iCamSource 2.8 + iMac + Multiple IP Cameras = Crashing?

[Stefan]

With the release of version 2.8 of the iCamSource there seems to be a handful of users who are experiencing a fairly consistent crashing issue. These users appear to be running the iCamSource on iMacs and connecting to Foscam (UPDATE: A user using Linksys IP cameras is experiencing the same issue, so it is not just Foscam-specific.) IP cameras. We are currently unable to replicate the problem with our test Macs and cameras, so hopefully any users that are experiencing this issue can either email us at support@skjm.com or reply to this post to help track down the cause of this issue.

When an app crashes on a Mac, a crash log should be created in your ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports folder. The crash logs will start with the name of the app that created them, so any iCamSource crash log files will begin with "iCamSource". By default the Library folder in hidden in Finder, so here is a quick way to get to it: http://bjango.com/help/crashlogmac/

If the crash log contains [NSBitmapImageRep initWithCIImage:] underneath the crashed thread, then you are likely experiencing the same issue.

For example:

Thread 10 Crashed:
...
16  com.apple.CoreImage              0x00007fff93f319a5 -[CICLContextImpl implementationWithTargetCGContext:options:] + 37
17  com.apple.CoreImage              0x00007fff93f35279 -[CIContext initWithCGContext:options:] + 88
18  com.apple.CoreImage              0x00007fff93f34af3 +[CIContext contextWithCGContext:options:] + 52
19  com.apple.AppKit                 0x00007fff89673d15 -[NSBitmapImageRep initWithCIImage:] + 497
20  com.skjm.iCamSource              0x0000000104fe6882 0x104fc6000 + 133250
21  com.skjm.iCamSource              0x0000000104fe5103 0x104fc6000 + 127235
22  com.skjm.iCamSource              0x0000000104fd1b0d 0x104fc6000 + 47885
...

In order to further narrow down the cause of the issue, please provide the following information:

• How many & what type of cameras are you using with your iCamSource? The issue appears to be related to IP cameras. (Foscams in particular) but it may be an issue with other brands as well.
• What type of Mac do you have? Find this by clicking About This Mac from the Apple menu, as seen here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201260 Please let us know the full description, similar to the MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) from the example. (Again, iMacs seem to be another common denominator.)
• What version of Mac OS X are you running? Mavericks (10.9.x) or Yosemite (10.10.x)?
• Approximately how long does it take for the iCamSource to crash? Is it minutes, hours, or days?
• When the iCamSource is running, is the window left open, showing the preview of the camera video? Or is the window closed, leaving just the iCamSource icon in the top-right corner of the screen in the menu bar, near the clock? (If the window is normally left open, try closing it to see if that helps.)
• Once the iCamSource is started, open the Activity Monitor application in your Mac's Applications > Utilities folder. Make a note of the iCamSource's CPU and Memory usage after it is first started, and then 15-30 minutes later, to see if either value increases significantly over that time period.

Thank you in advance for helping us track this bug down and squashing it!

Also, if you just want your iCamSource to work again, you can always revert back to version 2.7.2.2: http://skjm.com/icam/iCamSource2.7.2.2.dmg


UPDATE : The issue appears to not only affect Foscam cameras, but other brands of IP camera as well.
UPDATE #2 : This may be an issue with users running multiple IP cameras in the iCamSource simultaneously, as that does seem to be a common factor as well.
UPDATE #3 : Please see the post here: http://skjm.com/forum/index.php?topic=6365.msg19228#msg19228
UPDATE #4 : Please see the post here: http://skjm.com/forum/index.php?topic=6365.msg19236#msg19236

[Stefan]

One update to the original post is that it doesn't appear to only be associated with Foscam cameras: http://skjm.com/forum/index.php?topic=6363.msg19215#msg19215

Computer: iMac 27" 3.5GHz i7, 32 GB memory, Model 14,2  Sept 2013   Mavericks 10.9.5

I have 5 Cisco Model WVC80N cameras (3 connected WiFi, 2 connected ethernet cable)

No crashes since downgrading to 2.7.2.2 at approx 4PM MDT 4/28/15

7 crashes from 4/25/15 until 4/28/15

Crash log on all crashes say the same thing:  [NSBitmapImageRep initWithCIImage:] + 488

[kimpearsonusa]

Stefan,

Along with the two newest crash logs I sent here is the other information you requested.  When I ran Ver 8.x it crashed every 20 minutes to every 2 hours. 

Now that I have reverted back to ver 7.2.2 it happens from every hour or so to sometimes straying up for 4 or 5 hours.  One time it even stayed on all night.

I am running Yosemite 10.10.3 on a   
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012)

 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5
 
 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 512 MB


I am operating twelve cameras eleven of which are Foscam 2) 8904’s and 1) 8906 outside and 8918’s indoor as well as one old TrendNet TVIP-121W

I have never left the window of iCam preferences open on my desktop but will try that to see if that makes a difference i.e. makes it crash more often.  The only crash reports I have are iCam and I found I had to delete some of the old logs before my computer would record the latest crash reports.

Like I said it always had crashed at least every 2 to 4 days with ver 7.2.2  now that I have gone back from ver 8.X to 7.2.2 again they come much more often but not as fast as with the new version

I will track the activity monitor and get the info to you when you respond to this.     By tomorrow if you can please.  I know your in bed now!

Thanks so much for your help,  I really depend on these cameras to check on a sick dog!!

Kim

[Stefan]

Thank you for the replies, Kim!

Your 2.7.2.2 crash logs are crashing in a different place than the 2.8 ones, and I think it may be related to the CPU usage of the iCamSource connecting to 12 cameras from one iCamSource. If you are able to check the % CPU usage and Memory when it is first started and after it has been running for 15-30 minutes, that may give us a better idea as to the cause of the crashes.

One way to reduce the CPU usage with that many IP cameras is to adjust the frame rates of the video streams. The higher the frame rate, the more images the iCamSource has to receive and process per second, resulting in higher CPU usage.

I am assuming that you are using the following MJPEG URL to connect to your Foscam cameras: http://x.x.x.x/video.cgi where x.x.x.x is each cameras' IP address. If that is the case, the camera is going to return images back to the iCamSource as fast as it can, likely 30 fps (frames per second).

We recommend using a lower frame rate per camera (usually 2-5 fps), as mentioned in this post: http://skjm.com/forum/index.php?topic=3950.msg18920#msg18920

If you have not already, I would try adding ?rate=14 or ?rate=11 to the end of the MJPEG URLs for your Foscam cameras in the iCamSource to reduce the frame rate of each Foscam video stream to 2 or 5 fps, respectively to see how that affects your iCamSource's stability.

[Stefan]

UPDATE #2 : Multiple users that are experiencing this issue are connecting to multiple IP cameras, so this may be an issue of the latest version of the iCamSource being more sensitive to high CPU usage than the previous version. If any users have information on what the % CPU usage of the iCamSource is in the Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor after clicking the Start button and then clicking the red dot in the top-left corner to close the window, that would be helpful, especially if the CPU usage differs between versions 2.8 and 2.7.2.2.

Thanks!

[Stefan]

UPDATE #3

It appears that on some Macs that the motion detection logic for IP cameras seems to require more CPU processing with version 2.8 than with 2.7.2.2. It may be because version 2.8 is a more modern 64-bit application, whereas 2.7.2.2 is the older 32-bit. If you are connecting to multiple IP cameras from the iCamSource and are experiencing intermittent crashing issues, our current recommendation is to do one of the following two options:

1) Reduce the frame rate of the MJPEG video stream being sent to iCamSource from each camera. This is either a setting in the camera itself (for TrendNET / AirLink cameras, for example) or by appending a parameter to the URL (for Foscam cameras, for example) as mentioned here: http://skjm.com/forum/index.php?topic=3950.msg18920#msg18920 A frame rate of around 5 fps (frames per second) is a good starting point to see if the stability improves. (By default, most cameras send 30 fps to the iCamSource, which requires a lot of extra processing to receive frames you will never be sent to iCam.) 5 fps is what my own IP cameras are set to.

2) Adjust the "Perform Motion Detection" setting in the iCamSource from "More Often" to somewhere towards "Less Often" for each camera. You can try placing the slider in the middle to see how this affects the stability of the iCamSource application.

If you are unsure as to how to reduce the frame rate being sent from your IP camera, please refer to your camera's manufacturer's documentation or support.

[Stefan]

UPDATE #4 : Still unsure as to the cause of the crashing issue, as we have not been able to replicate it. It still seems iMac-specific, as the iCamSource runs fine connected to multiple IP cameras on MacBooks, MacBook Pros, Mac minis, and Mac Pros.

Even though we have not been able to replicate the issue, it does not necessarily seem to be a high CPU usage issue, at least not from the one piece of information we have received with regards to CPU usage with this version.

We do have a new version to try, however, that performs the same image processing functionality that seems to be causing the problem, but in a different way. The new version (2.8.0.1) can be downloaded here: http://skjm.com/icam/iCamSource2.8.0.1.dmg

If that version fixes the crashing issue, then that's great! If it is still crashing, then any crash logs that could be sent to support@skjm.com would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[wbrinker]

Running 9 cam, 8 foscam, 1 Linksys, seems to have stablized with this release, no current issues, CPU running at 12%, ICamsource at 21.5%, Apple watch alerts working well

[wbrinker]

MORE INFO:

2.801 running on Mac Pro(Late 2013), 3.5 GHZ 6 cores, 32GB me, OS X 10.10.3,

Running 9 cam, 8 foscam, 1 Linksys, seems to have stablized with this release, no current issues, CPU running at 12%, ICamsource at 21.5%, Apple watch alerts working well