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-VC725
- ADC-VC726
- ADC-VC736
- ADC-VC825
- ADC-VC826
- ADC-VC836
- ADC-VC727P
- ADC-VC827P
- ADC-VC728PF
- ADC-VC838PF
- ADC-VC847PF
- ADC-V729/V729AC/VC729P
SVRs
- ADC-CSVR2000P
- ADC-CSVR2008P
- ADC-CSVR2016P
- ADC-CSVR126
- ADC-SVR122
- ADC-SVR100
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).
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.
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 |
|
|---|---|
| HD |
|
| Full HD |
|
| 4 MP |
|
To change the maximum bitrate using the Alarm.com customer website:
Note: The maximum bitrate will reset to its default value whenever the recording schedule's resolution is changed.
- Log in to the Alarm.com customer website.
- Click Video.
- Click Recording Rules.
- Click Local Recordings.
- 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.
- Click Advanced Options.
- Using the Maximum Bitrate dropdown menu, select the desired bitrate. The available and default values are different for each resolution.
- 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.