Honeywell IPCAM-WIPS Posts

We have a quick tip today for users setting up Notifications on Total Connect 2.0, specifically regarding Notification Triggers for IP cameras. The HD cameras offer a much more diverse selection of Notification Triggers than legacy cameras, which have "Video Events" as their only option.

If you are not familiar with Total Connect 2.0 Text and Email Notifications, then the term "Notification Triggers" is used to identify the action(s) that cause text and/or email alerts to be sent to designated users. In the case of security cameras, you will likely want to be notified if your camera records a video clip. That way, you will know to check out the clip and make sure that everything is alright.

However, the selection of Notification Triggers is much wider if you are working with an HD camera versus and older legacy camera. For an HD camera, you can choose specific types of video captures for notifications, while leaving other types of video captures off the trigger list so that you aren't necessarily notified for every type of camera recording. For instance, you might want to be notified if your camera records a clip for an alarm event or due to detecting motion, but not if your camera begins recording due to sound-based detection.

Note the available selections in the list below. You can pick and choose which of these notifications you want to use with your Total Connect 2.0 HD camera, and which ones you do not. If you choose all eight (8), then it will essentially serve as the greyed out "Video Events" option, which is the only viable option when using legacy cameras.

But as you will notice for legacy cameras, only "Video Events" can be selected as the Notification Trigger. This is pretty much a cover-all option that includes all the individually selectable options that you would have for an HD camera. In other words, if you want to set up Notifications for any legacy cameras, then you will have to make it so that any and all camera activity will trigger a notification. For that reason, it is extra important that you adjust the sensitivity levels for your legacy cameras so that you aren't bombarded by alerts!

For reference, the only HD cameras used with Total Connect 2.0 are the Honeywell IPCAM-WIC1, the Honeywell IPCAM-WIC2, and the discontinued Honeywell IPCAM-WOC1. All other IP cameras used with TC2 are legacy devices. There is hope and speculation that Resideo (formerly Honeywell) will unveil some new HD cameras at upcoming ISC West 2021, but that is a story for another time.

This doesn't mean that if you mix and match legacy and HD cameras on a single TC2 account that you are restricted to "Video Events" for your Notification Triggers. You can create separate sets of notifications as needed so that you have fully customized alerts for your HD cameras, plus the "Video Events" Notifications set up for your legacy cameras.

Don't forget that Total Connect 2.0 allows you to have up to eight (8) HD cameras per account, plus a maximum of six (6) legacy cameras. You may want to refer to this helpful FAQ for more information on Total Connect 2.0 Clip Limits. We know that it can be a bit confusing regarding all the separate rules for HD vs legacy cameras on Total Connect 2.0, so definitely refer to that guide if you need a refresher!

Also, make sure to read our complete guide to setting up Total Connect 2.0 Notifications. That will show you exactly how to create TC2 Notifications the way you want so that you and those around you are properly alerted to events and activity on your security system, which includes any security cameras you have set up. Don't forget to leave a comment down below with your thoughts on Total Connect 2.0 Notifications and Alerts. We're very interested to hear what you have to say. And remember to stay tuned to the Alarm Grid Blog for more security content, news, and tips coming soon!

Honeywell has recently announced a change in the way that their Total Connect 2.0 video surveillance feature will work and the change will be implemented on or about April 19th (next Wednesday).

Currently, if you have Honeywell AlarmNet IPCAMs, you have the ability to view them remotely and have them record 10-second video clips based on a change in pixelation if you have the right Total Connect 2.0 service plan. We offer the TC2 video features without a contract required through our Self Platinum and Platinum plans at https://www.alarmgrid.com/monitoring and we even have a standalone TC2 video plan available at https://www.alarmgrid.com/video-monitoring for those that don't have a security system but want the TC2 video services.

Using a mobile device running the Total Connect 2.0 app, you can log-in and view up to 6 IPCAMs per TC2 location from wherever you are as long as the cameras are powered on and connected properly to the internet and you can watch any recorded videos.

Using the totalconnect2.com website, you can use the Video module to view the cameras remotely and you can also set up more advanced settings such as 10-second video clip recordings and alerts when video clips are captured. These clips are customized by the user and you can use the wrench icon on each camera to set up the areas of detection for each field of view and the sensitivity selections for how much movement is needed to trigger a clip. You can also setup schedules to determine when you want the cameras to record clips and when you only want live viewing capability with no recording happening.

Once you have the camera recording settings configured properly so that the cameras are recording clips of movement that you feel is important while ignoring other movements that aren't important, a new video clip will be stored to your TC2 account and will be available as a event in the Events & Notifications module. Currently, each TC2 location allows storage of up to 500MB of clips and auto-deletes the oldest available clip once the limit is reached. You do also currently have the option to "lock" certain clips that you don't want to be auto-deleted.

Here's where things change (on or about) April 19th, 2017...

While only Honeywell/AlarmNet IPCAMs currently work with Total Connect 2.0, Honeywell is (with great anticipation!) working on a new line of next generation cameras that will integrate with Total Connect 2.0 (we will have more details on the cameras at a later date) and they should be available sometime towards the end of this year.

New Seven Day Storage for Recorded Clips

In anticipation of the next generation cameras, Honeywell is transitioning all existing Total Connect 2.0 video accounts to a new 7 day plan where clips will only be available through the TC2 website/app for 7 days. The 500MB storage will go away and any clip that is older than seven days will be automatically deleted. Once the change is implemented, any currently recorded clip will be set to expire seven days later with the oldest clips being deleted first.

Regular non-TC2 video events will continue to be stored for 90 days,which is how the service works now, and first-in, first-out logic is employed when deleting the older clips.

No More Locking of TC2 Events

In addition to the changes to the video storage feature, Honeywell is removing the ability to "lock" a TC2 event (all events inclsuding security and video) so that you won't be able to save any event beyond the normal expiration (90 days for security and 7 days for video once the change is implemented).

The existing lock feature that allows you to permanently store a TC2 event/video clip:

They are providing a year grace period so that any currently locked events will stay locked up until April 15th, 2018 when all locked events will be deleted. We encourage all Total Connect 2.0 users to start saving all locked video clips outside of TC2 if you want them to still be available after April 15th of next year.

Also, we encourage all TC2 video users to start setting up email alerts with video clip attachments through their TC2 account so that each recorded clip can be saved/archived through email so that the clips are available beyond the new seven day limit.

While we are excited about the new cameras that are coming and the upgrades to Total Connect 2.0 and the video service, some of these changes may have an adverse affect if you don't update your account now to adjust for these changes. As always, let us know if you have any questions by emailing support@alarmgrid.com or calling M-F 9-9 EST.

4/19/17 - Updated: Honeywell has now scheduled the change to the video storage feature for sometime in May and the removal of the lock feature on the TC2 events is now scheduled for the week of the 24th.