Ok to purchase BI from ebay?

[TahoeJeff]

I'm finally going to upgrade to bi 5. Have been running v4 for a few years. I see ebay sellers listing it for around $55. Is this for a valid license? Why is it listed for sale on here for $62?
Does a v5 license only last for 1 year, or is it just support that expires?
I'm doing the upgrade because I picked up a newer pc from ebay after reading suggestions on here, and can't get v4 to work.

 

[MikeLud1]

To upgrade from v4 to v5 you do not need to purchase a new license. Just purchase support

Home - Blue Iris Software

Innovative Video Management Software (VMS) to record up to 64 cameras, both IP and analog. Keep an eye on your home, place of business & valuables.

blueirissoftware.com

 

[TahoeJeff]

To upgrade from v4 to v5 you do not need to purchase a new license. Just purchase support

Home - Blue Iris Software

Innovative Video Management Software (VMS) to record up to 64 cameras, both IP and analog. Keep an eye on your home, place of business & valuables.

blueirissoftware.com

View attachment 169761

So that's $35 or $40. Does the software continue to work after 1 year? And I do have a valid v4 license, but can't get it installed with that license. Are these options still available with that limitation?
Edit: Actually, v4 is still running fine on the old laptop. So I should be able to upgrade on that install before moving it to the new refurb?

 

[Rob2020]

Buy it from the IPCamtalk store. That is small change to support a site that will readily come to your aid when you have a technical hiccup. The savings difference is small to support this great site.

The software continues to work after one year, you no longer receive the latest greatest update.

Example: At the end of year one I renewed my BI license, I needed my license key and other info, it was readily available and on file from this site here where I purchased my license.

 

[bp2008]

Does the software continue to work after 1 year?

Yes. The way it works is, you can run indefinitely any version of Blue Iris that is released before the expiration of your support & maintenance plan. New BI 5 licenses come with 1 year of support & maintenance.

If you try to run a Blue Iris version that was released after your support expiration, then it will be in evaluation mode (big text watermark across all your cameras).

And I do have a valid v4 license, but can't get it installed with that license. Are these options still available with that limitation?

What do you mean you can't get it installed with that license?

 

[MikeLud1]

Buy it from the IPCamtalk store. That is small change to support a site that will readily come to your aid when you have a technical hiccup. The savings difference is small to support this great site.

The software continues to work after one year, you no longer receive the latest greatest update.

Example: At the end of year one I renewed my BI license, I needed my license key and other info, it was readily available and on file from this site here where I purchased my license.

There is a whole threaded on migrating to V5

Blue Iris 4 to 5 Migration Guide

Blue Iris 5 was released on May 31, 2019. This is a guide for how to upgrade from Blue Iris 4 to Blue Iris 5. When following this procedure, your existing Blue Iris 4 license key will be upgraded to a Blue Iris 5 license and you will not receive a new Blue Iris 5 license key. Step 0) Consider...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

So I should be able to upgrade on that install before moving it to the new refurb?

After buying the latest license, simply install the newest version on the refurb. Be sure to deactivate your current instance of BI before attempting to activate the install on the refurb

 

[TahoeJeff]

Yes. The way it works is, you can run indefinitely any version of Blue Iris that is released before the expiration of your support & maintenance plan. New BI 5 licenses come with 1 year of support & maintenance.

If you try to run a Blue Iris version that was released after your support expiration, then it will be in evaluation mode (big text watermark across all your cameras).



What do you mean you can't get it installed with that license?

I was installing it on the new refurb from the dvd I purchased a few years ago. Then it asked if I wanted to install the v4 update. I said yes, but never saw it update. Then I tried importing my settings from the old laptop, and bi wasn't happy. Wouldn't run.

 

[bp2008]

Then it asked if I wanted to install the v4 update.

I am not sure what this means exactly. But I am fairly certain Blue Iris has never been able to self-update from one major version to the next. It may prompt you about version 5 being available, but it is just to notify you.

Then I tried importing my settings from the old laptop, and bi wasn't happy. Wouldn't run.

Importing registry settings from another machine will typically break its activation status because the activation details in the registry backup do not match the new machine's hardware. It shouldn't cause a newer Blue Iris version to not run however unless the registry backup was corrupted somehow.

I think if you have a BI v4 license that you want to upgrade to v5, you need to have Blue Iris 4 already activated. Then you buy a support & maintenance key. Then you use Blue Iris 4's settings window to apply the new support & maintenance key. This upgrades your original Blue Iris 4 license code by setting its support & maintenance expiration date to 1 year after the day you apply the support & maintenance key. The original Blue Iris 4 license code can then be used to activate the latest version of Blue Iris 5 and any updated versions released within the next 1 year.

 

[TahoeJeff]

I am not sure what this means exactly. But I am fairly certain Blue Iris has never been able to self-update from one major version to the next. It may prompt you about version 5 being available, but it is just to notify you.



Importing registry settings from another machine will typically break its activation status because the activation details in the registry backup do not match the new machine's hardware. It shouldn't cause a newer Blue Iris version to not run however unless the registry backup was corrupted somehow.

I think if you have a BI v4 license that you want to upgrade to v5, you need to have Blue Iris 4 already activated. Then you buy a support & maintenance key. Then you use Blue Iris 4's settings window to apply the new support & maintenance key. This upgrades your original Blue Iris 4 license code by setting its support & maintenance expiration date to 1 year after the day you apply the support & maintenance key. The original Blue Iris 4 license code can then be used to activate the latest version of Blue Iris 5 and any updated versions released within the next 1 year.

Thank you. I will purchase the upgrade key on the old laptop. Hoping the cpu can handle it. It has been running 80-100% on v4. Then I install v5 on the new refurb, and have to reinstall all 9 cameras? The backup likely won't work?

 

[The Automation Guy]

Thank you. I will purchase the upgrade key on the old laptop. Hoping the cpu can handle it. It has been running 80-100% on v4. Then I install v5 on the new refurb, and have to reinstall all 9 cameras? The backup likely won't work?

Actually if use utilize "Sub streams" (which is a new feature set in V5), your CPU usage will actually drop dramatically. Your recordings will still be "main stream" quality, but the rest of BI will use the lower resolution versions to do everything else (motion detection, etc). Because this processing is being done on much fewer pixels due to the lower resolution, the CPU power needed to process things actually goes down.

 

[TahoeJeff]

I turned off 'run as service' on the old install in preparation to do the upgrade. Now I get the error pictured, and can't even run it in demo because it says I have zero days remaining on the demo.

 

[bp2008]

If you contact Blue Iris support via the email address shown, they can reset your license key for you. If you already purchased the support extension, they may be able to apply it for you as well so that you don't have to activate BI v4 again.

 

[TahoeJeff]

If you contact Blue Iris support via the email address shown, they can reset your license key for you. If you already purchased the support extension, they may be able to apply it for you as well so that you don't have to activate BI v4 again.

I did write them right away, with my license key. Will see how responsive they are. No, didn't purchase the extension yet.
Edit: Could I just purchase here without waiting to hear from support? Home - Blue Iris Software

 

[fenderman]

So that's $35 or $40. Does the software continue to work after 1 year? And I do have a valid v4 license, but can't get it installed with that license. Are these options still available with that limitation?
Edit: Actually, v4 is still running fine on the old laptop. So I should be able to upgrade on that install before moving it to the new refurb?

The software will continue to work indefinitely with one caveat (and this has always been the case). Push notifications to the IOS mobile app (i dont believe this applies to android but I may be wrong) requires a certificate that must be updated in the software once a year. So if you no longer receive updates to the software at some point your ability to receive push notifications via the mobile app will stop. Many here use pushover anyway which makes this irrelevant.

 

[TahoeJeff]

Is it normal to go 24 hours without a response to an email to support? I miss my BI!

 

[looney2ns]

Is it normal to go 24 hours without a response to an email to support? I miss my BI!

Yes, it's basically a one man shop, and sometimes it takes some time to get a response.
Be certain you are emailing support by the method described in the Blue Iris help file.