Milestone XProtect is video management software that is powerful and easy to use with a wide range of features for basic to advanced surveillance requirements.
Selecting which XProtect software is most suitable for your needs can be difficult due to the many options that you have. Before choosing your software we recommend thinking about these four points:
Essential+
Express
Express+
Professional
Professional+
Expert
Corporate
Essential+
Essential+ is a free full featured version of the Milestone software that has been specifically designed for small systems with support for up to 8 cameras. So, if you have 8 cameras or fewer then this is the option for you.
*Please note: due to this being a free software version there are limitations, see table below*
You can download the free Essential+ video management software here.
Express Series
The express series has been designed for smaller single-site installations with supports for up to 48 cameras. Within the Express Series you have two VMS options; Express and Express+.
Express
Express is the older of the two software versions and is due to be retired over the next 5 years. In June 2019 the final device pack was released (R2 version) and the product will be terminated in June 2024. Customers can purchase this product until June 2022 with expansion until June 2024. More info can be found here.
Features of Express include:
Express+ was first introduced in 2017 and built upon the capabilities of the Express software and features:
Professional Series
The Professional Series has been designed for mid-sized security systems and can support an unrestricted amount of cameras and servers. Like the Express Series, the Professional Series has two VMS options; Professional and Professional+.
Professional
This is the older version of the software and like the Express software will be retired over the next 5 years. More info can be found here.
Features of this software include:
Like Express+ was introduced in 2017 and again develops on the capabilities of the Professional software. In addition to the Professional features this VMS includes:
There are two other software versions that we have not mentioned, XProtect Expert and XProtect Corporate. These software versions are for larger scale installations, and so require training and specialist knowledge. We do not sell either Expert or Professional, however if you would like further information check out the Milestone website.
See below comparison table:
Now you have all the basic information on the XProtect software you can select which VMS is best suited for your requirement. If you are still unsure feel free to contact us on info@use-ip.co.uk for assistance. Alternatively Milestone offers a Free 30 day trial for all their software. What better way to know you’ve got the right software than to test if for yourself?
Selecting which XProtect software is most suitable for your needs can be difficult due to the many options that you have. Before choosing your software we recommend thinking about these four points:
- How many cameras are there in my system?
- What do I want to get from my VMS?
- Will I be expanding my system?
- Will the installation be spread across multiple sites?
Essential+
Express
Express+
Professional
Professional+
Expert
Corporate
Essential+
Essential+ is a free full featured version of the Milestone software that has been specifically designed for small systems with support for up to 8 cameras. So, if you have 8 cameras or fewer then this is the option for you.
*Please note: due to this being a free software version there are limitations, see table below*
You can download the free Essential+ video management software here.
Express Series
The express series has been designed for smaller single-site installations with supports for up to 48 cameras. Within the Express Series you have two VMS options; Express and Express+.
Express
Express is the older of the two software versions and is due to be retired over the next 5 years. In June 2019 the final device pack was released (R2 version) and the product will be terminated in June 2024. Customers can purchase this product until June 2022 with expansion until June 2024. More info can be found here.
Features of Express include:
- Basic Alarm Management
- Single-layer Map function
- Support for 5 concurrent users
Express+ was first introduced in 2017 and built upon the capabilities of the Express software and features:
- Full Alarm Management
- Multi-layer Map functions
- Support for an unrestricted amount of concurrent users
- H.265 support
- Hardware accelerated video motion detection
Professional Series
The Professional Series has been designed for mid-sized security systems and can support an unrestricted amount of cameras and servers. Like the Express Series, the Professional Series has two VMS options; Professional and Professional+.
Professional
This is the older version of the software and like the Express software will be retired over the next 5 years. More info can be found here.
Features of this software include:
- Support for up to 320 cameras per server
- Multi-layer map functions
- Full alarm management
- Support for multiple servers
Like Express+ was introduced in 2017 and again develops on the capabilities of the Professional software. In addition to the Professional features this VMS includes:
- Support for an unrestricted amount of cameras per server
- The ability to centrally manage multiple servers on multiple sites
- Support for H.265 compression
- Metadata support
- Support for hardware accelerated video motion detection
There are two other software versions that we have not mentioned, XProtect Expert and XProtect Corporate. These software versions are for larger scale installations, and so require training and specialist knowledge. We do not sell either Expert or Professional, however if you would like further information check out the Milestone website.
See below comparison table:
| Essential+ | Express | Express+ | Professional | Professional+ |
Type of Deployment | Single Server | Single Server | Single Server | Multi-Server | Centrally managed, multi-server |
Licensing | Free | Perpetual | Perpetual | Perpetual | Perpetual |
Number of hardware devices per software license | 8 | 48 | 48 | Unrestricted | Unrestricted |
Number of cameras per recording server | 8 | 48 | 48 | 320 | Unrestricted |
Number of recording servers per system | 1 | 1 | 1 | Unrestricted | Unrestricted |
Max Numbers of Users | Unrestricted | 5 | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Unrestricted |
Map Function | ✓ | ✓(single layer) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Third-party integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Centralised management | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
Microsoft Active Directory | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Hardware accelerated video decoding | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
Customer Dashboard | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
XProtect Add-ons | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Alarm Manager | - | ✓(limited) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Bookmarking | - | - | - | - | ✓ |
Edge Storage | - | - | - | - | ✓ |
Smart Map | - | - | - | - | - |
Media database encryption + digital signing | - | - | - | - | - |
Failover recording server | - | - | - | - | - |
Evidence Lock | - | - | - | - | - |
Milestone Interconnect | - | Remote Site | Remote Site | Remote Site | Remote Site |
Push Notifications via mobile | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Now you have all the basic information on the XProtect software you can select which VMS is best suited for your requirement. If you are still unsure feel free to contact us on info@use-ip.co.uk for assistance. Alternatively Milestone offers a Free 30 day trial for all their software. What better way to know you’ve got the right software than to test if for yourself?
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