Axis Fixes VBR / CBR Setting

By Ethan Ace, Published on Feb 23, 2015

Bit rate control is an important element in transmitting surveillance video. The three most common options as explained in our CBR vs VBR: Surveillance Streaming Guide are:

  • VBR - variable bit rate
  • CBR - constant bit rate
  • VBR with a cap - variable bit rate with a maximum bit rate level

Historically, Axis settings here have been misleading. Now, new firmware (5.60) has fixed this. In this note, we explain what changes they have made and what this means.

Axis '***'

**** *** ************* ****** its *** **** * cap ******* "******** *** rate" ** ***** ** the ***** ***** **** a ****** ******* ******** 5.21:

**** **** **** ******* that **** ******** ********* CBR *** *** *** with * ***, ***** was ******. *** "****** bit ****" ******* **** when ** "***" **** actually **** ** * cap, **** ******** **** rising ** **** ***** if ********* ***** ** scene **********.

New **** *** *** ****

***** ***** ** **** confusing ********, **** ******* the ******** **** ** camera ***** ********** *.** (.*** ******* notes), **** "********" ** "maximum" *** ****, **** here:

******* *** **** **** functions **** ** ******** bit **** ***. *******, this ******** ** **** more *****, **** ** line **** *** **** of *** ********, *** may ***** ********* ** new *****.

**** **** **** ******* do *** **** * constant *** **** **** at ***, **** ***, either ****** ** ********.

Using '***' ** *** **** * ***

**** ******** ********** ***** VBR **** * *** bit **** ******** ********. **** allows ********* ** ****** low **** ****** *** less *******, **** ** daytime ** ******** *****, but ** *** ******** as ****** ** ****** complexity ******, *.*., ********* or **** *************.

***** *** ****** *** increase *********** ** ***** to **** ********* ****** its ***, **** ********* in ****** ** *****, with ****** ********* ******. Readers *** *** *** ******: ******** ********* ** Night ** **** ****** *** **** *******.

Comments (12)

Undisclosed #1

02/23/15 04:05pm

Interesting, I tried to get them to change the word "constant" to the proper "constrained" for 6 years with no luck.

ling chen

02/23/15 07:36pm

Thanks Ethan, for sharing the information.

it seems there are two VBRs ?

1. VBR no Rmax cap

2. VBR with Rmax cap

No CBR setting?

-Ling

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to ling chen | 02/23/15 07:38pm

Axis does not support traditional CBR, e.g., set the bitrate to 5Mb/s regardless of what the scene, resolution, frame rate, compression, etc. is.

That makes sense to me, given that maximum is simply better than constant.

ling chen

In reply to John Honovich | 02/23/15 07:49pm

Thanks John. For big Metro and Enterprise applications, the MBR (VBR + CAP) rate control is essential.

John Honovich

IPVM | 02/23/15 07:39pm

Btw, I think MBR would be a good term to adopt. A 3 letter acronym makes it a clearer contrast to VBR and CBR. CBR is constant, VBR varies and MBR varies to a maximum bit rate.

Brad Silvernail

02/24/15 02:26pm

The old CBR settings were critical to manage "runaway" bandwidths with some network cameras at night. I think IPVM did one of the first studies on this and validated what we've observed for years. A 720P or 1080P camera that could manage on 2 to 4 Mbps during the day, could drive 10 to 15 Mbps bandwidth at night. The CBR settings, effecting a cap at say 5 mbps, with priority on quality, should really be a default. Thanks for the info. Hadn't seen this in the new firmware yet.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Brad Silvernail | 02/24/15 02:31pm

Brad, yes, and here is the most recent test report showing runaway night bandwidth: Tested: Lowering Bandwidth at Night is Good

Note, the new setting works the same, it just now is clearer and stops people from believing that Axis has a true CBR, which did not have previously either, despite labelling it constant.

Undisclosed #2

IPVMU Certified | 02/24/15 07:30pm

After years of this confusing verbiage, Axis changed the language used in camera setup in firmware 5.60 (.pdf release notes), from "constant" to "maximum" bit rate, seen here:

I am unable to find the mention of that verbiage change in the release notes you linked, nor in the detailed notes of either of the 5.60.x firmware releases for the P3364.

How did you discover it?

Curiously, in the 5.60.1 notes mention is made of a change in the behavior of CBR:

Improved Constant Bitrate Control, the Constant Bit Rate (CBR) will now adjust to target bit rate quicker.

What does that mean, if 'constant' now equals 'maximum'?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 02/24/15 07:31pm

I found alluded to in the Axis Latency whitepaper, which the spider picked up.

Undisclosed #2

IPVMU Certified | 02/25/15 12:35am

Wow, they are a bit conflused about this change. The paragraphs below are duplicated word for word in this manual, except for changing Constant to Maximum.

Undisclosed Manufacturer #3

02/26/15 05:43pm

I heard previously from a sytem integrator that Axis' 'CBR' (VBR with a limit) was good at limiting bandwidth, however the SI was not so happy when his customer complained that they lost frames in the recordings of an incident. Turns out that to maintain the bandwidth limit, the codec was dropping frames. This is Ok if you know what's going on but the customer was surprised and complained that his requirement of x fps was not maintained. In some applications a specified fps (or minimum fps) is a legal requirement in Europe. Is that also the case in the US?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #3 | 02/26/15 06:21pm

"I heard previously from a system integrator that Axis' 'CBR' (VBR with a limit) was good at limiting bandwidth, however the SI was not so happy when his customer complained that they lost frames in the recordings of an incident."

That's the integrator's mistake.

By default, Axis is set to true VBR (i.e., goes as high as it needs). So either the integrator's techs set the 'CBR' level too low or someone from the customer mucked with the settings. It's not an Axis issue.

Yes, if you sets the max bitrate too low for one's needs, either frames are going to be dropped or compression is going to be increased to compensate (see the priority option in the Axis configuration screen).

Read this IPVM report for free.

This article is part of IPVM's 6,582 reports, 886 tests and is only available to members. To get a one-time preview of our work, enter your work email to access the full article.

Already a member? Login here | Join now

Related Reports

Dedicated Vs Converged IP Video Networks Statistics 2020 on Sep 10, 2020
Running one's video system on a converged network with other devices can save...
Surveillance Storage 101 on Mar 23, 2020
This guide teaches the fundamentals of video surveillance...
YOLOv5 Released Amidst Controversy on Jul 27, 2020
YOLO has gained significant attention within video surveillance for its...
Use Access Control Logs To Constrain Coronavirus on Apr 09, 2020
Access control users have included capabilities that are not commonly used...
Access Credential Form Factor Tutorial on Feb 10, 2020
Deciding which access control credential to use and distribute, including...
New Axis M30 Cameras Tested on Mar 26, 2020
Axis has released a new generation of, for them, relatively low cost M30...
Favorite Video Surveillance Hard Drive Manufacturer 2020 on Aug 27, 2020
Western Digital and Seagate effectively have a duopoly in hard drives but...
Quantum Dots Potential for Surveillance Cameras Explained on Sep 08, 2020
Quantum dots are starting to be used in TVs for better images, but how will...
VSaaS 101 on Mar 25, 2020
Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) is the common industry term for cloud...
Video Surveillance History on May 06, 2020
The video surveillance market has changed significantly since 2000, going...
FDA Defines Correct Operation of "Fever Cameras" on May 26, 2020
The US FDA has now defined the correct operation of "Thermal Imaging...
Dynamic vs Static IP Addresses Tutorial on Apr 16, 2020
While many cameras default to DHCP out of the box, that does not mean you...
Camio Presents Coronavirus Social Distancing Analytics on Apr 20, 2020
Camio presented its social distancing analytics for responding to coronavirus...
Milestone Presents XProtect On AWS on May 04, 2020
Milestone presented its XProtect on AWS offering at the April 2020 IPVM New...
Video Analytics 101 on Mar 16, 2020
This guide teaches the fundamentals of video surveillance...

Recent Reports

Panasonic Presents i-PRO Cameras and Video Analytics on Oct 19, 2020
Panasonic presented its i-PRO X-Series cameras and AI video analytics at the...
Augmented Reality (AR) Cameras From Hikvision and Dahua Examined on Oct 19, 2020
Hikvision, Dahua, and other China companies are marketing augmented reality...
18 TB Video Surveillance Drives (WD and Seagate) on Oct 19, 2020
Both Seagate and Western Digital recently announced 18TB hard drives...
Watrix Gait Recognition Profile on Oct 16, 2020
Watrix is the world's only gait recognition surveillance provider IPVM has...
Intel Presents Edge-to-Cloud Ecosystem for Video Analytics on Oct 16, 2020
Intel presented its processors and software toolkit for computer vision at...
Best Manufacturer Technical Support 2020 on Oct 16, 2020
5 manufacturers stood out as providing the best technical support to ~200...
Microsoft Azure Presents Live Video Analytics on Oct 15, 2020
Microsoft Azure presented its Live Video Analytics offering at the September...
Worst Manufacturer Technical Support 2020 on Oct 15, 2020
4 manufacturers stood out as providing the worst technical support to ~200...
Clorox Announces, Then Pulls, Fever Camera on Oct 15, 2020
For almost one week, Clorox was marketing fever cameras. The booming...
Faulty Hikvision Fever Cam Setup at Mexico City Basilica and Cathedral on Oct 14, 2020
Donated Hikvision fever cameras (claiming screening of 1,800 people/min. with...
Directory of 209 "Fever" Camera Suppliers on Oct 14, 2020
This directory provides a list of "Fever" scanning thermal camera providers...
Avigilon UMD / UAD Tested on Oct 14, 2020
Avigilon's Unusual Activity Detection and Unusual Motion Detection claim to...
Longse Promoting Hikvision Partner Fullhan Chip Based Cameras on Oct 14, 2020
With Huawei HiSilicon production being shut down at TSMC, camera...
Meridian & Goodview (BEMS Relabeller) Temperature Screening Tested on Oct 13, 2020
A lot of temperature tablets look exactly alike and that is because they use...
Monitoring Alarm Systems From Home - Innovation or Danger? on Oct 13, 2020
Remote monitoring by alarm companies since COVID-19 is bringing cost savings...