Turn your Synology into a NVR (How to setup Synology Surveillance Station)

[@PeterHonig.]

We rely quite heavily on Surveillance Station on our commercial dairy goat farm, but we use it differently than most people. Namely, each kidding stall in our barn has a weather-proof Hikvision PTZ dome camera with microphone so we can monitor the state of the goats who are in labor (most goats require birthing assistance, or their kids do not survive). We never record any video, but instead watch the live streams. As such, disk space is irrelevant, which is why I like to use H264 and not any high-compression modes. What does matter is fairly decent resolution (2560x1440) and smooth motion at 15 fps. Another feature that we really like is the clickable floorplan (i.e., map). It lets us get to the right camera very quickly without having to remember camera names. Lastly, we have the DS-Cam app loaded on our smartphones so we can check on things when not at a computer. Since we make use of VLANs, I set up all our internal networking to communicate through several Cisco layer-3 managed switches and only use our router as a firewall between our facility and our ISP. I make use of a multiple-connection topology and spanning tree for redundancy. The next improvement I plan to implement is the use of multi-casting to increase efficiency since we have at least 4 people watching at any one time. Since I have never set up multi-casting before, I wonder if you could possibly do a tutorial on Surveillance Station multi-casting? Anyway, though I am very familiar with Surveillance Station, I still really enjoyed watching your tutorial. Thanks much.

[@HillbillyinMA]

Thanks for the video. I am building a new house and will use Synology Surveillance Station to monitor 4-6 cameras and 2 video doorbells. I purchased a DVA1622 to easily segregate my network and not have any performance issues on my other NAS. Also, it comes with 8 camera licenses. I bought Amcrest Cameras and video doorbells, but the new Reolink video doorbells look intriguing.

[@articcat121]

How is the DVA1622 holding up ?

[@peerapatchayanunnukul5529]

Just wanna shout out, you inspired a non networking guy to start a new hobby! From setting up the NAS and using it as file sharing to running home assistant on it and now also a surveillance station. Dude your VDOs are god's gift. Subscribed and thank you!

[@bradg0620]

Awesome video! One additional step I had to make with the latest version of Surveillance Station and an 811A camera was to login to the camera and enable RTSP under the Network Settings. Without that the camera will keep disconnecting.

[@imppaco]

Dude, your videos are fantastic! I looked through a handful before finding this one, and all of them are WAY to vague to be of any help. Thanks for filling in all the details!

[@Laspatoadv]

Thank you for making these videos. So much knowledge and experience distilled into a video.

[@ammej768]

As a cctv engineer/installer I would not consider using a Nas for CCTV. I certainly would not use a local network to stream cctv. All professional cctv recorders use a dedicated private switch to handle the camera streams thus taking the load off your network and improving security of the system. Most professional cctv systems are almost plug and play and are highly reliable. Remote access for maintenance is also another big feature.

[@booradlly]

All the major companies are using Synology now for surveillance. The apps are just so much better than the old-school CCTV crap Which don’t even have mobile apps half the time and when they do, they suck UniFi is probably the best, but as stated you have to use UniFi cameras, which suck DSM NVR is top-of-the-line

[@robertdrobertofphiladelphi3393]

Thanks so much for all the content! Always so helpful and insightful!

[@vardagsteknik6576]

Nice video for beginners. You can do a follow up for just Reolink cams regarding to motion detections. The one you have there do not have V/P detections on it, 510WA/511WA has it for example. And you can enable it in surveillance station for true nas support you do not have to get dva1622 etc, Reolink will handle the smart funktion then for V/P detection. The motion detection is really good in these cams to save storages on the nas. It's a litte bit tricky to config it at first regarding to sensitivity in the Reolink cam software, but after a wile you get a hang of it regarding frame to frame detection. You can also config detection areas were it wont care if it's motion there by draw a non detection area in software. Reolink cam also has HTTPS secure at port 443 for streams and secure certificate support, and you can also set static IP directly in the cam software. DS cam is a really good app for mobile phones to use with this setup also. But you have to set it to low in surveillance station config for stream on LTE outside your network. DS cam do not support mic/audio that easy, but Reolinks own app will. Regarding to admin login name on these cameras, it can't be changed!, only password. So you can set a very, very long password on that, and forget. Then create a second admin that you can set your own name and password for higher security. I have mailed Reolink about this issue. They haven't respond to this yet! Good work! Will

[@7alfatech860]

Thanks for the content and also for the clear advice. I have come across too many others who will just say do what works best for you.

[@Notch8]

Synology needs to match the recording tab streams to the device tab stream verbage. That part is confusing and then it make you think is it really using the camera stream or is it change settings.

[@notyak]

Did you connect the ethernet hub to the NAS or the router?

[@peterkral4660]

I don´t have surveillance station in package center, can someone help me?

[@colo5220]

Only allow to connect 2 cameras, if more then 2 cameras, you need to buy a license for each additional camera license.

[@ToTheWind]

I sent back my Reolink E1 Pro. It simply would not be recognised by my Synology router, even though I had used an ethernet connection. I tied so many different settings. These cameras need to work out of the box in order for me to consider buying hem.

[@kstevenson3504]

I have a simple question: I have Reolink cameras, and I already have their NVR with 9 cameras connected. Is it possible to use Synology to backup the Reolink NVR hard drives? I would put bigger hard drives in but Reolink's NVR are limited. Since the NVR is connected to the network, can i back up their NVR somehow?

[@DeathLikeWebz]

I'm still deciding if I want to do a NAS or use the Reolink RLN 36 channel NVR... it's 36 channel but has no PoE ports so I just need an external PoE switch instead of using a built in one...that NVR can do 3 x 16TB which is 48TB total..huge amount of storage

[@darkpenguin1978]

There are apps overthere like Vmobile for android and Ios that can detect your NAS Surveillance Station allow you from your phone have live and replay mode and footage search.

[@SpaceRexWill]

At least on iPhone there is a first party app that lets you do the same

[@DDtch6669]

Really god video! I just bought my self a Synology DS220+ NAS, never had one before and I'm planning to use it as a NVR as well. Do someone here maybe have a guide on how to connect IP Cameras from external networks to my NAS. I have one IP Camera at my mothers house and another one in my house in another country. It's TP-Link IP Cameras Tapo-C310

[@Roys3dShop]

Great video and well put together. Regarding the cost of the Synology licenses; Yikes! $50 per additional camera after just 2. That's unreal when there are better and cheaper options out there. To migrate a 16-camera setup I'd be looking at an additional $700 in licenses alone. I'll be looking elsewhere for the NVR aspect such as sticking with a dedicated Hardware NVR solution or setting up a dedicated Blue Iris PC. From my understanding, Blue Iris is far superior in every way to Surveillance Station. It seems that Synology missed the mark. It could have taken a significant share of the surveillance market. I suspect that I'm not the only one who's gone down this path and went elsewhere due to the high license cost. Even their dedicated NVRs come with only 8 licenses which is a deal breaker. However, I do like what I see so far regarding the Synology NAS putting the NVR part aside. Thanks again for making this video. It was very insightful and well put together.

[@RobertHorvat]

Hi, How to delete privilege of some user - uncheck playback box? It is checked and I can not unchecked it.

[@it2rickrivera]

Thank you, nice job.

[@Fryn_Hayn]

Hello, really enjoy your content! I am looking to get my parents set up with a few POE amcrest cameras. (about 3-4 max) I was looking into a DS220+ to use as an NVR. Do you think that would be sufficient in this use case? Thanks in advance!

[@harrysmith3547]

Hi Will Great Video (as usual). Just one question. Is there any way to not have the NAS running all the time. I have mine set to "motion detection only" so not sure why the NAS is always churning away. I assume its still recording everything then deleting because of the "5 mins before detection" setting, but there does not appear to be a way to avoid this or set this to zero. Any advise appreciated.

[@fabricioantonello8023]

Nice video, thanks. Would you know if it is possible to configure an USB extension as the volume to record the surveillance videos? I am having a hard time to configure that.

[@asifbadoordeen6933]

Hi can you please advice me how to connect two a dahua nvr

[@neilmackinnon5573]

Will it send a notification to my phone with the video excerpt of event that just happened? I.e. delivery at the door?

[@kurtlance1380]

Not all heroes wear capes

[@johnersj7099]

Is it possible under this setup to view the video from one or more cameras using an old iPad? My NAS is in the basement, but I would like to monitor at least the front door live.

[@joetsang1886]

Hello, i like how you explain everything and even make comparison with Unify's brand. I am currently building a project with >10 IP cameras from different sites of a farm and I am looking for cameras and NVRs that able to manage and display them in a grid view. I was quite impressed by Unify protect but the cost of each IP camera of their brand is insane. Can I ask i question here? If the IP cameras are located in other site which covered by WiFi internet but not in the same network with the Synology NAS, is it still possible to adopt all the cameras with other methods like port forwarding? Thank you for your video once again.

[@bvssrsguntur6338]

Which security system allows back up on NAS and as good as arlo security system with night vision?

[@user-bb3xt9ot7n]

And can the synology connect to tv?

[@resultspestcontrol]

My surveillance station interface for IP Camera is totally different.

[@mareiadel]

Hello, Can I allow any CCTV solution to overwrite the old saved CCTV footage automatically (I do not have any IP camera) , without a user intervention to delete the old data ? or this feature should be within the CCTV solution (I am using a user with full permission to access the NFS folder for my replication process, not a backup ). The flow : CCTV solution --store in to--> syn A --- repl. to ---> syn b Note I have only a single desk in my Synology , just a proof of concept.

[@mastweiler22]

I'll have to give it another go. I've had it working fine with a couple of older Reolink RLC-410-5MP but using a newer RLC-510A Surveillance Station completely messed up the exposure settings. Nothing I did after resolved it, setting it to let the camera do everything didn't help. In the end I just deleted the camera from the NAS and left the camera to internally record to SD...

[@SpaceRexWill]

That’s really strange. Did the files just end up way blown out or something?

[@user-bb3xt9ot7n]

Will imilab ip cameras work with synology surveillance?

[@hybridmx5]

How do I change the Lorex LNB9292B 4K camera from 20fps to 30fps? It says "Smart Motion Detection is enabled by default. When enabled, the camera's recording frame rate is reduced from 30fps to 20 fps. To obtain the maximum of 30 frames per second, the camera must be connected to a recorder that supports the maximum frame rate. Does the Synology 1522+ support 30fps? I tried searching everywhere for that setting but can't find it. I'm stuck at 20fps if I select 4K. Thanks

[@avishekgarai1250]

Can I resuse the 2 free camera licenses on a DiskStation if I happen to change or upgrade the camera in the future?

[@SpaceRexWill]

you can! All the licesnes are perpetual. The only thing is the 2 free ones cannot be transfered to a new NAS.

[@avishekgarai1250]

@@SpaceRexWill That's great! Thank you!

[@JasonsLabVideos]

Good video Rex ! What about Blue Iris ?

[@SpaceRexWill]

Interesting. I have never used it before but it’s priced pretty well

[@JasonsLabVideos]

@@SpaceRexWill YOU might get addicted now :) its very powerful and very good ! Mines in a vm been running 6 years now.

[@MikeS29]

Just got a new update today that disables certain features, such as motion detection and thumbnails for cameras with certain protocols. Do you have any insight about this new release?

[@SpaceRexWill]

Assuming you mean this update note: “Surveillance Station 8.2.11-7328 requires the DSM package Advanced Media Extensions to use the AAC audio and H.265 video format. If you do not go to the package for setup: (Only affects Synology devices running on DSM 7.1 or above.) For cameras that currently use AAC and support other audio formats, another format will be applied. For cameras that do not support other formats, their audio will be unavailable. For cameras that currently use H.265, video playing and Motion Detection by Surveillance Station will be unavailable.” Looks like it’s just if you have not installed the advanced media package for h265. Installing the package should fix that (if I am reading the release notes correct)

[@MikeS29]

@@SpaceRexWill - awesome, thank you!

[@jdigi78]

Very informative video. Slight critique: Your camera shots seem a bit dark across all your videos. It looks like the camera has plenty of light but you've toned down the brightness/contrast too much when editing.

[@SpaceRexWill]

Yeah have been fighting with my BMP6K. Saving for an upgrade

[@ensaladilla]

One question, I have a TAPO C200, an IP camera that has its TAPO application. In username and password for it to work I have to put the username and password that I create for the camera in the TAPO application, and that is how it works for me in Surveillance. Now my question... Are these IP cameras that with their application go through the servers (in this case TAPO), when they are linked to the NAS, do they also go through the servers of those companies? Or does it go directly by WIFI camera-NAS? Thanks.

[@eatsomesnow155]

Hey, nice video! Could you create another video on how to set up the (UniFi) firewall for a surveillance camera lan? The plan might be for home users overpowered but I want to unterstand the things I use. I want that even a hacker takes down the camera and plug the ethernet cable in his devices that „the cable“ is worthless for hisa purpose.

[@SpaceRexWill]

Done right here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIHWoXppe5KhsMU

[@robertekeroth839]

How do you connect a remote reolink camera that is on another network from the NAS?

[@SpaceRexWill]

You would need some kind of tunnel in between them. Easiest thing would be a site to site vpn

[@robertekeroth839]

@@SpaceRexWill Ok I have thought about that, but since it so easy to add remote cameras into my phone and app, it should be as easy to add it to my NAS. The cameras are sending out all information to internet without any additional config, just scan the QR code and your up and running. But I dont know the ports or any other details on how reolink if pushing the data to my phone.

[@ronw6808]

Great video. Was wondering if I do utilize two streams and set it to record high quality on motion and lower quality the rest of the time, will it require 2 licenses for that camera? I thought I had read that somewhere but haven’t experimented with it.

[@SpaceRexWill]

According to the documentation the only time you need more then one license per camera is if it has more then one lens. So you should not have to, but I have not tested this

[@---GOD---]

Is it better to use one large 16TB drive.. or.. two 8TB drives in RAID0? I have six 4k cams and six 2k cams recording 24/7.

[@SpaceRexWill]

It would be a bit of a wash actually because the security camera is always writing small but sequential files.

[@philipkwon3710]

I have a very important question. Do cameras have to be in the same network as Synology NAS to make this work? Is there any way I can make this work for cameras that is not in the same network as Synology NAS? I have a project plan but it would only work if it is possible to run this with cameras on different site.

[@SpaceRexWill]

Hmmmm. It will work over a VPN but you would need a fast connection

[@martinh196]

Great quality,thanks. Can the footage be deleted by a criminal who steals the camera in a camera/Nas setting ?

[@SpaceRexWill]

The camera cannot delete the footage. But if they get the NAS they obviously could just steal the drives. There is an option to backup the recordings to the cloud coming

[@martinh196]

@@SpaceRexWill thanks very much... I was considering the nas already as a backup for the Eufy home base...maybe i go for this:eudy security system including eufy cameras with nas back up.

[@martinh196]

@@SpaceRexWill its difficult to hide interior cameras but the nas could be hidden, even behind bars

[@RandyASilva]

Hi, great video! I have a 920+ using 3 bays (SHR) each with 10TB drives. If I wanted to add a separate volume just for surveillance station, do I need to match the drive size of 10TB?

[@SpaceRexWill]

If you are going to make your own storage pool then it can be whatever size you want

[@RandyASilva]

@@SpaceRexWill thank you!

[@eloy0947]

Hi ! Is it really possible to have 2 differents volume (one ext4 + one btrfs) on the same hdd ? thank you !

[@yankee-in-london]

Just wondering ... I have the DS16xs+ which I know has expansion bays but ... saw your comment about adding an external ext4 drive as a separate volume. Can this be done cheaply? Do you have any recommendations? Do I need to be looking at a Synology expansion unit or can I go off brand?

[@yankee-in-london]

Of course maybe the best thing is to free up a free slot. I have all six drives filled with 6TB drives with Raid 6 but I could probably live with 3 drives using Raid 5 (so wish I could use SHA on the xs+). That way I reuse some of my 6TB drives for video storage until they burn out and I can buy NVR drives instead. No idea how to do this so not sure how much pain I'm asking for.

[@yurikmy2817]

Great video, that I was looking for for a long time! Thanks! What about CPU performance? I'm going to buy Synology ds920+ for 2 purposes: fileserver and NVR. Currently, I have an old PC (4 cores CPU) with TrueNas with Zoneminder jail but only ZM loads CPU more than 70%. Will it be better to switch to Synology ds920+?

[@SpaceRexWill]

Video rendering is rough. Really hard to say what your CPU utilization would be on a synology, but would be probably higher then a old PC

[@ssn22]

I THINK WE NEED DETAILED INSTRUCTION HOW TO SET UP WEBDAV SEVERER ON SYNOLOGY AND ACCESSING IT FROM INTERNET WITH ANDROID IOS DEVICES !! NOTHING LIKE THIS IS ON INTERNET !!!

[@booradlly]

This is a terrible terrible terrible idea, if that drive fails you lose everything. Not just what’s on that drive, but was on the other drive as well. You should always have at least one drive redundancy. For Synology, it is a very bad idea to split the bays. All bay should go to one volume Anything else and you’ll just be riddled with Synology errors if you ever try to migrate