Fix high CPU Load and frequent restart of the Video Stream on FLEXIDOME Multi 7000i IR in Milestone XProtect

Possible causes and solution(s)

Symptoms

Users may encounter the following issues when operating the NDM-7703-AL (Flexidome Multi 7000i IR) camera integrating in Milestone XProtect:

Frequent video stream restarts in the VMS.
Camera CPU load consistently near 100%, even with Video Content Analysis (VCA) disabled.
Micro stutters in the video feed.
Unusually high bitrate (40,000–70,000 kbps) on certain sensors when monitored through the Encoder Statistics.

These symptoms can occur under configurations where high-resolution streams are enabled.

Causes

According to known firmware limitations (as per Bosch Firmware Release Notes 9.11), the camera may reboot under specific conditions due to CPU overload.

Forcing the camera into an overload situation may cause undesired behavior and in worst cases even recording gaps. It should always be ensured that the CPU load is not consistently around or at its maximum. This can be achieved by adapting encoder settings or avoiding too many tasks, e. g. client sessions, in parallel.

When combining CPU-intensive functions like e. g. encryption, watermarking, or dual recording, with high quality and high frame rate encoder settings, tuning of encoder profile settings might be required to avoid overload situations. Likelihood of overload increases with higher encoding bitrates and higher sensor resolutions, and persistent overload may result in unexpected reboots of a camera.

Solution

To mitigate the high CPU usage, the following actions are recommended after you evaluated the network and power conditions (e.g. verify switch capabilities):

Upgrade the camera to Firmware version 9.11 or higher to benefit from the latest optimizations and fixes.

Remove the camera from the VMS (Milestone).

Perform a factory reset to clear existing configuration inconsistencies.

Connect the camera directly to a PC, avoiding any VMS integration during testing.

Update Milestone Environment. Ensure the latest Device Pack is installed on the Milestone system to improve compatibility.

From the installer menu, choose sensor mode 25fps, which is more efficient and reduces CPU stress.

Stream configuration recommendations:

Choose lower resolution on as much streams as possible this saves a lot of CPU
Consider configuring all streams as a copy of Stream 1, which minimizes CPU usage but limits stream customization.
If flexibility in stream selection is needed, select only essential streams and set others to low resolution.

Ensure VCA is disabled, as it significantly impacts CPU usage even when not actively used. VCA OFF also helps a lot with lowering CPU

After applying the steps above:

CPU usage should be reduced to a range between 70–90%.
Stream stability should be improved, with no disconnections