuration .

I tried to put the settings in 1.60 equal I had in 1.30 - but at the moment I cannot get the cameras working: at the moment I am seeing a black screen from the camera with an error: "Monitor is not capturing. We will be unable to provide an image" / "unable to stream".

Settings General:

• Source_Type: remote,
• Function 'modect'
• Analysis Enabled = J
• Maximum FPS = 12
• Reference Image Blend = 12.5% (outdoor)

Settings Source:

• Protocol RTSP
• Method "RTP/RTSP"
• Port 554
• path "/live.sdp"
• 24 bit colour
• Capture Resolution 1280x800

Buffers: Image Buffer Size (frames) = 30, Pre Event Image Count = 30, Post Event Image Count = 10, Stream Replay Image Buffer = 1000

I'm shure these are the same settings I had in the old running configuration - what's wrong or missing?

Please help ... thx for hints.

[dougmccrary]

Start by changing remote to ffmpeg.

[Centaurus17]

Thanks - this works .

-----

Next problem: zm does ignore other paths:

• First I setted in Options/Storage the "Default"-path (/var/cache/zoneminder/events) to a mounted HDD (/mnt/WDAV25/zoneminder_events) -> zm does not create the directory 'zoneminder_events' itself on the mounted HDD.
• Then I created the directory manually with user root -> zm did not use this!
• Then I created in Options/Storage a new path and setted the camera to the new path on the mounted HDD -> zm still captures to '/var/cache/zoneminder/events'...

...how can I activate another storage directory?

In the meantime I switched back the "Default"-Storage to '/var/cache/zoneminder/events' ... now in the 'Storage Area' of the camera-setting I have 2x "Default"... ???

Thx

[Centaurus17]

Supplement: ffmpeg does work - but it produces some image errors: the lower half of the picture is a little "wobbling", there are also some pixel-errors - zm does interpret this as 'alarm' and does capture sequences although there is no movement in front of the camera.

Is there no way to get RTSP working with the new version of zm ?

So I have 2 Problem (at the moment):

• the path
• ffmpeg -> RTSP

Thanks for help.

[dougmccrary]

owner should be www-data most likely.
If that doesn't work, check the directory zm created and match that.

[Centaurus17]

Thank you very much - with the owner 'www-data' zm is unsing the directory I created on a separate HDD for the events .

With the protocol ffmpeg I'm unhappy - some frames are OK, then the next few frames are pixelated in the moving areas. And I have more false alarms than I had with RTSP & zm 1.30 .

Ideas to fix this?

Many thanks.

-------------------------------

Supplement: at the moment it looks good ... with Method "TCP" it seems to work better ... I will report.

[dougmccrary]

Please specify camera and send screenshots of your settings pages - General, Source, Storage, Buffers.

[Centaurus17]

The cameras are Vivothek IP 8332C (manual PDF).

At the moment ffmpeg works well - I could go with this further. But it would be interesting why RTSP/RTP does not work in zm v1.6 while it worked in v1.30 fine (in the camera-settings I did not change anything).

Btwy - the screens of the GUI are to large (the ones from v1.30 had a more manageable size) - it is hard to use them on notebooks with small screen.

Thanks!

-----------

Btwy - greetings to the Casa de Bandini (I was there in '99), we had unforgettable hours.

-----------

[Centaurus17]

The 4th one

[dougmccrary]

Ahhh - I thought we were on source type ffmpeg?
Stick with 32 bit color target space.
Turn off frames and enable passthrough on storage. Leave analysis only if you want.
You have 10 or more of these cameras? Did you use a backup database or add them one at a time?
I ask because ZM would normally take an older database and upgrade it to work by running zmupdate.pl

On UDP vs TCP - I'm surprised it works at all on both. All my cams are one or the other, only.

Annnd - you keep saying 1.6. You are using 1.36.30-something, yes?

[Centaurus17]

Ahhh - I thought we were on source type ffmpeg?

As I wrote ffmpeg does work! But it would be interested why protocol RTSP does not work - while this was working in v1.30 at the old installation on Debian 9 (Stretch).

Here the working settings from v1.30 on Stretch (you can click to enlarge):



... as you see 24 bit color target space.

Turn off frames and enable passthrough on storage

What do you mean with this? 'Save JPGS' on Storage = Disabled? Then 'Video Writer' I cannot set to 'Camera Pass through' - this is only for ffmpeg (not for RTSP).

I thought it cannot be so difficult to set the settings in v1.36 according them in v1.30 - but ...

I setted up Debian 11 Bullseye some days before (clean installation), then I installed zm using this installation guide. I'm running 5 Cameras.

Thx

----------------

Additional: I'm getting errors to the console:

Code: Select all

Message from syslogd@debian at Feb 19 17:13:22 ...
zmc[13838]: ERR [zmc_m10] [bind(), Could not bind]
undef[13838]: ERR [undef] [Backtrace 0: /usr/bin/zmc(+0x739a8) [0x55eb1cfbc9a8]]
.
.
.
zmc[3773]: ERR [zmc_m10] [bind(), Could not bind]
zmc[3805]: ERR [zmc_m10] [bind(), Could not bind]

What to do?

Thx

[dougmccrary]

I thought it cannot be so difficult to set the settings in v1.36 according them in v1.30 - but ...

It isn't.
I think the problem is you are trying too hard to relate the 1.30 settings to the 1.36 settings. There are major differences between the two, mainly that remote doesn't work like it did in 1.30. And also, the console camera screens are re-arranged.
RTSP does work with ffmpeg, unless something is really wonky.
So here are the essential settings...by page

General - server - none; source type - Ffmpeg;Function - Mocord

Source - rtsp://<ipaddress>/live.sdp
This assumes camera is set to Allow anonymous viewing is checked

Screenshot 2023-02-19 at 16-49-37 ip8332-cmanual_en.pdf.png (19.49 KiB) Viewed 3049 times

Method - TCP; Target colorspace - 32 bit; Capture Resolution - 1280 800 1280x800; deinterlacing - disabled

ONVIF - all empty/blank

Storage - storage area - (whatever it is); save jpegs - diabled; Video Writer - camera passthrough; optional encoder parameters - crf=36;
(delete the comments to single line)

Timestamp - leave as is

Buffers - 3 0 0 5 5 0 1, top to bottom

The rest can be left as-is.
Does that work? It should. let me know...
[the following screenshot is a mistake, can't get rid of it]

[Centaurus17]

Many thanks for your support and patience - partial success:

• I'm seeing a picture in the console .
• If there ist movement in front of the camera an event is captured .
• At the moment no ERR is reported in the system-console.
• But if I want to see the captured event - a black screen is shown with "the video could not be loaded, the network failed (= not possible) or the format is not supported".

??? Do I have to install ffmpeg manually ('apt install ffmpeg')?

Btwy - 24 bit color depth -> 32 bit color depth ... does this increase the cpu-load significant?

Many thanks.

-------------

Supplement: with 'Mocord' it seems that there is permanently captured a large stream ... I switched all 5 cameras to 'Modect' - zm captures a short *.mp4 for each event.

[dougmccrary]

yay.

But if I want to see the captured event - a black screen is shown with "the video could not be loaded, the network failed (= not possible) or the format is not supported".

First, see if you can change the codec in upper right of screen. Sometimes it makes a bad choice in auto.
If the doesn't work, go to Storage - Video Writer, and change to Encode. Then you can experiment with the two new options.
I find Auto and libx264 works, or sometimes it takes h264 and libx264.

??? Do I have to install ffmpeg manually ('apt install ffmpeg')?

It's part of the ZM package. Probably in /usr/share - so no.

Btwy - 24 bit color depth -> 32 bit color depth ... does this increase the cpu-load significant?

It's less load because the library used is optimised for 32 bit, as I understand.

with 'Mocord' it seems that there is permanently captured a large stream ... I switched all 5 cameras to 'Modect' - zm captures a short *.mp4 for each event.

That's fine. I had you use Mocord to simplify testing by guaranteeing something would record if the settings were otherwise correct.
Feel free to change any of the other options to suit.

Now that you have an image, you'll want to start new threads for further questions/problems. Have fun...

[Centaurus17]

First, see if you can change the codec in upper right of screen...

Thanks a lot - one time another Codec than 'auto' choosen in the upper right - it works with all of them (Auto, MP4 & MJPEG).

Thanks again, greetings