Hi David,
The firmware version should not be affecting the system load much, if at all. The CPU load is not the entire picture when it comes to assessing system performance and depending on slight changes in your configuration you might see large differences in CPU utilization like that.
In order to rule out firmware you would need to do an apples to apples comparison and have both Pearls running the exact same configuration with the same inputs being ingested live, same recordings/streams running etc. That would be the only way to do a proper comparison between firmware versions.
On the info page where you check the system load, you will also want to take a look at the “target” vs “actual” frame rate of each channel. If the actual FPS is below the target then this would be an indication of an over configured system, and that, taken along with CPU load is a more accurate way to gauge the load on the system.
Pearl Mini does have recommended guidelines for use and function. While we do not set physical hard limits on our Pearl units, we strongly recommend keeping them within their guidelines to ensure no encoding issues, throttling or crashes occur. These guidelines can be found on the tech specs page as well as in the user guide.
Pearl Mini can capture up to* 3 video sources if the following conditions are met:
- 3 ISO channels used for recording/streaming without scaling or layouts created and HDMI output disabled.
- 1 Channel is created with layouts with minimal or no scaling like live switching for recording/streaming.
If you are capturing a Network or USB-based video source, which use significantly more CPU resources, the limit recommendation is 1 USB (or Network source) + 1 connected HDMI or SDI based video source.
Pearl Mini can comfortably handle 2 video sources with 2 encoded channels + included layouts without any issue. Having 3 video sources with 2 encoded channels + layouts is not recommended.
Any connected video source (Network, USB or physical HDMI/SDI) uses CPU load whether selected or not in use in a channel. They are actively sending information to the grabber board which is keeping the signals on “standby” and ready to function. The maximum CPU load when under full load of recording/streaming/live switching should not exceed 70%. This is because the CPU load is an average between: Grabber board, CPU resources and Memory chip resources. While it lists the average of 70% there is nothing stopping from CPU or Memory actually be pinned at 100% while grabber board sits at 40-50%.
Hope this helps! If you require further troubleshooting for these specific systems after following the recommended guidelines then we would ask you to send in an email to info@epiphan.com and we’ll open a support ticket.
Best,
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