What are your thoughts on Milestone Xprotect software?

[latropa 0]

I've decided the built in recording options on the hikvision cameras I've bought just isn't going to cut it for me.

 

My first search took me to Blue Iris but I've since discovered that is a major resource hog and I don't want that.

 

The next thing I found was Xprotect Go (free but only 5 days of recordings) or Xprotect Essential ($50/camera, reasonable for me since I have only 2 cams)... I want to try it but I've discovered you have to be running 64-bit windows to use it and my server/htpc/media center is only on 32-bit.

 

Is it worth it? It will be a huge time consumer if I take on the task of updating my system to 64-bit with a fresh Win 7 and re-installing all the software I use on it, setting it all up again, recreating the macros for my remote control, re-doing all my SMB shares, forwarding porsts for VNC and RDP and applying old hacks that let me RDP into the machine while someone else is using, etc.

 

So, Xprotect... is it worth the hassle?

[pcmcg 0]

It's good, but that doesn’t' mean you will like it. Don't you have a spare hard drive you could borrow to test out a 64bit install on? Another option maybe to create a 64bit VM?

[latropa 0]

It's good, but that doesn’t' mean you will like it. Don't you have a spare hard drive you could borrow to test out a 64bit install on? Another option maybe to create a 64bit VM?

I have another machine that is my main desktop but only has bout 320 gb of storage that runs a 64-bit Windows. I'm sure I could get a hang of how it worked if I installed it on that machine, but I wan't to know how well it would work if I installed it on my server as a service (so it loaded up whenever the machine started) and then just logged into from my various windows accounts that have different access restrictions. I want to know how versatile it is in the real world before I commit to doing a fresh install of windows 64-bit on the machine.

[MarcVanJ 0]

Xprotect Essentials is definitely worth the effort, the user interface and the functionality of it is supurb. Milestone is just about to release a new version of it which will have some nice features. can i ask what price you are buying your Milestone at and how many cameras you are wanting to put in place?

[buellwinkle 0]

I use Milestone XProtect and works well for me. The web interface and smartphone apps are very good. BlueIris is also pretty good for the money, $39, and for 2 cameras, not sure you will have CPU issues if you use direct to disc recording. It also has unique features and I use it as webcam software on the same machine running Milestsone XProtect.

 

Download the trial for both, see which you like.

[latropa 0]

I contacted Milestone and apparently I could use the 2.1 version of Essentials as it still supports 32-bit.

 

The problem with that is, according to this chart, it's no longer receiving service updates and it looks like it expires/terminates in 2016.

 

 

Do they really have such a short life cycle on their software and does it really expire, requiring you to upgrade to a newer version and buy all new licenses for your cameras every few years? If that's the case, I'm not sure I want to use it even if it's the greatest program ever.

[milkisbad 0]

What don't you like about the Hikvision recording? Have you try using ivms4200- PC-NVR yet? I actually really liked it (maybe just me?)

[latropa 0]

What don't you like about the Hikvision recording? Have you try using ivms4200- PC-NVR yet? I actually really liked it (maybe just me?)

It's alright but it just seems subpar. One example that really stands out is when i hit the FFWD button it doesn't actually seem to fast fowrad, it just a constant real time stream despite that option. It also sometimes seems to start recording of motion about 30 seconds before it happens instead of the 5 seconds it is set at.... or, even worse, it doesn't capture the motion until 5 or 10 seconds after it had already started to happen.

 

And, no, I haven't tried the hikvision NVR software... with how crappy the documentation is for their web interface, I don't think I'll ever try it.

[mattw22 0]

The ivms4200 is completely different from the Hikvision web interface. It's much more intuitive. I use both Milestone

and Hikvision. And if you already have hikvision cameras you should at least try the ivms4200.

[milkisbad 0]

I would try out the PC NVR software if you only used the web interface.

 

http://www.hikvision.com/en/download_more.asp?id=1190

[buellwinkle 0]

I've used 2.1 Essential in the past because I had a 32-bit Windows 7 computer and while it's a total PITA to re-install Windows to 64-bit, the latest version is so much easier to install and works better. So if you ask me is it worth it, yes, enough to have done two 32-bit to 64-bit Win 7 upgrade just for Milestone and trust me, I was not happy about it.

 

Also, for what it's worth, I had 2GB RAM and that worked OK for 32-bit, when going to 64-bit it barely started. Upgrading to 4GB actually made things faster than before with 32-bit and 2GB RAM. On the other server I went to 8GB because it was cheap, but actually memory usage never goes that high, it's mostly for future proofing.

[ilkevinli 0]

I use the Essentials version and love it. It has a LOT of features, and it's one of the only software that supports HTTPS.

[LittleScoobyMaster 0]

I've used 2.1 Essential in the past because I had a 32-bit Windows 7 computer and while it's a total PITA to re-install Windows to 64-bit, the latest version is so much easier to install and works better. So if you ask me is it worth it, yes, enough to have done two 32-bit to 64-bit Win 7 upgrade just for Milestone and trust me, I was not happy about it.

 

Also, for what it's worth, I had 2GB RAM and that worked OK for 32-bit, when going to 64-bit it barely started. Upgrading to 4GB actually made things faster than before with 32-bit and 2GB RAM. On the other server I went to 8GB because it was cheap, but actually memory usage never goes that high, it's mostly for future proofing.

 

How does the 64bit version of Xprotect compare to the latest Geovision NVR version?

 

I've been using Geovision for over 10 years but I'm getting really sick of the lack of basic OS functionality from within the software. Geovision still has the old wonky interface from 10 years ago and it is in such a dire need of updating it's almost unbelievable how it has existed for this long.

 

Does Xprotect blow Geo out of the water in most respects, or is Geo still worth the hassle?

 

Thinking about installing Xprotect and taking it for a spin soon.

[ilkevinli 0]

Before I started using Xprotect, I used Geovision like yourself. XProtect is miles better than Geovision. Don't get me wrong, I didn't have any issues with Geovision, I just felt the interface was dated and the feature set was lacking.

 

I would highly recommend you try Xprotect and you'll see how much better it is.

 

Good luck.

 

 

I've used 2.1 Essential in the past because I had a 32-bit Windows 7 computer and while it's a total PITA to re-install Windows to 64-bit, the latest version is so much easier to install and works better. So if you ask me is it worth it, yes, enough to have done two 32-bit to 64-bit Win 7 upgrade just for Milestone and trust me, I was not happy about it.

 

Also, for what it's worth, I had 2GB RAM and that worked OK for 32-bit, when going to 64-bit it barely started. Upgrading to 4GB actually made things faster than before with 32-bit and 2GB RAM. On the other server I went to 8GB because it was cheap, but actually memory usage never goes that high, it's mostly for future proofing.

 

How does the 64bit version of Xprotect compare to the latest Geovision NVR version?

 

I've been using Geovision for over 10 years but I'm getting really sick of the lack of basic OS functionality from within the software. Geovision still has the old wonky interface from 10 years ago and it is in such a dire need of updating it's almost unbelievable how it has existed for this long.

 

Does Xprotect blow Geo out of the water in most respects, or is Geo still worth the hassle?

 

Thinking about installing Xprotect and taking it for a spin soon.

[LittleScoobyMaster 0]

I contacted Milestone and apparently I could use the 2.1 version of Essentials as it still supports 32-bit.

 

The problem with that is, according to this chart, it's no longer receiving service updates and it looks like it expires/terminates in 2016.

 

 

Do they really have such a short life cycle on their software and does it really expire, requiring you to upgrade to a newer version and buy all new licenses for your cameras every few years? If that's the case, I'm not sure I want to use it even if it's the greatest program ever.

 

 

I don't think this question was ever answered. I am wondering the same exact thing. If I purchase Xprotect Essential 2016 now, will I need to re-purchase new licenses for it in 1 or 2 years down the road? If so, that could get costly for a home user very quickly. I'm hoping the Windows 7 pricing model would apply here. If you bought Win7 when it was new, it was good for a long 5 to 6 years easily without paying in every couple years.

 

I mean seriously, a 2.1 release. What the hell?

 

Did that release cost extra money or was it more like the Win 8.0 to 8.1 release that was free?

 

I *really* want to switch off of Geovision GV-NVR but don't want to run into another licensing cluster**** like Geo has with the non-existent upgrade pricing plan to go from GV-NVR to GV-VMS (basically there is no plan, you just have to re-purchase VMS and sell your NVR dongles on E-bay or Craigslist even though VMS is technically only a .5 point release upgrade - they added custom camera layouts which GV-NVR should of had 10 years ago and refreshed the GUI). Geovision is killing me softly. There is even a song about it.

[egmiii 0]

Charging upgrade fees for minor software updates is exactly the reason why I went with Avigilon. All minor upgrades are included. And every three years or so you can pay a very reasonable flat fee per server (not camera based) to get the next major version. And depending upon when you buy, the next major version may be included for free.