rockcrawl

I had the same problems with Axxon Smart. I really wanted it to work, but I finally gave up on it. At least now I know it wasn't just me. I didn't think it was any more CPU hungry than BlueIris, but the user interface was painfully slow to respond. One positive thing is that the software based intelligent analytic features and alerts seemed to work well. I would still be using Blue Iris if I could get a good quality MJPEG stream from my 2MP Dynacolor cams. I can get a good picture with h.264 but my CPU can't handle four of them it so I switched to MJPEG and the picture is terrible. I can't figure it out, I can stream MJPEG to any other software and get a good picture.

Intel core i3 2100 3.1Ghz dual core, 4GB RAM, Radeon HD 5450 1GB. Four cameras at 1920x1080 15-30 fps. I'm running Windows Home Server which is not supported, that may be the issue, but it installed without errors. The machine runs other NVR software without any problem, Axxon is just laggy in comparison to others. I'm currently using Genius Vision. The Community edition is free for 16 cameras and it's loaded with features. It's a little difficult to setup and learn, and some of the translations from Chinese are a little strange, but it just plain works once you figure it out. It's a Server/Client type system, and some/all of the video analitic load can be put on one or more client machines. I could see how this would be ideal for very large installations. http://geniusvision.net/community/

I have Axxon Smart installed on my server, but I'm not currently using it. It's probably #2 on my ranking of free NVR software. The installation is pretty heavy, the program itself is slow (slow to install, slow to start up, slow to respond). It has no problem connecting to my Rainbow(Dynacolor) cameras using the ONVIF or Dynacolor drivers. I don't think I was able to get the camera's internal motion detect working, but I am able to control many of the camera's settings from within Axxon. The intelligent video analytic features seem to work well, but obviously use up some resources. One drawback I've discovered is that it doesn't have the ability to email snapshots, unless I just missed that setting somewhere. Otherwise it seems pretty good as far as functionality, and it's easy to use. The only reason I'm not using it now is because the software motion detect uses too much CPU and I couldn't get camera MD working. I haven't uninstalled it yet because I still want to try to make it work, but I'm testing another one right now.

Thanks for the review. The lack of event alerts is a bummer, but my cameras can handle that so it's not a deal killer. Software updates limited to 90 days is another con that you didn't mention (unless I missed it). If I spend any amount of money on a piece of software I'd expect a little more than 90 days support. I guess if it works it doesn't matter, but I'd hate to get a Windows update on day 91 that breaks the VMS. Unfortunately if the ONVIF support doesn't work I can't even give it a chance, my cameras are not supported my make/model. I hope you're not finished, I look forward to more software reviews.

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I don't know about the current lineup, but the older Toshiba IP cameras were made by Topview. http://www.topviewcorp.com/cht/index.php

I'm in the same position, I used Blue Iris for a long time with 4 VGA cams, then upgraded to 2MP cams and the CPU is overloaded. I've been trying several different free/demo VMS/NVR software. I think it would be nice to have a list of available software and their capabilities. It would save a lot of time searching, installing and uninstalling. I've installed software and uninstalled within minutes just because it's missing an important feature that I need. Here are a few more that I've come across. Axxon Smart - They have a free version that looks promising, I haven't tested it extensively. March Networks Command - Doesn't support my cameras. Genius Vision - Difficult to set up and use, but seems to work well, I'm using it now. Luxriot - No email or SMS alerts with free version, but camera and software MD works. Some of the features that are important to me: Email alert with snapshot upon motion detect. Easy/remote/mobile/proximity arming and disarming of alerts.