Blue Iris Support Issues

[Richard Harvey]

Has anyone had issues with getting support from Blue Iris...? I have had a crashing problem now for almost 4 weeks, crashes at least 2-3 times per day. I know that it's only $50 software and that they are a small company but really, this is just crazy. I'm now looking for an alternative solution.

 

[fenderman]

Has anyone had issues with getting support from Blue Iris...? I have had a crashing problem now for almost 4 weeks, crashes at least 2-3 times per day. I know that it's only $50 software and that they are a small company but really, this is just crazy. I'm now looking for an alternative solution.

You likely have an Intel memory leak search the forum... Support is costly, willing to pay 100 per camera license? Blue Iris support is generally very responsive... Remember one guy does it all...

 

[spankdog]

I was having some crashing issues but I believe it was due to the intel video driver like fenderman said. Check your intel video driver version. If you provide the specs on your PC we may be able to help more.

 

[Richard Harvey]

Nope not an Intel issue as I run my BI on a VM running on a very high end MAC. This thing has been bullet proof for way over a year but 3-4 weeks ago this crashing started and I can't get support to do much more than an infrequent try this email response. So far all they have asked me to do was pay for extended support (which I did) and to ensure that the DB and new folders are on local drive with space. Check, done and done but it still crashes daily. The reason for the post is to get a feel for how others deal with this hands off approach to support. Yeah I get that support is expensive but develop a business model and pricing structure that can support it. I would be willing to pay on a per use basis for someone to help me but they don't offer that as an option. So I launch out my emails to them and wait 3 or more days to get a reply. If I get sick of waiting and send another they tell me that that 2nd email puts me at the end of the queue again, that's just bull shit frankly. They don't even have a real trouble ticketing system like real software companies do.

Don't get me wrong, BI is a great application when it works and it did for me for a very long time. But now I need assistance and I'm simply not able to get it from the company that developed and supports it.

 

[fenderman]

Nope not an Intel issue as I run my BI on a VM running on a very high end MAC. This thing has been bullet proof for way over a year but 3-4 weeks ago this crashing started and I can't get support to do much more than an infrequent try this email response. So far all they have asked me to do was pay for extended support (which I did) and to ensure that the DB and new folders are on local drive with space. Check, done and done but it still crashes daily. The reason for the post is to get a feel for how others deal with this hands off approach to support. Yeah I get that support is expensive but develop a business model and pricing structure that can support it. I would be willing to pay on a per use basis for someone to help me but they don't offer that as an option. So I launch out my emails to them and wait 3 or more days to get a reply. If I get sick of waiting and send another they tell me that that 2nd email puts me at the end of the queue again, that's just bull shit frankly. They don't even have a real trouble ticketing system like real software companies do.

Don't get me wrong, BI is a great application when it works and it did for me for a very long time. But now I need assistance and I'm simply not able to get it from the company that developed and supports it.

First, your biggest mistake is running bi in a vm...this is never a good idea for any vms...buy a 300 windows i5-6500 desktop and call it a day.
Second, blue iris is a one man operation. He codes it all himself and handles support himself (it seems he has an assistant to help with minor tech support matters)...
If you are willing to pay for support, then look at milestone and exacq, you will pay 50 or 100 PER camera licencing and get 90 days or 1 year of free support with additional fees thereafter...
The rest of us prefer to pay 60 dollars for BI and use forums like this for immediate support.

 

[hmjgriffon]

Troubleshooting 101, what changed? Programs don't just start crashing for no reason. I really don't see how it would be Blue Iris's fault. Unless you updated the software and now it crashes, it's your problem. Something must have changed, you need to figure out what. This is in a VM, do you ever take snapshots? Might have been a good idea, then you could roll back to when it was working. Like fenderman said, running something like BI in a VM is a bad idea to begin with, the performance is going to suck, and you can have issues because it's using virtual hardware drivers and not real hardware. Without knowing what changed though, I don't think anyone will be able to help you.

 

[Richard Harvey]

Nothing has changed other than the BI updates which I typically accept and install. I do understand that running in any VM is risky but it shouldn't be, VM technology is really very good now. Large companies run mission critical applications on VM's. And again this application has been rock solid for a very long time. I asked support if I could roll back a couple of versions which is where I think this all started but I have yet to hear back from them.

So I guess the original intent of my first post was answered in that most users accept that this $60.00 piece of software (that protects our homes and families in many cases) is not actively supported by the developer and you are all comfortable coming here and getting answers from the other users exclusively.

 

[hmjgriffon]

I believe you can download certain versions somewhere, forgot now, vms are great for lots of stuff, things that need graphics acceleration is not one of them.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[fenderman]

Nothing has changed other than the BI updates which I typically accept and install. I do understand that running in any VM is risky but it shouldn't be, VM technology is really very good now. Large companies run mission critical applications on VM's. And again this application has been rock solid for a very long time. I asked support if I could roll back a couple of versions which is where I think this all started but I have yet to hear back from them.

So I guess the original intent of my first post was answered in that most users accept that this $60.00 piece of software (that protects our homes and families in many cases) is not actively supported by the developer and you are all comfortable coming here and getting answers from the other users exclusively.

You should not be installing updates on a critical systems as they roll out, this is common sense for any product.
You can easily roll back, you should be installing the updates from the website so you have older versions to roll back to. Some users post older versions here. Search dropbox.
The software is actively supported, you can see this in many threads where uses indicate a response from the developer.
Yes most users accept that..they dont want to pay 100 dollars PER camera in licensing then pay a yearly support fee on top of that...if you use basic common sense when setting up blue iris you wont need much support if any...most issues are resolved here quickly...even large software companies use forums as a way to provide support (although ipcamtalk is not affiliated with perspective software)...
So if you want to be stubborn and run your VM for vms because "VM technology is really very good now" and would rather pay for licensing then go ahead...let us know how that works out for you..take a look at avigilon, exacq and milestone...

 

[nbstl68]

My support questions to BI so far have all been responded to eventually by Ken or at least one other individual, but not same day. I went into it not expecting that as this software is kind of a "one man show", although I believe he has a little help now.

My last issue, (My 5321r-Z Dahua Cams getting green screen when attempting to use H.265), Ken even remote into my machine to look at it. This was a few days in between each question \ action\ response which spanned a few weeks as he had time.
Unfortunately he was not able to resolve the problem.
But, in my experience he\they are making reasonable attempts to respond to support needs as best they can with limited resources they have allotted.

 

[Richard Harvey]

One other point, in one of my many searches for answers I came upon a post that indicated that running BI as a service would cause it to re-start if it crashed. Got it running as a service now, just a band-aid for sure but i see it did crash just before noon today but did in fact re-start. The only point is that Ken (or whoever has replied to me from BI) should have suggested that as a way to at least keep it alive while we look for the real answer.

 

[fenderman]

One other point, in one of my many searches for answers I came upon a post that indicated that running BI as a service would cause it to re-start if it crashed. Got it running as a service now, just a band-aid for sure but i see it did crash just before noon today but did in fact re-start. The only point is that Ken (or whoever has replied to me from BI) should have suggested that as a way to at least keep it alive while we look for the real answer.

Seems like you are looking for a babysitter vs support...this is a basic function of blue iris...another method is blue iris tools Blue Iris Tools - Weather Overlay, Watchdog & more!
i would suggest reading the entire help file since you rely on this for your families "security"....

 

[Richard Harvey]

You got that totally backwards Fenderman (do you play guitar), I am more than happy being the babysitter, that's the role I accepted when I choose to install my own surveillance system rather than have a pro do it. I login daily to make sure all is good and to view recordings and other routine stuff. I'm a reasonably technical person and I do enjoy tinkering to a point. Where I get stuck and need support is when there is something wrong that I can't correct within a reasonable amount of time and effort. I can see by the 16k posts you have that your very passionate about BI and are able to dedicate significant time to support your own system and other users that come here for help. I thank you and others like you that can do that. I however do not have that kind of time to dedicate to my system and I have the expectation that a commercial software application that I purchased and have paid extended support on should either work (as it normally has) or be guided by the vendor to help me make it once again, just work. BTW, I purchased my extended support 4 days ago and have not heard a single peep from Ken.

One last point on the Virtual question, I have this running in a VM on a Mac as I stated, I agree that is not a good choice, not because it's a VM at all but the Mac host part is not resilient in my opinion, it's only there because a better solution was not available. I now have a far more robust Virtual Server via a new UNRAID dual Xeon server that is in final testing. Once I have it ready for production I plan to move my BI instance to a Windows 10 VM running on it. I know what your thinking, he has time to stand up the UNRAD box but not to learn about BI, yep but it's taken me 4 months to get it near ready. Can't wait 4 months for BI to work again without crashing 2-3 a day.

 

[fenderman]

You got that totally backwards Fenderman (do you play guitar), I am more than happy being the babysitter, that's the role I accepted when I choose to install my own surveillance system rather than have a pro do it. I login daily to make sure all is good and to view recordings and other routine stuff. I'm a reasonably technical person and I do enjoy tinkering to a point. Where I get stuck and need support is when there is something wrong that I can't correct within a reasonable amount of time and effort. I can see by the 16k posts you have that your very passionate about BI and are able to dedicate significant time to support your own system and other users that come here for help. I thank you and others like you that can do that. I however do not have that kind of time to dedicate to my system and I have the expectation that a commercial software application that I purchased and have paid extended support on should either work (as it normally has) or be guided by the vendor to help me make it once again, just work. BTW, I purchased my extended support 4 days ago and have not heard a single peep from Ken.

It seems that you dont want to do any basic troubleshooting on your own...have you even tried something as simple as reinstalling the software. A 3 minuet job?
I dedicate no time for maintaining my own systems (more than 20). They run as smooth as butter....You know why? I use common sense. I have mentioned this many times, but I will repeat for your benefit.
1) install BI on a DEDICATED machine.
2) CLEAN windows installation
3) DISABLE AUTO UPDATE
4) Update only when you need a new feature or are having issues and ensure that the release has been out for a while.
5) Update via the website so you have older versions of the software to revert back to.
Common sense, but folks dont get it..the same applies to all vms...
So it seems that blue iris is not working out for you...your hand needs to be held..there are many companies who will do that for you in exchange for emptying your wallet. I mentioned them earlier...go for it..
or stop scratching your left ear with your right and and buy a proper windows box and do it right..
also note that extended support does not place you on highest priority.....priority support provides the quickest reponse...
Blue Iris Support

 

[Richard Harvey]

See below ...

1) install BI on a DEDICATED machine. A dedicated VM is acceptable but not dedicated physical hardware, this is 2017 folks, no commercial application should need a physical box. The only thing running in this VM is Blue Iris, it's never used for anything else.
2) CLEAN windows installation This was a clean Windows install back 18 months ago when I first installed BI and I have not done a single Windows update yet.
3) DISABLE AUTO UPDATE Always has been off but guilty as charged on just installing updates as they come when I see the pop up. You call it common sense and I get that but I trusted the developer, maybe too much
4) Update only when you need a new feature or are having issues and ensure that the release has been out for a while. Yeah I get it...
5) Update via the website so you have older versions of the software to revert back to. Didn't know this was an option, I will look into moving back a few versions this way, I did ask Ken but....
Common sense, but folks dont get it..the same applies to all vms...
So it seems that blue iris is not working out for you...your hand needs to be held..there are many companies who will do that for you in exchange for emptying your wallet. I mentioned them earlier...go for it.. Never said that BI didn't work for me, when it works it's great, when it shits the bed multiple times a day, not so good. The entire point of the original post was to better understand if others have had issues with acceptable support from Ken and now I have that answer.

Lastly, I get that your a bit of a fanboy but there is no reason to take offense that someone has a different approach or support expectation than you do.

 

[fenderman]

@Richard Harvey
1. Says the genius who's system keeps crashing...Every VMS should run in a dedicated box...It's more stable...Also you lose hardware acceleration in most instances...
2. Not updating windows could be causing your crashing....
3. This is common sense... Every software package has buggy releases...
5. You need to do this before you have an issue.. only the latest file is available.
Lastly I'm a fanboy because there is nothing else like it at this price point...You are too ignorant of the VMS industry....You paid 60 dollars..Let that sink in...Want more? Pay more...Stop acting like an entitled prick and either learn from others who have more experience than you or buy another VMS..Your original post indicated you want something else..So get something else.. Answer is simple..You are cheap and don't want to spend money ..But you also want Ken to be your personal IT guy because, well, you shelled out an entire 60 dollars..
Get over yourself...

 

[abelmj]

I have usually received a quick response from Ken (within a day or to) of sending an email. I do wish BI would implement a better support service than reliance on email, but these things cost as do staff. If I could get a guaranteed SLA on support turnaround, I would gladly pay for it if it was reasonable.

While we do employ VM servers at work extensively, I know that those VMs are backed by some pretty hefty physical machines - I think IBM Blades that were pretty costly. We have an entire team devoted to VM management to get performance properly tuned when it comes to CPU and memory management. Being not expert in VM, I would not even try implementing it. Instead, I have a devoted i5 refurbed machine that just does my BI.

As for updates, I never do autoupdates to my production box of Windows or anything else. Far too risky. I first apply updates to my Development box, which is close in specs to my Prod box, before I ever apply maintenance to prod after a burn-in period. I also have a backout plan - I've only had to rely on it once. My wifre thinks this is overkill, but its what I'm used to from working in IT.

 

[MrWong]

Has anyone had issues with getting support from Blue Iris...? I have had a crashing problem now for almost 4 weeks, crashes at least 2-3 times per day. I know that it's only $50 software and that they are a small company but really, this is just crazy. I'm now looking for an alternative solution.

I am using LE version and want to upgrade to full version. I sent a email for a few days and no reply. They even do not care about sales. How do you think about support?

 

[fenderman]

I am using LE version and want to upgrade to full version. I sent a email for a few days and no reply. They even do not care about sales. How do you think about support?

There is no "they". Blue iris is one guy. If you are not happy there are a million other vms you can choose from. Buy something else. We all know there is a reason why you want blue iris.