New user questions - messages displayed (license, codec)

[jaspersk]

I am wondering if I should be concerned about the following messages I see on the client. My configuration is Xeoma Standard installed on a VPS monitoring 1 Dahua 2mp behind a firewall using port forwarding on my router. I am brand new to security cameras and Xeoma.

Either permanent internet access or standalone activation server (a physical machine) in the local network is required to activate licenses on this machine.

This always dispays when I open the client for the first time. I am running the VPS on Linode so it has permanent internet access. I can disregard this message right?

High Processor Load

followed a second later by

Processor Load Normalized

This happens once a minute due to a cron job for an unrelated service. (I am trying to troubleshoot that separately). Is this the reason I see a little grey bar in the playback window every minute?

In case of issues with recording and/or playback, please increase the stream bitrate or turn off the "Smart codec".

My camera is using H265 with smart codec turned on. Bit rate is set to VBR. I did this to minimize bandwidth and more importantly maximize storage. I do see some grey screen when I first switch to live view but that goes away pretty quickly. I don't think it is causing a problem on playback from archive.


In general, I like the software quite a bit. It was really easy to install on a headless linux and the instructions were straightforward. It took me a bit to figure out which ports to forward in order to see the camera. I am not sure how to find a camera once I go to two cameras (short of paying for repeater service) but I'll cross that bridge once I have a second camera.

Minor opportunities for improvement:
-When viewing the live stream, the message "click on the right place to zoom that part of the picture..." overlaps with the warning messages above. It would be helpful to offset the position of the warning messages when zoom message is displayed.
-It would be nice if the web module better mirrored the functionality of the client. For example, my setup only records when there is motion. I like how client shows that motion/recording on a timeline. That view would be nice in the web module. Also the setup seemed to be missing some of the elegance of the client. Not a big deal though.
-Keep the password stored (or enable login with fingerprint) in the iOs app. I hate putting in the password every time I open the app.
-Offer "client only" executable. It created confusion the first time I launched the executable since it wanted to run a full server until I configured remote connection. Not a big deal but might be nice for new people just getting started.

[Admin_P]

Hello! Thank you for choosing Xeoma and welcome aboard.

I can disregard this message right?

Correct, this serves as a reminder for all who use Virtual Machines.

Is this the reason I see a little grey bar in the playback window every minute?

Correct, this is the result of "Problems Detector" working - it marks the archive's timeline when a problem was detected with grey color.

I do see some grey screen when I first switch to live view but that goes away pretty quickly. I don't think it is causing a problem on playback from archive.

Good, then you can ignore this one too. Smart Codes is a relatively new type of encoding and we are working on its full integration.

I am not sure how to find a camera once I go to two cameras (short of paying for repeater service) but I'll cross that bridge once I have a second camera.

If the second camera is going to be connected to the same router, you can do the same forwarding procedure for it as you did for the first one. The only difference is to forward its ports to any other ports, e.g. forward 80 to 12380 and then search the camera in Xeoma using port 12380.

-When viewing the live stream, the message "click on the right place to zoom that part of the picture..." overlaps with the warning messages above.

Thanks, we'll fix that.

-It would be nice if the web module better mirrored the functionality of the client.

Yes, this has already been added to the Development Plan. We aim to polish the web interface further.

-Keep the password stored (or enable login with fingerprint) in the iOs app. I hate putting in the password every time I open the app.

iOS keeps the passwords in the history (three dots on the right).

-Offer "client only" executable.

Xeoma can be easily run in client-only mode either by renaming the file or by using the command -client