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The lowdown on Milestone’s XProtect 2019 R3 release
As part of a regular update programme, Milestone has released XProtect R3 2019, which contains a number of new features. There’s also a major security update to the Smart Client. This impacts the order this update should be run in your system.
This blog looks at the main features of R3 and what you can do to take advantage of them.
Crucial steps when installing Milestone XProtect for the first time – installation and beyond
Congratulations you’ve purchased Milestone XProtect and have got a Software Licence Code (SLC), what do you do next?
This blog runs through the steps to get you up and running on this powerful video management software. We also cover where to look for help and how to get the best out of your system.
If you haven’t already, take a look at our pre-installation pro tips for advice on how to choose the right hardware to run XProtect on and how to set up your XProtect system. Now your hardware is ready, let’s begin.
Crucial steps when installing Milestone XProtect for the first time – pre-installation pro tips
As the market leader in video management software, Milestone XProtect is packed with features to manage your security surveillance. While this is great once the system is set up, it does mean you need to think about your set up before installation so you can get the most of your software.
So, how can this be done?
The hardware system should, ideally, be designed around your actual requirements. This includes the number of cameras, resolution, frame rate, retention period and number of clients viewing live.
Introducing the Milestone Husky X Series
The new high-performance Milestone Husky X2 and X8 network video recorders (NVR) have arrived. They’re supported by a sporty new look (see the video below) and promise something different from previous Huskys and other NVRs.
So, is the product in the box radically different and crucially, is it worth the money?
How to migrate to Milestone XProtect plus products
Milestone has for several years offered two different VMS systems under the XProtect product banner. These are termed the Business-Ready or Professional range (Essential, Express and Professional) and the Advanced range (Expert and Corporate).
Because these different variants look and are administered differently, as well as having different capabilities, this has always caused some confusion. Additionally, it has meant Milestone has two pieces of software to develop and support and not one.
Recently, however, Milestone has released ‘+’ variants: Essential+, Express+ and Professional+ to resolve this issue and to homogenise their offering, meaning that support becomes easier and the platform as a whole is unified, easier to develop and most importantly, can be clearer to the end user.
Milestone ‘move hardware’ bug fix available
A new patch has been released by Milestone to fix a bug which occurs when the ‘move hardware’ functionality is used. The bug deletes all footage from a moved camera without generating an error, ignoring retention and evidence locks.
This effects XProtect Express+, Professional+, Expert and Corporate from version 2016 (10.0a) to 2018 R2 (12.2a). The fix for this bug is built into the next release, R3 (12.3a).
How to select the right Milestone product
Milestone recording software is a powerful way of analysing and acting on information from connected IP devices. This could be anything from opening a barrier to an authorised vehicle or finding footage from incident which occurred last week. As an open-platform it’s compatible with thousands of different cameras, fantastic if your system has built up over time and is comprised of different makes and models.
What can sometime stump customers is choosing the right XProtect product. There’s an array from the entry level Essential+ up to Corporate, with each one successively expanding the feature set. If you’d like a steer on which might be suitable for your organisation, read on.
How to license Milestone XProtect
Milestone XProtect is a great VMS platform and like any commercially-offered software it is a paid-for product which has a licensing mechanism. In the case of XProtect, licencing can be done both online (with a connection to the Internet on the server with the software installed) or offline.
The process can seem complex, but is actually quite simple. If you’ve bought your software through Network Webcams, we provide you with a guide to licensing along with your licence key (or SLC – Software License Code – as Milestone call it). This blog has been created to help you go through the registration process with ease.
There are a number of things which need to be in place before the XProtect software is installed. Let’s go through the process.
Milestone fix available for potential security vulnerability
If you’ve got Milestone XProtect Corporate, Expert, Professional+, Express+ or Essential+ and it hasn’t been updated recently then your system could be vulnerable.
Milestone have advised that in certain setups where a set of specific ports are open, this can be exploited to achieve elevated user rights and/or interrupt user’s access to the system.
Beyond the Datasheet: Our top IP camera contenders for 2018
Looking back over 2017, we saw continuous growth of the IP camera market with the introduction of new product ranges and interesting technologies. Industry leaders Axis released their first ever, innovatively designed, ‘true’ outdoor-ready CS-mount IP camera and also brought the best-selling M31 Series to the table. Meanwhile, Samsung Wisenet’s P, Q and X ranges were introduced to Network Webcams and we saw Bosch’s new ‘intelligent’ range of IP cameras which feature edge-based, IVA and Essential video analytics. It was also a big year in terms of software, with Milestone releasing two new ‘business-ready’ XProtect products: XProtect Express+ and Professional+. Both of which provide access to a host of advanced Milestone features and allow you to take full advantage of the latest in IP camera technology.
With an abundance of IP cameras available, it can often be a daunting task to choose the right model for your needs. To make things a little easier, we decided to highlight some of the units which we feel could be popular ‘go-to’ choices this year.
