pete_c
Guru
I have been using Zoneminder now for almost 10 years. That said I wrote a step by step on the HS forum for an Ubuntu 32 bit setup.
I still refer to this as I don't really touch the configuration as it keeps just running.
That said it is currently running on a core duo with 4 Gb of memory. I am pushing the CPU utilization now into the upper 80-98%; its been fine though. I would though recommend like 8Gb or more and a faster CPU and running it now at 64bit.
It is using an 8 port analog card and 8 IP connections. 5 of the IP connections are SD and 3 are HD (RTSP). 2 of the HD are Aircams. The configuration for RTSP is unique per camera on the ZM box. JPEG streaming appears to be more universal than MPEG streaming and I keep switching between the two to see which one is fastest. I am getting full frame rates of 29-30 FPS feeds with all 16 cameras just fine. The older SD IP cameras like a Foscam only streams up to 5 FPS at night and full frame rates with full daylight stuff.
I used the Ubuntu set up without a GUI and manage it mostly via SSH and Webmin. Remote alarm / event reads utilize xAP and now X10 as I recently plugged in a CM11 into the box.
I have recently also split out the analog video using video amps before going to the ZM box and now these go to the HAI Touch screen / Video hub for the legacy HAI Omnitouch 5.7 screens. The HAI Omnitouch 5.7e screens use the proxied IP video from ZM.
I got my first Aircam from the EU I'm thinking before they were being offered for sale in the US. I don't remember any more.
Here is a view of the modded Optex with a 3.6mm lens but still at SD. Out of all of the camera cases "weathering" effects the Optex has done the best regarding the outdoor weather. The one next to the front door sometimes becomes a perch for small birds where they dump their stuff over the plastic lens. The bird stuff has not damaged the lens. While not really getting full sun views the plastic has never become brittle. The plastic lens cover also has never faded.
The newer Aircams even with a plastic cover lens cover and 2.5mm replacement lens does really good with the weather. It shakes a bit because it is so light. That though it did sustain 70MPH winds this past year in a really bad storm that took out one my 30 foot trees and picked up the stainless steel grill literally ripping the anchors from the deck and tearing out a gas line (first time that I have every seen this). The aircam was "test" mounted off the same deck on a 6X6 cedar post some 8 feet up off of the deck. Next to the Aircam I had a generic HD IP camera in a larger case. It got wet inside the three compartments; behind front lens, between front lens and electronics and back part of case housing. The case was sealed with a kind of rubber tubing; had maybe 1/4 of water inside of it after the storm. That said I drained it and let it dry and it was fine. (it did quit working)
Before this snapshot looked at the ZM gui "load" and its running at 0.51 which is not shabby. Many folks went to using BlueIris versus Zoneminder. I would not consider ZM user friendly but it is and has been always stable for me.
The adjustments for motion algorithms are really easy these days and work well. Combining this with analog sensors you get doing some really nice tweaking. (IE: the Optex has a build in and wired PIR in the same case). One camera is set up with 8-10 different fields of motion for events and it works well at discerning which field is doing what via defined events.
I am not very good at color rendition at all. Whatever I do with the color saturation and hue is always wrong. IE: my grass still appears very green even though we are in the middle of winter and knowing that most of the grass has gone dormant.
