Introduction

Thank you for your interest in IPConfigure’s Orchid Hybrid/Fusion Video Management System. This guide should provide you with everything you need to know as you prepare the system for readiness. We’ll begin with an overview of the product and the Administrator guide, and a few basics about navigating the software. Then we’ll explain how to add Orchid Recorders, users and Camera Groups. Once that is done, we’ll cover Permissions, Notifications, Library, Licensing, Events, and other advanced topics to help you manage and understand the system.

*Beginning in version 23.12, the Orchid Core VMS product name is being replaced by Orchid Recorder. For new users, this emphasizes that the role of the Orchid server is to record all of the video for the system. Existing users will notice that the theme of the Orchid user interface will change as different licenses are applied to each Orchid server. So when you review the Orchid servers that are registered to your Hybrid or Fusion system, you may notice that the theme has changed. Refer to the Activation tab for additional information on the license status and the theme.

What’s New in Version 25.3

Here are the most notable changes for Administrators in Orchid Hybrid/Fusion VMS version 25.3.

• Support for the AV1 video format (on Orchid Recorders version 25.3 or greater)
• Support for the H265 video format (on Orchid Recorders version 25.3 or greater)
• Support for Automatic Camera Tags (on Orchid Recorders version 25.3 or greater)

*IMPORTANT: If you are upgrading to version 24.6.1 (or higher), and your existing system was configured for SAML in version 24.6 (or earlier), all external users will be logged out upon upgrade.

For all of the details on new features and bug fixes, please refer to the release notes on the IPConfigure web site.