bluehorizons 0 Posted August 4, 2011 Hi all - Hope everyone is enjoying the summer. Here is what I want to do, but don't know where to start. I already have 8 cameras that are around the exterior of my house that are always recording, but now I would like to add interior cameras that only record or can be viewed when the house alarm is Armed. Are there particular DVRs out there that can handle this better than others? I have non-IP cameras already, so really just need the DVR but didn't want to spend an ton on it (4 or 8 channels would be all I need). I would like internet and/or Blackberry viewing if possible as well. Anything you folks can add would be greatly appreciated. Matt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Birdman Adam 0 Posted August 4, 2011 Most decent DVRs have "alarm" inputs, which can be used to trigger the DVR to do something. Go ahead and get an 8 channel - it is too easy to use up 4 channels! A harder problem is getting a signal from the alarm panel that says "I'm armed". What type of system do you have - e.g. a DSC 832, etc? If you don't have the installers code, and/or have no idea how to program an alarm system, I'd suggest you have someone help you out. With DSC systems (and probably others), the PGM outputs can be set to turn on or off depending on many circumstances. Don't have a manual with me though! So you could set, say PGM 1 to turn ON when the system is armed. Then that output would go to an alarm input on the DVR, which would turn the recording to specific channels on or off. Programmable outputs on most all alarms will put out 12VDC, and looks like many DVRs accept NO (normally open) contacts between a zone and GND. So you will need a 12VDC relay that is NO, powered by the PGM output of your alarm system. Then it will be a matter of configuration in the software of the DVR to tell it you want it to record a channel when an input goes low. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluehorizons 0 Posted August 8, 2011 Right I know I can use the output triggers on the alarm, and can get the system to output only on armed-away, but is there a way to get the remote view feature and recording on/off at that time? Does anyone know a dvr that can do that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
