Are all the Surety plans using Alarm.com? Who does the monitoring? Just curious.
With the camera plans, what does 1000 video recordings/month actually mean? I plan to have a few cameras and just want to make sure I have the appropriate plan (I saw there was one with 5000 recordings per month).
Does anyone know if how the SVR works? Do all camera plans require an SVR? Or is that optional to use an SVR between the camera and (I assume) Alarm.com? Do I need any other equipment other than the SVR and cameras?
Yes all plans are Alarm.com. AvantGuard Monitoring does our professional monitoring.
Video clips is the number of video events that can be uploaded per month. The SVR isn’t required but I highly recommend it. It’s does 24/7 continuous recording instead of just clips. If you plan to heavily use cameras you should get an SVR.
No, you don’t need any other equipment. The cameras are WIFI or ethernet and upload video clips to the cloud when an event occurs. The SVR is a local recorder that gives you continuous recording and it still records when your internet is down. Alarm.com video is better with the SVR. I recommend it too.
Hey Ryan and Roy. Thanks for getting back to me. I noticed that some of the items I wanted to pick up aren’t actually currently available (like the SVR). Could I order those from other vendors without any issues? Also, could I just order those at a later date and change my plan when I get those in (from you or another vendor)?
Also, I saw that the Qolsys ID Panel 2+ comes in several flavors for sensor compatibility. Do you have any recommendation on which way to go with that? It seems like if I go with the S-Line/319 MHz, there is direct compatibility with IQ sensors, but there are probably fewer sensor options available than if I went with the panel that supports 2GIG and Honeywell sensors (345 MHz). Other than the S-Line encrypted signal benefit, can you think of good reasons to go with the S-Line/319 MHz version? Curious what your thoughts are on that.
Thanks!
One use case I’m looking at is adding garage door sensors for example.
I noticed that some of the items I wanted to pick up aren’t actually currently available (like the SVR). Could I order those from other vendors without any issues? Also, could I just order those at a later date and change my plan when I get those in (from you or another vendor)?
Compatible items can be purchased elsewhere and still used with our service. Additionally, plans can be changed at any time through your Surety account dashboard after service has been purchased and setup.
Many Alarm.com products are currently on back order due to Covid-19 so we do not have an ETA on when those items would be restocked.
Also, I saw that the Qolsys ID Panel 2+ comes in several flavors for sensor compatibility. Do you have any recommendation on which way to go with that?
Typically, this would matter if you already have existing sensors that you want to use. Are you starting from scratch, or do you already have some RF sensors in place?
If you are starting from scratch, I would recommend the 319.5MHz version as the base S-Line sensors sold through Surety offer encryption vs the Honeywell 345 sensors, which do not.
Although all versions of the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ include a DSC brand PowerG daughter card to use encrypted sensors as well.
One use case I’m looking at is adding garage door sensors for example.
Are you referring to automated Garage Door Control or just RF sensors to display the state of the rollup door itself?
Thanks again for the reply! I’m not too worried about the encryption portion of the sensors or at least not as much as I am worried about just having a large selection of sensors. Maybe the sensors all work the same and I shouldn’t worry too much about that, but I do like to find the slimmer looking sensors (like the Ion Security Micra window sensors). I worry about not having a very good selection of sensors, but I guess I just need to balance that out for myself. I’m starting a system from scratch. I’ll probably start with door sensors, motion, and garage (tilt) sensors and then probably in a month or two I’ll add a few cameras to the mix with an SVR.
I’ll look and see if the sensors make all that big of a difference but it seems like having the ability to tap into any Honeywell or 2GIG sensor. I just wasn’t sure if the IQ sensors were special other than that they are encrypted (e.g. rather than a sensor just being a generic on/off sensor, the IQ sensors could show up as a specific type of sensor with a better context for what that sensor does if that makes sense).
In addition to Qolsys S-Line, the 319.5MHz version of the Qolsys IQ 2+ also works with GE/Interlogix wireless sensors. Another alternative is Alula makes a pretty good line of sensors where the sensors have different SKUs compatible with each wireless security sensor type.
The Qolsys S-Line sensors are just like GE/Interlogix sensors but with encryption.
Thanks for the help. I think with GE/Interlogix as well as the DSC and Qolsys sensors, there should be plenty of choices for me. I went ahead and ordered a panel and motion sensors. I found the Qolsys Micro door/window sensors which are about as small as the Alula ones, so I ordered a few of those as well. Once you guys have camera stuff in stock, I’ll probably add on to the system, too. Thank you for your help! Not sure if you are able, but if it is possible to throw in an extra sign with my order, that would be super helpful as my yard is set up in a way that makes a single sign not visible from half the yard. No worries if you can’t, but I thought I’d ask.
