Could I set up alarm "away" to activate inside cameras?

[rufunky]

I thought I read about someone doing something like this before but I can not seem to find it.

Could I set up my alarm to activate my inside cameras when setting the alarm to away? I get that this would be specific to the alarm and the NVR or Cameras but all 3 have alarm trigger capability. I am just unsure how all of that works as I have never used that feature.

 

[tangent]

Yes, it's possible. If you're tying into a typical alarm system, you'd want to record in the alarmed state as well.

Two paths:
-more complex integration between alarm system and a home automation system which is then used to trigger the nvr or vms. (quite powerful, software side is more complex)
-using an output from the alarm system connected to an input on a camera or nvr. this isn't too hard but can get a bit complicated it also depends on what your alarm supports. This could additional output modules for the alarm, relays, opto isolators, or even an arduino or similar. (relatively simple, but the electrical side is more complex)

If you want to get into specifics, a lot more information about your specific installation would be needed (alarm model, distance from alarm panel to camera/nvr with alarm inputs, model of camera/nvr/vms, a photo of the alarm control panel, is it monitored/how...). You'd also need to know the installer code for the panel, which your monitoring company isn't too likely to give you.

 

[rufunky]

Hey, Tangent.

Using the output from the alarm to connect to the input seems like the way to go. My alarm was set up and installed by me so I have the installer code and I installed both the alarm and NVR in the same room right next to each other so it would be simple to run a couple wires from the alarm panel to the back of the NVR.

I don't know if you are familiar with specific alarms but I have the classic Concord 4 old school system and a Dahau NVR Model NVR5216-4KS2.

 

[tangent]

Hey, Tangent.

Using the output from the alarm to connect to the input seems like the way to go. My alarm was set up and installed by me so I have the installer code and I installed both the alarm and NVR in the same room right next to each other so it would be simple to run a couple wires from the alarm panel to the back of the NVR.

I don't know if you are familiar with specific alarms but I have the classic Concord 4 old school system and a Dahau NVR Model NVR5216-4KS2.

I'm not sure what it would take to get the nvr to do what you want, I'd experiment with settings and a something like a toggle switch hooked to one or more alarm inputs.

On the concord if you aren't using Output 2, you can set it to activate when the system is armed away (Appendix B). However, if it were armed stay and someone broke in, that wouldn't trigger it. To catch Alarm event's you'd need another output (add a snapcard or module). Then it would be a matter of what you can make the NVR do, either using multiple inputs on the NVR or something like a logic OR gate.

 

[rufunky]

I'm trying to figure out the capabilities of both the alarm outputs and the NVR inputs and I may be wrong but I don't think the NVR input allows for turning the power off to the device. Instead, I believe they want you to use scheduling of alarm inputs to decide when and when not to record.

Seeing my NVR is connected to the internet, I would like the ability to take the inside cameras completely offline while at home or while the alarm is disarmed in case the system becomes compromised.

I think it may be as simple as disconnecting the inside camera from my POE switch, connecting it to a separate POE injector, plugging that directly into my router and using the alarm panel output to turn on or off the power of said POE injector. Does this sound like it would work?

 

[tangent]

I'm trying to figure out the capabilities of both the alarm outputs and the NVR inputs and I may be wrong but I don't think the NVR input allows for turning the power off to the device. Instead, I believe they want you to use scheduling of alarm inputs to decide when and when not to record.

Seeing my NVR is connected to the internet, I would like the ability to take the inside cameras completely offline while at home or while the alarm is disarmed in case the system becomes compromised.

I think it may be as simple as disconnecting the inside camera from my POE switch, connecting it to a separate POE injector, plugging that directly into my router and using the alarm panel output to turn on or off the power of said POE injector. Does this sound like it would work?

Sounds like an unnecessary mess to me. You'd probably need a relay.

Cameras don't boot up instantly, time stamps could be wrong, and you might miss capturing something worthwhile. People who have done this are generally just enabling and disabling recording. I think you'd be better off figuring out how to secure your network than cutting power to the indoor cameras.

 

[rufunky]

Good points. I guess I should give this a bit more thought before I move forward.

 

[Marcelor73]

@tangent I'm trying to accomplish the exact same thing, but I use Blue Iris. My alarm system sends me status notifications via email.

Is there a way to set up Blue Iris to activate a profile when my alarm system sends me an email?

I wish Bule Iris could receive an email to activate certain functions, that would definitely help.

 

[Priority]

One path for email control of Blue Iris would be setup a Linux machine (VM or Raspberry Pi will work) and use something like procmail (technically no longer developed but I used it until a few months on a Raspberry Pi) or Maildrop to filter incoming emails and run a script when an email with some pre-specified contents arrived. The script invoked would need to use something like curl to simulate an appropriate http call to Blue Iris.

A Linux guru set up my similar system (email of a specific contents caused a script to run to trigger a TCP network service via netcat) a few years ago and it ran flawlessly until I shut it down due to relocation.