Is ZoneMinder still being actively developed?

It appears that it's been a while since the last update to ZoneMinder.

I'm a BSD & Linux only user - so, as much as I like the features of BlueIris, it's not an option.

Our system must support at least 10 cams (several 4k, al least one is vehicle license read quality), a mix of WIfi and wired, rtsp & onvif support, audio, motion detect, zoom.

We need to upgrade our NVR (it's a bottleneck) or, manage things a different way.

Is ZoneMinder the only reasonably current code native Linux alternative to BlueIris?

Thanks!

kd4e said:

It appears that it's been a while since the last update to ZoneMinder.

I'm a BSD & Linux only user - so, as much as I like the features of BlueIris, it's not an option.

Our system must support at least 10 cams (several 4k, al least one is vehicle license read quality), a mix of WIfi and wired, rtsp & onvif support, audio, motion detect, zoom.

We need to upgrade our NVR (it's a bottleneck) or, manage things a different way.

Is ZoneMinder the only reasonably current code native Linux alternative to BlueIris?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Zoneminder is shit...
There are plenty of linux based vms... both paid and unpaid...dwipvms (nxwitness rebranded for north america) frigate and many more...

there are plenty of VMS other than Blue iris that run on windows including milestone, exacq,, avigilon and many more....if you want to shoot yourself in the foot and limit your options because you are a linux snob thats on you...

kd4e said:

Is ZoneMinder the only reasonably current code native Linux alternative to BlueIris?

Click to expand...

No. Calling ZM 'reasonably current' is pretty questionable.

Are you planning to run VMS software on a dedicated machine (in this case windows would be less of an issue) or hoping to run something in a VM on an existing server?

Here's a list of some VMS software: Free VMS Software Directory
Scrypted is another option, particularly if your a Mac / iPhone user GitHub - koush/scrypted: Scrypted is a high performance home video integration and automation platform

I initially checked here:
I just now did some additional research - for Linux-friendly alternatives to BlueIris ...

UPDATED (05Feb2024)

Bluecherry - Current license sale says a "Perpetual" License for 16 cams is $145.00, for 12 it's $120.
(Notes: Hardware requirements - a 16 camera system, assuming 1080p recording with motion detection
8th gen (or newer) i5, 8th gen (or higher) i7 is recommended. 12GB of memory, 16GB is recommended.
May use DeepStack to improve efficiency - I've requested confirmation on their Forum.)
Camlytics - 7 Day Free Trial then $12/mo for 1 camera.
Frigate - (Notes: Frigate supports detection with your CPU, a Coral, Deepstack, etc.) It's free (donations accepted). User support here: blakeblackshear frigate · Discussions
iSpy - Agent DVR ("... runs in a docker container") but looks promising. Development may have stalled in July of 2023.
(Notes: Works on Windows 7+, Docker, Linux (tested on Ubuntu 20.04), macOS (+M1), Raspberry Pi 4+)
Kerberos - Free open source VMS for Docker, Kubernetes, and Raspberry PI. (Relies on containers. Complex?)
motionEyes - Discontinued support.
DW-Spectrum-IPVMS - Cross-platform (only Ubuntu for Linux) Digital Watchdog - (pricing unclear)
OpenCVR/Rapidvms from Linkingvision - Appears to be abandonware.
Shinobi - $175/yr for 20 cams (next lower option limits to only 5 cams). (Online Notes: Shinobi allows you to use either Tensorflow on your CPU,
GPU or Coral, as well as DeepStack on your CPU or GPU and Yolo V3 on your CPU.)
ValkkaLive - Seems to be a-work-in-progress "... experimental playback & recording features" - "Designed for massive video streaming ... You have all kinds of cool machine vision routines, which you have written in OpenCV and Tensorflow."
Xeoma - Free version available 1,000 cams but 2 camera recording - 16 camera Standard features package is $415. (perpetual license, 1 year included updates) Xeoma – best video surveillance software [official page] by FelenaSoft – Felenasoft
Zoneminder - May be only one developer. Version 1.37 has been in the works for 2yrs.

Thanks ...

kd4e said:

I initially checked here:

https://alternativeto.net/software/blue-iris/?platform=linux

J just now did some additional research - for Linux-friendly alternatives to BlueIris ...

Bluecherry - Current license sale says a "Perpetual" License for 16 cams is $145.00, for 12 it's $120.
(Notes: Hardware requirements - a 16 camera system, assuming 1080p recording with motion detection
8th gen (or newer) i5, 8th gen (or higher) i7 is recommended. 12GB of memory, 16GB is recommended.)
Camlytics - 7 Day Free Trial then $12/mo for 1 camera.
Frigate - Appears too tightly enmeshed with google.
iSpy - Agent DVR ("... runs in a docker container") but looks promising. Development may have stalled in July of 2023.
(Notes: Works on Windows 7+, Docker, Linux (tested on Ubuntu 20.04), macOS (+M1), Raspberry Pi 4+)
Kerberos - Free open source VMS for Docker, Kubernetes, and Raspberry PI. (Relies on containers. Complex?)
motionEyes - Discontinued support.
NX Witness VMS - Free Trial, pricing after that is unclear.
OpenCVR/Rapidvms from Linkingvision - Appears to be abandonware.
Shinobi - $175/yr for 20 cams (next lower option limits to only 5 cams).
ValkkaLive - Seems to be a-work-in-progress "... experimental playback & recording features".
Zoneminder - May be only one developer. Version 1.37 has been in the works for 2yrs.

Guess I need to do some more research. At least a couple of them claim to work on a RaspberryPi, which would be awesome.

Thanks ...

Click to expand...

Nothing that will do any useful AI for 10 cams some with 4k will run on a pi...nothing...
Frigate has nothing to do with google, they simply recommend coral so that you can use a lower power cpu while still using aI.
nx witness is not for north america, it is sold as dwipvms.. see my post above with other options as well.
ispy charges 50 for business use and for remote access.

kd4e said:

Is ZoneMinder the only reasonably current code native Linux alternative to BlueIris?

Click to expand...

Zoneminder does not come with a fancy gui like BI. But i´ve you´re into ansible or similar deployment tool, then you´re in the right spot.

if you want a fancy gui for everything => shinobi or agentdvr

fenderman said:

Nothing that will do any useful AI for 10 cams some with 4k will run on a pi...nothing...

Click to expand...

For doing AI You must first decode video stream (h264/h265).
pi don't have power for that (it can decode one/two streams max)..
Intel Core 5 is minimal HW for that...

steve1225 said:

For doing AI You must first decode video stream (h264/h265).
pi don't have power for that (it can decode one/two streams max)..
Intel Core 5 is minimal HW for that...

Click to expand...

OK, so at least an i5 or a Ryzen 7?

What minimum RAM and video specs do you recommend, please?

Thanks in advance ...

kd4e said:

OK, so at least an i5 or a Ryzen 7?

Click to expand...

At least a 6th gen i5, preferably newer.

One of the challenges with open source VMS software is that it's likely to be a more resource intensive / less hardware optimized than commercial software.

tangent said:

At least a 6th gen i5, preferably newer.

One of the challenges with open source VMS software is that it's likely to be a more resource intensive / less hardware optimized than commercial software.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Should I plan for 32 or 64g ram? Will the integrated graphics chip be adequate? (I've been using laptops and mini-pc's for a while now so I've lost track of discrete component pc tech.)

kd4e said:

Thanks. Should I plan for 32 or 64g ram? Will the integrated graphics chip be adequate? (I've been using laptops and mini-pc's for a while now so I've lost track of discrete component pc tech.)

Click to expand...

32GB is likely plenty. Really depends on the choice of software and number and resolution of cameras... one way to find out.
These are things you can easily change after the fact.

tangent said:

32GB is likely plenty. Really depends on the choice of software and number and resolution of cameras... one way to find out.
These are things you can easily change after the fact.

Click to expand...

OK on 32gb with the option to upgrade.

Any graphics chipsets to avoid? (I know some of that is related to the OS but are there any that are poor in this application?)

Plan is at least 10 cameras (possibly 12-16 eventually), several are already 4k - others to be upgraded over time. Still sorting the software options ...

kd4e said:

OK on 32gb with the option to upgrade.

Any graphics chipsets to avoid? (I know some of that is related to the OS but are there any that are poor in this application?)

Plan is at least 10 cameras (possibly 12-16 eventually), several are already 4k - others to be upgraded over time. Still sorting the software options ...

Click to expand...

16GB may be enough ram. My advice would mainly be to start experimenting with different FOSS VMS. Figure out what works / doesn't work and whether or not you end up with a windows box in the end...

tangent said:

16GB may be enough ram. My advice would mainly be to start experimenting with different FOSS VMS. Figure out what works / doesn't work and whether or not you end up with a windows box in the end...

Click to expand...

OK, will try to narrow down to no more than a couple - I need to get this working sooner than later.

I don't need fancy, just basic functions, somewhat secure, and stable.

Thanks.

Here's the other demo/free version data that I could find ...

Alnet Systems Netstation - MS only
Argus DVR - MS only
Arteco PURE - MS only
ATVideo VMS - MS & Mac only
Axxon Next - 4 channels - Too few channels - Axxon One - Linux & MS - Only sold through distributors - Hardware calculator doesn't like Linux as a variable Decline Line 8 - no recording - Linux & MS - Very limited features Buy IP Camera Software at Devline
Eocortex - Linux client stuck in Beta since 2022
GeniusVision NVR - 2 channels & MS only
Herospeed VMS - MS & Mac only
ipConfigure Orchid - 4 Channels - Linux & MS (Linux features and pricing unclear)
ISS SecureOS - 404 Not Found
Luxriot Evo - 1080p max resolution supported - MS only
March Networks Command Lite - 6 channels - MS only
Milestone Essential - 8 channels - Commercial - MS only
NovoSun - Web site closed and for sale
Pelco VideoXpert Professional - 4 channels - MS only
Sighthound - 1 channel, low-resolution only - Commercial - OS unclear
Trassir - 8 channels - $100 per camera after that - Multi-platform

Hi, I've been using zoneminder with AI detection for years so I can comment on few things here.

Regarding GPUs I recommend nVidia for AI. Others can be used, but it is easier with nvidia.

First, if you plan on 16 cameras a lot of them 4k you will need a modern system and at least the previous generation of gpu.

For comparison's sake, my current/old (to be replaced) system with 2 4mp cameras has been running on an old 1u Fujitsu server with a Xeon E3-1230 v2 (an ancient quad core cpu) and 4gb of ram. For AI it has a Google Edge TPU on a pci card (only 2 edgetpus). AI detection runs at 4fps. The system has been running loaded to ~30% and consuming 45w on average for years.


My new system for up to 10 cameras (4k) has a ryzen 7 3700x, 32gb ram and a 2080 super nvidia gpu (but it is used for additional things too).

ZM is a nice piece of software if you can program, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who needs a solution to just work out of the box. For example, a couple of weeks ago after a power cut my ZM sql DB got corrupted. It wasn't easy to fix and not loose data.

On the other hand if you can program and you know perl you can make it do anything. Personally I always choose open source systems. As a result I'm never at a mercy of a vendor. I can fix bugs or add new features myself (if they are sufficiently important to me).

As to why zoneminder is not seeing a huge amount of development, there are two reasons IMO.
One, it is written in perl. Perl is not very popular as a programming/scripting language these days.
Second, it is pretty feature complete, and for features it lacks(ai) one can use external scripts. So there is not much incentive.

In summary. I really like ZM, would I recommend it to my mother? No way.