Blue Iris in a business environment. Who has used it or installed it?

[Holbs]

Ever since jumping into the Blue Iris party boat back in 2019, I have only dabbled with Blue Iris in my own personal residential setting. I have learned much of what Blue Iris can offer and can do...I would guess 25% if that. So many options and configurations that do not apply to me, I've had no time to learn, was unaware of, etc.
As some folks know, I purchased my low voltage wiring & phone system company a little bit ago. With any low voltage (cat6/fiber/coxial/etc) business, you get to expand your oppurtunities. I currently have a 3 story business building that wants to upgrade to IP cameras. 20+ IP cameras. They will be coming from analog siamese (coxial and dc power) cameras.
1.) I am partial to Dahua cameras because I am comfortable with them, understand their GUI, know their pro's and con's. However, I only know what cameras are frequently used here on IPCT or from what Andy has in stock. No idea of the full line of Dahua cameras and "business" capabilities that are different from residential.
2.) replacing the siamese cable to Cat6, not a problem.
3.) for about 5 minutes, was thinking of a Dahua NVR. I mean, their cameras are great...and I'm sure their NVR line is as well. But as I am comfy with Dahua cams, I am also comfy with Blue Iris over any brand of NVR. But, that leads me to...
4.) business vs residential setting. I know what I like at MY house and Blue Iris certainly covers that. But how does Blue Iris function in a business environment? Example: not exactly fond of the mobile BI app as compared to what else is out there. I still use it and think it is a vital tool. But that is residential DIY me talking.
5.) Blue Iris on Windows vs other programs on linux or something. I have no problems with this as my DIY Blue Iris build has been rock solid since it's creation. Not worried about any havoc on Windows.
I have yet to discuss in detail with the client of what they are expecting in their system. The business agency already trusts my company due to being their wiring & phone system vendor for 10+ years.
So my question is... those that have used Blue Iris in a 3rd party or business environment... are the customers happy with it? What do they complain about?
For reference, they did get a quote on a camera system already. $60,000. I have not seen the quote but I bet it's Hikvision related (nvr, cameras) with everything just simply left at default. The customer said that's a 'little' high for them. Just a little So I am thinking $30k budget.

 

[Flintstone61]

Maybe the The Dahua Nvr can sit in the back ground and do its thing, and the Blue Iris can be in the foreground and do what it does best...in my opinion....quick cam reviews from the console.....I love the console view......If the NVR is set to record only motion....it would be there for you as a backup recording device.....and not all of the camera would have to feed it....maaybe just critical locations.....
It takes me 5x longer to find an incident on my DVR's thn BI.....you could have them look at both mobile apps running and let them choose. or if decision makers are many....thet can choose Bi mobile over Dmss or whatever......a bi box for 20 cams is like $300 bucks if they choose not to use it you'll use it somewhere else.......Im running 19 at a Condo..its the best thing ive ever done to compliment my job....

 

[bp2008]

Why would the business have different requirements than a home user? What exactly is a business feature in a camera or NVR system? All I can really think of is that they won't be happy to deal with any nasty bugs or downtime. But any system can have bugs or downtime. And nobody is happy to deal with them. That is one of the reasons people like to use what they are already familiar with. Fewer surprises that way and easier troubleshooting. Plus there's the "I use the same system myself" factor.

I don't like mobile apps in general, but I have a particular dislike for Blue Iris's mobile apps. That is why I make sure UI3 works well on mobile devices.

I would recommend disabling Windows updates and Blue Iris updates because those events are when things tend to break, and that is one thing you don't want to have happen to a customer's system that they are relying on. Especially if you end up supporting lots of customers. Imagine if they all had automatic updates turned on. LOL.

Also depending on the business's cybersecurity requirements it is probably best to fully isolate the camera system on its own LAN, with a firewall that allows BI web server and/or remote desktop traffic, but prevents the BI machine from accessing their LAN.

Make it crystal clear that the Blue Iris machine is not to be used as a general purpose computer for other purposes, as that may affect the stability of the system.

 

[Holbs]

Why would the business have different requirements than a home user? What exactly is a business feature in a camera or NVR system? All I can really think of is that they won't be happy to deal with any nasty bugs or downtime. But any system can have bugs or downtime. And nobody is happy to deal with them. That is one of the reasons people like to use what they are already familiar with. Fewer surprises that way and easier troubleshooting. Plus there's the "I use the same system myself" factor.

I don't like mobile apps in general, but I have a particular dislike for Blue Iris's mobile apps. That is why I make sure UI3 works well on mobile devices.

I would recommend disabling Windows updates and Blue Iris updates because those events are when things tend to break, and that is one thing you don't want to have happen to a customer's system that they are relying on. Especially if you end up supporting lots of customers. Imagine if they all had automatic updates turned on. LOL.

Also depending on the business's cybersecurity requirements it is probably best to fully isolate the camera system on its own LAN, with a firewall that allows BI web server and/or remote desktop traffic, but prevents the BI machine from accessing their LAN.

Make it crystal clear that the Blue Iris machine is not to be used as a general purpose computer for other purposes, as that may affect the stability of the system.

While I agree that UI3 is a game changer to anything that is out there, I could see a business customer wanting audible easy to click alerts on their smartphone which would mean the use of BI mobile app.
Unless....someone named bp2008 is working on a mobile UI3
And if you are about to tell me that UI3 already does that....well... I'll feel stupid and happy at the same time.

 

[biggen]

I’ve been using it for years in my retail business. Have about 14 cams. Never had any issues at all. Easy to use and just works.

I did all the cam and network install. Then built out a custom box to house BI. We use UI3 only to view off and onsite. No mobile app at all.

 

[Holbs]

I’ve been using it for years in my retail business. Have about 14 cams. Never had any issues at all. Easy to use and just works.

I did all the cam and network install. Then built out a custom box to house BI. We use UI3 only to view off and onsite. No mobile app at all.

using UI3 offsite....via VPN?

 

[biggen]

using UI3 offsite....via VPN?

Yes. Have three BI installations (my home, father’s home, our business). Each location has a point to point VPN connected to each other location via the routers. So I can access any of my BI sites from anywhere in those three locations seamlessly since the routers handle all the VPN work.

If away from those three location, then I have to use OpenVPN which the routers also have built in.

 

[TonyR]

While I agree that UI3 is a game changer to anything that is out there, I could see a business customer wanting audible easy to click alerts on their smartphone which would mean the use of BI mobile app.

Ah, but IPCT is fortunate to also have @jaydeel ==>> Send Pushover notifications with pictures and hyperlinks

 

[bp2008]

Right now the only way for UI3 to have notifications is through a third-party service as linked above.

I emailed Ken about implementing "Web Push" notifications nearly 3 years ago and never got a response and I did not pursue it further. The main problem is that in order for push registration to work, the registration needs to happen on a page that is hosted from a "secure context", meaning HTTPS. HTTPS without a proper trusted certificate is a completely horrible user experience. You'd have to click through a security warning page every time you wanted to open UI3. Not only is this annoying as hell, but clicking through that all the time would train people to ignore such warnings if they see it anywhere else online, which is bad.

Honestly I could probably hack together something using an external server with proper HTTPS support. Like, you'd click a button in UI3, and it would open a new browser window that loads a web page hosted securely at a subdomain of blueirissoftware.com or github.io or somewhere, and that page would have a Register/Unregister button. Clicking that button would make the browser prompt you for push notification permission, and when you accept it, the page would redirect you back to UI3 and UI3 would send your registration info to Blue Iris. Then when you received a push notification and you clicked it, it would load the service worker for that external page, and that would redirect you to UI3 to view the appropriate alert. I think that would probably work acceptably for most people. But it would be quite a bit of work for me and for Ken, and I have not gotten the slightest hint from Ken that he's interested in pursuing push notifications for UI3.

 

[fenderman]

NXwitness sold as dw ipvms in north america has a cloud service that allows remote access without vpn. Of course you are relying on their service being secure. 80 per camera license however free upgrades/updates for life. NXwitness just released V5.

 

[Mike A.]

Right now the only way for UI3 to have notifications is through a third-party service as linked above...

I noticed that they'd implemented a local push function for Home Assistant the other day. Unfortunately no code shown for this but they do describe the process some. Would something like that work without an external server and certificates and all?

Local Push | Home Assistant Companion Docs

Local Push uses the WebSocket API to deliver notifications to your device instead of using Apple's Push Notification Service or Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging.

companion.home-assistant.io

 

[bp2008]

Nah, a WebSocket would not be very useful for implementing push notifications. They work without HTTPS, but they can only stay connected while the browser window running UI3 is in the foreground, and would not be able to tie into the operating system's notification system. So I'd only be able to "notify" via a toast message or similar, confined to the bounds of the browser's viewport. It would be nearly worthless.

Ken has also shown no interest in implementing WebSocket server support in Blue Iris even though it could have been used 5+ years ago to support H.264 streaming in internet exploder, and two-way audio, and potentially more.

 

[Mike A.]

HA seems to do it without having a web page open. Looking more, apparently it sets up a persistent WebSocket connection between the server and client using native IOS/Android notification capabilities. But you're not running a server with UI3 so having the page up would be the only time it's able to do anything.

 

[Flintstone61]

I just bear hug walked a 91 yr old mother in law having a prolonged dizzy spell to the bathroom...troubles? what troubles?
LOL @ Internet Exploder....needed a grin today,,,,

 

[Flintstone61]

stay on topic Sebastiantombs lol...

 

[sebastiantombs]

Actually that was pretty impressive that you did that. I'm sure it's not in the job description.

 

[Flintstone61]

I have to don the Cape every so often.....Keeps me in good graces....

 

[TonyR]

1.) Staying with what you're comfortable with, like Dahua cameras, is a wise choice when it comes to technology.
2.) Upgrading to Cat6 for the business building's network is a solid decision, providing better support for your 20+ IP cameras.
3.) Your familiarity with Blue Iris is valuable, but it's essential to consider its suitability for a business setting, keeping professional requirements in mind.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood?

 

[Cape Fear]

When are these bots going to learn not to resurrect a necro thread and to stick with current topics? Artificial NoIntelligence...