NVR solution that uploads alerts during specific time window

[frobnitz 0]

Hi. I have an unusual surveillance problem that I hope someone here could help with. I am trying to decide on a NVR system to install at a remote set of cabins. It's very far from civilization, actually locate din a national park (it was grandfathered because the land was owned before the park was formed). It's only used in the summer, and the access to it is closed in the winter, but sometimes we have had issues with people skiing in or using snowmobiles and stealing a few things.

 

The camp is equipped with a satellite connection for internet, and the cabins are interconnected with a wifi network that is plenty fast enough to support IP cameras operating over it. I was thinking about installing an 8 channel NVR system, something like the Swann NVR, but I am not that focused on that specific product. Because no one visits the site during all of winter, I would set the recording of the system to only be triggered by motion detection to maximize recording time. The system could then be configured to notify folks via email over the satellite link when motion is detected, and send along photos or videos at attachments.

 

The problem is the satellite link is capped on volume, so I don't want to burn up all the capacity with large attachments being sent, possibly with false alarms etc... The satellite service does not charge you for data use during 12-5 AM local time however, so if I could get automatic uploading of reports or alerts during that time, it would preserve the data quota for access during the daytime if we had to actually investigate an event. There is no point in trying to act on it in realtime because it would take a ranger 2 hrs to get there, even if the roads were open.

 

When I have surveyed the NVR vendors websites, I don't see an ability to put time limits on alerts etc... so they are only sent out during a particular time window. Does anyone know of a system that does this?

 

I was thinking I could hack up a SMTP proxy that could queue this up and send it out only during certain hours - but that would require a small linux server or something being there and powered up all the time, and I'd rather not hack that if I could avoid it.

 

Any ideas? Also, how well do the smartphone apps work over a satellite link?

 

Thanks!

Mike

[dexterash 0]

Your best bet is, as you proposed, a SMTP Proxy/trap. I *think* you could also try to hardware cut the Internet connection based on a schedule, but the out buffer on the devices will fillup and pose all sorts of problems.

 

The NVR/IP Camera can do detection based on a schedule, but it will not buffer the events and upload them at a specified time; it's either real-time or no-time.

[Dirk_D 0]

Have you considered using traditional alarm system sensors (motion / magnetic) instead of 'motion' as determined by your DVR?

 

If your DVR supports this (sensor inputs) it could be set up to send the occasional event as it happened. I've thought of a few other options like controlling the power to a switch that would be set up between the router & DVR with a mechanical or web based power switch, but motion detectors seem like your best option.