I've recently got my camera up (AXIS 212 PTZ) and generally it works great, however I've noticed chunks of black frames in the mix .. it appears that capturing is phasing out on occasion.
Looking at the logs I see;
Jul 12 18:49:21 asterisk3 zmwatch[3480]: INF [Restarting capture daemon for Main_Office, shared memory not valid]
Jul 12 18:49:21 asterisk3 zmdc[3450]: INF ['zmc -m 1' stopping at 07/07/12 18:49:21]
Jul 12 18:49:21 asterisk3 zmc_m1[3634]: INF [Got signal (Terminated), exiting]
Jul 12 18:49:21 asterisk3 zmwatch[3480]: INF ['zmc -m 1' stopping at 07/07/12 18:49:21]
Jul 12 18:49:21 asterisk3 zma_m1[3474]: WAR [Signal: Lost]
Jul 12 18:49:21 asterisk3 zma_m1[3474]: INF [Main_Office: 1837 - Gone into alarm state]
Jul 12 18:49:31 asterisk3 zmwatch[3480]: INF [Restarting capture daemon for Main_Office, shared memory not valid]
Jul 12 18:49:31 asterisk3 zmdc[3638]: INF ['zmc -m 1' started at 07/07/12 18:49:31]
Jul 12 18:49:31 asterisk3 zmdc[3450]: INF ['zmc -m 1' starting at 07/07/12 18:49:31, pid = 3638]
Jul 12 18:49:31 asterisk3 zmc_m1[3638]: INF [Debug Level = 0, Debug Log = <none>]
Jul 12 18:49:31 asterisk3 zmwatch[3480]: INF ['zmc -m 1' starting at 07/07/12 18:49:31, pid = 3638]
Jul 12 18:49:31 asterisk3 zmc_m1[3638]: INF [Starting Capture]
Jul 12 18:49:31 asterisk3 zma_m1[3474]: WAR [Signal: Reacquired]
Jul 12 18:49:31 asterisk3 zma_m1[3474]: INF [Main_Office: 1838 - Gone into alarm state]
Can someone tell me if this logging looks normal and if there's a reason why my recording contains blocks of black pages ... ?
(I've tested the camera with other software, it seems 100%)
Thanks...
Intermittent capture ..
Intermittent capture
I got the same problem with my D-Link 6620g PTZ cam. For this cam, ZM can only access jpg files (mjpeg proprietary / ActiveX only). I get the video, but every 20 sec or so the video freezes for a few secs and then reloads (zmc crashes and restarts).
It seems that sometimes the data stream gets broken, e.g. the jpg file is not properly transferred from the cam to ZM. I see respective hints in the logs, and I also can reproduce it with firefox pointing at the jpg image on the cam.
Any way to set ZM to be less strict to just ignore the faulty frame(s)?
Anybody with the same problem found a solution to this?
Thanks for any hints!
It seems that sometimes the data stream gets broken, e.g. the jpg file is not properly transferred from the cam to ZM. I see respective hints in the logs, and I also can reproduce it with firefox pointing at the jpg image on the cam.
Any way to set ZM to be less strict to just ignore the faulty frame(s)?
Anybody with the same problem found a solution to this?
Thanks for any hints!
Frame rate ..
I'm afraid not ..
The camera can stream at 20 fps .. I had to limit it to 5fps (on the camera) because the computer couldn't cope.
I've written my own capture / display software in "Gambas", this is working "perfectly" so it's definitely a zm issue.
I would much rather use ZM than write a complete system, but I'm seeing a lot if issues with zm atm ...
The camera can stream at 20 fps .. I had to limit it to 5fps (on the camera) because the computer couldn't cope.
I've written my own capture / display software in "Gambas", this is working "perfectly" so it's definitely a zm issue.
I would much rather use ZM than write a complete system, but I'm seeing a lot if issues with zm atm ...
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jameswilson
- Posts: 5111
- Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:07 pm
- Location: Midlands UK
a lot of issues like what?
you might have other issues but zm is very very stable when setup properly. Im assuming you have a lib issue or something. Try using one of the preffered distros to make fault finding a lot easier.
I have run axis cams at over 200 fps total at cif on varios versions of zm.
you might have other issues but zm is very very stable when setup properly. Im assuming you have a lib issue or something. Try using one of the preffered distros to make fault finding a lot easier.
I have run axis cams at over 200 fps total at cif on varios versions of zm.
James Wilson
Disclaimer: The above is pure theory and may work on a good day with the wind behind it. etc etc.
http://www.securitywarehouse.co.uk
Disclaimer: The above is pure theory and may work on a good day with the wind behind it. etc etc.
http://www.securitywarehouse.co.uk
Re; Issues with zm
Ok, you asked;
(and I've tried this on 2 different machines, one Ubuntu Desktop running Edgy and one Ubuntu Server running Feisty)
1. I had to tweak shmmax to get the system working in the first place - it wasn't too hard to find this but it's not user friendly.
2. Now I have it working, it's dropping frames for no apparent reason. I end up with 1000 events over a 12 hour period. I've managed to write some software to bring in live motion directly from the camera and display it in a window in around 25 lines of code and it appears to work flawlessly without dropping frames or using shared memory - zm seems to be making hard work of this.
3. I'm coding in a fairly high level language, yet my code is using ~ 1/6th the CPU time of zm ... this concerns me. (yes, I'm storing it on disk too!)
4. The server is fairly quick but 15fps seems to drive zm up to 100%cpu, this seems like a bit of a limitation.
5. I don't want people to see (generally) the camera output. As soon as I turn authentication on, although authentication generally works, the video cgi script starts to complain about authentication errors and I no longer get the "current" shots in the web page. Hence I can't really use authentication.
6. It doesn't seem to like me using links in the preferences when I choose where to store events and images .. not nailed down exactly what the problem is but I wasted hours trying to store data on a dedicated partition because changing the path "just didn't work".
At this point (and I've only had the software in three days) I'm planning on writing something to do the job for us next week. zm does look great, it's just a bit disappointing that "I" can't make it work well enough to rely on it .. and as it just seems to be me having problems I'm a bit stuck ...
(and I've tried this on 2 different machines, one Ubuntu Desktop running Edgy and one Ubuntu Server running Feisty)
1. I had to tweak shmmax to get the system working in the first place - it wasn't too hard to find this but it's not user friendly.
2. Now I have it working, it's dropping frames for no apparent reason. I end up with 1000 events over a 12 hour period. I've managed to write some software to bring in live motion directly from the camera and display it in a window in around 25 lines of code and it appears to work flawlessly without dropping frames or using shared memory - zm seems to be making hard work of this.
3. I'm coding in a fairly high level language, yet my code is using ~ 1/6th the CPU time of zm ... this concerns me. (yes, I'm storing it on disk too!)
4. The server is fairly quick but 15fps seems to drive zm up to 100%cpu, this seems like a bit of a limitation.
5. I don't want people to see (generally) the camera output. As soon as I turn authentication on, although authentication generally works, the video cgi script starts to complain about authentication errors and I no longer get the "current" shots in the web page. Hence I can't really use authentication.
6. It doesn't seem to like me using links in the preferences when I choose where to store events and images .. not nailed down exactly what the problem is but I wasted hours trying to store data on a dedicated partition because changing the path "just didn't work".
At this point (and I've only had the software in three days) I'm planning on writing something to do the job for us next week. zm does look great, it's just a bit disappointing that "I" can't make it work well enough to rely on it .. and as it just seems to be me having problems I'm a bit stuck ...
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jameswilson
- Posts: 5111
- Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:07 pm
- Location: Midlands UK
persoanlly id avoid ubuntu. I have never had much success with it.
I think the problems you are seeing are distro related not zm related. But anyway but i did ask lol
1. shmmax and shmall need to be adjusted if you want to go above cif and is on the faq
2. It shouldnt i think you have an issue that isnt zm related maybe a jpeg lib issue
3. Zm does alot more than just record, but is very efficient if using the jpeg mmx libs. Again a distro issue i think
4. Definetly shouldnt like i said i have done tests with a 4800X2 and can run 200 fps record without maxing out the procxessors. Motion detection uses a lot more. This all points to you having a serious issue somewhere
5. Again i use mandriva/fedora and my auth works fine
6. never having chnaged that i cant say but i think you need to read the docs in this area as i dont think you can do what your trying without additional alterations.
Just humour me and do a temp install with either ctu zm or the non live 2006 mandriva cd provided on here. Just to familiarise yourself with zm, before you try ubuntu
I think the problems you are seeing are distro related not zm related. But anyway but i did ask lol
1. shmmax and shmall need to be adjusted if you want to go above cif and is on the faq
2. It shouldnt i think you have an issue that isnt zm related maybe a jpeg lib issue
3. Zm does alot more than just record, but is very efficient if using the jpeg mmx libs. Again a distro issue i think
4. Definetly shouldnt like i said i have done tests with a 4800X2 and can run 200 fps record without maxing out the procxessors. Motion detection uses a lot more. This all points to you having a serious issue somewhere
5. Again i use mandriva/fedora and my auth works fine
6. never having chnaged that i cant say but i think you need to read the docs in this area as i dont think you can do what your trying without additional alterations.
Just humour me and do a temp install with either ctu zm or the non live 2006 mandriva cd provided on here. Just to familiarise yourself with zm, before you try ubuntu
James Wilson
Disclaimer: The above is pure theory and may work on a good day with the wind behind it. etc etc.
http://www.securitywarehouse.co.uk
Disclaimer: The above is pure theory and may work on a good day with the wind behind it. etc etc.
http://www.securitywarehouse.co.uk
I have had very good luck with Ubuntu. However, it is so easy, it allows people to think they have skills than they do. 
All my systems are Ubuntu, but I have the RedHat LiveCD for Zoneminder to test with. Use the tool you laiek the most, but do test a different distribution to see if it is ZM or Ubuntu, or something else causeing the issue.
And shmmax should be done on any ZM system.
All my systems are Ubuntu, but I have the RedHat LiveCD for Zoneminder to test with. Use the tool you laiek the most, but do test a different distribution to see if it is ZM or Ubuntu, or something else causeing the issue.And shmmax should be done on any ZM system.