Best Practices For Using A Two-Way Audio Security Camera

Whether you have a security camera system for a home or business, the need for two-way audio interaction with talk-back capability may arise. CCTV Camera World offers solutions for both one-way and two-way audio. One-way audio is great for listening to sound originating from the location of a camera, but it will not allow interaction with a person at that location. To be able to interact with a person at the camera, the camera would have to have two-way talk capabilities, i.e. a speaker and microphone built-in similar to an intercom. Our Security Camera Systems allow the end user to see and listen from their camera feeds, and grant the ability to speak into a microphone to talk through one of our two-way audio security camera's speaker. There are a few different ways to conduct two-way talk with our security camera systems. Setup of our two-way audio security cameras is simple, and we explain how to do so in this guide.

Two-Way Audio Setup With PoE NVR

Step 1) Connect cameras to NVR

In this guide, we will be using our security camera with two-way audio, sku IP3MPA.  It is a two-way audio IP camera that allows the user to not only listen-in, but also talk back to the person at the camera. These cameras are very easy to connect using the plug-and-play technology featured in our PoE (power over Ethernet) NVR. In the video demonstration above we show how easy it is to connect our PoE IP cameras to our PoE NVRs. Simply connect the cables between the camera and the NVR. A single network cable transmits power and data to each camera from the NVR, and plug-and-play technology handles IP address configuration between the camera and NVR without user intervention.

Using a Web Browser for Two-Way Audio

Our camera systems allow the user to engage in two-way talk over the network by using Internet Explorer on a computer or by using our iOS and Android apps for both phones and tablets. First, we will demonstrate how to use the web portal called Web Service in our security systems. A Windows PC running Internet Explorer is required for two-way talk capability through the web browser. To be able to talk-back, you will need to make sure you have a headset or combination of microphone and speaker on your PC to listen and talk-back.

All DVRs and NVRs from CCTV Camera World are network devices and have their own IP address. You first need to connect your security camera system to your network by assigning the DVR/NVR an IP address that fits your network scheme. Once that is complete, you will be able to view your system from a computer or smartphone and use the two-way audio feature over the network. If you wish to view the system over the web when away from home, you will need to set port forwarding rules on your router's firewall to allow remote viewing from the internet.

Once your system is properly connected to your network and port forwarding rules have been created on your firewall, you will be able to engage in two-way audio communication using your smartphone, tablet, or PC from anywhere in the world where Internet is available.

Step 2) How to use two-way talk on Internet Explorer

1. Open an Internet Explorer window on your Windows PC and type in either your NVR's IP address for local viewing, or external IP address for remote viewing.
2. Type in your system's username and password, and select Login.
3. Make sure audio is enabled in your two-way camera by going to Setup and Encode.
4. Click the Audio Enable check boxes for both the Main and Sub Streams (if they are not already checked).
5. Select OK to ensure your settings have been saved.
6. Click the Preview tab to view your camera's live feed.
7. Select the channel by clicking the quadrant containing the video feed. A green frame will appear around the video feed to distinguish the selected channel.
8. Select the Speaker Icon in the top-right corner of the selected camera's video feed for one-way audio. This will allow you to hear audio that's taking place at the location of your camera.
9. To talk back and send out audio through the camera's speaker, select the Microphone Icon in the top-right corner of the selected camera's video feed. You will need either a headset with microphone, or a combination of microphone and computer speakers to listen and talk back.

Now you will be able to listen and talk back to someone at the location of your camera. Note that you will be able to listen to camera audio feeds one at a time - you will not be able to listen to multiple audio feeds simultaneously. Multiple users can listen to one-way audio from a camera, but the talk back function is done by one user at a time.

If a computer is not available to view your two-way audio camera system, then proceed to the next section where we explain how to use two-way talk with a smartphone or tablet.

Two-Way Audio Interaction Using iOS or Android Phone/Tablet

A more convenient way of viewing you security camera system and engaging in two-way audio talk is through your mobile device. In the video above, we explain how to conduct two-way talk using our security camera equipment and our iPhone App. The App allows the user to hear incoming audio from the camera and uses the microphone from the phone to talk back, sending out audio through the camera's speaker.

Step 3) How to use Two-Way Talk with a Smartphone or Tablet

1. First, Open the app iDMSS on your iPhone or Tablet (or gDMSS for Android devices).
2. Select the Menu Icon in the top-left corner, and choose Device Manager.
3. From here, select the Plus Sign in the top right corner,  Wired Device and then IP/Domain.
4. Fill out the appropriate credentials of your NVR. You will need to create two entries - one for viewing at the location of your system using Wi-Fi, and second entry for when viewing remotely over the internet away from home. We have a tutorial on how to create entries for both local and remote viewing. After all credentials have been entered, select Start Live Preview.
5. Select the camera channel you want to engage in two-way audio with by tapping the video feed from that camera, and then press the Speaker Icon. The speaker icon allows the user to  listen to incoming audio from the camera and talk-back sending out audio through the camera's speaker.