Wierd camera bug

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raedan01
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:26 pm

Wierd camera bug

Post by raedan01 »

Hello. Recently I've converted over 4 buildings that used DVR to 4 BlueIris installs. I'm running a little over 120 cameras altogether. Most of them are Cox running of of numerous Axis M7016.
I've noticed once in a while that 1 or even a few cameras will be showing the same picture and recording the same thing as another camera.
When I click 'Restart Camera' the issue goes away, the correct view is shown and it records the right one. This happens randomly on all the installs not just 1 in particular.

With it being fixed via a 'Restart Camera' I don't see how it can be a misconfiguration of the cameras or IPs/channels but I did double check that on the last ones it happened to.
The Last 2 this happened to are on the same ip but different channels. I haven't had time to check the M7016 while the issue is happening to see what it is displaying
though it wouldn't make sense for the issue be there.

I tried searching for this issue here and on ipcamtalk with no luck. Does anyone have any ideas or has anyone heard of this issue?
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YrbkMgr
Posts: 587
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2019 12:56 am
Location: Chicagoland

Re: Wierd camera bug

Post by YrbkMgr »

I'm free associating here, but some things that come to mind include...

Is there anything noteworthy in the BI log files? Maybe the next time it happens, review the log and the Camera tab of the Status window. Restarting the camera reconnects the stream, so evaluating what's happening on the Camera tab and evaluating the streams may yield a clue.

Has the anomaly appeared since day 1 of the DVR -> BI conversion, or did it start recently? Scouring the log files since you first converted might elucidate a clue.

It may be worthwhile to verify that Clones, hidden cameras, "sync with profile 1" are in order and operating properly.

When it happens, you can temporarily disable a camera (not the one showing/recording incorrectly) to see if you can make it go away... or see if you can make it happen by just having those two cams active. What happens if you disable the camera that's being mimicked?

You can also configure Watchdog for the camera to auto-reconnect after X amount of uptime.

Please know, these are just my musings in an attempt to help.

If it continues and you cannot resolve it I suggest writing BI support - I mean, you paid for it, use it.
  • "Whenever I take something apart to fix it and put it back together again, I end up with like six really important looking pieces left over" -Tim Allen
  • If you know what your after, you'll recognize it when you see it.
raedan01
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:26 pm

Re: Wierd camera bug

Post by raedan01 »

Thank you, I definitely appreciate your musings, and I apologize for taking a week to reply. I really liked what you suggested.
I've been slowly trying to track this. Basically what I found is this:
When I see it happen I change the camera Stream profile Main CAMNO to the actual Cam # and I never see it happen to that camera again.

Code: Select all

/cam/realmonitor?channel={CAMNO}&subtype=0&authbasic={AUTH64}
It is pretty random though as it happens about maybe 2x a week.
I am pretty certain it is only cameras on the Axis and ones with thin the same channel group.

I'll pursue this further with using watchdog, I really like that idea and if it becomes more problematic I'll pursue it with support.
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YrbkMgr
Posts: 587
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2019 12:56 am
Location: Chicagoland

Re: Wierd camera bug

Post by YrbkMgr »

IAmATeaf wrote: Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:50 am What do you mean the IP address is the same but it’s in a different channel?
I was wondering the same. He's using a 16 channel Video Encoder - way beyond the scope of my understanding, I think that's why he's saying "channel".
raedan01 wrote: Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:13 am When I see it happen I change the camera Stream profile Main CAMNO to the actual Cam # and I never see it happen to that camera again.
I'll be honest, I have no idea what you're saying there. As it relates to the Axis, bear in mind that without explaining your setup and "topology" as it were, most help here will result in "I'm sorry, my responses are limited."
raedan01 wrote: Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:13 am I'll pursue this further with using watchdog, I really like that idea and if it becomes more problematic I'll pursue it with support.
Bear in mind that the watchdog solution is a hack, not a fix, so your work here may not be done Lone Ranger.
  • "Whenever I take something apart to fix it and put it back together again, I end up with like six really important looking pieces left over" -Tim Allen
  • If you know what your after, you'll recognize it when you see it.
raedan01
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:26 pm

Re: Wierd camera bug

Post by raedan01 »

This is just info in case you are curious. I think manually changing the CAMNO is what fixes what I was seeing.
This is similar to another thread here I read not to long ago where they had to put the actual number in the stream url.
I apologize I tend to use the word channel in place of 'Camera #'.

The Axis 7016 has 16 coax connectors but they are grouped in sets of 4 with an IP address per group, so it is not just 1 IP for the whole device.
So in Blue Iris I have the IP of the Axis Group and then choose Make (Axis), Model (M/P/Q series H.264), Cam# (1,2,3, or 4)

this is the URL from the Stream Profile - Main

Code: Select all

/axis-media/media.amp?videocodec=h264&size=1&camera={CAMNO}
When I change CAMNO to the actual number I want the problem never comes back.
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