i had done hrs of research on NxWitness back in the days..... Why did you choose this, and do you like it?
A combination of things:
1. It separates the server from the client. I want my server upstairs in my rack with giant disk space. I want my clients around the house - in the office, in the kitchen, etc. NxW was built from the ground up as a server/client, while BI didn't introduce it until BI5 and requires an extra license for each client.
2. It runs on linux. I already have a ton of Linux servers, a kubernetes lab, server racks, etc. The NxW server is very easily run in a docker environment on a headless machine. No windows required on the server is a huge plus for me.
3. The client is beautiful. The main screen and interface is in my kitchen, which means it better be nice to look at. NxW has the best looking client, imho. OpenGL zooms, transitions, etc.
4. It does what I want, but is extendable. While BI tries to do everything, NxW focuses on the core of being a VMS and allows plugins or integrations for everything else. I can easily integrate it with Home Assistant, Frigate, Deepstack, DoubleTake, MQTT, my own custom software, or whatever else I want. Most of that is handled with simple HTTP calls into and out of the NxW server. It was built with extensibility as a core principle and it shows. I can very easily add a button on the front gate camera feed that says "open gate" that sends an HTTP request to Home Assistant to open the gate. Setting that up takes 3 minutes. I can setup buttons on any feed to do anything I want.
5. The license is a one-time cost per camera, rather than an annual cost per server/client. That works better for me.
Here's a quick sketch of the architecture to get an idea of how NxW fits into my overall security system.
