What should I consider when buying a Video Management Solution ?

Efficient video management and integration is an essential part of modern IP based CCTV systems. VMS solutions such as Luxriot EVO allow users advanced levels of integration, functionality and wide support for third party cameras.

Luxriot EVO not only leads the way with many of its features but should also be seriously considered as your choice of Video Management Software based on cost, performance, flexibility and customer focused support. With Luxriot EVO's ergonomic and configurable Monitor software we are confident you will happy with your VMS choice when you choose to Buy Luxriot EVO. Please feel free to order a free copy of our Luxriot EVO Complimentary 16 channel licence which enables you to evaluate the user experience, this is a fully working 16 channel single server, single client connection version of EVO S with some functional limitations.

Below we have listed, what we believe, are some of the key considerations you should evaluate when choosing your IP CCTV Video Management Software (VMS) Solution and we have provided information on how Luxriot EVO satisfies these requirements. We hope this will help guide you through some of the key VMS elements we consider important when considering any VMS system.

Licensing :

Is licensing easy to manage ? Can you delete, add, change and upgrade your channel licences easily ? What is the cost per video channel ? what else is subject to licence ? Some VMS solutions lock licences to device MAC addresses, making in the field changes a little more complex. With Luxriot EVO you can simply delete or disable a channel and add new. You can even retain a channel and its recorded information and replace the device associated with that video channel, retaining data continuity for a given video channel.

EVO Device: Physical device that produces the IP Video data.

EVO Channel: The produced CCTV IP video image.

Luxriot EVO Licensing is based on channels, no other licensing is applied, you can install an unlimited number of monitoring and monitor wall instances.. A single 16 channel IP video encoder will use up to 16 channel licences if they are all enabled.

Luxriot EVO Licensing is easy to manage and upgrade though an online portal with additional options to manage offline registration through small licence config files.

Software Updates :

What software support will I get ? With all software solutions updates, including minor bug fixes will normally be issued, updates often include software enhancements and improvements. When you buy Luxriot EVO you are also provided with a 2 year software update plan, giving you full access to new version releases for 2 years. We keep a version history page providing a summary of EVO updates.

Our shop has options to extend the software updates support either in 2 year blocks or by the purchase of an 8 year support licence. These extension licences are available in our shop and at time of publication cost 12.5% per year of your original software licence for EVO S systems.

EVO Global supports central software updating of servers, clients and monitor wall, a simple upgrade of the server and configuration of installer paths allows for single button press upgrade of all your connected recording servers. Monitoring clients are notified via a pop-up download and install notification ensuring all your EVO systems are software maintained correctly.

Does my VMS limit camera & hardware connectivity :

Hardware: Are there limitations on hardware and connectivity ? Can you deploy multiple networks to both enhance security and segregate remote access connections? How is video streamed to clients and video walls ? Do clients and video displays require additional licensing ? Are there options to Multicast?

Luxriot EVO has all these features (*some features apply to Global only, such as Video Wall), no further licensing is required and you are free to install as many instances of Video Wall and Monitoring clients as you need.

EVO Servers handle video streaming to clients, the data arrives from the video cameras and is forwarded by the server, this is particularly important on systems over wireless where network bandwidth may be limited, avoiding multiple streams being pulled from the camera and loading the network.

Multicast networking options are available with EVO server’s, clients and monitor wall being able to be configured to operate with a local multicasting network. When setting up a multicasting network please ensure your network is correctly configured and your network switches support Multicast traffic.

EVO network topology can support multiple networks allowing segregation of IP traffic; typically Videcom Security recommend 3 core networks, for Cameras , CCTV viewing and thirdly remote support access & internet connectivity for remote viewing. Depending on your server hardware, you can have as many networks as you wish, if using Failover or Server mirroring your network design needs to ensure correct connectivity.

Cameras: What cameras will your VMS support ? VMS solutions typically support ONVIF S profile which allows for the integration of the majority of latest generation IP cameras and video devices. More and more VMS solutions, like EVO, also support Profile G Edge Recording (Camera SD card) integration. Luxriot EVO servers not only support ONVIF S but also more than 4000 named and tested cameras & video devices with many providing deeper levels of camera-server integration, for example; Integration of camera side analytics. Luxriot boast one of the largest named camera integration libraries available along with legacy support, custom configuration, RTSP, MJPeg, Static Image, Video File and Mobile Phone Camera integration.

Camera device HTTP API integration through Events and Actions also allows control of camera functions such as wipers, lights, go to pre-set, start auto tracking from single camera associated button press or other device triggered event.

Standard camera functionality include Bidirectional Audio, Motion detection, I/O Input/output control as well as server side configuration options of video streams main/sub. Some camera model configuration such as Dahua also allow VCA event mapping to Events configurator such as tripwire, object removed, object left and intrusion.

New cameras model configurations are added with most major software updates.

Legacy Telemetry Support : Will your VMS support your existing analogue cameras ? EVO includes support for RS232/RS485/RS422 simplex temetry for a wide range of manufacturers including Pelco P, Pelco D & Panasonic. Videcom also have protocol conversion solutions for other specialised telemetry systems often found in Town and City Centre installations. Telemetry can be delivered over IP using devices such as Moxa serial over IP as well as server serial devices including USB support. Analogue cameras can be integrated using video encoders or server installed video capture cards.

Efficiency :

Efficiency is all about uptime, performance, energy consumption, flexibility, ease of use and maintainability.

EVO S is optimized for 64 Bit Microsoft Windows Operating systems, whilst providing support for mobile IOS & Android clients, Android TV & Chromecast as well as RTMP streaming to live video services such as YouTube and Facebook. The Luxriot EVO server core engine, even with Server Side Motion detection enabled, is extremely efficient and 100s of cameras can be configured onto a single server. There are no restrictions on EVO server hardware, storage capacity or type, for example a common NAS Network Attached Storage device can be used across multiple servers, additional storage devices can also be added at any time. With server software efficiency comes options to reduce hardware server count, reducing system cost and power consumption delivering greener CCTV systems.

Efficiency is also about uptime and availability for your CCTV resources and the protection of your important video data, EVO supports archive replication for off-site data duplication, Failover Record Servers for online takeover in event of failure, Failover responds to server error and manages both video streaming and recording functions, multiple failover servers can be added to a server group. Mirroring of main Global Server and Failover are EVO Global features. There are also options for Failback drives for EVO S and Global allowing for redundancy hard drives to be allocated to recording profiles to allow for single storage device failures.

Cameras can also be manually moved to another server for maintenance and software updating.

Connectivity :

How does your VMS interface with the outside world ? Luxriot EVO includes an API interface allowing connection to third party systems including many access control platforms and other CRVMS, Videcom have worked for example with i-Comply delivering deeper CCTV control room integration. Access to CCTV is available through EVO APPS on mobile, Web, and Apple MAC Thin client as well as Chromecast and support for Android powered smart TV.

Advanced UAC control and audit manages connectivity with users control restriction to access type as well as resource and functionality.

Connectivity with Point of Sale, Access Control and third party systems through configurable RS232, TCIP or UDP connection allows flexible integration to many systems with ability to use data with event and actions as well as record and search on data. Further connectivity is supported by external IP I/O devices.

Again all these functions are included within the single per channel licensing structure.

Hardware & Storage :

What platforms will your VMS work on ? EVO is sold as a software platform design for 64 bit Microsoft Windows (32 bit versions available), there is no limit to the hardware specification or storage used, including JBOD, RAID, NAS.

Luxriot host an online hardware calculator and we strongly recommend you check your system requirements carefully.

Servers configured with Analytics such as VCA, FR and ANPR will require additional processing and memory.

We always recommend 64 bit OS as this provides for greater memory, network & CPU performance. We recommend the use of designed for CCTV disks such as those by Seagate and Western Digital, using very large single disks may slow down overall replay time to load speeds.

When choosing your hardware consider additional redundancy such as Dual PSU, RAID and disk mirroring and Server UPS.

Hardware Reliability and redundancy :

Should I worry about reliability ? There’s a lot of manufacturer information out there about the performance of hardware, with each manufacture recommending their own hardware solution. Generally our advice is to pick a known and trusted brand. The most likely point of system server failure is power supply or hard disk fault, again EVO has you covered with Failover recording servers. Our customers often choose from standard components making replacement of drives and power supplies a quick and easy onsite fix.

Ensure that server hardware is not only fit for purpose, and also complies with Luxriot EVO recommended minimum specification, has all the necessary I/O: For example RS232, Network, USB & CD/DVD. Consider server casing, rack-mount, short form factor, mini servers such as HP G10 are ideal for smaller remote sites with built in RAID and lockable caddy.

Still unsure ?

We have written this article to highlight some of the issues that we believe should be considered when choosing your Video Management Software Solution. We are promoting and encouraging you to Buy Luxriot EVO Software, but please also consider other software solutions. There are solutions that come free with cameras, these tend to be tied closely with brand. There are market leaders with features similar to Luxriot EVO that may suit your site better. As a company that has been involved in the CCTV industry since 1985 Videcom Security have seen many systems come and many systems go. We have, over the years, worked with some of the greats and continue to do so where they meet site requirements . We do though recommend Luxriot EVO to many of our customers as it is as good as we say it is. We also have customers who have chosen to upgrade to EVO after trying other systems and have benefitted from the upgrade with lower life cost and greater system flexibility.

And there's more :

Other areas to consider are analytics, can you add smart functions such as ANPR or Video Content Analytics, can these software tools be further used to enhance searchability of data, trigger automated events and actions and enhance your overall system performance and software value. Integration options such as Luxriot EVO Point of Sale (POS) support using serial data integration again reach out to third party technology, integrating your security needs and providing software tools to manage security tasks. Luxriots Advanced Programming Interface (API), already used by many Access Control System providers, allows third party applications real-time secure access to recorded and live video data, technology working together delivering smarter CCTV solutions.

Summary :

Although each topic covered highlights the features and functionality of Luxriot EVO S and EVO Global, we believe the subjects listed should be included within any evaluation you may carry out when choosing your Video Management Software (VMS) solution for your digital IP video CCTV system. *Some EVO features listed are only available with Luxriot EVO Global, such as Failover, Server Mirroring and Video Wall.