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integrate door entry camera with dvr


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After being told several times that I could do this, I have ordered a doorknox vdp102 and it's relay box from SystemQ to tie in with a megahero dvr from them I already installed.

 

It has video, audio and alarm signal out to the dvr so that you can see and hear the front door, and recieve a notification when the button is pressed.  The problem is that, despite the vdp having a speaker, you cannot talk back to it from the dvr.  Their tech told me that the single audio cable only works in half duplex from their monitors.  He wouldn't reveal a way to go around this, instead they want to push their voiceoff unit which would do the job, but is an ugly thing above a front door and a waste of money when the vdp has a built in speaker.

 

Does anyone have any ideas?  I'm assuming if I wire both dvr audio in and out with some diodes that the vdp will automatically switch to speaker mode when detecting an audio output.  This is starting to get beyond my expertise, but I already have the job booked in after their sales chaps misinformed me.

 

Alternatively, are there any other door entry cameras that can be wired up to a dvr this way?  All I can find now are the wifi units which have their own apps.  Aperta wifi looks good, but can you access the video stream over ip so that the dvr can record it? Any others that you can?

 

Many thanks

Edited by installer_dale
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Why can't you just have another unit to talk back from near the DVR ? You want record the convo I assume aswell? Just split the mic 

 

I may be way off what I understood of your question tho.....

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sorry I might not have made it very clear

 

doorcam has camera, mic and button going to dvr fine.  It also has a speaker but I need to find a way to use this as it only has a single audio cable from the unit which shares the mic with the speaker.  The dvr has an audio rca in and out, and an app which supports 2 way audio.

 

Next best solution would be a seperate speaker installed at the door, anyone know of any miniature 12v active external speakers?

 

Other solution would be a 3rd party door cam with it's own app that I could tap into the video feed from to record it onto the dvr.

 

Don't need to record audio, although it would be a bonus.

Edited by installer_dale
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Hi Dale.

 

I’m not sure if there is way that you can do this just with the outside door camera unit and DVR as I’m not sure if the outside unit contains the correct amplifier as the DVR itself doesn't have one. The VoiceOff unit does indeed have an Amp so the support team would suggest this.

 

I’m not in the office today but will be late on Monday or Tuesday so I will check with the tech team what data we do have on it if you wish to create your own solution without the VoiceOff.

 

Paul.

System Q Ltd.

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Thanks Paul I appreciate the reply

 

I suppose it depends on if the amp is in the doorknox or the monitors.  I'd already priced this mini add on job up as 2 of your sales chaps were adamant it was possible.  I know the Voiceoff would work but its very pricey for a talkback only speaker on a domestic property, plus I have to fit it somewhere.

 

If I can get this working the way I like with just the doorknox then I will start pushing it to new customers as it's the sort of thing they all want, and there is a gap in the market for something that ties in so nicely with the dvr. 

 

Thanks

Dale

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Hi Dale.

In regards the direction of audio. I think it may look for what to do with alarms and sound based on where the audio line sits in reference to ground, but I need to ask the tech team as to how it exactly works. It may be possible for you to create a solution yourself but I can check next week what the possibilities are and you can choose.

 

I would agree the VoiceOff is a tad big for your application. We are designing a new case for it so it will be “prettier” but that will not reduce its size.

 

As a last resort, if you are stuck we could supply you with a VoiceOff PCB only as we manufacturer the VoiceOff in house. (this would be lower cost) This may allow you to hide it somewhere else and drive the door cameras speaker via the VoiceOff?

 

Paul.

System Q Ltd.

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Hi Dale.

 

I have got the tech guys to do a few further tests and they say it will produce some sound without an amplifier, but as thought its too quiet to really be of any use.

 

Ideally you would need to use a basic audio amp and they have drawn up a schematic of how it would be wired.

 

You could get a basic audio amp for something like this perhaps online?

 

I will have a look if we have anything that small and simple that would do the job and let you know.

 

Paul.

DoorKnox Audio and AlienDVR.pdf

System Q Ltd.

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Thanks Paul that's fantastic!

 

Would you still be able to supply me with a VoiceOff PCB as I like the idea of using its relay to stop the talkback?

 

The cable run will be about 6 or 7 meters.  I plan on having all the kit at the DVR end.  Will alarm cable be suitable over this distance?

 

Thanks

Dale

 

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Hi Dale.

 

Yes we could if you PM me your details I will email you the VoiceOff PCB only cost.

 

I have our electronics designer who is looking at some amps we use for other applications to see if one of those could be adapted as it would be smaller and neater solution. 

 

Cheers,

 

Paul.

 

 

System Q Ltd.

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Hi Paul.  Thanks again for the the help so far. Was great to finally visit and see the full range on display in the shop.

 

I've built the setup on a test bench.  It works great apart from the echo / talkback.  I'm using the normally closed relay on the VoiceOff to route the audio back into the DVR and it just gets caught in a loop of switching on and off.  Even the sound of the relay clicking is enough to cause an echo!

 

The problem seems to be that the DVR audio out includes whatever enters the audio in as soon as the mic icon is selected on the app.  Is there anyway to configure it so that it's audio out only comes from remote talkback?  The speaker icon on the app doesn't seem to do anything, instead the mic button enables two way audio.  I assumed that the speaker would toggle audio in and the mic would toggle talkback?

 

Thanks

Dale

 

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  • 1 month later...

Just wanted to update.

 

Many thanks to Paul and Mike at SystemQ for helping me with this.  It's been working for the last month and the customer is very happy with it.  I couldn't quite get the relay to work properly, it kept getting stuck in a loop.  Instead added a changeover relay connected to the alarm outputs, so the custom toggles on and off an alarm output which activates talkback and disables the mic and vice versa.  A bit clunky for my liking plus the popup for the alarm output covers half the image, but the customer is happy with it, and there is no feedback.  I also outputted to the burglar alarm so that we have a doorchime and push notifications via the Texecom app.

 

There are several of these video entry systems on the market, a lot of standalone systems with their own app.  If you could adjust the doorknox to have a proper full duplex audio system it would be a great addition to the alien range.  Ideally push notifications would be expected nowadays.

 

Thanks again

Dale

Edited by installer_dale
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