Subscriber Discussion

VMS Shootouts - Pelco Videoxpert Vs Milestone Xprotect Enterprise

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Sean Cottrell
Jan 12, 2018

Have any shootouts been carried out recently or what are your thoughts on Pelco VideoXpert vs Milestone XProtect

Pelco are pushing hard with there pricing and they appear to have ironed out the bugs and i think now they might be a challenger with support for 3rd party hardware etc.

Has anyone changed over a site from Milestone XProtect to Pelco VideoXpert or the other way and what was the end users impression of both systems.

TH
Truman HW
Jan 14, 2018

Why hasn't anyone jumped in on this thread and provided some answers? I'd love some good reading... 

JH
Jay Hobdy
Jan 14, 2018
IPVMU Certified

Probably because Pelco has very little market share compared to Milestone. Unless there was some very specific feature or function, I could not imagine using Pelco VMS over Milestone.

 

From my understanding, Pelco fell behind the times, didn't adopt to IP etc etc. So they lost some/most of their dealer base.

 

 

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JH
John Honovich
Jan 14, 2018
IPVM

We have not tested VideoXpert so I can't speak to its capabilities nor issues. 

That said, I am glad to hear that they have ironed out the bugs as any new VMS is going to have a lot of things to work through.

I do expect we will test VideoXpert this year.

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Craig Kodish
Jan 15, 2018

John & IPVM community - please let me know if I can help arrange an introduction to VideoXpert (VX). I agree that early VX bugs have been worked out. I also have first-hand knowledge of VX users in the field successfully integrating their IP cameras from a variety of ONVIF compliant cameras.

 

I hope the IPVM community will be impressed with the new VMS that Pelco has created to be competitive in the VMS space.

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Truman HW
Jan 16, 2018

I'm sorry to say, but I see a difference.... I have to buy all Pelco equipment, making this cost about 20x as much.... because it isn't truly open source. 

So while it's nice that you're allowing people to make their own servers, I take it?? forcing your ecosystem at your ecosystems pricing???? is more than a little difference.

To me, it makes the products INCOMPARABLE! 

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Craig Kodish
Jan 16, 2018

I will agree that Pelco's video management software, VideoXpert (aka the ecosystem) is manufactured with a guiding principle to deliver maximum performance from Pelco products (for example, IP cameras). After all, if Pelco doesn't build the ideal ecosystem for its own products, who else will have the motivation to do so? Additionally, Pelco product management develops the VMS platform to offer the flexibility of hosting third-party products like cameras, storage, and video analytic platforms. The Pelco VMS isn't open source by definition because Pelco does not freely distribute the source code but neither does Milestone.

 

I'm having a difficult time envisioning a scenario where you may have received Pelco pricing that was 20x higher than Milestone. Pricing strategy is a huge part of my role at Pelco, as it was when I spent five years on the integrator side supporting Milestone, Genetec, Avigilon, etc. Are you able to support this statement with apples-to-apples quotes that show Pelco pricing 20x higher than a major player like Milestone? If so, perhaps we can work together to find a Pelco reseller that will be able to provide a price that better aligns with current market prices? Feel free to shoot me a DM and we can find a way to ensure you have an optimal pricing strategy for your customers who already demand the Pelco ecosystem.

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Alex Knapik
Jan 14, 2018

One note - I would recommend comparing a product to XProtect Expert or XProtect Professional Plus rather than Enterprise, as Milestone is not releasing *new* versions of Enterprise (product is still fully supported) and recommend those customers move to Expert. 

Milestone customers that currently have Enterprise can migrate to Expert at the same/similar price point. 

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Sean Cottrell
Jan 17, 2018

The client is currently comparing Pelco VX Enterprise against XProtect Professional+. current feedback is they are more comfortable with milestone due to the compatibility mainly the supported device lists.  But Pelco are doing anything to win back market share and get in-trenched into some of these big sites once a product is in it will never change when your talking over 5000 channels etc.   

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Jan 17, 2018

We were one of the first large scale deployments of VideoXpert.  I cannot comment on its current feature set as we ripped it out due to significant performance issues.  Unless there has been monumental improvement I cannot see it comparing to Milestone.

Pelco still follows the legacy model of selling boxes with software preinstalled like they did previously with Endura, Digital Sentry, etc.  These boxes are almost invariably Supermicro whitebox servers so there is no special sauce in the equipment to justify being forced to buy from Pelco.  Because of the forced use of specific hardware I would not classify VideoXpert as a VMS in the way we commonly define it.  If you would prefer to buy from one manufacturer with limited freedom then this product is for you.

Milestone, up until a couple years back, didn’t even sell hardware.  Even now I would prefer to roll my own servers and workstations from HP or Dell in lieu of Mikestone Husky.  With Milestone you are free to tailor your solution to the client.

Pelco really needs to turn their back on trying to push boxes to stay relevant.

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Craig Kodish
Jan 17, 2018

I believe you may be operating on outdated information about VideoXpert. Since the launch of VX 1.0 some years ago, the Pelco video management software has improved and evolved into its current version: 2.1.

 

Furthermore, the Pelco VMS was developed for deployment as either a hardware or software solution. In other words, Pelco has listened to the needs of our partners (including your suggestion to "turn their back on trying to push boxes to stay relevant") and developed a VMS platform that can be deployed on non-Pelco hardware.

 

Since both Milestone and Pelco offer a hardware or software solution for its enterprise VMS, it may be time to consider Pelco's VideoXpert as a suitable replacement for Milestone or any other enterprise VMS.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Jan 18, 2018

Craig, that's good to hear.  The lack of third party equipment compatibility was a major roadblock for me.  I will take a look at it again on a smaller project to test the feature set.

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Craig Kodish
Jan 18, 2018

Feel free to shoot me an email and let me know what part of the world you reside in. I will gladly put you in touch with a local Pelco rep and he/she can arrange a webinar to review the VideoXpert. craig.kodish@schneider-electric.com

U
Undisclosed #3
Jan 18, 2018

It drives me crazy when I look at the Husky data sheet and see processors produced in 2011. Why would you pay a premium for that?

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JH
John Honovich
Jan 19, 2018
IPVM

I do not know what Husky's processors are but I am guessing people interested in Husky are not buying components, they are buying the convenience / security of a kit. It's like people buying frozen dinners. If they had the time and skill they could certainly do better themselves but the frozen dinner saves in other respects important to that type of buyer.

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Undisclosed #3
Jan 19, 2018

If they can't install Milestone on an HP or Dell machine, they'll probably never figure out how to use Milestone.

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Ahmed Mounir
Jan 17, 2018

Hello!

Just a question for those who worked on Pelco Videoxpert, does it integrate other light current systems as access control, or just ONVIF cameras ?

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Craig Kodish
Jan 17, 2018

Good question Ahmed! The answer is yes. VideoXpert was developed to leverage third-party solutions for simplified integrations, including:

  • Event/Alarm Management
  • Analytics
  • License Plate Recognition
  • Point of Sale

All of our integration partners are listed online here:

http://partnerfirst.pelco.com/

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JH
John Honovich
Jan 18, 2018
IPVM

Craig, question. When I go to the partner page and filter for VideoXpert, it lists all partners. Is there a way to filter which are specifically for access control or PoS, etc. vs cameras? 

Page view for me, showing all:

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Craig Kodish
Jan 18, 2018

Thanks for taking an interest in this conversation John! 

Once you navigate to partnerfirst.pelco.com there is a drop down to filter the areas you mentioned (see screen capture below). Once the filter is in place you can navigate into the 3rd party manufacturer details to see specifically which Pelco products support the integration.

 

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Jan 17, 2018

Hello,

An Access Control product by Schneider Electric, called AccessXpert (or AX for short), integrates with VideoXpert (VX).  AX is actually an OEM-branded version of the Feenics cloud-based access control system and is sold through Schneider branches as well as independent partners.

 

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Will Doherty
Jan 17, 2018
Liberty Consulting, Inc • IPVMU Certified

I do not have first hand experience with VideoXpert however I met with a client three months ago who has a large VideoXpert installation across multiple buildings.  They said that Pelco did a great job ironing out the previous version issues, it now works great, they love it and they integrate it with the building automation systems.  They also commented it was cost effective.  The person I was speaking with had intimate knowledge technically and from a budgeting/management side of the house.  

I took this as good news for Pelco and I am interested to see how the complete Schneider portfolio plays out in the coming years as security becomes more and more integrated to building automation and control.  

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Craig Kodish
Jan 18, 2018

Thanks for the positive words, Will. It's nice to hear feedback that is based on current points of view. You wouldn't believe how often I still hear "current" stories that are based on events that were resolved 5-10 years ago.

 

If you would like to speak with a local Pelco representative for a deeper look into our platform please let me know and I will gladly arrange an introduction.

U
Undisclosed #3
Jan 18, 2018

One of the things I consider important in VMS is the integration of edge analytics. Why would a camera manufacturer make the investment in their VMS to strengthen the integration of another camera manufacturer's analytics? We support ONVIF. (translation- use flakey RTSP stream, probably won't use edge motion detection and definitely not anything beyond that). 

 

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UE
Undisclosed End User #4
Jan 18, 2018

When others ask me what VMS to select, I tell them to always select a market share leader that will be around the longest. Easier said than done.

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Craig Kodish
Jan 18, 2018

Beyond just Pelco customers, the VMS market as a whole demonstrates a desire to make their own choice for selecting customer specific analytics. By integrating Pelco cameras with 3rd party analytics within a Pelco VMS, clients are provided the ability to select the analytics offering that meets both budget and functionality constraints.

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U
Undisclosed #3
Jan 19, 2018

Ok, what if I want to use a free analytic embedded in the camera, using the available processing at the edge? Like Bosch IVA or Hanwha audio classifications? What does Axis offer again?

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