dalepres

I've never been able to change my password; it was one of the shortfalls of these. Try an empty password (the default). I will say, though, mine is still going strong after 6 years. I wish they still made them.

I would take everything dalepres says with a HUGE grain of salt, regrading all the vms options he mentions. He obviously did not test them properly. All I see is user error. Here is just one example. He never states the "i7" he used with blue iris or whether he set it up properly. There is a huge variations between i7 processors. He also did not build an i7 box. He bought an i7 laptop.By reading the blue iris help file, he would learn that you must set the cameras to record direct to disc (which doesnt rencode the video) if you are using high res cams. Blue iris also supports hardware acceleration when used with intel HD graphics that support quicksync. He states he was hitting 30 percent utilization with only 2 3mp cameras. Well then how am I getting 22 percent on an i7-4770 system with 7x3mp dahuas, 3x2mp hikvisions and one cheap vga camera. Is it magic? I get similar results with my many other systems. So, bottom line is his "reviews" are worthless. This includes his "review" of Avignon - a great piece of software. Its unfortunate that incompetent users leave baseless "reviews". Just came back looking for my post to link for someone looking for info on VMS software and saw this. I'm just curious if I stole your girlfriend in a previous life or something? I don't understand why you respond to virtually everything I post with personal attacks and, quite honestly, very uninformed attacks. You focused on my i7 laptop and totally ignored that I have similar results using dual 8-core Xeons (e5-2630 V3). EDIT: Also, just reread to understand what you were saying that I didn't build a new i7 box. I'm just curious? Do you have cameras in my house? Are you my wife posting under an assumed name? How do you know what I built or didn't build? I did buy a new i7 laptop in May of 2015. In November of 2015 I built a new i7 desktop using an i7-4770R. In March of 2016, I built a dual 8-core Xeon server using two e5-2630 V3s. I had similar results on every single one of them: Blue Iris used significantly more CPU for 2 cameras than any other software with many more cameras. HikVision was always the 2nd worse for CPU utilization but much, much, better than Blue Iris. CMS was better than HikVision, and UC2 was, by far, the best. I don't remember at this point what the CPU was on others except to say they were between UC2 and Blue Iris. This week I tried SoleraTec and found it to be in the same neighborhood as HikVision. So talk about unsubstantiated comments - yours are pure unsubstantiated attacks. I've tried Blue Iris in many different configurations and, always, it consumes significantly more CPU, with just two cameras, than every other VMS I have tested with from 6 to 16 cameras. If you have a different experience with any of the software I reviewed, provide your own review. I didn't just say it was terrible, nor do I say it's good. I gave specifics. If your experience in any of those specifics is different then provide your own experience and people can make up their own mind about the packages. But when all you can do is to attack the messenger that tells me, and likely most readers of this thread, that you don't really have a better message to offer.

I was just reading my own post. The real lesson in it isn't which recorder or software to buy or not buy. The real lesson is something I've said many times. If you read all the time and money I have spent trying different software, different cameras - I started with analog and soon after went all digital. I've wasted thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours - but with my technical background and personality type, it was all fun for me. For most people, they're much better off going to a pro. You won't save money on a basic system by doing it yourself if you do all the trial and error I have done. The pro may not use the brands we know, or maybe they do. But their advantage is that they know the brands they use inside and out. That's how they save all the time and money I spent. Unless you're an ENTJ like me and, by nature, you have to do everything there is to do, just once, you might be better off calling one of the vendors here.

I've tried every NVR program I have been able to find for Windows. If I could find a quality tool in a paid version, even if it cost a thousand dollars - perhaps even a little more than that - I would buy it but, in my opinion, they're all crap. Of all the programs I have tried, Blue Iris, by very far, had the worst performance. On my older PC that ran every other program I tried fairly well, Blue Iris would use 100% CPU. I built a new i7 quad core box and Blue Iris would run on it but would use 30% CPU utilization with just 2 cameras at 3MP. I stopped testing at about 47% utilization with 4 cameras. There were several apps I tried that run 13 cameras under 20% and one even under 10% CPU utilization so Blue Iris went completely off my list. Now I'm using a dual-xeon, 8 cores per CPU (plus hyperthreading for a total of 32 threads) with 128GB RAM but I'm not even going to try Blue Iris on it. I tried Avigilon and found it's UI to be very unusual. It's not like it's unworkable; it's just not what you'd expect. The way it boxes various cameras on the screen seemed pretty unintuitive based on my experience but it did work. Perhaps, over time, I would get used to the UI and even understand the value in why they built the UI the way they did. The problem I had was that it still used more CPU than the best of what I tried but it took everything I threw at it in the way of cameras and demand on those cameras without missing a beat. I was impressed enough that I was about to buy it but I had just a couple questions before I made the commitment. Since I was using the trial version, neither Avigilon nor the dealers would help to answer my question. That proved to me that I would continue to get poor service. As a home user, once I bought the app once they have no expectation to ever get any more money from me so why would they care to support me? I took them off my list. I wanted to try IPCENT. Their package looked pretty good but you have to buy it through the Windows Store for Windows 8 and above - it doesn't work with Windows 7. I don't buy from the Windows Store because I refuse to give Microsoft my personally identifiable information so I can purchase products from places that are not Microsoft. And I hate the metro app look and feel. I tried the Hikvision software - free with Hikvision cameras but many Hikvision compatibles are available and they ship the software as well. It works pretty well. I don't like the way it treats every camera as a possible multi-camera recorder or server so every camera has to go in a folder. Adding the cameras is pretty spotty; sometimes it will only add the first camera and won't remember any future cameras. I've had to upgrade the software a few times to get to a reliable place but it seems ok now. Now that it is working, it's been rock solid, as have been the cameras. The problem with Hikvision is that it is the second highest CPU utilization - but still less than half of Blue Iris. There are two processes. The process that is labeled Hikvision uses only a percent or two but there's a server process running that the Hikvision process is dependent on that, with my 13 cameras, uses up to 30% CPU. That's not terrible and if I didn't know there were many apps that do so much better I would have been very happy with the Hikvision software. The very best performing software is free UC software that comes with several brands of Chinese imports based on the TI-365/368 chipset. I'v run all 6 of my compatible cameras - and as many as 9 when I had others on the bench, testing for a different location, and most at 3MP, full record, with under 10% CPU utilization. The problem with UC is that it doesn't work with anyone else's cameras. Hikvision has this problem but I'm not averse to going all Hikvision or Hikvision compatible. So if you buy the cameras UC works with, it may be the best performing but it's a struggle to get email and ftp working. Otherwise, and other than the ugly green borders, this is a great app. But I didn't want to be tied to one brand no matter what the brand. No one maker has all the camera types I want at any price. So I'm working on replacing my UC compatible cameras as they fail (3 years old before the first one did) or when I just feel like replacing one with a HUISUN PTZ. There were a few other high-end apps I used that I tossed out, the names of which escape me for now. The best, overall, of the free apps that came with the various camera brands is one simply named CMS published by JuFeng. I got it with a Sunba speed dome. CMS takes any ONVIF camera I have thrown at it. It has a limitation that it can only display 1080p max resolution but for monitoring that's fine. That means, though, that I need to use my other recorders and I don't use CMS for recording. What I haven't tried is displaying 1080p or less but trying to record at full resolution. I haven't tried because I have several other recorders already. It might work in which case this would be even better. My opinion, though, is that I don't record where I watch because a criminal may see where I watch. If he steals the PC running my monitoring software then he's stolen the recording. Viewing and recording are always separate tasks for me though you could use the viewing station as tertiary or other recording. This is what I use at about half of my monitoring stations. I've also used Synology Surveillance Station. If you turn the NAS on to record cameras and leave it alone, it mostly works. A neighbor asked me once if I had caught anything on my camera after their car had been broken into and when I checked I found my Synology had dropped the connection to all three cameras at that location without notification. I didn't even realize I had no recording there. I quit buying the silly per-camera licenses and have quit using Surveillance station on all 4 of my Synology devices. I use them for NAS storage only and let PCs record to them as tertiary recording - never primary or secondary. The ActiveX based web client for Synology runs at about 80% CPU utilization with just 8 cameras. I quit using it for monitoring before testing beyond that. I don't recommend Synology almost as much as I don't recommend Blue Iris. There is a very big surprise, to me at least, in the NVR space - both recording and monitoring. There's a mini-nvr thread, or threads, here about some under-100 dollar mini NVRs. I think I paid about 65 dollars each for the several I have. I've tested the 16-channel version with up to only 13 cameras - which is all I have needed them for. They record great to the 2TB internal 2.5" drive (sold extra) and I have read where people use them with eSata or USB drives; I haven't tried it. The IE app works with or without ActiveX. I've had it running over a month at a time without any hickups. The only thing that makes it stop is me stopping it to do something on one of the PCs. I use them for secondary and tertiary recording in multiple locations. Honestly, either with a direct connect computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse, or as a remote connection by PC with IE for viewing, this is a great and inexpensive option for viewing and recording your cameras. I hope this helps some readers in choosing a suitable solution for them.

Does anyone know of a good ONVIF streaming server application? My situation is that I have at one site 13 cameras with up to 4 monitoring stations plus two to three recording stations per camera. Mostly it all works as is but the more monitoring stations are online the more likely I am to have sporadic, though rare, signal drops and lost frames. Monitoring the network doesn't show any network bottlenecks so I think the cameras just aren't keeping up with the demand on them. I'd like to find a good ONVIF streaming server that can have a single connection to the camera and the server can deliver to all the rest. I'd probably end up with three direct connections to the camera - the server, one monitor, and one recording. The rest of everything else could go through the streaming server. It looks like the VMS-4200 disk has a streaming server on it but I don't find any documentation and it's not particularly intuitive. Any thoughts or experience with that server or other streaming server packages?

I have tried commercial surveillance software costing from 50 dollars to thousands of dollars and, quite frankly, not a single one of the commercial products perform as well or have a better UI than the free software I have gotten with my cameras and NVRs. The free stuff definitely leaves a lot to desire but the paid stuff leaves even more to desire and, on top of that, you had to pay for it. So I agree with you, patmas; the free software is well worth what we paid for it.

I have multiple recorders in multiple locations. Some are visible and the thief might think he's taken all the video with him. Others are well hidden. Every camera gets recorded at least 2 times, sometimes even more. Combine multiple recorders with a quality and loud alarm system with multiple difficult-to-reach sirens with their independent power supplies. I used Arduino-based products to drive my sirens so even if they blow the power on the alarm system by shorting the siren leads, the other sirens continue to work and will shut off after a programmed time. The goal is to make the bad guys nervous, scared, and physically uncomfortable so they don't spend the time to search out and trash your entire system; they give up and get the heck out of there.

Generally motion and scheduled recording are not compatible. You should expect one or the other. If you have a scheduled recording going on then that would override motion recording.

I'd like to find an open source or free solution as well. I have tried so many apps it makes my head spin. The very best apps seem to be those that come with the camera - no matter which camera brand I have bought. There are hugely better and only slightly better apps that came with my cameras but all of them handle many more cameras on the same hardware than does Blue Iris. The very best app that I've used is an app called UC or UC2. It comes indirectly from tpsee.com and only works with TI 365/368-based cameras. With this app and the cameras that work with it, I've recorded up to 8 cameras full time at 3MP and 15 FPS, viewing those same cameras in the second stream, and only used 10 to 15 per cent of CPU. Though it uses RSTP to connect, I have not been able to get it to connect to any non-TI-based cameras. The next best app, the one I use for viewing cameras now, is CMS from JuFeng. I got this software with a Sunba speed dome. This software is pretty decent in that it handles all my cameras using ONVIF but you can't config the cameras other than those that the software shipped with; you still need the OEM software for configuration - which is not a big deal. With 8 cameras, this uses about 15 to 20 per cent CPU utilization, viewing in second stream and recording in 3MP, 15 FPS - just a little more CPU intensive than UC2. The downside is that the live-view cannot display higher than 1080p and disconnects from the cameras from time to time. Since viewing is not my primary use of cameras and if it's not running when viewing I can always just reconnect, I've stuck with this for viewing so far, still hoping to find a way to fix the issues. Third choice for me, if you have all Hikvision cameras is the Hikvision software. It's the most professional I have tried. I rank it third in my experience because it uses more CPU resources than the other OEM but it is still within acceptable range. 3 cameras use about 24 per cent total of CPU cycles. iVMS-4200 has two processes. It has the primary iVMS-4200 process that runs at about 4 to 6 per cent with 3 cameras and it has a decoder process that runs about 15 to 20 per cent with three cameras. Fourth on my list is the Synology Surveillance Station. It works very well on the Synology devices in that the very low-powered CPUs that my DS-214+ devices use manage to record 8 cameras of motion detection fairly reliably. On the downside, though, the price at 50 dollars + per camera is simply ridiculous for such amateurish software. Second, the ActiveX used for viewing on IE and whatever it is on FireFox, uses 100 per cent of CPU on even my very newest quad-core i7 CPUs when displaying 8 cameras on the substream and this doesn't even have to record because the recording is done on the Synology. The only thing that makes Synology Display Station not the very last on my list is that the recording on the box works good; the only problem is that the live view is terrible for CPU utilization. Last on my list is Blue Iris. Besides the fact that, in my own opinion - yours may be different, the UI for Blue Iris is atrocious, the program is simply, again in my own opinion, poorly written. The CPU utilization is about 40 per cent with only two cameras and up to about 80 per cent with 8 cameras on my latest quad-core i7s. The fact that all of the OEM packages I use are many, many, times more efficient on CPU resources proves what the possibilities are for cameras on one PC. Based on my UC2 experience, I could easily put 24 to 30 cameras at 3MP, 15FPS on a single box. With JuFeng, maybe 20 to 24 cameras, with Hikvision, maybe 20 cameras (all at 3MP) but with Blue Iris, 8 is going to max out a quad-core i7. This has been my experience; your experience may very. In summary, I have found that OEM software is the best performing for the cameras for which it is designed. I haven't really found any really good free or low cost software that works across camera manufacturers. If anyone has one that's not on my list already, I'd love to try it out.

I didn't want to read through all the drama but, from what I did read, I didn't see any answers to the OP. The camera you're looking for, I don't think exists. First off, Why have wireless and POE? If you have POE then you have a network connection. Keep in mind that even wireless cameras need a wire for power so, many times, it is as easy to go POE as it is to wire power. If you're going to do an indoor camera with a wall plug near by then it might make sense to use wireless video data with a wall wart for power. Using a camera inside your window will almost for sure mean you can't get license plates. You'll get reflections off the glass that will make the video quality almost useless for more than a general view of an area - at best. The reflection problem will likely be even worse at night with IR. There is no way to answer the right camera to use with the data you provided but if you're just looking for a general view around your house, and if you're willing or able to install a camera outdoors, I would suggest a Hikvision 2032 with 4mm lens and use several of them to get the coverage you want. But if you're looking to identify a criminal in order to prosecute or recover your possessions then consider adding, in addition to the general coverage cameras, narrow cameras such as 12mm, or even higher, placed to cover choke points like entrances and exits to your property or primary targets on your property. The Hikvision software works well from an Android phone or tablet for me. Keep in mind that most Hikvisions you can buy online come without a warranty and can't even be upgraded. One legitimate online dealer is BHPhoto but you'll pay a 30% premium. Pay it. It's a bargain. One problem with Hikvision, and virtually every camera maker I have investigated or tried, is that their range of products is not broad enough to cover every scenario. They're good cameras for where they work. There are many common scenarios for which there is no Hikvision and you'll have to consider other brands. The problem is, we don't know enough to know your real requirements. So why can't you put a camera outside? And if you just really, really, cannot, I guess I'd say get a single Hikvision 2032, and try it out.

For starters it won't go 360* My $1,000 Panasonic wvsc385 won't do a true 360 either, and is considered ptz camera. The Huisun is fun to play with for under $200 shipped, but as boogerman posted, the reliability isn't proven. Pan means to move in a panoramic fashion. I'm pretty sure 180 degrees of coverage is considered panoramic. It is a new product and, you're right, it hasn't been proven reliable yet. But if no one tries it and no one discusses it, we'll never know. The negativism and attacks here on anything not Hikvision or Dahua are neither helpful nor productive.

So the definition of PTZ has nothing to do with pan/tilt/zoom? Now the definition of PTZ is any camera that has been proven reliable? It's a PTZ camera. Just like any new product, whether from Dahua, Hikvision, or anyone else, people buy stuff before it's been proven reliable. I have 14 cameras in my system. 2 of them are Hikvisions. I've had zero problems with any of my cameras including the non-Hikvisions that are 3 years old - with one exception: one camera has a sticking IR filter so daylight is reddish if I don't tap the camera. It's going to get replaced with something, maybe a Hikvision, maybe not. I just mentioned a camera I stumbled on and bought. I've had mine up for a week after having it on the bench for a week. Since it mounts on a wall instead hanging freely in space, I don't need 360 degree rotation. It's an awesome camera with great specs. Considering the size of the motors I don't plan on leaving it running a patrol or pattern. I wouldn't do that with any PTZ camera. I use wide angle for occupancy detection and general coverage, more narrow for choke points and identification, and PTZ for users to look at what they specifically want to zoom in on. If it doesn't work for you, I understand. It works for me. I think that it would work well for many who want the extra features in a size and price range that neither Hikvision nor Dahua offer. If you want less features for more money, consider Hikvision or Dahua.

I have one Jufeng PTZ speed dome camera. It works great. Their CMS software is good, too. It supports ONVIF so it's the only PC software I have that will work with all my cameras - other than Blue Iris but Blue Iris is 10 times as CPU intensive as Jufeng's CMS on my machine - and that's 9 cameras on Jufeng CMS compared to 2 cameras on Blue Iris. If there was a US distributor or seller for Jufeng cameras I'd buy more.

So why would you not call it a PTZ? It pans, it tilts, and it zooms. Is it just not expensive enough? When I worked in the business doing Pelco back in the 80's, pan and tilt was only available with big, heavy, mounts that cost thousands of dollars. Zoom cameras cost about five-thousand. Infrared illuminators were closer to thirty-thousand dollars. And image quality sucked compared to even the cheapest cameras available today. But these cameras are still cameras.

I haven't seen anything from Hikvision with PTZ at a price close to that. Am I missing something?