Alarm.com Commercial Camera Internet Bandwidth Guidelines - Fall 2022

Commercial video internet bandwidth guidelines
Alarm.com video systems are dynamic, and bandwidth requirements depend on customer usage.
For more information
about general video bandwidth requirements, see
What are the internet service and bandwidth requirements for
Alarm.com video devices?
.
This article focuses on the requirements of the commercial video camera series and
Stream Video Recorder
(SVR)
products as follows:
Commercial video devices
Cameras
•
ADC-VC838PF
•
ADC-VC847PF
•
ADC-VC728PF
•
ADC-VC827P
•
ADC-VC826
•
ADC-VC836
•
ADC-VC726
•
ADC-VC736
•
ADC-VC725
•
ADC-VC825
SVRs
•
ADC-CSVR2000P
•
ADC-CSVR2008P
•
ADC-CSVR2016P
•
ADC-CSVR126
•
ADC-SVR122
•
ADC-SVR100
https://answers.alarm.com/Partner/Installation_and_Troubleshooting/Video_Devices/General_Video_Information/Commercial...
Updated: Wed, 10 Aug 2022 19:27:00 GMT
1 When
Alarm.com cameras use upload bandwidth
Alarm.com cameras need a consistent
connection to Alarm.com for configuration and management purposes.
However,
the amount of upload bandwidth required is very low when
no video is leaving the local network.
Actions that use measurable upload bandwidth
•
A user is remotely viewing live footage.
•
A user remotely plays back footage from an
SVR.
•
A clip is uploaded to the cloud.
Note
: Local (onsite) live view and SVR playback do
not require upload bandwidth. This is true both for the SVR's
local
interface (VGA/HDMI outputs) and the web/mobile interfaces while they are on the same local network as the video
devices.
Bandwidth Requirements
Minimum bandwidth requirements are typically based on a single user viewing one live video stream remotely. Other
factors that affect how much bandwidth a particular user might need for their video system are as follows:
Remote live video
Resolution
Bandwidth using default bitrate
4 Megapixels (2688 x 1520)
4 Mbps per camera
Full High Definition (1920 x 1080)
2 Mbps per camera
High Definition (1280 x 720)
1 Mbps per camera (default)
Standard Definition (640 x 360)
0.5 Mbps per camera
The user can choose to view up to four
cameras at a time per session using the Customer Website. Four
cameras
streaming in
720p would require approximately 4 Mbps of upload bandwidth total (1 Mbps per camera).
If multiple remote live view sessions are active simultaneously, the bandwidth required multiplies
accordingly (e.g., if two
users were both viewing four camera streams at 720p
each, the upload bandwidth would need to be 8 Mbps).
https://answers.alarm.com/Partner/Installation_and_Troubleshooting/Video_Devices/General_Video_Information/Commercial...
Updated: Wed, 10 Aug 2022 19:27:00 GMT
2 Remote SVR
playback
Video resolution
Bandwidth using default bitrate
4 Megapixels (2688 x 1520)
4 Mbps per camera
multiplied by SVR playback speed
Full High Definition (1920 x 1080)
2 Mbps per camera
multiplied by SVR playback speed
High Definition (1280 x 720)
1 Mbps per camera
multiplied by SVR playback speed
The user can choose to play back
up to four
video streams at a time per session using the Customer Website. Viewing
four 720p
streams at 1x playback speed
requires approximately 4 Mbps of upload bandwidth (1 Mbps per stream).
Playback speed
Playback speed
affects how much bandwidth is used when playing video back from the SVR using the Customer
Website.
The video device's bandwidth requirements are multiplied by the remote playback speed (e.g., 2x
playback speed
doubles the base bandwidth requirements, 4x
quadruples it, etc.).
Estimate days of recording
To get a rough estimate of how many rolling days of recorded video
an SVR can store, see
How much video can be
stored on Alarm.com SVRs?
.
Clip uploads
Uploading a clip requires up to 2.5 Mbps per camera during the upload process.
When cameras are configured to record clips to the account, upstream bandwidth will be used to upload them. On
accounts with an SVR, which records 24/7 locally, it is best practice to
set up clips to be recorded only for specific
events. This
reduces the amount of bandwidth and clip uploads the user needs.
Suggested recording rules
•
A person or vehicle approaches the property when the system is armed (Video Analytics rule)
◦
For
more information about creating a
Video Analytics
rule, see
Configure a Video Analytics
rule
.
•
An alarm goes off
•
An access control entry on a secure door or invalid access attempt
•
Arming/Disarming
By default, clips are set to record at HD 720p and will only use bandwidth when transmitting.
https://answers.alarm.com/Partner/Installation_and_Troubleshooting/Video_Devices/General_Video_Information/Commercial...
Updated: Wed, 10 Aug 2022 19:27:00 GMT
3 For more information about creating recording rules, see
Create/edit a video
recording rule
.
Bitrate
The default maximum
bitrate
depends on the video resolution. Pro Series video devices can be configured with a
custom bitrate
in the advanced settings of the
local recording schedules.
•
Decrease
the maximum bitrate
to optimize the bandwidth usage. Periods of motion may appear pixelated.
•
Increase the maximum bitrate
to improve the video quality.
Maximum bitrate configuration options
SD
•
0.5 Mbps only
HD
•
0.5
Mbps
•
0.75
Mbps
•
1
Mbps (default)
•
1.5
Mbps
•
2
Mbps
Full HD
•
1
Mbps
•
1.5
Mbps
•
2
Mbps (default)
•
3
Mbps
•
4
Mbps
4 MP
•
2 Mbps
•
3 Mbps
•
4 Mbps (default)
•
6 Mbps
•
8 Mbps
To change the maximum bitrate
using the Customer Website:
Note
: The maximum bitrate will reset to its default value whenever the recording schedule's resolution is changed.
https://answers.alarm.com/Partner/Installation_and_Troubleshooting/Video_Devices/General_Video_Information/Commercial...
Updated: Wed, 10 Aug 2022 19:27:00 GMT
4 1.
Log into the Customer Website.
2.
Click
Video
.
3.
Click
Recording Rules
.
4.
Click
Local Recordings
.
5.
Create a new recording schedule
or edit an existing one for a Pro Series video device. The bitrate configuration is
available for SVR and onboard recording schedules.
6.
Click
Advanced Options
.
7.
Using the
Maximum Bitrate
dropdown menu, select the desired bitrate. The available and default values are
different for each resolution.
8.
Click
Save
.
If the network does not meet the bandwidth requirements:
•
Verify cloud clips are not configured
to record constantly
•
Reduce the resolution/frame
rate of clip recording
•
Encourage the following if possible:
◦
Play video back only on
the local network where no bandwidth will be used.
◦
Set the recording resolution of the cameras to SD instead of HD.
◦
When remote live video
is necessary, only view one camera at a time.
◦
When viewing remote SVR playback, keep it at 1x
speed.
https://answers.alarm.com/Partner/Installation_and_Troubleshooting/Video_Devices/General_Video_Information/Commercial...
Updated: Wed, 10 Aug 2022 19:27:00 GMT
5