Recording software

[Heimir]

Hey,

New to the forum.
Looking for some advice.

I will have 4-6 cameras.
Something like Hikvision DS-2CD2032 running at 3mp.

The question is about recording and software.
I would like to run the recording software in a Hyper-V virtual machine.
The OS can be Windows7/8 or Windows server 20xx.

I would like to be only record on motion or and alerts.
I want to access the server remotely and via Iphone.

I don’t mind paying a bit for the software but its all trade offs.
I see many use Blue Iris but it seems to be requiring quite a bit of CPU power.

Milestone is a few hundred bucks I think but I don’t know anything about the software.
I think it uses less CPU but I have no idea how it will do in a VM. Memory isn’t really that much of a problem but less is always better.

My understanding (and its not much, im new to this) is that some recording software can use the features of the camera instead of analyzing the video stream. When they can that they use much less resources. Someone maybe could chime in on this one please.

I have a serer already running and don’t really want to add another box if I don’t have too.


Any suggestions here?

H

 

[Razer]

I use Exacq - it will be okay in a VM and it uses the cameras recording features so when I have a 22 camera system and the client is closed it uses 2-3% CPU on an i3 with 4-8gb of ram of which it uses almost none. As a second benefit they have iOS and Android apps and they also have a full featured web client so you can access your cameras from any web browser. These features are included in the basic price, no add on fees for those. I have tested IE, Firefox, Opera and Chrome with no issues. It uses by far the least CPU and memory of the ones I have tried and I have tried a bunch. The software also supports a TON of cameras. I also only record on motion, HIKs motion detection is the best I have used so far anyway.

You are thinking correctly, software that does all the work on the camera side is much more efficient on the computer. That is one reason I went with Exacq, the software cost more but I do not have the time or energy to keep 90 high end, hot, energy sucking computers going lol, it is much easier to be able to use any machine I want. I have 10-12 camera systems running on 7 year old Celerons with no issue with Exacq. I also use a ton of Hikvision cameras, they work very well.

If you are only doing one site then the basic software is $50 per camera for the first year and $10 extra for each additional year of updates you want. There is no need for updates if you don't want but if you tried to add new cameras 6 years down the road and they were not supported before you'd have to update to use the new ones of course. Still, for $360 you could have the software for 4 cameras and updates for 5 years. Or, you could just spend $200 and just get a year of updates and not worry about running the latest and greatest. I have let my systems older than three years expire as by the time I want to use a camera that is not supported it will be 2-4 years down the road and I'll just be replacing the whole machine by then anyway.

I have roughly 90 Exacq systems and 1100 cameras on them so if you have questions please just ask, happy to assist as I can anyway.

 

[Heimir]

Hey,

Thank you so much for your response.
Its very helpful.
I will look into Exacq.
do you know if they have a trial or maybe suggestion on where to buy?

H.

 

[lgRich]

I have 4 cameras running at 1920x1080, 30Fps and I use BI and Milestone XProtect (free)…

The CPUusage is : 50% for BI and only 2% for Milestone.

The MilestoneClient for Windows and IOS is great and BI is poor.

Milestone is very stable and not buggy like BI with a weekly update.

So, I suggest-you to give a try to Milestone XProtect and see by yourself…
http://www.milestonesys.com/our-products/product-index/

 

[fenderman]

I have 4 cameras running at 1920x1080, 30Fps and I use BI and Milestone XProtect (free)…

The CPUusage is : 50% for BI and only 2% for Milestone.

The MilestoneClient for Windows and IOS is great and BI is poor.

Milestone is very stable and not buggy like BI with a weekly update.

So, I suggest-you to give a try to Milestone XProtect and see by yourself…
http://www.milestonesys.com/our-products/product-index/

Are you using direct to disc on blue iris-that is the fair comparison because milestone is recording direct to disc as well..though blue iris cpu use will be much higher...
Blue iris updates generally dont reflect bugs but rather new features...for most folks there is no reason to update every time a new version is released..if everything is working fine leave it alone unless you need the new feature...I have 20+ machines running blue iris all super stable, the only time i have to restart blue iris is when applying windows updates...many of my machines are running 100+ days stable until I reboot for an update..

 

[Heimir]

Will try that one too.
Thank you so much.
Very helpful info.

I have 4 cameras running at 1920x1080, 30Fps and I use BI and Milestone XProtect (free)…

The CPUusage is : 50% for BI and only 2% for Milestone.

The MilestoneClient for Windows and IOS is great and BI is poor.

Milestone is very stable and not buggy like BI with a weekly update.

So, I suggest-you to give a try to Milestone XProtect and see by yourself…
http://www.milestonesys.com/our-products/product-index/

 

[lgRich]

Are you using direct to disc on blue iris-that is the fair comparison because milestone is recording direct to disc as well..though blue iris cpu use will be much higher...

Yes I use direct to disk.

Blue iris updates generally dont reflect bugs but rather new features...for most folks there is no reason to update every time a new version is released..if everything is working fine leave it alone unless you need the new feature...I have 20+ machines running blue iris all super stable, the only time i have to restart blue iris is when applying windows updates...many of my machines are running 100+ days stable until I reboot for an update..

I am sticky with BI 3.66 and I have waiting during very longtime for new client feature…
Also I am not a big fan to update each time a new version is release… I read carefully before and I wait for a stable version…

I have also give a try to the new BI 4 at the beginning of the year and for me this new version do not justify the cost for the upgrade.

I read daily all the topic on the BI forum and this-is why I said “BI is buggy”

 

[fenderman]

Yes I use direct to disk.



I am sticky with BI 3.66 and I have waiting during very longtime for new client feature…
Also I am not a big fan to update each time a new version is release… I read carefully before and I wait for a stable version…

I have also give a try to the new BI 4 at the beginning of the year and for me this new version do not justify the cost for the upgrade.

I read daily all the topic on the BI forum and this-is why I said “BI is buggy”

Every software has issues reading forum posts is not a good gauge to determine reliability...milestone has the same posts on their forums...blue iris is even more prone to folks having issues because its more commonly used by network novices...most of the problems are improper setup..After the initial issues when v4 was release, v4 has become super stable. The key to a stable system for ANY vms is a clean windows install, with all the updates on a dedicated system..like I said I have over 20 systems running some v3 some v4..I dont think its a coincidence that they are trouble free.
There is nothing out there that comes close to the functionality at the price point particularly considering that the upgrade cycle appears to be about three years--the others will charge you for every update, the 30 dollars charged by blue iris for the update is a joke and is practically free.
I personally would rather have more updates available than less this give me the choice of upgrading if I want to...not waiting months for feature improvements or bug fixes...I see this complaint about other software and apps like ipcamviewer but I prefer the updates..
To get simple features with milestone like recording to nas or two way audio you need to go to their 100 or 150 dollar per camera license...their free version is ok for very basic recording and if you dont need it for more than 5 days...

 

[cyberwolf_uk]

Every software has issues reading forum posts is not a good gauge to determine reliability...milestone has the same posts on their forums...blue iris is even more prone to folks having issues because its more commonly used by network novices...most of the problems are improper setup..After the initial issues when v4 was release, v4 has become super stable. The key to a stable system for ANY vms is a clean windows install, with all the updates on a dedicated system..like I said I have over 20 systems running some v3 some v4..I dont think its a coincidence that they are trouble free.
There is nothing out there that comes close to the functionality at the price point particularly considering that the upgrade cycle appears to be about three years--the others will charge you for every update, the 30 dollars charged by blue iris for the update is a joke and is practically free.
I personally would rather have more updates available than less this give me the choice of upgrading if I want to...not waiting months for feature improvements or bug fixes...I see this complaint about other software and apps like ipcamviewer but I prefer the updates..
To get simple features with milestone like recording to nas or two way audio you need to go to their 100 or 150 dollar per camera license...their free version is ok for very basic recording and if you dont need it for more than 5 days...

:applause: Couldn't have said it better my friend. I would pay $100 for BI well worth it!

 

[Heimir]

Every software has issues reading forum posts is not a good gauge to determine reliability...milestone has the same posts on their forums...blue iris is even more prone to folks having issues because its more commonly used by network novices...most of the problems are improper setup..After the initial issues when v4 was release, v4 has become super stable. The key to a stable system for ANY vms is a clean windows install, with all the updates on a dedicated system..like I said I have over 20 systems running some v3 some v4..I dont think its a coincidence that they are trouble free.
There is nothing out there that comes close to the functionality at the price point particularly considering that the upgrade cycle appears to be about three years--the others will charge you for every update, the 30 dollars charged by blue iris for the update is a joke and is practically free.
I personally would rather have more updates available than less this give me the choice of upgrading if I want to...not waiting months for feature improvements or bug fixes...I see this complaint about other software and apps like ipcamviewer but I prefer the updates..
To get simple features with milestone like recording to nas or two way audio you need to go to their 100 or 150 dollar per camera license...their free version is ok for very basic recording and if you dont need it for more than 5 days...

I really dont want to have another server dedicated for recording.
The cost of a server plus the cost of electricity adds up.
Seeing how high cpu utilization is on fast processors like an I7 makes me this software will perform poorly on a virtual machine.

So spending 300 bucks on software or spending 300 bucks on hardware, I rather spend it on software in this case.

Or maybe not - I have no idea, still learning

But thank you for your input. its really helpful.

 

[fenderman]

I really dont want to have another server dedicated for recording.
The cost of a server plus the cost of electricity adds up.
Seeing how high cpu utilization is on fast processors like an I7 makes me this software will perform poorly on a virtual machine.

So spending 300 bucks on software or spending 300 bucks on hardware, I rather spend it on software in this case.

Or maybe not - I have no idea, still learning

But thank you for your input. its really helpful.

It really all depends on your needs...if you are running all hikvision, then use use ivms..its free and low on resources..
CPU utilization of blue iris is higher than most other vms applications but its not that high..For example, i have 8 cams totaling 22mp using about 17% cpu on an i7-4770...i5-3470s with 12mp total using about 30 percent..Both are using 15-20fps rates and actively displaying the cameras to a monitor which uses more power. You simply need to use the direct to disc option...
My problem with the per license software is that they charge you a fee when a new version comes out...blue iris has about a 3 year cycle and the upgrade fee was 30 dollars total regardless of cameras...
If the basic functions of milestone or exacq are sufficient for your needs i say just use the 50 dollar license so you can run it on your current server...but if you have to pay 100-150 per license to get the features you need then it becomes questionable...
Keep in mind that blue iris can use in camera motion detection on hikvision cameras that have an external alarm output (you dont have to actually use the output but it you need to have it) such as the 2132F-IS, 2532IS, 2632IS, 2732IS...as well as axis and mobotix cameras..Not sure how this affects the overall cpu usage..
Also using server side motion detection does come with significant benefits...I can have various detection levels/settings for day vs. night (relative to sunset and sunrise times), home vs. away, alerts vs. recording and so on..
I would buy the cameras then test the various options and see which you prefer...not that if you are looking at the 2032, consider the 2332 turret as an alternative with better night vision and aesthetics.

 

[Razer]

Hey,

Thank you so much for your response.
Its very helpful.
I will look into Exacq.
do you know if they have a trial or maybe suggestion on where to buy?

H.

Yes sir, you can get a demo from them by filling out some info online, but if you want a demo you can contact me and I can give you the password for downloading the software. The software will be fully functional for one camera with no limit, but you cannot upgrade and the like it is stuck where you get it for the start. Still great to play with if you already have a camera running! Send me a PM if you'd prefer, or online form whatever you prefer!

 

[rado3105]

I have hikvision cams, 3. I have running windows server 2008r2. I have intel j1900 quadcore CPU. The average CPU usage of blueiris was more than 90%. When I wanted to enable motion detect - this was not possible..propably because it is very CPU hungry.
Also web interface is very bad. Application for mobile is quite good, but you must pay for every app for every mobile around 8Eur.
Now I want to try xprotect...also ivms.