This is the first in a series of Airship Training notes for Sales and
Integrators. This information is free to share with any Airship
Partners and End-Users - ANYONE, really. (Side note: this article is a
little 'salesy' but that's not the goal.)
The goal : Explain the tech in real-world terms. Provide understanding of the Why behind the Method.
Workstation Performance
Perhaps the most misunderstood component of the Airship DVR system is the Workstation that the end-user will use to access all that video being recorded by Airship Servers. Part of the reason for the misunderstanding is our fault - Airship Workstation configurations are VERY flexible. Flexible to the point of confusion.
You could run Airship Client for FREE on any Windows XP or Vista system. We have minimum specifications that aren't hard to meet, and Airship Client will run fine on most systems. Every Airship DVR Server comes with an Airship Software CD including that Client installer, so by all means, go for it. However, if you need to view more than 4 channels at once, or need to manage a lot of Airship Servers, you'll soon find that your normal PC or Laptop just doesn't have the power to manage it. Hey, it's not our fault - your PC can run Office just fine, but Office isn't trying to put 64 Mbps of video to your screen. We are.
See this previous Airship Blog Post for some interesting comparison:
http://weblog.airshipdvr.com/2008/11/who-else-makes-great-workstations.html
Put simply, there is more than just cost savings involved in choosing an Airship Workstation over a system from Dell or HP or another PC builder. Ultimately, you will get more Video Performance per dollar out of an Airship Workstation than you will out of any other system available. Ask us for a quote with technical specs, then go compare.
Our goal in designing and offering a specially tuned Airship Workstation is simple - We want all of our customers to be able to view the video recorded by their Airship DVR Server in the best possible manner, without running into performance problems that are easily solved. Our price is competitively low so that we can have a better chance of helping our customers avoid problems with an off-the-shelf PC.
Airship Workstations have more special inside than just the Airship Client software. Also included is a specially performance-tuned Windows XP or Vista operating system. This 'Airshipified' Windows installation has about 40 important settings changed from the normal Windows installation defaults, all in pursuit of Video Performance. In short terms, we basically turn off all of the graphical features that make Windows XP and Vista look pretty, and then we turn off non-essential services. These settings are truly nothing special - it's the total effect that is special. We reduce overall CPU usage by about 50% on an average Airship OP Series Workstation. You can find articles about performance tuning Windows all over the internet. We regularly peruse these articles for new and interesting bits of help in our quest for the perfectly tuned Windows OS.
But all that is just software. The REAL power in an Airship Workstation is the HARDWARE.
We use high-end motherboards, RAM, Hard drive, and all that at a more than just competitive price. Our REAL kick in Video Performance comes in THREE special parts:
CPU:
Every computer you buy has a CPU - it's a small chip that controls
all of the components of the system, and does most of the computing.
Airship Workstations come with a minimum of an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz
CPU, up to the newest Intel i7 CPUs. Our workstations evolve as new
tech comes out, and with Intel that's about every 6 months.
If you are using IP Cameras with your Airship DVR Server, your Workstation will need a more powerful CPU to render that video.
We choose your CPU according to your needs and expectations, and provide a more than competitive price point for what you need.
Dedicated H.264 Decoder:
Airship DVR Servers take analog video and Encode that video using
Dedicated H.264 Encoder hardware. The Airship Workstation does JUST THE
OPPOSITE. The Airship Client software uses these Dedicated H.264
Decoder cards to to the hard work of Decoding the H.264 video stream.
Airship Workstations can come with up to FOUR of these cards, each
capable of rendering FOUR H.264 video streams.
This component does NOT help with IP Camera streams - this Dedicated H.264 Decoder is only usable with Airship DVR H.264 Encoded streams. It's powerful stuff, mostly beacuse it's been designed to handle a very precise type of video stream.
That awesome CPU we picked for you can handle the remaining streams.
ATI or nVidia Graphics Card:
After the H.264 video is decoded, we need to show that video to
you. That's what a Graphics Card is for. Many PCs and Laptops have
what's called an 'On Board Graphics Chip". This means that the graphics
processing is... well... weak. Until VERY recently, no on board
graphics chip could display more than the minimum of video - fine for a
DVD movie on the plane.
We always include dedicated graphics hardware with at least two VGA/DVI outputs. You can even get FOUR and theoretcially up to EIGHT VGA/DVI outputs. The number of outputs isn't what's special, though.
What is?
DirectX functions rendered by the Graphics Card - our video is
presented to the screen via Microsoft DirectX. This is the same
graphics system used by high-end video games, movie making software,
3-D rendering software, etc. We use it so that we can show up to 32
4CIF videos on screen at the same time. DirectX functions on the
Graphics Card mean that the CPU doesn't have to do that work.
In short, think of the Graphics Card as the CPU for Video.
Between those three special components, whether you are connecting to an Airship DVR Server, with or without IP Cameras, Airship Workstations provide the most Video Performance for the dollar spent.
Still don't want to buy an Airship Workstation?
That's fine. Try Alienware, Voodoo, or HP's Blackbird line. You can even use Mac running Windows in Boot Camp! Do whatever you want for your workstation - but don't forget you can have it so much better!
Wanna learn more? Check out more information on our website :
http://www.airshipdvr.com/DNA_series.html
Gryphon MacThoy
Chief Product Evangelist
Airship Industries
www.airshipdvr.com
425.462.4250
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