Spoke to some industry folks and thought about this some more... Initially I was shocked, but I'm no longer worried and predict Ocularis will not only survive, but will continue to improve.

And the phrase "We used to sell OnSSI" will be mentioned by a lot of their former integrator partners...

Good luck finding one that is still in business and not rolled into a larger, more successful competitor. I have not seen an ONSSI dealer in while.

*"ingredient OEM'd" Milestone

Jason, that inability comes with the MPEG--2 CODEC. There was some attempt by NICE to incorporate h.264 but their implementation (and their NVE1008 encoder) was so problematic, we refused to use it and them on anything other than non-critical cameras. The FAST encoders were far more reliable and better-integrated with the VMS. However, the FAST encoders used a Phillips chip that was out of production.

Regarding HD, there were some pretty awful attempts to incorporate IP cameras but each required a specific firmware version that couldn't be changed without designing a new driver.

And then you have Honeywell's laughable attempt to "upgrade" the Alpha VMS by adding their Maxpro "overlay". That went over like a lead baloon ;-O Surprisingly, Honeywell is still selling a modified version of the Alpha product, using the same GUI as the original. From what I've seen, the GUI is the only thing the system has going for it.

Is anyone still using it?

Luckily I was in Colorado last week enjoying myself and didn't see this release until this morning. I'm panicked a little right now, this is different than what we were originally told. As a loyal integrator we fight the fight out here but to some extent a little bit of the ONSSI bashing gets through. That makes it very important to be consistent, if they weren't ready to say they were keeping the brands then tell us it's still under consideration. We've been fighting hard against the competition on new and existing projects, this doesn't help.

New website, one page at a time.

We sell DW Spectrum almost exclusively. 

asking IPVM to evaluate Qognify Visionhub

We're not opposed it but VMS tests take a lot of time and we have not seen a lot of new developments (either tech or business) with Visionhub or Ocularis. Maybe we missed something so happy to hear otherwise but that's the concern.

I rarely run into a new customer that knows much about VMS unless it's a takeover.  Their job is to build widgits, not screw around on IPVM all day and get the scuttlebutt.  In my 20 years customers respond to performance- how a system looks and feels, is it easy to use etc. from the UI side.  The IT people want to know things like domain integration, Active Directory, encryption, security etc.  Each department has a list of questions pertaining to their responsibilities. The only time a customer ever asked me if Milestone used to own ONSSI was regurgitating what a competitor told them.  

Flexing that M&A knowledge again John!

I for one appreciate a loyal customer and am kinda tickled that an obvious competitor can’t understand that

Fair enough, your explanation is they have solutions to offer and my perception is there's blood in the water and the sharks are coming.

Maybe I'm suborn but I'm just not seeing Ocularis as a sinking ship. I do think it's going to change over time. Will I still love it in the future, don't know.