Adapting Amcrest Cameras Systems - AXIS M7016?

[zeevy]

Hello. Thank you for everyone who has contributed to ZM. It is a great piece of software and I look forward to contributing as best I can.


I have a few apartment buildings spread over about 4 blocks (about 2500ft from end to end). I'm hoping to install a total of about 90-100 IP cameras (edit: a mix of analog and mostly IP cameras) on all the buildings and have everything viewable from the office on one ZM setup. I installed ZM on the server (Late 2011 MacBook Pro running Ubuntu 18.04) and have one camera setup and recording for testing and to learn the system.

I'm paying for internet in the office, but not at the other buildings. I don't want t pay for internet at all buildings. I plan to set up Ubiquiti Ethernet bridging between the buildings. This pays for itself in a few months.

Currently I have three Amcrest systems set up (1x of this 4 cam system - AMDV10814-4B-B and 2x of these 16 channel systems - AMDV960H16-8B). They all have Ethernet ports on the back and can connect to the internet to be viewed. I cannot afford to pull out all the old wiring and rewire and install new IP cameras in these buildings so I need to convert those signals and get them to the ZM server in the office.

From what I've read, it seems like the AXIS M7016 video encoder can take the signals from my old cameras on my Amcrest systems, convert them to IP cams and then I can send that to ZM to be run as normal IP cams? Does that sounds correct?


Thank you in advance!

[mlw19mlw91]

That sounds correct however I am not sure about hardware compatibility. The one you're referring to is not in the compatibility section:
https://wiki.zoneminder.com/Axis

It may very well work but I'd try to buy the first one where you can return it OR find a cheap used one on ebay and figure it out before buying a whole bunch of em.

[burger]

Currently I have three Amcrest systems set up (1x of this 4 cam system - AMDV10814-4B-B and 2x of these 16 channel systems - AMDV960H16-8B). They all have Ethernet ports on the back and can connect to the internet to be viewed. I cannot afford to pull out all the old wiring and rewire and install new IP cameras in these buildings so I need to convert those signals and get them to the ZM server in the office.

From what I've read, it seems like the AXIS M7016 video encoder can take the signals from my old cameras on my Amcrest systems, convert them to IP cams and then I can send that to ZM to be run as normal IP cams? Does that sounds correct?

I looked briefly for the data sheet / user manual for AMDV960H16-8B but came up empty. These are Analog cameras on BNC. They say they are 960H, but typically 700Lines is the max you will get out of NTSC video cctv cameras. You need to be careful to determine whether these are using an NTSC signal, or if it is something called HD Analog. HD Analog, is completely different, and implementation depends on the manufacturer. There are different competing standards. HD analog allows for 720p or 1080p to go across coaxial. But it might not work with older IP Video Encoders.

Basically, buy the one IP Video Encoder you mentioned, and test it out. If the cameras are not compatible, then you could potentially replace only the cameras, and leave the coaxial in place. Going forward, you should not install any new coaxial.

FYI, the coaxial cameras are analog (or HD Analog) cameras, not IP cameras. They call them IP cameras, as they run over TCP/IP which is over ethernet (4 pair twisted wire) typically. They are also digital.

EDIT: https://www.arcdyn.com/articles/what-does-1000tvl-mean/
Looks like you should be ok, with that IP Video Encoder, but buy one at first, and test. It's likely nearly all axis equipment will be compatible, so don't worry about it not being in the HCL on the wiki.

[zeevy]

Thank you for the great replies!

I’ll get the M7016 and give it a try. Hopefully it’ll work relatively easily. I’ll set it up in the office and then spread it out at the properties.

I have one other question:
1. Is it likely that this (https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macb ... specs.html) computer will be sufficient to power 100 cameras when the cameras are set to B/W, 2fps and using h.264? I’m assuming it won’t be, but I’ll add what I can, then once I have more cameras set up and everything is working, I’ll probably upgrade the hardware.

[burger]

I’ll get the M7016 and give it a try. Hopefully it’ll work relatively easily. I’ll set it up in the office and then spread it out at the properties.

This is the right way to go. Don't bother with the BTTV or PCI cards.

1. Is it likely that this (https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macb ... specs.html) computer will be sufficient to power 100 cameras when the cameras are set to B/W, 2fps and using h.264?

Doubtful. but you can start with that. You are going to want a server. You may even want to disable CPU mitigations depending on your LAN. viewtopic.php?f=11&t=28292

[zeevy]

1. Is it likely that this (https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macb ... specs.html) computer will be sufficient to power 100 cameras when the cameras are set to B/W, 2fps and using h.264?

Doubtful. but you can start with that. You are going to want a server. You may even want to disable CPU mitigations depending on your LAN. viewtopic.php?f=11&t=28292

What hardware recommendations would you suggest for 150 cameras? Assuming I add more in the future.

[burger]

Trying to run 150 cameras on one server... I've never done that so can't say. With enough grunt it could be done. The more cameras you have, the more cores you'll need (with 2010's or newer mobo). BUT, an easier/safer way is to just split the cameras across multiple servers. You can either use the official zm multi server features, or just manually split them.

As for a hardware recommendation, it depends on your budget. Last gen servers can be had for reasonably cheap on auction sites. Current gen servers can be bought with warranties... Say, 3 of 16 core (32 thread) servers, and you should be able to handle 150 cameras. More cores the better (in my limited experience). You will need to tune modect to be on the low res stream, record or nodect on the high res stream, adjust FPS and resolution properly... It depends on resolution, fps, and zma settings.

You are going to want some HDDs as well. More HDDs means more history. Get a bunch of 4TB HDDs.

[zeevy]

Hello All. I'm back to working on the cameras system for my properties. I've found this server for sale on eBay. It is $1,158 with a 60 day return policy.

HPE Proliant DL380 G9 24 | 1x 10C 2.6HZ | 32gb of ram | 2x 900gb.10k | P440

I believe it has quite a few more slots for more ram (24 total slots for 128gb - 3tb of ram depending on type), and more HD expansions. I believe I can add another processor which would double the cores/threads (is that correct?).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HPE-Proliant-D ... 9PBbPJeZEQ

Just to clarify a few questions:
- Can I install Ubuntu 18.04 Desktop on this? I'm planning to do a USB install. If I understood this correctly, I can install ubuntu (https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/do ... -c04438844).

- Is this kind of hardware appropriate for 100-150 cameras? It will only be running zoneminder and nothing else.

- Can I hook 2-3 screens up to this server to spread the view of all the cameras? i.e. have a multi-monitor computer. I want to be able to see everything at the same time. It looks like this has only one VGA port out for monitor connection. Can something different be added or am I not understanding correctly?