FastEddy

Ok, thanks! There is some misinformation about this, even from the resellers, so I'm gonna sit on the fence for awhile...but thanks!

Confusion about the upgrade vs. dot release situation is keeping me from buying XProtect. Please, what version did you have and what version is considered to be the "new" version? All I see is a 2.5a to 2.5b revision for the Essential/Go packages, and similar revisions in the other packages.

If you are geeky, might I suggest creating a Virtual Box virtual machine with the free trial of each of the VMSs that you've narrowed your search down to, not necessarily all at once, and then play with each of them to see which one suits your needs? I think that Virtual Box comes in both Windows and Linux flavors. Apart from that, I would definitely install the XProtect Go product and give that an extended test drive. You can then take your time to evaluate your other options while having the security of an installed VMS. It does almost everything that I expect of a VMS, and (did I mention?) it's FREE. There are some strings attached, of course, but all in all it is an amazing product at an affordable price. You didn't mention Avigilon, and I don't want to get into a heated battle over this and that, but I wouldn't consider that my quest for the ultimate VMS was complete without giving it a spin. I need to acknowledge that ak357 was extremely informative and helpful in smoothing out the (little) bumps in the road (thanks, ak!) and IMO it is a very nicely polished product. I may be wrong, but I think that Exacq has ongoing annual maintenance costs. Be sure to read the fine print on the licensing on the paid products so that there are no nasty surprises. Once you've plunked your hard-earned money down on the table it's too late to read the contract.

And what about in-camera motion detection vs. video stream motion detection (is video analytics the correct terminology??) ... did that have any influence on your choice? You've done a couple of reviews on the mini-bullet Hik and the re-branded Hik from Costco/Swann...did you play around with the in-camera motion detection? It seems like the Hik dynamic motion analysis option really puts the MD into hyperdrive. I think I have the in-camera MD pretty close to where it should be with Avigilon, and XProtect seems to be easier to tweak the MD settings. BTW, the Hik in-camera pre- and post-record settings do indeed work with Avigilon, although the light blue (record) and red (event record) in Avigilon don't accurately reflect those settings. I have them set at 10sec/10sec right now, and Avigilon displays 5/5 no matter what I set the Hik at, but the recorded video is correct.

So buellwinkle, you have tried (and reviewed) several VMSs...why did you choose Xprotect?

Naw, I wouldn't trade places with you anyway. EDIT: Norco, CA EDIT2: Multiple arrests? Dare I ask: What is your opinion of XProtect?

deleted...not sure it is working...

In my case, we have lived in our home for just shy of 35 years. There haven't been any burglaries on our block in that time, although our 28-year old truck was vandalized recently after leaving it parked out on the street for a couple of months. The Auto Club took care of the damage (a broken driver's side window and broken taillight). My wife is diabetic and her feet are giving her a lot of trouble and the cameras enable her to keep an eye on our 9-year old grandson who lives next door as well as not have to answer the door unnecessarily or otherwise be on her feet any more than necessary. So like I said, our needs are very different. EDIT: Are you sure that Pleasanton is one of the safer cities????

Guys, I'm telling you, it does save the views. I created 3 tabs and they are all still there when I re-open the client. Maybe if I shut down the server those views will go away? Avigilon sure is smooth, I'll give you that.

Ok, how do I set the pre-record/post-record interval?

XProtect GO (the free version) lets me create any number of views and I can see any or all of them over the internet with an ordinary web browser or the mobile app. Like I said, retarded. EDIT: I just created a second view, closed the client and then re-opened it, and the two views were still there. The comparison chart http://avigilon.com/products/avigilon-control-center/editions/ says that saved views are not supported in the Core Client, but apparently they are. I'll have to play with this some more. In the meantime, I take back the retarded statement. My apologies to the faithful.

Um...that's the Enterprise Client. That interface bears no resemblance to the minimal interface you get with the Core version. I can't get mine to look like that no matter how hard I try. Do you have something that shows the Core version? And I think I read that pixel search doesn't work with HikVision (ONVIF), but again,with a small residential camera system, I don't see pixel search being a must-have. EDIT: TOUGH crowd, tough crowd! You Avigilon guys are a dedicated bunch, aren't ya! EDIT2: Ok, the pixel search looks like it works after all...and there's that list of clips that ak357 showed me. Too cool!

I stand corrected. One of the things that ak357 showed me via Team Viewer was a window with a clip listing showing the time, date, and duration of each clip, and I could not find out how to bring that up, so I assumed that feature wasn't available on the Core edition. I'm sure that some of the things he was showing me aren't from the Core edition...there is no doubt in my mind that those camera systems were far from entry level and not a doubt that the software was far from entry level as well. Absolutely, there are a ton of things I don't know about Avigilon, but for my needs I have a hard time getting past the in-camera motion detection and the hefty (for my budget) price difference. Also, you can't save views with the Core edition, which seems kind of retarded that you can only have one view when you start up the client. But I have 2 VMs set up, one with XProtect GO and one with Avigilon, running side by side, and I'll let them both run for awhile, and maybe I'll warm up to Avigilon, if I can just get past the in-camera thing. I've got most of the 30-day trial left and a 4TB HDD so I'll just let 'em run and see how I feel in a week or two.

I think maybe the search features that you are talking about are crippled in the Core version, but again, in a residential setting how important is the search feature? For my use I use the time line to scrub the recorded video and they both do that well. And I didn't have "issues" with the in-camera motion detection...I set the one camera that faces the street at the highest sensitivity available and in one instance where someone was walking in the street in front of my neighbor's house didn't appear until they were halfway across the street. With XProtect I am able to trigger the recording when the person is on the opposite curb. I imagine I could set the pre-record high enough on Avigilon as a work-around if I could figure out where that setting is, but is that ability in itself worth twice the money?

I'm a noob, and it is hard for me to imagine a scenario where I might need that in a private residence where I only have a few cameras and only occasionally watch the video feed in real time. If I saw something in real time I would probably go outside to investigate rather than rely on recorded video. I wonder if running two instances of the Milestone Smart Client might not serve that need...but in any case I can't justify the extra expense on that feature alone, but your needs are very different from mine.

Currently I have 3 of the HikVision 2CD2032s set up and it was very easy to find the cameras and set them up with Avigilon. I had some trouble setting up the mobile parts of Avigilon that just seemed to fall into place with XProtect Go but the main thing I don't like about Avigilon is not Avigilon, but HikVision...I just don't like the in-camera motion sensing. The Hik only gives you a 6-step sensitivity setting and no other adjustments, which seems clumsy, and compared to the sensitivity/level adjustments that XProtect GO provides, it is much easier to fine tune XProtect. Also, while drawing motion detection zones in the camera, the Hik doesn't currently allow you to undo or erase...one mistake and you clear everything and start over. So basically for me, it comes down to which is more important: in-camera or video-stream motion sensing, and I very much prefer the latter. The other prerequisite I have is multi-camera playback, and they both do that well. Also, the price difference between XProtect Essential and Avigilon is substantial...Avigilon is twice the per-camera price. At this point, depending on the upgrade and/or maintenance expense of XProtect Essential going forward, I am looking for a Milestone reseller.

PM ak357...he is extremely helpful. He quoted me a price right off the bat. All I had to do was ask.

Again, thank you! I probably should have done that in the first place. Duh!

ak357, you were about to weigh in here. Can you give me a price, in a PM if necessary? The guy that quoted me from CountryX said to contact either you or thewireguys. EDIT: Still waiting, but not holding my breath. Probably not going to happen any time soon. Sigh. Well, Avigilon may be an outstanding product, but their marketing is screwy, IMHO. EDIT: AWESOME, guys!!! Thanks! You have restored my faith, and now I can try your product!

Since you didn't call, I'll explain it to ya anyway. Years ago, in the days of door-to-door salesmen, I had a friend who just couldn't say no to those guys. He had encyclopedias, he had vacuums, he had brushes of every shape and size, and finally his wife wouldn't let him answer the door to strangers any more. She suspected that the sales people found out that the guy would buy anything, and were passing his address around. No, I'm not that guy, and I hang up on telemarketers immediately, but I used to pay monthly to have an unlisted phone number, so I don't pass it out freely.

You guys [resellers in the forums] may not realize it, but you are doing more to un-sell what is probably a very good product by your non-disclosure. I remember products that were "fair-traded" back in the day...if an authorized dealer was caught selling the product for less than the MSRP, they were dropped from the dealer list. Is that the way it is with Avigilon? Are you permitted to take less of a profit to make a sale? Just asking...no monsters here, real or imagined...just trying to grasp the Avigilon business model.

I just wanna try the product, for cryin' out loud, not break into Fort Knox. But before I try, I need to know how much it's gonna cost me if I decide to buy it, and if I want to get a public opinion about whether it's worth it or not, aren't we allowed to do that as well? What's the big deal? Gimme a price, dang it! Let's not pu$$y-foot around it. Call me and I'll explain it to ya. (999) 555-1212, any time, day or night.

For license activation, my number is (999) 555-1212. Call me any time. But if you ask me in an email what my phone number is, I will ask you why you need it.

I think you are the one painting that picture. What's the big deal about openly saying how much it costs? Sheesh.

None of the other products (Axxon, Genius Vision, ExacqVision, Milestone, Aimetis, Zoneminder) I have tried require a phone number, so why Avigilon? That's what I'm thinking, too.