Synology Surveillance Station
David Ludlow uses his NAS and this free program to store his security videos online
Choose a security camera from a big-name company (Ring, Google and so on) and you’ll pay a lot for both the device and the subscription required to watch the footage. One alternative is to buy a budget camera and store footage on an SD card, but these typically have fewer features.
My solution to this dilemma was to buy a budget camera, and combine it with Synology Surveillance Station, which is free software that works with any Synology NAS drive. This meant I could control the camera through my 1TB NAS and store the footage there, rather than on the camera’s SD card.
First, I checked on Synology’s site ( www.snipca.com/40243) for a camera that’s compatible with Surveillance Station. I like Annke’s cameras because video quality is excellent and the cameras are relatively cheap. The C800 ( www.snipca.com/40246), for example, shoots 4K video but costs just £48.
To install Surveillance Station, I went to the Synology home page (type http:// name of your NAS into a web browser) and logged in. Next, I opened Package Center and searched for Surveillance Station, then clicked Install, selecting the default options for the installation. I then set up my camera, adding it to my home network, and made a note of its IP address.
Next, in Synology Surveillance Manager, I clicked the ‘add’ link on the home page, then Quick Setup and clicked Next. I ignored the Name entry (this appears automatically), then entered my camera’s IP address. Synology lets you select the brand and model of your camera, which for my Annke cameras was HIKVISION and GENERIC_HIKVISION respectively. To make sure the camera was working, I clicked Test Connection, which showed me a camera preview. I was then able to click my camera in the list and view the live feed.
Next, I needed to edit my camera’s settings. I selected my camera, clicked the Edit button, then selected Edit in the dropdown menu. I clicked the Video tab, then changed the resolution under the ‘Stream 1’ heading to the maximum the camera supports (3840x2160) and the frame rate to 20fps (also the maximum). Under ‘Stream Profile’ I changed the Balanced and Low bandwidth options to Stream 2. This uses low-resolution video for smoother streaming on less reliable connections, such as from a phone.
By default, cameras record continuously, but I prefer the Motion Detection option. I clicked Recording Settings, then Schedule, followed by Motion Detection, and then selected every grey box to turn them green ( in our screenshot).
I then clicked Event Detection and set ‘Detection algorithm source’ to By Surveillance Station, and otherwise left the default options. I then clicked Edit Detection Area, clicked the Reset option (the eraser icon ), then clicked the ‘+’ icon ( ) and drew a box around the area in my back garden I wanted to keep an eye on ( ).
To get the best quality recordings, I clicked the Stream tab and set Motion Detection to the ‘High quality’ setting. To view recordings, I go to the menu in Synology Surveillance Manager and select Recording. Finally, to get motion notifications and view a live feed when I’m away from home, I use Synology’s ‘DS cam’ app (Android and IOS: www. snipca.com/40251). This works best if you set up a Synology Quickconnect ID ( www.snipca.com/40248).