Video Analytics for Alarm.com doorbell cameras is optimized for identifying people at the door and sending a timely notification to the user.

Differences from general Video Analytics #

The Video Analytics rule for doorbell cameras operates differently from general Video Analytics. Video Analytics for doorbell cameras has the following features:

• One Video Analytics recording rule per device
• Only Ground Zone rules can be created
• Only people can be detected

Camera setup #

Camera placement #

Position	The doorbell camera should be installed upright in the same place a typical doorbell is installed. The typical height for a doorbell is 40 to 44 inches (101.6 to 111.76 centimeters) from the ground.
Angle	The angle of the doorbell camera can be adjusted using one of the included angled mounting brackets. If the angle needs to be adjusted to avoid obstacles or improve video coverage of the approach
Distance	Doorbell Video Analytics is designed to detect all people day or night within 10 feet, and may detect people beyond that range that are included in the ground zone depending on the size of the person, angle, elevation, and sensitivity setting.

Chime type #

Verify that the proper chime type is selected for the Alarm.com doorbell camera. For more information about how to configure the chime type, see Adjust the chime type.

Wireless Video Doorbell considerations #

PIR sensor overview #

The Wireless Video Doorbell uses a PIR motion sensor to conserve battery resources. Before the Video Analytics object detection process starts, the Wireless Video Doorbell must first detect motion using the PIR sensor.

When the Wireless Video Doorbell detects motion using the PIR sensor, it wakes up the device fully, and allows it to use Video Analytics to detect a person.

• If Video Analytics detects a person, the device records and uploads the clip and sends any notifications the customer has configured.
• Otherwise, the device goes back to sleep without recording a clip or notifying the user.

PIR configuration best practice #

Adjust the sensitivity of the PIR sensor to optimize when it detects motion and wakes the device up.

• If the sensitivity is set too low, the device may not detect visitors at the edge of the recording area. If that is the case, incrementally increase the sensitivity and monitor the recordings.
• If the sensitivity is set too high, clip recordings will be unaffected, but the device may wake up and process too many events reducing the battery life unnecessarily.

To adjust the sensitivity, use the motion sensitivity slider in the doorbell’s settings.

Create the Video Analytics rule #

➧ To create the Video Analytics rule using the Customer website:

Note: Only one recording rule can be created per doorbell camera.

1. Log in to the Customer website.
2. Click  Video.
3. Click Recording Rules.
4. Click Add New Rule.
5. Click to select Video Analytics.
6. Click to select the desired Alarm.com doorbell camera.

➧ To create the Video Analytics rule using the Customer app:

Note: Only one recording rule can be created per doorbell camera.

1. Log in to the Customer app.
2. Tap Video.
3. Tap .
4. Tap Recording Rules.
5. Tap Add.
6. Tap Video Analytics. 
7. Tap to select the desired Alarm.com doorbell camera.

Configure the Video Analytics rule #

To configure the trigger: #

1. In the Rule Name field, enter a name for the recording rule.
2. Click and drag the corners of the shape to cover only the ground where the person’s feet will be, or click and drag inside the shape to move the shape it. To clear the current area of interest and restart, click Clear ground zone.
3. Use the Detection Sensitivity slider to select the desired sensitivity.

To customize when the rule is active: #

1. Using the Set Minimum Delay Between Clips dropdown menu, select the desired timeframe. This setting determines how long the camera must wait after recording a clip to trigger another recording.
2. In The Rule will run…, click to select At all times or Only during the following times.
   • If Only during the following times is selected:
     1. Click to select the days of the week to record on.
     2. Using the Begin dropdown menu, select the time for the recording rule to start.
     3. Using the End dropdown menu, select the time for the recording rule to stop.
3. In Except when…, click to select any available exceptions that turn the rule off regardless of the schedule. Options depending on the equipment include: the panel is armed away, the panel is armed stay, and Geo-Device is inside a specified Geo-Fence.
    Note: If the location has a security system with multiple partitions, the at-home settings only apply to the first/main partition.

To configure the notifications: #

• Click to select the desired notification recipients. It is recommended to use push notifications to a phone using the dropdown option to attach a thumbnail.
• Attach a Thumbnail and Text Only are the available options for Push, SMS, and Email notifications for the ADC-VDB770.

To configure light-automation rules: #

Camera-driven light automation rules require Lights to be enabled on the customer’s service package along with at least one light device enrolled on the account. If these requirements are met, the Light Automation section appears toward the bottom of the Video Analytics Rule.

Note: Lights cannot be enabled during a time when the Video Analytics rule is not set to record (e.g., if the device is set to record only at night, lights cannot be set to turn on during the daytime because no clip would have been recorded).

1. Using the Turn on selected lights for dropdown menu, select how long the lights should turn on for.
2. Click to select which lights are to be automated by the rule.
3. In During these time frames, click to select At all times, Only during the following times, or Only after sunset.
   • If Only during the following times is selected:
     1. Click to select which days of the week on which to record.
     2. Using the Begin dropdown menu, select the time for the recording rule to start.
     3. Using the End dropdown menu, select the time for the recording rule to stop.

To enable Touchless Doorbell: #

1. Click the Enable Touchless Doorbell toggle to enable Touchless Doorbell.
2. Click and drag to create an area where the guest can stand that triggers the Video Doorbell to ring.
3. Using the Duration Inside Area of Interest dropdown menu, select how long the guest must stay in the zone to trigger the Video Doorbell.
4. Click Save.

Note: Notifications triggered by the Touchless Doorbell feature appear as button press events. The event cannot be changed to something other than a button press.