PC Build for streaming multiple cameras

By +Nik Louch
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Grand Master

+Nik Louch Subscriber²

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I have been tasked with building a PC with the endgame of it streaming multiple cameras simultaneously.

If using the motherboards USB-3 ports, you seem to be only able to support 2/3 webcams. I am guessing this is down to saturation of the bus, so maybe a PCI card with ports might be better?

Grand Master

Michael Scrip

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It's interesting that you can only use 2 or 3 webcams on USB 3.0

An HD webcam only puts out single-digit Mbps of data.

Even a lowly USB 2.0 port can handle 480 Mbps... while USB 3.0 can handle up to 5,000 Mbps.  That should be plenty of bandwidth for multiple webcams.  

But you're right... there's a bottleneck somewhere.  So it couldn't hurt to add a PCIe card with additional USB ports to place them on a different bus.  I've heard of people adding USB PCIe cards specifically for their VR headset... so there might be something there.

You can have a couple cameras on the motherboard's USB ports and a couple cameras on the PCIe card's ports.  That should help.

Grand Master

Mindovermaster Global Moderator

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Just a question, why do you need multiple webcams? Sounds odd to me..

But yeah, as said above, use two different buses so they aren't bouncing over another for supremacy. 

Grand Master

Mindovermaster Global Moderator

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Think you mistook that.. "I" think it sounds weird. Not that the video sound is weird.

Many angles, OK, that makes perfect sense.

Grand Master

goretsky Supervisor

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Hello,

There are plenty of 8 megapixel (aka 4K video) network cameras that use PoE and network video recorders that can handle 16 or more cameras per unit.  Companies like Axis, Dahua, Hikvision, and Lorex are amongst the many vendors that specialize in these devices.

If you absolutely must use consumer-focused USB webcams, Sonnet Technologies does make an 8-port USB-C card.  You could use these in a motherboard based on Intel's X299 or C442 chipsets with PLX PCIe switch chips that has seven PCIe card slots to support fifty-six (56) USB webcams, plus however many can be plugged directly into the motherboard's ATX I/O shield and case connections.  If you want to use a single PCIe slot-width video card, that would bring you down to six cards supporting forty-eight (48) USB webcams.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

Grand Master

+Nik Louch Subscriber²

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On 30/11/2022 at 00:34, Mindovermaster said:

Think you mistook that.. "I" think it sounds weird. Not that the video sound is weird.

Many angles, OK, that makes perfect sense.

No I got it. I don’t care how it sounds to people who don’t know the business I am in - it’s moot.

Grand Master

+Warwagon MVC

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On 30/11/2022 at 06:11, Dick Montage said:

No I got it. I don’t care how it sounds to people who don’t know the business I am in - it’s moot.

Ya, I don't understand what sounds weird about it. Sounds useful as hell to me as well as fun!

I remember Linus showing a USB C card that had a bunch of ports each on their own controller.

This might be the USB equivalent

4x USB 3.1 Expansion Card with Dedicated Controllers - CoastIPC

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