What Are The Benefits And Drawbacks Switching From NVRs To VMS?

We, also, do apartment installs frequently. We try our best to sell them a VMS (DW Spectrum specifically). Not all have the budget to do so, but the ones who do will realize the benefits of the simplicity of a good VMS. NVR/DVR units are much more complicated to use and extract video from. The average apartment manager will have issues navigating them. However, even the most basic user can operate a good VMS client. This will greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to investigate incidents. 

We have one client with many sites that has a mixture of systems. The first one we did was a Dahua based hybrid DVR/NVR. The manager there now is pretty good at using that system, but she still could never match the speed of the manager at another site who has a VMS. The second manager can finish her investigations in a fraction of the time it takes the first site, even though she's had her system for much less time and is not an advanced technology type person. 

Josh, see our recent stats post: VMS Vs NVR Usage Statistics that contains extensive integrator commentary. That post focuses more on the hardware side.

In addition, as JD notes, many prefer the usability of VMS software over NVRs but that's something worth looking at personally.

The other element is advance features. VMSes like Milestone have a lot more advanced features (depth of 3rd party camera integration, 3rd party system integration, rules / events management, video walls, advanced mapping, etc.). Of course, for apartments the benefits might not be as clear.

Trying to sell an apartment community anything other than HIK or Dahua is going to be tough. Not impossible but we lead with Dahua and have had many proposals rejected due to budget. They do not go elsewhere, they just choose nothing...

Apartments seem to be run differently than other businesses. Apartments are investments, with fixed budgets. In a larger organization you have portfolio managers that make sure the ROI meets projections, or investors get upset. And if that means no camera system, then no camera system.

While not true for every community, it seems to be the general SOP here.

Sure Milestone may be a little simpler, but Smart PSS is not that hard to use. The clunkiest part is the dumb scissors on export. On the newest version all the video clips are on the right, so they just select the clip and export. It may take a little longer than Milestone but at what cost? 

Not saying Milestone doesn't have value, just not in apartment communities

Hi Josh,

You're probably looking for more peer responses to this but I thought I'd through in my 2c.

If you choose to switch to Milestone, you can keep using HikVision or switch to another option if needed.  If you want to verify supported models or browse other supported cameras/encoders, you should check our supported hardware list.

The best software version to start with for 48 cameras or less is XProtect Express+ as it is the entry level of our paid product versions, supports add-ons like LPR, access control, and other 3rd party integrations. It is also able to be upgraded in-place to XProtect Professional+, Expert or Corporate with nothing more than a license change. For very small installations you can even start with XProtect Essential+ which is free for up to 8 cameras. If you need to add more cameras later, or add some access control, you can upgrade it by ordering and importing a new license.

Our camera/encoder licensing is on a per-MAC basis, so in a competitive vertical like this, you can minimize the cost of the software by using video encoders. For example, if you went with 4x 16 channel encoders*, you would only be ordering a base license and 4 device licenses despite recording 64 discrete video streams.

Last point I'll make is that if the customer prefers to have a branded appliance instead of putting in a Dell/HP/etc, we have our Milestone Husky NVR series. For up to 32 cameras the Husky M20 would be a good fit.

* Some 16 channel video encoders are effectively 4 video encoders in an enclosure, each with their own IP address and MAC address. These will require 4 licenses as a result. Our supported hardware list has a column showing how many licenses are required for each camera model.

Hi Josh,

Most manufacturer's that have a VMS platform use an NVR. It looks like the main decision you are looking to make is making that change from a single camera view to a Video Management platform that allows multi-camera management from one interface. To make this decision you should look at the licensing costs for each VMS platform as well as their supported camera list. If a 3rd party camera does not work in the VMS it's often times difficult to isolate the problem. The camera manufacturer will point at the VMS while the VMS will often point at the camera. Like others have said, many VMS platforms have a 3rd party camera list but feature sets are similar these days.

    The most important thing to consider when purchasing a camera is to ensure it is OnVif compliant and uses Profile S. Same with a VMS platform. Ensure that it is an open platform that supports OnVif compliance. Many platforms offer different tier levels enabling you to offer a lower tier with limited features to customers with a tighter budget. But, in my opinion the question is not switching from and NVR to a VMS it is deciding which VMS offers the features you are looking for at the right price. The support you get for the product is also important.

I might sound like a homer but VMS platforms like Milestone don't sell cameras so using IndigoVision as an end to end solution is cost effective for the Lite version and also have a GX camera line as well. This allows you to call one support number for your entire solution eliminating the run around for using different manufacturers. 

Thanks,

Danny Vallejo