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Upgrades

edited November 2013 in SecuritySpy
What's the story with the number of licences you can buy doubling at every increment, if you only want 1 more and you have to buy 4,8 16 etc then it's kinda expensive. Is this likely to change in the future. My Mac could not cope running more than 5 camera's anyway.

Comments

  • Hi Dave, this is how our license system has always worked: the levels are 1, 4, 8, 16, and unlimited (numbers of cameras). The cost of upgrading from one level to the next is simply the difference in price between the two licenses (so there is no cost penalty starting with a lower level and upgrading to a higher level later). If you want to use 5 cameras then you will need an 8-camera license. I understand that if you currently have four cameras and want to add one more, then this results in a significant price jump, however this does then give you room to expand to eight cameras in the future if ever you need to. We feel that our prices are very reasonable compared to other software out there on the market.
  • All I'm saying is that it's only good value if you want to purchase 4,8 16 etc at a time. I want 1 more licence and have to buy 4 which means I'm paying more than someone who has just purchased a single licence for the 1st time. For me it's putting me off the the purchase rather than encouraging it.
  • Hi Dave, sorry you feel that way, we do feel the software is good value even if you don't have exactly 4, 8 (etc.) cameras. We have no plans to change our licensing system at present.
  • edited November 2013
    I think their pricing model is inline with other companies. One way to look at this is is that a single camera license is $50 USD. A 8 camera license is $250 USD. So you are getting 5 cameras at the same price as single license times 5. And you have a buffer of three "free" licenses if you ever decided to add more. I am currently using 4 camera license and may need 5th camera at some point. I have no problem with their pricing model. I can say that they really support their product and their users. You will not find better customer service. This is a very good small company and they earn their money with quality software and customer service. You would be hard pressed to get the same level of customer service from larger companies.
  • Just to clarify - my concern is not about the cost of a licence, it entirely to do with doubling (bit shifting) increments 2,4,8,16 quantities which I've not come across and just looks more like a convenience of some algorithm in licence key generation rather than some other method. I would have thought you should be able to add 2,4,6,8 licences to whatever number you already have and get a discount for the bigger number you buy, but at least be able to add 1 or 2 licences to an existing 4. Hope that clarifies the mistake. Price is fine with me - no quibbles - doubling quantities - just peculiar and not awfully convenient for me anyway.
  • I upgraded to an 8 camera licence today :-)
  • Many thanks Dave - we appreciate your custom and your feedback.
  • First off, I've been demoing your software, and it's great. Having said that, I do agree with Dave. The license model does not make sense.

    I have two cameras. So logically, I purchased two licenses.

    After trying to figure out how to enter the second license code, I searched the forums and I see that that’s not how your licensing works (kinda strange actually). Instead, I have to purchase your four-camera license - even though I only have two cameras ;(

    Your licensing model makes sense if you offered a discount for a multi camera “bundle”. But since it’s just a multiple of the single license, it does not make sense you’d have to purchase the equivalent of ‘four seats’. I'm glad other software manufactures like Adobe don't follow this model. In general, there are two models - per seat (camera) or volume licenses (bundle price for multiple cameras).

    I see that you're not planning to change your license structure, so I’ll go ahead and upgrade, since I really don’t have a choice. Doesn't make for a happy customer though.

    Please refund my purchase of the second single license.
  • BenBen
    edited April 2014
    Hi iHuman,

    I've replied to you by email and refunded the superfluous 1-camera license.

    We do state on our download page, online store, and on our FAQ page: "One license covers a single copy of SecuritySpy running on a single computer."

    Different developers of video surveillance software have different licensing structures: some charge a fixed fee per additional camera, some charge in blocks like us. Under the former scheme, a system with many cameras becomes very expensive if you have to pay for each camera license separately for the software. Under our scheme, large installations (more than 16 cameras) get cheaper on a per-camera basis (of course I understand that this doesn't help you with your two cameras though).

    With a system of any size, especially when using high-quality cameras (which is the kind of market we target), the cost of SecuritySpy is typically a very small proportion of the cost of the overall system.

    So we feel that the licensing structure is working well, and after all we are a business and want to make a return from all our hard work! We strive to make top quality products and I think our software is very good value. I hope you will be happy with your license, and if you ever decide to add more cameras to your system you can expand up to 4 at no extra cost :)
  • Unfortunately, I've got 9 cameras that I want to watch, and I've already got an 8-camera license.

    Pretty sure my Favorite Wife doesn't want any more cameras around the house, so I've either got to pay $200 for that one camera, or repurpose an older Mac Mini for a 1-license ($40) server, which means maintaining Yet Another Machine...

    I can see charging less per license when you buy more licences, but this "bit-shift" thing is just inconvenient.

    How hard would it be to sell 1 license for $40, blocks of 4 for $25 each, blocks of 8 for $20 each, blocks of 16 for $15, or something? [And yes, if you give a mouse a cookie, I'd also want "I've bought 8, so my price going forward is at the $20 price till I hit 16", but that's just me overreaching.]

    Love the product, and I want to give you more money, but not going to do $200 for one camera...
  • Hi @wpns I certainly see the problem with your situation.

    There are pros and cons of each licensing system. The problem we face as a business is that changing the system completely to a flat per-camera fee will have unpredictable results. The current system is bad for users with 9 or 17 cameras, but comparatively very good for users with 8 or 16 cameras. Changing to a flat-rate system would make it better for the former customers but worse for the latter ones (because we would have to charge more per camera than an 8- or 16-camera user currently pays). Plus, there is limited information that we can gather at this point that would tell us whether this would be a good decision or a very bad decision from a business point of view.

    Therefore sticking to the current licensing structure, which has worked well for us for many years, seems like the best way forward.
  • I have made the error of getting some 4mp IP cameras - they sure are pretty - and although I am replacing some of my older analog hardware, I am likely to break the 8 camera limit. My concern is that my 2012 mini won't be able to handle 16 feeds. Is there a way to "break" a 16 camera license into 2 8 camera setups? As it happens, I have a second mini I can throw at the problem if I have to, but would rather not have a second server.
  • Hi @finkej - we'd be happy to split your 16-camera license into two separate 8-camera licenses if you wish (simply email us), however you'll get a better user experience if you have all the cameras running on one machine.

    I would recommend trying all the cameras on your existing Mac first, and reduce the frame rates of the cameras until the Mac can comfortably handle the load (make sure the "Idle" figure in the CPU tab in Activity Monitor is at least 10%). If that doesn't give you acceptable performance, then you should look at splitting the cameras over two Macs, or upgrading to a more powerful Mac perhaps.
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