Why Choose a Video Management System?

If you use camera surveillance, you must determine, among other things, whether and how you are going to store the camera images.
Basically, there are two options: a Network Video Recorder (NVR) or a Video Management System (VMS).
A VMS is often preferred, mainly because of its enormous flexibility and therefore its future-proofing. Video Management Systems are software solutions, usually developed by an independent software developer, who focuses entirely on creating software to record camera images from security cameras; preferably from all camera types and manufacturers.
In a VMS, the functions and intelligence of the cameras are usually also integrated.
A Network Video Recorder records the signal from the IP cameras directly.
On the back of this recorder there are often several network ports to which the cameras can be connected.
The number of ports determines the number of cameras that can be connected.
Despite the use and development of the ONVIF protocol, an NVR from one brand does not always work with the camera of another brand.
And certainly not with the intelligence in the camera.
The best part is that the NVR and the cameras connected to it are from the same brand.

A VMS offers freedom of choice

The choice of security cameras is huge and the range is constantly changing.
Which camera is best for you depends on your goals and the conditions on site.
In practice, this means that you can have different cameras for different purposes or in different positions.
Even from different brands.
Because of the need for freedom of choice, a Video Management System is often the best solution.

Safe and manageable

A VMS works on a PC or server with a Windows operating system.
As a result, a lot is possible when it comes to software and network security.
For example, management and security can take place via VPN connections and other forms of network management.
After all, the cameras are included in a standardized IP network.
And since the VMS software is based on Windows, it can also be integrated into your existing server park by means of virtualization.

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Suitable for small and large systems

A VMS has no restrictions when it comes to the number of cameras and users that can be connected.
The software is suitable for systems with a limited number of cameras as well as for systems with tens of thousands of cameras.
The number of licenses required and the size of the servers is determined by the size of the total system.

Up-to-date and future-proof

Through software updates, a VMS remains up-to-date and future-proof.
Thanks to developments in ease of use and integrations with other systems, such as burglar alarm systems and access control systems, a VMS is also very flexible.
A VMS also has a variety of own or third-party add-ons that can be added at the time of purchase or later if they are not (yet) in the camera.
This includes license plate registration, facial recognition or detection, person detection and crowd detection.
If you want to expand your camera system, you can easily purchase new licenses.
If it is necessary to expand your image storage, this can easily be done with additional servers or, for example, storage in the Cloud.

More bang for your buck

If you want to be flexible and always be able to choose the most suitable camera for your objectives or circumstances, a VMS offers the most possibilities.
Although an NVR is cheaper and simpler, the question is whether this is still the case in the longer term.
When choosing a VMS, make sure that you have or obtain sufficient knowledge in the field of this type of software and network architecture.

A bit of history Initially, there were only analog cameras.
The recordings were sent to a timelapse recorder with a PAL or NTSC signal.
It still worked with VHS tapes that had to be changed every other day.
The timelapse recorder was finally digitized first, we got a Digital Video Recorder (DVR).
The VHS tapes were replaced by hard drives.
The software in the DVR converted the analog PAL signal into a codec-based digital stream at a number of frames per second.
First with Motion JPEG (filmstrips of digital photos), later with MPEG2 (DVD) and MPEG4.
Recording footage from different brands and types of cameras was not a problem at the time.
Each camera gave PAL or NTSC signals.
There was no other option.
The advent of the digital CMOS chip (megapixels) in cameras changed a lot.
The cameras themselves became digital and sent out a stream directly over the IP network, based on a codec.
However, the signal from the different brands was not universal.
The stream required a software-based ‘handshake’ that differed by brand.
The ONVIF protocol and the use of an RTPS stream did provide an improvement.
Unfortunately, there are still differences in the signals of the various brands of cameras and certain functions (such as analytics) are not always covered by this protocol.
At the moment, several manufacturers are working together in the Open Security & Safety Alliance on a uniform, Android-like, platform for cameras.
The goal of this alliance is that in the future 3rd party analytics add-ons can easily be added to cameras and that uniform communication can be done with recording devices.