5.9.9 - January 17, 2025 - More Pre-6.0 feature releases

[jaydeel]

5.9.9.93

Help PDF: no changes

Changelog: no update in changelog.pdf included in the 5.9.9.94 update

[5.9.9.93] – 2025-10-17

Added
• Support for SysLog logging, enabled on the Status/Messages window
• New log message IDs: 8 for Alert and 9 for AI

Fixed
• Clip list search box text was still invisibly applied after a console restart; now the search box text is restored after a console restart

Changed
• UI refresh updates continue

 

[IReallyLikePizza2]

^ NSA Wiretap introduced

 

[Björn0815]

So I fixed it in UI3 by checking "Limit Bit Rate - Yes" but of course that doesn't fix it in mobile

Unsure why that fixes it. The bitrate for the encoder profile is set to 8196

If I find a fix for mobile I will post

I have the same problem, I noticed that the quality of the stream has decreased in the mobile app (Android) and after messing a bit around with the encoder profiles I still have not the same quality as on UI Interface on a Computer or even browser on the mobile. I also noticed despite of my changes for the encoder profile that when I watch clips or live stream on the mobile app, a very small bit rate is applied as you can see on my screenshot. Problem still exists on 5..9.9.93. Limit bitrate on or off does not change anything neither the quality setting in percentage.

 

[aesterling]

I have the same problem, I noticed that the quality of the stream has decreased in the mobile app (Android) and after messing a bit around with the encoder profiles I still have not the same quality as on UI Interface on a Computer or even browser on the mobile. I also noticed despite of my changes for the encoder profile that when I watch clips or live stream on the mobile app, a very small bit rate is applied as you can see on my screenshot. Problem still exists on 5..9.9.93. Limit bitrate on or off does not change anything neither the quality setting in percentage.

I've noticed this too over the past several versions. Bitrate is set to 8192 kbps, but Connections tab shows it's only pulling around 600 kbps to mobile. I emailed support this morning to ask about it.

 

[TheWaterbug]

Could View Changelog also be added to the UI3 Update dialog box?

View attachment 229325

Awesome! Thanks!!!

 

[aesterling]

Ken got back to me about the low quality, low bitrate issue when viewing on mobile.

First he replied:

Nothing would have changed here ... but I'll check
It is a "maximum bit rate". Maybe nothing is significantly changing.

And in a second email he said:

THanks ... I think I have discovered the issue and it will be fixed for .94.

So we'll see how it works when .94 is released.

 

[aesterling]

I installed .94 and video quality on mobile looks better. Are you seeing the same improvement?

From the changelog:

Using adjusted server stream encoding settings did not always produce the expected bitrate (often clamped to 512 kbps regardless of settings/web server/stream settings)

 

[Keizer]

I installed .94 and video quality on mobile looks better. Are you seeing the same improvement?

From the changelog:

My mobile experience with the app is much improved!!

 

[jaydeel]

5.9.9.94

Note: the Changelog.txt file now contains the previously missing notes for 5.9.9.93.

Help PDF: no changes

Changelog:

[5.9.9.94] . 2025-10-22

Added.
. N/A

Fixed
. The JSON "ptz" command preset list will contain "(undefined)" entries for undefined presets that occur before the maximum defined preset such that the list order aligns with preset position #s in all cases.
. Location of calendar window relative to the timeline caused it to be partially off screen in some cases.
. Adding a new group via camera settings while running as a service did not properly complete
. Clip list focus was changing when closing the viewer window
. DIO input/outputs are no longer reset when the device is reset on a timed basis
. When multiple server requests from the same connection shared the same encoding, the fps and bitrates on Status/Connections reflected a single request
. Using adjusted server stream encoding settings did not always produce the expected bitrate (often clamped to 512 kbps regardless of settings/web server/stream settings)
. A race condition where the email/upload/push BVR (prior to MP4 conversion) was not allotted a proper amount of time to be created before continuing with the alert

Changed
. Updated code signing certificate, now expiring 11/2028
. Updated C++ compiler (14->17), Visual Studio, MFC (2019->2022), and VC runtime libraries to latest stable available
. Using the calendar in the clips list to filter on an historical day previously resulted in the clips list being filtered for the current day when the console was restarted. This behavior now only occurs if initially use the calendar to filter on the current day.

 

[jaydeel]

I can confirm that the previously broken json ptz command now works as expected.

 

[Björn0815]

I installed .94 and video quality on mobile looks better. Are you seeing the same improvement?

From the changelog:

Yes, much butter, thank you very much

 

[jaydeel]

5.9.9.95

It appears the countdown to 6.0 is on... see the new 'Known issue" below.

Help PDF: no changes

Changelog: highlights are mine

Known issues
• Before a version 6 installer is ready, if you are experiencing crashes in MSVCRT after version 5.9.9.94, please make sure your Windows is updated, or use this link:

Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads

This article provides download links for the latest Visual C++ Redistributable packages.

learn.microsoft.com

[5.9.9.95] – 2025-10-23

Added
• N/A

Fixed
• A crash bug introduced in .93 when using MP4 email attachments
• Resolution/aspect was wrong in UI3 for a single-camera timeline playback when that camera was disabled
• The timeline in UI3 would display video from disabled cameras when the user did not have this privilege

Changed
• N/A

 

[TheWaterbug]

5.9.9.95
• Before a version 6 installer is ready, if you are experiencing crashes in MSVCRT after version 5.9.9.94, please make sure your Windows is updated, or use this link:

Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads

This article provides download links for the latest Visual C++ Redistributable packages.

learn.microsoft.com

Can't most installers probe for the presence/version of a required framework, and then prompt the user to install said framework at installation time?

 

[jaydeel]

Can't most installers probe for the presence/version of a required framework, and then prompt the user to install said framework at installation time?

Not long ago I asked Ken a different question regarding the installer and here was his reply...

I use the software Advanced Installer for the main installer. And something very ancient for the updates, basically a self extracting zip. Maybe time to roll my own one of those ...​

 

[jaydeel]

5.9.9.96

Help PDF: Updated! I'll run a document compare and post any significant changes

Changelog:
[5.9.9.96] – 2025-10-25

Added
• The display version is now updated on the "Uninstall a program" list in Windows control panel
• A smarter algorithm for camera cycle to ensure all cameras are visited before repeating when using the options to favor motion/triggered/alerted cameras

Fixed
• Broken /mjpg/ and perhaps other streaming introduced in .95.
• The clip list Edit Memo function was limited to the old memo length
• Sizing of the status window minimum width

Changed
• At least 1 fps (duplicated frame) is sent to each remote viewer to prevent client timeouts or camera cycle stuttering in the event of individual camera stream outages or delays

=====
Regarding the first "Added" bullet, I checked "Uninstall a program" list on my machine. I'm not seeing a current entry. Maybe this is just for 6.0.

 

[jaydeel]

5.9.9.96 - Help PDF Changes:

1. Version 6 Note on the Cover page

​

​

Important note: The official release of version 6 will occur this fall. Your purchase of version 5 today includes the version 6 upgrade. Many of the images you will see in this Help document have not yet been updated for version 6, but that will change soon, thanks for your patience.​

​

2. (page 61) "Adding a new camera" section

Added explicit statement about camera and group names case-sensitivity.​

​

​

This is in response to my suggestion after the observation in 5.9.9.81 that the all-camera's group name in the JSON camlist command response unexpectedly changed from "Index" to "index". It messed up a bunch of my scripts!​

​

3. (page 80-81) Limit Decoding section - key frames expanded discussion

BEFORE​

This CPU-saving scheme works great as long as your camera is actually sending an adequate number of key frames. It is recommended to have about 1 key frame/second coming from the camera. This is a setting in the camera’s browser-based settings, usually under a "video encoding" section. It may be labeled as "key frame rate" or "i-frame interval" for example. You can view the actual rate on either the General page in camera settings, or on the Cameras page in Status. It is shown after the overall frame rate—for example 15.0/1.0 indicates 15 fps with 1 key frame/second. A value of 0.5 or less is considered insufficient to use this feature.​

​

AFTER​

This CPU-saving scheme works great as long as your camera is actually sending an adequate number of key frames. In general it is recommended to have 0.25-1.00 key frames/second coming from the camera. This is a setting in the camera’s browser-based settings, usually under a "video encoding" section. It may be labeled as "key frame rate" or "i-frame interval" for example. You can view the actual rate on either the General page in camera settings, or on the Cameras page in Status. It is shown after the overall frame rate—for example 15.0/1.0 indicates 15 fps with 1 key frame/second. A value lower than 0.5 is considered insufficient to use this feature however, as it will create unacceptable delays before the stream can be displayed.​

 

[Tinman]

5.9.9.96

Help PDF: Updated! I'll run a document compare and post any significant changes

Changelog:
[5.9.9.96] – 2025-10-25

Added
• The display version is now updated on the "Uninstall a program" list in Windows control panel
• A smarter algorithm for camera cycle to ensure all cameras are visited before repeating when using the options to favor motion/triggered/alerted cameras

Fixed
• Broken /mjpg/ and perhaps other streaming introduced in .95.
• The clip list Edit Memo function was limited to the old memo length
• Sizing of the status window minimum width

Changed
• At least 1 fps (duplicated frame) is sent to each remote viewer to prevent client timeouts or camera cycle stuttering in the event of individual camera stream outages or delays

=====
Regarding the first "Added" bullet, I checked "Uninstall a program" list on my machine. I'm not seeing a current entry. Maybe this is just for 6.0.

View attachment 230990

seems to work fine on mine:

 

[Curtleyw]

Direct to wire streaming seems to be broken after the latest update (5.9.9.96). Anyone else seeing this issue?

 

[Bruce_H]

Direct to wire streaming seems to be broken after the latest update (5.9.9.96). Anyone else seeing this issue?

I was not familiar with this setting, so I wanted to check if my system was using this feature, I found one mention of this in the help file, but was not able to find the screen were this get turned on or off, can you point me in the direction of where the setting is, then I can see if it is working for me and be able to confirm if your issue is affecting my system.

 

[Curtleyw]

I was not familiar with this setting, so I wanted to check if my system was using this feature, I found one mention of this in the help file, but was not able to find the screen were this get turned on or off, can you point me in the direction of where the setting is, then I can see if it is working for me and be able to confirm if your issue is affecting my system.

Under Web Server > Advanced > Encoder Profile (Steaming 0) Configure > Direct-to-wire where possible (H.264)