Live video streaming

Mobile device compatibility

Streaming live video is available on the Alarm.com app. The Alarm.com app is available on iOS and Android. For more information about device compatibility, see Alarm.com app - Device compatibility.

Additionally, any web-enabled cell phone with an HTML browser can view real-time live video using the Alarm.com customer website. Streaming video is also available on some phones with full HTML browsers. The data charges by the cellular service provider can be significant for using video features on cell phones. For more information about supported browsers, see Which browser versions does Alarm.com support?.

Web browser compatibility on computers

Alarm.com video features are available on Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome on both Windows and Macintosh computers. For more information about browser requirements, see What internet browser software is needed to use Alarm.com video devices?. 

Device-specific considerations

Streaming methods and timeout expectations

WebRTC is one type of technology that Alarm.com uses to establish a connection between a camera and a customer device. It is supported by all major browsers and is widely used in real-time communication applications, including Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.

For compatibility requirements and more information regarding WebRTC end-to-end streaming, see What is WebRTC end-to-end streaming?.

Digital zoom 

Users can use the video interface to digitally zoom in/out on a live video feed and pan around when zoomed in, but the camera's video quality and optical zoom level will remain the same.

Note: Digital zoom is not available on saved clips. 

Digital and physical pan-tilt-zoom

Integrated digital or physical pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) features use a similar interface to digital zoom that allows users to save and apply preset orientations in addition to the zoom and pan controls. Video devices with integrated PTZ are as follows:

• ADC-V622/ADC-V622-WELL (digital)
• ADC-V620PT (physical)
• ADC-610PT (physical)

For more information about how to use PTZ presets, see the User Guide section of the desired pan-tilt camera in Video Devices.

Simultaneous viewers

For information about simultaneous viewers, see How many users can view the live video stream simultaneously?.

View multiple live video streams

For more information about viewing multiple live video streams at a time, see How many video devices can a user view at once?.

Multi-camera live view and group management for mobile

Video recording

Users can request that the video device record a clip using the live video interface. For information about on-demand recording, see Manually record video clips.

Enterprise live view

When logged into an Enterprise account through the Alarm.com customer website, users can view live camera streams across multiple locations simultaneously. Additionally, video devices across different locations can be grouped together using camera groups. For more information about camera groups, see Create/edit a camera group.

Camera groups 

Create and edit camera groups from the Manage Camera Groups page, which includes a preview of each camera. For more information about camera groups, see Create/edit a camera group.

Toggle high definition

Click  to toggle between high definition and non-HD. High definition offers the best quality resolution, but non-HD allows the user to reduce the quality if bandwidth is a concern.

Search for cameras

Type a name into the camera search bar to find individual cameras.

Note: This option appears while on a camera group containing five or more video devices.

Expand / Full screen

Using the Alarm.com customer website, view live video in full screen by clicking , view in theater mode by clicking , or view the expanded live video by clicking .

Using the Alarm.com app, view live video in full screen by tapping .

Layout options

Note: The live video streams will automatically resize to fit the screen. 

Using the Alarm.com customer website, users can view up to 25 live video streams at a time.

•  is the default live video stream layout. Click  or  to decrease or increase the amount of cameras displayed up to a 5+5 layout. 
• To arrange live video streams with a preset layout, click  and select the desired layout.
  • Click  to arrange streams in a 1+3 layout.
  • Click  to arrange streams in a 1+5 layout.
  • Click  to arrange streams in a 1+7 layout.
  • Click  to arrange streams in a 2+8 layout.
  • Click  to arrange streams in a 4+2+4 layout. 
     
    Note: Live video stream layouts will not display if the customer does not have enough cameras to fill it. 
     
• For accounts with more than 25 cameras, click  or to view additional stream pages.

Using the Alarm.com app, the live video streams are arranged in a grid based on screen size.

• Flick up or down to scroll between streams.

Swipe between live video feeds

Using the Alarm.com app, users can swipe between different cameras on the mobile app dashboard.

Note: This feature requires Alarm.com version 4.5+ for iOS and 4.5.1 for Android. For more information about finding the Alarm.com app version, see Find the Alarm.com app version on a device.