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gnoacco  
#1 Posted : Wednesday, April 15, 2015 5:01:27 PM(UTC)
gnoacco

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Hello everyone !

This is my first post, even if I have been reading the forum for a while now... I'm a french user of vMix (so please excuse my mistakes in english :-) ).

vMix 15.0.0.74 (64 bits) is installed on a Windows 7 x64 SP1 machine (Core i5-4460, 8Gb RAM, Nvidia Quadro FX 580. Not a powerhouse, but works ok with USB cameras).
I encounter an issue with a Foscam IP Camera (FI9826W): I connect via RTSP (TCP or UDP: same issue), vMix displays the live stream, so OK... But every 5 seconds, the camera source freezes for 1 second in vMix (not in VLC, nor the webinterface of the camera), then works again for 5 seconds, and freezes for 1, etc... CPU usage is around 5%, render time 3ms, so everything looks fine on the machine itself.

I've also noted down the data in the statistics window after a few minutes of use:
Source Dropped: 1106 / Renderer Dropped: 27 / Resync: 31 / Queue: 5 / Video: 0 ms Buffers: V267ms. A 0ms 1,05x
(I'm not using Audio with this camera)

When the camera source freezes, vMix is still operational: I can switch sources etc... But the Queued images drop to 0, and a few frames are added to the "Resync" column. I've also tried increasing the buffer time to 750 / 1000ms. This extends a little the "smooth" period, but doesn't remove the freeze.

The camera ping over my wired gigabit network is less than 1ms, for every request, so the network works fine.

I did some experimentation with vMix and the Foscam FI9826W.
I've tested different settings combinations on the camera, to see if I can remove completely the stuttering issue. I've put something moving in front of the camera, and did the following tests (always with 720p, key frame interval at 30, and variable bitrate):

-512K, 10 fps : No stuttering
-512K, 15 fps : No stuttering
-512K, 20 fps : Stuttering (every 30 seconds)
-512K, 25 fps : Stuttering (every 10 seconds)
-512K, 30 fps : Stuttering (every 5 seconds)

-2M, 10 fps : No stuttering
-2M, 15 fps : No stuttering
-2M, 20 fps : No stuttering
-2M, 25 fps : Stuttering (every 6 seconds)
-2M, 30 fps : Stuttering (every 5 seconds)

-4M, 10 fps : No stuttering
-4M, 15 fps : No stuttering
-4M, 20 fps : No stuttering
-4M, 25 fps : Stuttering (every 5 seconds)
-4M, 30 fps : Stuttering (every 5 seconds)

Is anyone encountering the same issue with his IP cam via RTSP ?
I've also contacted Foscam's tech support, but as this is not happening under VLC (nor the embedded webinterface of the camera), I was thinking it may be an issue with vMix itself. So if someone knows a fix, or a workaround, it would be great !

Thanks a lot by advance.
thanks 1 user thanked gnoacco for this useful post.
randys on 4/9/2017(UTC)
gnoacco  
#2 Posted : Thursday, April 16, 2015 2:04:36 AM(UTC)
gnoacco

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Quick update:

After having some exchanges with the Foscam Tech Support, and doing some further testing (port change, ip change, hard resetting the unit,...), it looks like an issue on the vMix side. VLC for instance never stutters with the same stream URL, even with the highest settings (720p, 4M, 30fps), and a delay of "only" 100ms.

When I use the same parameters in vMix (and the same delay), over TCP or UDP, it definitely stutters after a few seconds.
In addition, I've noticed that before the stutter happens in vMix, the Renderer starts to drop some frames (but the stats continue showing 2ms render time, and 8% CPU...). Then, the image freezes, the Resync frames count gains 1 or 2 frames, and 1 second later, the video is smooth again, until a new stutter happens, and so on...

I hope these information could be useful...
gnoacco  
#3 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2015 1:55:58 AM(UTC)
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New tests done here: I've installed vMix on another machine (Xeon W3520, 12 Gb RAM, GT 705), and still having the same issue with stuttering video every 5 seconds or so, when the camera sends a 720p, 4M, 30fps stream.

I've also tested the "buffer" settings in vMix, when I add the RTSP source: stuttering always happens, with every value (even high ones, like 2000ms, or 10000ms). But there is a variation: the higher the value, the less time it takes to "recover" from the freeze (for 10000ms, I simply see a "jump" in the video, whereas for 250ms, the video freezes for 1second). The buffering also has an impact on the timing between stutterings: at 10000ms, the "jump" occurs every 20 / 25 seconds (in comparision with every 5 seconds for 0ms).

Hope this can help understand what's wrong here.
Again, this works well in VLC. I've also tested directly via ffmpeg, and works perfectly too: video is smooth, no jumps or stutterings, even when I change manually the buffering to 150ms. Problems appear only in vMix.

Does anyone know a workaround, or fix to allow this cam to work ?
Thanks a lot by advance.
Len56  
#4 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2015 10:11:56 AM(UTC)
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Are you connecting your camera via wireless or by a Ethernet cable?

If you are using your camera via wireless could it be your wireless router causing the problem i.e. dropping out?
gnoacco  
#5 Posted : Friday, April 17, 2015 10:58:48 AM(UTC)
gnoacco

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Thank you for your answer.
I'm using Gigabit Ethernet to connect the camera to the network.

Actually, the camera is connected to a Gigabit Ethernet switch, as the vMix machine (IP adresses are fixed on the machines themselves).
I don't plan to use Wifi with this setup.
Paul4062  
#6 Posted : Monday, July 6, 2015 6:13:13 PM(UTC)
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I realize this is an old thread.

I am a new vMix user having the same or similar problem with my FI9826W IP camera. The stuttering does change with different settings but I have not been able to eliminate it completely with any combination of settings. I notice in the statistics a lot of source drops.

It does not make any difference whether the camera is plugged in with an ethernet cable or wireless.

I experience no stuttering at all using the Foscam browser plugin or VLC.

vMix looks great but it would seem to be not completely compatible with this camera.
cwirtanen  
#7 Posted : Wednesday, November 4, 2015 10:14:56 AM(UTC)
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I know this is an old thread, but I have had a problem with v 15.0.0.74 with using a usb web cam. Upgrading to 15.0.0.88 solved the problem. If you haven't upgraded to this level, you might try it. I found this thread because I am considering using a foscam in my application. Good luck.
danpets  
#8 Posted : Saturday, January 14, 2017 1:41:20 AM(UTC)
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I have been using the Foscams in my wired network, and I found in version 18.0.0.59 this problem still is there. I have used VLC and Ispy for the PTZ control and both of them do not have the stuttering issue but vMix does. I also have see that once this starts the video is 1 second behind live. Once restart vMix everything is in sync and works great until the first camera stutters then it all goes down hill from there. Just to be fair, I have 3 Foscams (RSTP) and 2 HDMI (blackmagic mini deck link) inputs. I would like this fixed so that my productions can look more professional. My BM inputs do not have any issues.

This is run on a 12 core Xeon with 32GB ram with Nvidia GTX 1080.

Can vMix please fix this issue?

Thank you,
Daniel
randys  
#9 Posted : Sunday, April 9, 2017 12:38:54 PM(UTC)
randys

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I second the notion that this remains a problem with some IP cameras. I recently posted a new thread on this before I saw this thread, but it appears to be the same issue. I'd guess that the handshake across the RTSP/RTP link is not happening correctly with some set of cameras. As IP cameras are quickly becoming very important, I'd really like to see vMix investigate and fix this issue.

Again, this "stuttering" does not happen when viewing the same RTSP connection in VLC on the same machine on which vMix is running.

I understand that not all camera implementations of this protocol are the same but the common thread here is vMix where other programs are not seeing the problem (VLC and various other players).

How can we get this addressed?
liftcasttv  
#10 Posted : Tuesday, April 11, 2017 7:43:49 PM(UTC)
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So I had this same issue with the vast majority of my IP cameras. There is a relatively simple but better yet FREE work around for this. I've identified the issue as being the variable frame rate of the ip camera and vMix not dealing well with that. As stated above most media players handle VFR just fine (just like how you can play videos off of an iPhone or Android device, they'll all VFR). vMix is expecting CFR and when it doesn't get it, it has to hold or drop frames to realign the audio and video since there weren't the exact number of frames since the last key frame that vMix expected.

The BEST way I've found so far to deal with this is running my ip cameras through VLC with the NDI plugin and bringing those cameras into vMix as NDI inputs. No more smearing/stuttering or freezing. The NDI plugin is a part of the Newtek NDI tool kit and is free.

To import more than one camera with VLC just open another copy of vlc. It does eat up some CPU though, however, it shouldn't adversely impact video memory as no video is actually displayed.

Lemme know if you have questions, maybe I'll throw together a video on how to do this but I figure you guys won't need it.
thanks 2 users thanked liftcasttv for this useful post.
SportsNetUSA.net on 4/11/2017(UTC), trilive on 5/10/2017(UTC)
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