I asked ChatGPT "What causes a canceled alert in
blue iris to be occupied?"
Here's the response...
In Blue Iris,
“Canceled (occupied)” on an alert basically means:
Blue Iris wanted to create or process an alert, but the camera/alert pipeline was already busy doing something else.
Here are the most common reasons it happens, in plain terms
The main causes
1. Camera is already handling another alert
If motion triggers happen back-to-back (or overlap), Blue Iris may cancel the newer alert because:
- The camera is still recording
- The previous alert hasn’t finished its post-trigger time
- The alert list/AI analysis queue is still busy
This is
very common with:
- High-motion scenes
- Short alert cooldowns
- AI + motion triggers combined
2. AI analysis (DeepStack / CodeProject.AI) is overloaded
If you’re using AI:
- The AI server can only process so many images at once
- When it’s backed up, Blue Iris marks new alerts as occupied and cancels them
Signs:
- CPU/GPU spikes
- Alerts firing but no confirmations
- Lots of “canceled (occupied)” during busy periods
3. Alert cooldown or “cancel duplicates” settings
Some alert settings intentionally suppress alerts:
- “Cancel duplicates”
- Alert cooldown timers
- Break time between alerts
If motion happens again too soon, BI may cancel it as
occupied instead of creating a new alert.
4. Continuous recording + alerts competing
If the camera is set to:
- Continuous recording and
- Alerts with snapshots, AI, or push notifications
…Blue Iris may prioritize recording and cancel alerts when resources are tight.
5. System performance limits
When the system is near its limits:
- CPU maxed out
- Disk I/O bottleneck
- RAM pressure
Blue Iris starts dropping lower-priority alert tasks → shows as
occupied.
How to reduce or eliminate it
Try a mix of these (you usually don’t need all):
Alert tuning
- Increase minimum time between alerts
- Disable cancel duplicates only if you truly need every alert
- Increase post-trigger recording time so alerts don’t stack
Motion tuning
- Reduce false motion (trees, shadows, reflections)
- Use zones and minimum object size
- Lower frame rate for motion detection
AI optimization
- Limit how often AI runs (e.g., once every X seconds)
- Reduce snapshot resolution sent to AI
- Make sure CodeProject.AI / DeepStack isn’t CPU-starved
System tweaks
- Move DB to an SSD
- Lower camera FPS or resolution
- Enable hardware acceleration (Quick Sync / NVENC)
When it’s not a problem
If:
- You’re still getting alerts for real events
- The canceled ones are duplicates or near-simultaneous motion
…then
“Canceled (occupied)” is normal and expected behavior, not an error.