Using BI for remote viewing at multiple locations

[Everhopefull]

Hi, im considering purchasing BI because I'm fed up with cheap VMS that I can't get to work reliably. I'd just like to find out if I can use BI in the way I'm hoping to and if anyone else has used it in a similar way.

I need to manage multiple IP cameras at several remote locations from one central office. There will be between 10-16 cameras at each location, probably at least three locations possibly more in the future.

My question is, would it be possible to have no hardware at the remote locations (just IP cameras, router and POE switches) and record and manage the cameras from one BI enabled computer at a central office? Or do I need a BI computer at each location like I would need an NVR?

Does anyone else use BI in this way and if so how do you find it? Is it stable/reliable?

If it is possible, what sort of processor would I need for the BI computer? I know the recommended is an i7 but also that not all processors are created equal so what would be the right ones to be looking for?

Thank you all in advance for any help/advice

 

[bp2008]

You can do this if one of the following is true:

1) You have AMAZING internet at the central office AND at the remote locations.
or
2) You can establish your own wireless point-to-point bridge between the remote locations and the central office.

Chances are, neither of these is possible. Even if they were, you would probably only be able to consolidate two locations' worth of cameras on one BI computer, so you would need to run many BI computers anyway. You might as well let them run on-site.

 

[Everhopefull]

Ok, thank you for that. Doesn't sound too promising then. Just out of curiosity what would AMAZING Internet be?

 

[bp2008]

Consider that 10 cameras streaming a fairly low bit rate, say 4 Mbps each, would have a total combined bit rate of 40 Mbps. So a remote site running these 10 cameras would use 40 Mbps of upload speed at all times. Many internet connections can't handle this at any time, let alone at all times. Also this would cause monthly data usage of approximately 13148 gigabytes (13.1 TB) which is far, far beyond what is normal. As soon as your internet provider noticed, they would likely shut you down, charge an absurd overage fee, or demand a far more expensive internet service plan.

The central office would require download speed equal to all the remote sites upload put together. Say you have 3 sites doing this, that is 120 Mbps or about 39.4 terabytes per month.

Any temporary problem with internet speed causing the available speed to dip below what the cameras require for their streams would cause camera dropouts.

 

[Zanthexter]

My question is, would it be possible to have no hardware at the remote locations (just IP cameras, router and POE switches) and record and manage the cameras from one BI enabled computer at a central office? Or do I need a BI computer at each location like I would need an NVR?

Does anyone else use BI in this way and if so how do you find it? Is it stable/reliable?

I've done this.

It's as stable and reliable as your internet service (For us, Comcast) is. Keeping in mind that you're looking at combined stability of the remote internet service and the local.

There are additional security concerns because your exposing all the remote cameras to the internet. I restrict the port forwarding to connections with the BlueIris servers, so the cameras aren't visible to the internet as a whole.

Bandwidth is the main thing you work around. You've got however much you're able to buy/afford, and then you've got to balance it with other internet uses at the remote locations. The amount of data sent over the course of a month is going to be a problem if you have bandwidth caps. (Comcast business accounts do not. Residential in our area now do, and we were forced to pay the additional $50/mo to lift the cap.) In one setup, 4 locations, each with 6 720P cameras and 5Mb service feeding into 1 central BlueIris server totals around 8TB a month according to Comcast. The cap is 1TB, so I'm not even bothering to check their math. We're just paying up.

Whether this can work for you depends on your needs and goals. It's a matter of finding a workable balance between picture quality, motion smoothness (and catching quick actions), and bandwidth. It can help, a lot, to prioritize some cameras over others. The ones pointing at the cash drawers and entrances get more bandwidth, quality, and frame rates than the ones looking over entire rooms. We want to ID faces as people enter/exit, and have an idea what's happening with money. The biggest priority for us was resolving he said/she said issues between employees and customers. Complaints about inappropriate contact, customers claiming to have left money/credit cards/etc at the registers. Seeing the pores in a burglars/robbers face is low priority. Cops don't care all that much, and they're pretty good at keeping their faces hidden with masks or even looking at their feet with a baseball cap on. It also helps that the bandwidth is dynamic. Might be very little movement in the stock room, or the hallway, so those cameras use minimal bandwidth.

The primary reasons for centralizing things were cost, employees, (If it's 20 miles away, they can't screw with it. and burglars (same thing, and they do) Being able to throw everything up on a 65" TV next to the owners desk was a big selling point too. He and the GM DO monitor the cameras when their working at their desks.

The primary reason to keep a BI system on site would be unreliable/slow/capped internet, best possible video quality, and the ability to record with the internet down.

One location is going to end up with around 20 cameras (bad neighborhood). We're probably going to put a local BI system hidden above the ceiling to keep the recording quality reasonable and the server hidden. Then remotely record lower quality feeds off of it to the central system as a backup and so that management can monitor all locations at once as they do now. (As you would with NVRs) The cost to bump it from 10Mb to 20Mb upload is an extra $150 a month, and we might actually want to turn the burglar over to the cops if his mask slipped.

I'd be happy to answer any specific questions. I'd just prefer folks that disagree with whatever answers I might give to not jump all over me. There's best practices, then there's what's workable and adequate.