Axis A8105 Doorbell Integration with DW Spectrum® IPVMS

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Affected Roles: Administrator, Owner

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Complexity: Medium

Software Version: DW Spectrum v4.2 or newer

Last Edit: May 26, 2022

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Axis A8105 Doorbell Camera and DW Spectrum

One of the convenience features supported by DW Spectrum is the ability to assign soft-trigger interactions to cameras. For example, in a previous case where an Axis A8105 doorbell camera was integrated with DW Spectrum, the device was set up to send an alert through the server when someone pressed the call button at a locked door.

It was set up so that a notification would be sent to the user’s phone through DW Spectrum. Upon acknowledging the notification, the user was then able to confirm who was at the door using the camera’s video in their DW Spectrum Client. They could then use 2-way audio to speak with the person at the door and remotely unlock the door using a soft trigger button.

This article will outline how this integration was set up as an example for its use by others.

**NOTE: Not every feature is guaranteed to work when adding 3rd party cameras. Some 3rd party cameras may need additional configuring to add to DW Spectrum Servers, however most ONVIF compliant cameras will work.

**NOTE: The Axis A8105 doorbell camera acted as an additional relay between the door’s electronic lock and the DW Spectrum IPVMS software. Additional setup and configuration are required to use DW Spectrum as additional access control.

Integrating the Device

After adding the Axis A8105E doorbell camera to the DW Spectrum System, creating this setup will require creating Event Rules and creating a soft trigger.

Part 1: Enable Camera Audio

Open a web browser and enter the IP address of the Axis A8105-E camera to connect with the camera’s web client.

If the camera has been added to the DW Spectrum System, you can access its web interface through the DW Spectrum Client’s Web Page function.

**NOTE: DW Spectrum authenticates its connections with cameras and devices through the network by knowing the camera’s login information. Be sure to include the camera’s login (ID and password) when adding the camera to DW Spectrum.

Select the Video & Audio menu tab and select the Audio Settings menu.

To use the 2-way audio of the camera with DW Spectrum, make sure that the camera’s audio function is enabled and allows for 2-way audio.

Some camera manufacturers will only enable partial audio so you may also need to set the Audio Mode in the camera’s Audio Settings menu.

Full-duplex – simultaneous, two-way audio that will allow the transmission or reception of audio at the same time; may cause feedback loops and echoing effect
Half-duplex – two-way audio can be used with the Axis product, but transmitting or receiving audio may only happen one direction at a time

To enable audio in DW Spectrum, enable the camera’s audio setting in the Axis camera’s Camera Settings menu.

Part 2: Configuring the Camera’s I/O Ports

After enabling the camera audio, navigate to the Axis camera’s System Options menu. From there, open the Ports & Devices > I/O Ports menu.

Configure the I/O Ports of the Axis A8105-E camera as follows:

I/O	Port Type	Name	Usage	Normal State
	Input	Call button	Button	Inactive
IO1	Input	Input 1		Open circuit
IO2	Output	Tampering	Tampering	Open circuit
RELAY	Relay	Door	Door	Open circuit

Be sure to Save the I/O Ports settings to apply the changes to the camera.

Part 3: Create DW Spectrum Soft Trigger

You can create a clickable button in DW Spectrum that can be used to send a relay signal to the doorbell camera. A soft trigger can only be used in this way if there is a relay device that can be assigned to the Event Rule in DW Spectrum.

To create a soft trigger for the camera:

As an Administrator in DW Spectrum, open the System Administration menu and select “Event Rules”.

In the Event Rules list, click the Add button.

To have DW Spectrum tell the doorbell camera to use its relay output when someone clicks the soft trigger button in DW Spectrum, configure the following Event Rule settings:

When – Soft Trigger
At – AXISA8105E
Available to – select which users can use the soft trigger
Name – Door Unlock
Icon – select the icon that will display as the soft trigger when viewing the selected camera
Schedule – [optional] specify when this Event Rule will be available within the System
Do – Camera output
At – AxisA8105E
Outdoor ID – Door
Fixed duration – enable this setting and set for 5 seconds.

Click the Apply button to save the settings and add the rule.

Part 4: Create DW Spectrum Event Rules

Next, the Event Rules must be created to have DW Spectrum to alert when the Axis A8105-E doorbell camera’s Call button is pressed.

To create an Event Rule to send mobile notifications:

To have DW Spectrum send a mobile notification when someone presses the doorbell button on the camera, configure the following Event Rule settings:

When – Input signal on Camera
Starts/Stops – Starts
At – AXISA8105E
Input ID – Call button
Schedule – [optional] specify when this Event Rule will be active within the System
Do – Send mobile notification
Interval of action – enabled
no more than once per – 1 sec
To – “All Administrators” is selected by default; you can change which users will receive the mobile notification

Click the Apply button to save the settings and add the rule.

Next, click the Add button to add another Event Rule.

To have DW Spectrum show a desktop notification in the DW Spectrum Client when someone presses the doorbell button on the camera, configure the following Event Rule settings:

When – Input signal on Camera
Starts/Stops – Starts
At – AXISA8105E
Input ID – Call button
Schedule – [optional] specify when this Event Rule will be active within the System
Do – Show desktop notification
Interval of action – enabled
no more than once per – 1 sec
To – “All Administrators” is selected by default; you can change which users will receive the mobile notification
Force Acknowledgement – [optional] will require the notified user to acknowledge the notification to dismiss the alert if enabled.

Click the Apply button to save the settings and add the rule.

Click the OK button to save and close the Event Rules window.

Configuration Results

After configuring the Event Rules in DW Spectrum for the Axis doorbell camera, the setup results in the following:

When someone presses the Call button on the doorbell camera, the Event Rules will trigger a notification which is then sent to the DW Spectrum mobile applications and desktop applications of the selected users to alert that the Call button has been pressed.

The user can then acknowledge the notification from the DW Spectrum Client (mobile or desktop).

Pressing the microphone soft trigger icon allows the user to use 2-way audio to speak through the camera using the DW Spectrum Client (microphone required). Audio needs to be turned on in both DW Spectrum and in the camera to allow audio.

Pressing the unlock soft trigger icon will cause DW Spectrum to signal the relay in the doorbell camera to trigger and signal the door to lock or unlock (depending on relay wiring).