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Will IP Video Software Become Free?
by John Honovich, IPVM posted on May 31, 2010 About John Contact JohnIn the past, video management was quite expensive. Now, increasingly, it is becoming free.
Just a few years ago, it was commonplace for a 16 channel DVR to cost $10,000 USD. Today, many manufacturers give the software for free and allow you to use it with regular PCs and cheap consumer storage, totaling $2,000.
The trend of free IP Video Surveillance software is global with companies as diverse as ACTi, Cisco, IndigoVision, Mobotix and Vicon offering substantial (or unlimited) free IP video software licenses.
However, this is still the minority and almost all of these manufacturers limit the free software for use with their own cameras. As such, the value of using free IP video software is debated today.
Certainly, there's a trend. The question, then, is how will this trend evolve? I think this trend will accelerate and become an even more important force within the market.
[Update: Summer 2010 - Milestone has released a free though handicapped VMS offering.]
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