Subscriber Discussion

For Avigilon Viewing 60 Cameras, What Video Cards Are Recommended?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Jan 09, 2017

This is an old thread but wonder what video cards in 2017 are recommended for Avigilon Client viewing about 60 cameras. Any suggestions on video ports as far as DVI vs HDMI vs DP.

The Avigilon website recommended nVidia Quadro FX 570 dual DVI for Server/Workstation but don't know how old that recommendation is.

NOTICE: This comment was moved from an existing discussion: Graphics Card Recommendations - Milestone And Avigilon

MS
Mohamed Shedid
Jan 13, 2017

if you are using Avigilon Cameras with ACC. you will not have an issue with decoding as they have HDSM Technology, just open second stream on all cameras and you will not have any problem in decoding and you will not need to upgrade the video Card.

U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 13, 2017
IPVMU Certified

...you will not have any problem in decoding and you will not need to upgrade the video Card.

Regardless of how many of the 60 (sub) streams he is decoding at once?

MM
Michael Miller
Jan 13, 2017

This is strait from Avigilon's site.

 

U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 13, 2017
IPVMU Certified

A single monitor client with a resolution of 1280x1024 would seem anachronistic.

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Avatar
Mike Dotson
Jan 13, 2017
Formerly of Seneca • IPVMU Certified

My lab testing shows that Avigilon does not demand much from the video cards other than the rendering (ie how many monitors are attached to the system).

Spend your money on the CPU first.    

For 24/7 dual head operations, we favor the Nvidia K620.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
Jan 14, 2017

Hi Mike,

 

Just out of curiosity, is the K620 somewhat better than consumer-grade cards for surveillance applications? I have been using the lower-end NVIDIA cards for a while now (950 and 1050 in the last year) and was wondering if the Quadro would be better for the application.

 

Thanks!

Avatar
Mike Dotson
Jan 15, 2017
Formerly of Seneca • IPVMU Certified

Very true.   The Quadro and NVS card series are purposely designed for 24/7/365 operation.   The consumer/gaming ones are made for a few hours per day but awesome performance and lower price point.

If you plan to use the consumer grade cards, be sure to factor in a warranty replacement into your costs.

For single monitor use 24/7 ...we favor the nvs315.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
Jan 17, 2017

Thanks for the info Mike!

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #4
Jan 17, 2017

Almost all of VMS suck the CPU first.
I tried using ATI Firepro S10000 & GTX 1080 with some VMS
The bottleneck always in CPU.
Unless the VMS using some weird color format like YUY2. Or you are decoding 4K resolution.
Put your money on CPU.

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #5
Jan 17, 2017

 The only VMS that demands a video card with power (Cuda cores) is Genetec.   They do a lot in the client app.   You need to spend on CPU and Video card.  

This is documented in their system requirements doc.

I would not bother with the minimum requirements.

Avatar
Kevin Bennett
Jan 17, 2017

As recommended above, focus on a good CPU. I tend to spec Xeon processors in our video surveillance workstations.

Be sure whatever GPU you get, it is not "integrated" into the CPU chip (such as Intel HD graphics), or if that is your only processor option then still get a discrete PCIe add-on graphics card. 

A discrete, enterprise class (workstation) graphics card will be your best bet.  I have had good results with 512MB cards (such as NVidia) and typically spec a 1GB GPU card just to be sure the system is somewhat future-proof, since they tend to stay in service in our environment for 5 years or more before being upgraded.

As for HDMI vs DP vs DVI, it depends on your application and what max resolution and screen refresh rate you will be working with.

DisplayPort offers the potential to daisy-chain monitors.  It can handle up to 4K resolution at up to 60fps (though I don't know if this applies in the daisy chain application). 

HDMI can handle up to 4K resolution at up to 60fps for HDMI 2.0 and above, and up to 30fps for HDMI 1.4a/b.

Dual-link DVI will, I believe, support up to 2560x1600 resolution.  While DVI connections are still on a lot of off-the-shelf PCs and GPUs, that format is slowing going the way of VGA connectors in favor of the higher resolution HDMI and DisplayPort.

Avatar
Mike Dotson
Jan 17, 2017
Formerly of Seneca • IPVMU Certified

Kevin, The Milestone and Honeywell client applications will demand a Intel HD graphics hd4600 or newer to be able to run decently.   Note that Windows8.1 is also a minimum.

Intel has been reaching out to VMS vendors and helping them take advantage of the integrated GPU.

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Avatar
Kevin Bennett
Jan 17, 2017

Thanks for that info, Mike.  I am not familiar with either Milestone or Honeywell applications, so that is good information to have.  The original question was specific to Avigilon, so I was basing my response solely on that platform. 

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #4
Jan 18, 2017

Milestone need Intel integrated GPU support with quicksync feature (Be care! Not all intel HD graphic support quicksync)
I remember the quicksync with VMS is quite crazy.
Tested even a notebook with quicksync feature can almost beat out the Xeon workstation.

Honeywell client need intel GPU too ?
You mean Maxpro or other client ? Maybe OEM from milestone ??

Avatar
Mike Dotson
Jan 18, 2017
Formerly of Seneca • IPVMU Certified

MaxPro-NVR v4 runs very well with a QSYNC capable CPU.

If your system does NOT have this...it only handles a few streams in comparison.

In my testing...the i7-4xxxK and i7-6xxxK procs are worth the small uptick in price.

QSYNC OS requirement is Windows 8 minimum.

The motherboard has to also allow for its use.   Be sure to review their specs for this.

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