Newb: Looking for my perfect NVR/VMS

[ck42 0]

I've at least got it narrowed down to this short list:

Milestone - XProtect Essential

Blue Iris

Exacq - ExacqVision Pro

Xeoma

Acti NVR3

(new one found recently: Network Optix - HD Witness 2.0)

 

I'm just getting started with all of this and am pretty new to the whole concept.

I expect when all is said and done, I MIGHT have about 8 cameras total, with most of them being at least 720p. Number of cams that will be greater than this will be minimal, maybe 2 will be 2MP or 3MP.

 

This is for a home installation (mine)

Being able to install onto a Linux OS is a big plus. " title="Applause" />

Remote viewing app needs to be decent. This seems to be a real weakness with some VMS.

The price and costing structures of each of the ones I've listed are acceptable to me.

Don't want to have to build out a Core i7 system just to run the VMS is pretty important. I don't want a power-hog system that has to run 24/7 to be required.

 

I'm not having a lot of luck so far finding reviews or information that allows me to make a good direct comparison of these systems. I can find specs and some reviews of the individual systems, but it's difficult to do A<->B comparisons this way.

 

Hoping for some insite from this forums!

[buellwinkle 0]

I would put ACTi NVR, Exacq and Milestone as needing the least CPU, an i3 would be enough. BlueIris, Axxonsoft, HD Witness as requiring more CPU, an i7 for 8 HD cameras is not unusual. Never heard of Xeoma.

 

As for Linux, why? To me what's way more important than the OS is a) a good web interface that works with various browsers and OS (like Mac, Windows, Linus browsers), b) good smartphone app support for IOS and Android, c) software stability (you may think Windows is not as stable as Linux but the NVR software can be less stable than either mature OS) and d) good multi-cam playback with timeline scrubbing.

 

If that helps narrow down the search, let us know what the new shortlist is.

[ck42 0]

Appreciate the feedback.

The desire for a Linux system is because I have a better familiarity with them...and I also save the cost of having to purchase a Win OS.

Otherwise, totally agree the you don't inherently get a more stable app just because it's running on Linux vs. Windows.

 

So given this, if we prune the short list down to these because they should be less hardware intensive:

 

Milestone - XProtect Essential

Exacq - ExacqVision Pro

Acti NVR3

 

Of these, I still go back to my original question which really circles around trying to be able to compare these systems with each other in a meaningful way.

I know these systems have a LOT of capabilities that I'm probably not going to use, so I guess I am more interested in knowing how well them recognize cameras of various types, ease of use/setup, things like that.

[vin2install 0]

HD Witness works with linux and doesnt use that much of CPU resources. Even an Intel atom can handle 16 x MP cameras.

[buellwinkle 0]

That wasn't my experience, 2 cameras overwhelmed my quad core PC with HD Witness but may have improved since.

 

As for ease of setting up, they all install easy enough, it's a regular Windows install. The complexity is configuring them, opening ports for remote viewing. The easiest is ACTi NVR3 out of the three, the most complete in terms of cameras supported, web browser support, smartphone support is Milestone XProtect. The problem I had with Exacq was it didn't support all my cameras as they have a very specific list of models and firmware and you can have a supported camera with newer firmware and it's not supported.

 

Also, you probably mean Exacq Start, that's their more basic version. These are very basic NVR solutions, it's not going to have a lot of features you won't use. To get these enterprise or POS features you need to get their higher end product.

[FastEddy 0]

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.

[ck42 0]

Thanks, fasteddy.

Already getting started. I've got Xprotect Go download and will be installing on a dedicated test system this weekend.

Thanks for the heads-up on Avigilon too. Looks promising.

[milkisbad 0]

Hikvision has a very good PCNVR software available for free download on their website, but probably will only work with their cameras. Has web-interface and worked on my phone too. and its freeee

[thewireguys 3]

I would recommend

 

Milestone

HD Whitness

Avigilon

[RichardU 0]

I'm going through the exact same evaluation. I've been using NVR3 for 6 months, but it does not scrub footage easily, and the Android app for it is very limited and kludgy.

 

I just loaded Milestone. Maybe they're having a bad day, but several links on their getting started page are down, including their FAQ link. (Never a good sign from a tech company.) Also, can't get the Android app to work with my server, but it also doesn't work with their Demo Server. Hmmm.

[Razer_SE 0]

I use Exacq and the cpu usage is minimal, if the machine is sitting idle and the client is not running it is under 5% with an i3 and 2gb of ram and this is running windows 7. That's with 9 3mp cameras and one 2mp cameras and 5 analog for example. With the client running it might get up to about 20-25% with 4 3mp on screen at once. I have 72 separate sites running Exacq right now and love it overall.

 

For my uses when looking a good web view was critical as 99% of our uses are the web client, it's used daily by many people across many of the locations. The mobile client works well also, I have it on my Android phone and my iPad for example and it works well. It was just updated and is working much better for me too.

 

I use multiple brands of camera, and I think setup and install is dead easy. There are easier, like Aviglilon, but only really easier when using their cameras and I would not use them for many of my needs so it's more of a wash there. Seems the web view and app viewing was extra too, but maybe not now, I honestly don't know.

 

We replaced a few HD Witness systems with the Exacq, and I've never even used the ACTi software even though I have a ton of ACTi cameras.

[buellwinkle 0]

Also, can't get the Android app to work with my server, but it also doesn't work with their Demo Server. Hmmm.

 

Are you using your Android device from within your WiFi network or via 3g/4g? Also, with their latest version, you don't have to do anything special, it just worked for me where previous versions like 2.1 you had to setup the mobile server.

[RichardU 0]

Also, with their latest version, you don't have to do anything special, it just worked for me where previous versions like 2.1 you had to setup the mobile server.

Interestingly, I did need to setup the mobile server, and now it works. As for the Milestone demo, I think they were having problems yesterday because a lot of their stuff was flaky.

 

Thanks for all your help.