Feedback on my Video Storage Strategy

[jbeletti]

I am a full week into using Sighthound and every day, I learn more about the application and how to use it better and more efficient.

Storage Goals
1. Record all video from all cameras and store locally until they time out or run out of allocated space
2. Store rule-based clips offsite for safekeeping

Given that Sighthound records and saves video from all cameras, 24/7, my storage strategy based on the above goals are as follows and I'd like to get constructive feedback from Sighthound verterans:

Platform
Mac Mini - OS X - v 10.9.4 - 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 - 4 GB RAM - 1 TB SATA
This computer also stores and serves movies and music using Plex Media Server. It is used very rarely for this and at some point, I may purchase a dedicated computer for Sighthound.

General Video Storage
For Clips and Temporary Storage (under Preferences):
- 250 GB dedicated
- Files saved in an Archive folder on Desktop
- Temporarily keep all video for up to: 240 hours (10 days)

Rule-based Clip Storage
For Clips generated by rules:
- Within each camera's rules, under If seen, Save clips, A local folder: /Users/mymacuseraccount/Dropbox/Sighthound/rule-based_saved_clips
- I have high-speed Internet connected to my Sighthound computer with unlimited data usage
- I have 1TB of storage space on DropBox

Is there a better way to achieve my goals or is my strategy one that is sound?

[Devin]

Hi jbeletti,

How many cameras are you running and what resolution are you saving video at for each camera? 250GB may not be enough for 240 hours for each camera. Also note that when you export clips to a local folder you will need to manually manage these files as they are being exported outside of Sighthound's file management system and will never be deleted.

This article https://www.sighthound.com/support/managing-your-video explains in detail how long video is saved, how to manage disk space, and how video clips are divided up. There are also several tips which may be helpful in your case.

Regards,

-Devin

[jbeletti]

Hi Devin and thank you for the feedback!

Now that I better understand the app, I agree that 240 hours of temp video is not needed as I have rule-based clips being saved for critical activity on each camera. I went ahead and backed temp video down to 48 hours.

I'll keep my rule-based recorded clips saved in DropBox and will manually "keep an eye on" folder size and delete older clips first, as needed.

As for cameras and resolution, I'm currently using 8 cameras and saving them all at full-resolution. Each are 1 to 1.3 MP. I want save the highest quality clips as possible and let it go for a few weeks to see what kind of space the clips end up taking up. If needed, I'll change and use the 0/sub streams in place of the 0/main streams.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[williamjames07]

hi jbeletti,

firstly learn the applications carefully then apply their terms and condition which is helpful for you.

regards,
williamjames07