Having used ISpy for several years I have now tested Netcam Studio for about two months with two cameras and I feel that it is a very good program worth paying for. I really like the stability and in particular the client-server model and the easy, yet powerful configuration options.
However, I am a bit concerned that the development seems to have come to an halt?
I have been reading through the forums and there are some mentioning of Netcam Studio 2.0 but as it is right now Netcam Studio and Android mobile client was released in May to June last year. As a software developer myself I feel that 9-10 months with no releases is not a good sign. Or perhaps I am mistaken and lots of things is happening behind the scenes?
Perhaps you can share some information about Netcam Studio 2.0 and future plans? It would ease my mind a bit before buying the software
Hi,
Thanks for your concern and your nice words about Netcam Studio. You are correct that it was some time ago since an upgrade, but we have definitely no intention to stop now. We see a market that is growing and we will be there. We just needed to take a break, that is the main reason
Netcam Studio 2.0 will be there, but we need to have a version 1.7 before that which will be released very soon. I am myself running it now on some installations just to make sure it is ok. Bugs are corrected, things under the hood is happening preparing for the future, new website, … A challenge for everyone in this business is to handle multiple use of 3, 4 , 5 … megapixel cameras to a reasonable cpu load.
We plan to make Netcam Studio 1.7 available during next week so keep an eye open.
Thanks,
Henrik
Thanks for a quick reply Henrik, I will definitely keep an eye open for the 1.7 release. Maybe it’s possible to write something about what it will contain, I’m sure that all users are interested!
Maybe not the right forum category, but I have found some bugs that I really hope will be fixed soon:
During my two months testing, I needed to login to Dropbox three times.
I’m using Slack for notifications and there is no picture attached.
Next step for me is to enable SSL/HTTPS but the current guide requires “makecert.exe” that is not a part of a standard Windows 10 setup. The new way is apparently using Power Shell command “New-SelfSignedCertificate”. It would be nice if the instruction could be updated or even better if possible to do everything from the GUI.
Other than the above, it has been a smooth testing period, great software!
-Dropbox problem is new. Several are using Dropbox so question is where the problem is. Can you check in the log file when this happens. Log file is located here C:\ProgramData\Moonware\Netcam Studio\Server\Logs
-Slack problem is identified and should be ok in next release.
-SSL/HTTPS is a … and I agree the instruction for Windows 10 should be added. They say it is easier than the old one, but I have my doubts.
I will check the log next time the Dropbox problem happens and report. I´m using an “Authenticator” app to login for two-step verification, maybe that is related?
About SSL/HTTPS I had a go at it tonight and managed to configure the server according to old thread “Running Netcam Studio Server on SSL / HTTPS”.
The PowerShell commands I used to create the server.pfx file was: New-SelfSignedCertificate -certstorelocation cert:\localmachine\my -dnsname test.noip.me $pwd = ConvertTo-SecureString -String “test” -Force -AsPlainText Export-PfxCertificate -cert cert:\localMachine\my\CE0976529B02DE058C9CB2C0E64AD79DAFB18CF4 -FilePath c:\tmp\netcam.pfx -Password $pwd
The long hex string is reported by the first command and needs to be changed for the last command.
I could connect with https using the Windows Client and from Chrome, but the Android app did not connect. There are certainly optimizations do be done with various options in the script, but the basic functionality is there.
The windows client worked just fine. Confirmed by the “Online @ https://xx.xx.xx.xx:8100” line in the bottom left.
Has the Android client been confirmed to work with SSL and server running as a service? The thread TLS/SSL Status? - #15 by Henrik says “no” and that there are differences using Netcam as a service or using the “X” application. Is that still true in 1.6.2?
Yes, I have been running Android app in SSL mode with service and console mode. I suspect that the new procedure need some more tweaking. This is not changed in version 162 or the upcomming 170.
It may be that the Powershell method for creating a certificate is not 100% compatible with the old makecert.exe way. I have been searching for some clues but found nothing.
The mobile app seems to use Chrome as a back-end and as https is working both in the Windows client, desktop Chrome and Android Chrome I actually suspect that the mobile app has some problems. It would be great if someone from the Netcam Studio team could test a Powershell generated certificate and the mobile app. I´ve tested both with Android 7.0 and 8.0 by the way.
Until mobile app problem is solved, I´m quite happy with the web interface I get from Chrome. Maybe I´ll have a try later with a certificate made with “LetsEncrypt” to get rid of the “Not Secure” warnings from Chrome, but that is a different story…
Is development of NCS still happening? There was conversation of NCS 2.0 last summer, and NCS hasn’t received any update now for ~10 months. I own a legitimate license and am, to be honest, disappointed in the zero-touch that has occurred since then. If I were considering buying today I’d be very cautious that nothing has been updated for almost a year now.
If you could please address the concern that would be much appreciated.
Being patient is one thing, no development for 10+ months is another. I’m fine if you are meeting realistic promises, however - there have been a lot of unfulfilled promises since the last release. I’m not asking you to address exact futures, but it’s hard to expect consumers to invest in your product with that long of a development cycle and a significant number of known bugs.
HI,
I made a self signed certificate with the PowerShell and it works fine in Windows client and Web client (Windows Chrome/IE11 and Android Chrome) for both NCS Service and NCS X. For Android App it is a no. It just say login timed out and nothing in log file. I have forwarded this. I run it on ncs version 1.7.0.
My guess is that the same problem with the Android app exist with a certificate made with “makecert.exe” as well.
Anyway, good to have the problem confirmed by you as this increases the chances of fixing the bug.
By the way, how is 1.7.0 progressing? What will it contain?
If you want the certificate valid for more that one year, you can add “-NotAfter (Get-Date).AddYears(10)” at the end of the first command.
Hi,
Yes I did and it that was a huge mistake and I am sorry for that. It was based on discussion we had in our group, but that was wrong and it will never happen again.
What I can say is that we are getting there, but not in the pace I expected.
Sorry for this,
Henrik
Hi guys,
NCS 1.7.0 is now released. Pick it up from NCS homepage http://netcamstudio.com/
Changelog will be updated also.
Thanks for your patience.
-Henrik
Updated to 1.7.0 just now, both server and client. After install I had to:
Edit the .config files to enable https again.
Reconfigure the Slack notifications. I now get a small 5KB picture in the Slack channel. Unfortunately, it seems like the picture it is the first frame and not the one triggering the motion (I´m using MotionStart as rule).
I have not found the release notes yet, but I find that the client scaling of camera video is different.
I may also be imagination things, but is CPU load lower in 1.7.0 compared to 1.6.2?
Changelog is here Netcam Studio Change Log
Concerning the CPU load I also noticed and agree. I got more for the same CPU load i.e. I changed one camera to an HD and get the same CPU load. Also, the web client responds faster. About scaling I don’t see any difference.
Your other remarks are forwarded.
