Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? in VOIP Tech Chat http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r12130558 en Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:28:04 EDT Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:28:04 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12190265 TuscanRaider : Our housesitter entered her code wrong yesterday, and ADT quickly called (our VOIP number, of course). :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12190265 Wed, 22 Dec 2004 17:31:19 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12184768 voiplover : This thread should have been called: What is the best alarm system to use with voip? :o

Just a note: Several quality alarm equipment manufacturers have been supplying network ability for years, before the internet as it is know today.

1. When you buy into an alarm contract that supplies you with a residential alarm system for free or ~$99, you are going to end up with a system that generally contains between $30 to $50 worth of electronics. And guess what- It isn't going to come equipped with a free network interface.

2. If your alarm system is solely depending on a working phone line providing touchtone in order to protect your property, then any monkey with a pair of wire cutters can render you investment worthless. However, something can be better than nothing if that something has a chance to work.

3. If your voip connection is solid, and you use a format that has a high probability of functionality with voip, the signal should make it to the alarm stations receiver at the very least within a few attempts. Unfortunately, many of these inexpensive systems are being programmed using contact ID format due to incompetence or economic reasons of these alarm companies, and at the expense of the consumer.

4. If your alarm company does not accommodate you, then maybe you should be looking for a reputable company that will.
If you are in a long term contract or lease; most states will not justify a contract is allowing you to be charged for services not rendered. You should first work with your Alarm Co to get the formatting issue resolved.

Happy Holidays!

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12184768 Wed, 22 Dec 2004 00:32:58 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12182921 anon : when are these hardware vendors going to wake up and start providing an ethernet port on their equipment????

If you're willing to pay (a lot) extra for a real business class alarm, ethernet ports are available. In fact a lot of business alarms use leased, dedicated lines for alarm monitoring. The line is polled and a cut or disabled line is an alarm condition. Consumer alarms are a different animal though. Everything revolves around the price point. It is a couple of dollars cheaper to incorporate a single chip 300 baud modem than an ethernet port. You also need a larger flash chip or micro to do ip communication than a fixed reporting format. $3 saved at the design level is $30 at retail. And that is enough to lose significant market share.

I spent some time in Switzerland, where the end user cost is not as central as it is in N. America and upscale panels with 10/100 ports were a lot more common. But then the rain gutters were 18ga solid copper too. Didn't see a single counter top that was't marble or stainless.. you get the idea. It all depends on how affulent you target market is.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12182921 Tue, 21 Dec 2004 21:05:05 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12182749 ebubman : you know i reread the nextalarm response & website info & i guess i mistakenly understood them to say that i could use a voip system of my choice to use their service but in rereading it appears that they instead become the sole purpose voip provider for the purpose of home monitoring. am i misreading this? frankly, i don't even want voip since our gsm cell phones do everything we need them to do for voice communications. if nextalarm is indeed saying "we can do the whole deal" via my comcast cable then that's what i'd frankly prefer. honestly though, i've not heard of this. can anyone validate that this is how it works & if possible, the viability of their service? thank you in advance for any guidance. bub]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12182749 Tue, 21 Dec 2004 20:45:37 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12182436 anon : There are few more tweaks that you can do if your alarm is still giving you a headache. But first you have to get a g711 line. The chances of getting this to work properly without g711 are dismal.

There are some adapter settings that will further improve your call quality. They also eat up a bit more bandwidth, so don't bother if your bandwidth is alreay stretching at the seams. These settings are locked down by most providers, so call them and ask them to change your packetization rate from 20ms to 10ms and disable silence suppression. If the tech doesn't have a clue what you are talking about, ask to speak to someone in technical support, as opposed to whatever he is doing. Contact id may work for you if you can convince them to change these two settings and your isp has a decent headend. Also some posters have claimed that a low pass aka dsl filter inserted backwards helps. I haven't tried the latter, but if you have already tried everything else, it won't blow anything up to try it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12182436 Tue, 21 Dec 2004 20:10:21 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12176762 ieee1394 : Let me get this straight: the solution proposed by nextalarm.com is to simply provide you with an ATA that connects to their own VOIP gateway? Hah. Ha. Hah. Ha. Ha. Ha.

That's crazy.

The far superior solution is to swap out your alarm controller for one that will communicate directly over IP. It's just like the tivo situation: when are these hardware vendors going to wake up and start providing an ethernet port on their equipment???? It's not like broadband is new or anything. Sheesh.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12176762 Tue, 21 Dec 2004 10:20:42 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12175988 ebubman : i sent an email to nextalarm.com asking several ?s about their service including availability in my area (pa), if they install, et cetera...here's their response below. in plain language, the service makes sense but i'm not sure if i get a voip provider if it will actually work. any thoughts on this? thank you in advance. bub

****
next alarm response

Hello,

We do monitor in xxxxxxxxx, PA. We can monitor all Contact ID-compatible systems over our dedicated VoIP network for alarms. Monitoring over a standard VoIP service generally does not work, due to bandwidth and configuration issues. Our service and another VoIP service can coexist with no problems, as long as you have two separate ATAs.

We are a monitoring company only, and do not install or repair systems. We do sell the Abbra (a privately branded Visonic Powermax+), and provide technical support for it, but you would need to actually install the system.

We keep our prices low by conducting most of our business over the internet, and by not offering onsite repair or installation services.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reply to this e-mail or call (877)639-8911 x2.

Regards,
Customer Service]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12175988 Tue, 21 Dec 2004 08:16:36 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12175461 WhyADuck : I agree, if an alarm company refuses to use anything but Contact ID it is probably time to "vote with your feet" (or in this case, your pocketbook) and find a company that's a bit more willing to work with you. Besides, your post left the impression that the tech they sent out was neither competent nor very interested in making your system work. Find a company that wants you as a customer, and that is will to put in a small amount of effort to keep your business. After all, if they couldn't seem to care less about making your alarm function properly, what makes you think they really care about the level of service you'll receive in an actual emergency?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12175461 Tue, 21 Dec 2004 04:22:09 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12174380 voiplover : There are many good alarm companies out there. Ask your alarm company if they can refer you to a company that will use a format that will function with your phone service. All monitoring stations that accept contact ID can also receive 4+2 and SIA formats. The only reason for keeping you on a contact ID format is that they have already sold your monitoring contract or they are planning to sell it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12174380 Mon, 20 Dec 2004 23:56:43 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12174196 scuuder3 : my alarm company prefers to use contactID. I was wondering if anyone had successfully used contactid with any voip line.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12174196 Mon, 20 Dec 2004 23:28:33 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12173572 anon : I am currently using the sia format over voip with cellular as a backup. The dsc alarms let me choose among contact id, sia, pager or pulse reporting formats. With POTS it doesn't matter a lot what format you use. Often you go with whatever the monitoring company prefers. With voip, I found sia and 4/2 to be more reliable than contact id.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12173572 Mon, 20 Dec 2004 22:18:11 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12173238 scuuder3 : vonsen, do you know what reporting format your alarm uses? is it contactid?

thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12173238 Mon, 20 Dec 2004 21:46:04 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12164205 anon : Broadvox lets you select g711. Their plans run from $9 to $20/mo. The $20 plan includes unlimited use and no long distance charges in US or Canada. And for me at least, works fine with my alarm.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12164205 Sun, 19 Dec 2004 23:24:56 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12164204 garys_2k :
said by scuuder3 See Profile:

does vonage let you select the g.711? i have cancelled the P8 and will try another service.
Yes, that's the default codec. You have to specifically select a higher compression codec from the web port if you want to.

BTW, we just tried a dialup modem here with Vonage and it actually connected to the other end. We didn't get to play with it because the other end didn't let us (my son is setting up a server and he said there was a firewall running on the host that was keeping him out), but it DID connect and communicate.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12164204 Sun, 19 Dec 2004 23:24:53 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12163946 The Chef :
said by nert See Profile:

AT&T supports fax and modem for everything now.

»https://www.callvantage.att.com/signup/O···ac=64525
However, that is not the same as alarm support and alarms is not in their list of what this feature is compatable with.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12163946 Sun, 19 Dec 2004 22:47:02 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12163744 scuuder3 : does vonage let you select the g.711? i have cancelled the P8 and will try another service.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12163744 Sun, 19 Dec 2004 22:21:26 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12155905 anon : If your line isn't set to g711 that is the reason that your alarm data call is failing. You might want to give p8 support a call or put in a ticket to find out if you can get it set to g711. It's possible that they only use g711 when a fax tone is detected, which won't help your alarm issue.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12155905 Sat, 18 Dec 2004 22:17:57 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12153873 scuuder3 : as far as i know, with Packet8 there is no way to set the codec. it appears they are shooting for a plug and play type application. i see no settings available on the website.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12153873 Sat, 18 Dec 2004 17:00:16 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12153328 anon : Are you sure that you have your packet8 line currently set to use the g711 codec? Most providers will set your line to g729 by default and you have to choose g711 in the portal.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12153328 Sat, 18 Dec 2004 15:39:00 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12153131 scuuder3 : Looks like I have a good internet connection:
»/quality/nil/1598723

the alarm works great on the pots line. sure wish i could get it to work on the packet8. my fax works every time on packet8]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12153131 Sat, 18 Dec 2004 15:10:31 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12150259 anon : Hmmm.. it shouldn't really matter if the service guy knew much about voip or not. His job was to tweak your alarm so that it could communicate reliably with the monitoring co. Those settings should be much the same for pots or voip. So the question is does he know his job or is your voip line unstable? Packet8 should have g711. Doesn't seem to be any way to adjust your alarm's modem settings (other than communicator format). Try testing your isp on this website to see if they are having any transient problems with packet loss or other line quality problems. If you have access to a pots line, try it temporarily, just to rule out the panel as the problem.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12150259 Sat, 18 Dec 2004 02:05:22 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12150091 scuuder3 : the alarm tech did not do anything with the modem init string. he wasn't familiar with voip so he didn't really know what i was trying to do. nextalrm.com does not monitor florida yet. i thought that packet8 was already using g.711 already, is it not?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12150091 Sat, 18 Dec 2004 01:19:43 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12149260 anon : Leave it on 4/2, this should be more reliable than contact id on a voip line.. Did the service guy setup your alarm modem initialization string? How stable is your isp? You will need a low packet loss, low latency link for any data call. Lastly, find a voip provider that has g711 for best call quality. There are lots of voip companies that offer limited usage plans under $10/month. Or keep your existing voip and sign up to nextalarm for an extra $9/mo, as suggested earlier in this thread. Good luck.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12149260 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 22:50:37 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12146938 usa2k :
said by schweb See Profile:

said by vonsen:


said by schweb
There is definitely something different


Yes, the difference is the g.711 codec as usa2k stated in the post you were replying to.
Nope, they've always used g.711 so it's something different from that even...
The Cisco ATA 186 eventually was set to recognize FAX tones for example. It would then turn off silence suppression (and maybe "comfort noise") and who knows, . . .

Prior to that, #86 dial prefix or something (not sure now) was a way to force the FAX mode.

Maybe the software was buggy before? Thus an improvement. The better the ISP, and maybe the time travelling the web likely plays into it too.

I would think if the did something conventional like support t.38 for FAX, they would brag about it like BroadvoxDirect does.
--
Jim -- USA2K
SEE: |DCWU |FAH |PICS |BVX REVIEW |
FWD, Vonage 01/03 to 12/04, & BVX 07/04 to now]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12146938 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 17:40:40 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12146929 scuuder3 : well the alarm guy came out today and it would not work right even on 4x2. he said the monitoring station recieved a signal but it was not clear to their computer system.

I might try ATT CV instead. would contactID work on the att plan with the modem support?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12146929 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 17:39:11 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12146029 schweb :
said by vonsen:


said by schweb
There is definitely something different


Yes, the difference is the g.711 codec as usa2k stated in the post you were replying to.
Nope, they've always used g.711 so it's something different from that even...
--
bryan | website

"Freedom is the recognition that no single authority or government has a monopoly on truth."
-Ronald Reagan (February 6, 1911 - June 5, 2004)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12146029 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 15:51:40 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12145359 anon :

said by schweb
There is definitely something different


Yes, the difference is the g.711 codec as usa2k stated in the post you were replying to.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12145359 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 14:33:24 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142406 schweb :
said by usa2k See Profile:

said by nert See Profile:

AT&T supports fax and modem for everything now.

»https://www.callvantage.att.com/signup/O···ac=64525
I hardly believe that means any better support than Vonage and others. It really does not explain, but I suspect they are using g.711 codec.
There is definitely something different. I was never able to use my dial-up modem for work over Vonage, my friend's P8 line, or CV before this changed. After turning on Fax and Modem support I can connect just fine at around 41.2kbps. When it's turned on, it requires an extra 153kbps on the upstream so it's more than just the normal codec.

Downside is that if you' don't have a higher upstream (say more than 256) your voice quality will suffer if you leave it on all the time.

That being said, you could also try the alarm w/o it on and see if it still works as it has for some others. Interesting thing to note though is that on the CV FAQs it still says home alarm systems are not supported. My guess is they don't want to be on the hook for something that important if for some reason it doesn't work. But I don't see why it wouldn't.
--
bryan | website

"Freedom is the recognition that no single authority or government has a monopoly on truth."
-Ronald Reagan (February 6, 1911 - June 5, 2004)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142406 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 07:34:12 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142194 usa2k :
said by nert See Profile:

AT&T supports fax and modem for everything now.

»https://www.callvantage.att.com/signup/O···ac=64525
I hardly believe that means any better support than Vonage and others. It really does not explain, but I suspect they are using g.711 codec.
--
Jim -- USA2K
SEE: |DCWU |FAH |PICS |BVX REVIEW |
FWD, Vonage 01/03 to 12/04, & BVX 07/04 to now
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142194 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 06:00:45 EDT Re: Best ALARM system w/ VOIP?? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142176 anon : My dsc alarms works fine with broadvox (g711). They work with lingo too, although the panel sometimes has to make several dialing attempts, probably due to the g729 lingo codec. Best results were with SIA. 4/2 was almost as good, contact id did not work well on a voip line.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142176 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 05:52:53 EDT Best ALARM system w/ VOIP?? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142142 ebubman : i've been considering getting an alarm system but we've been without traditional landline service for 18 mos now; have not missed it a bit. may i impose on members to recommend alarm companies whose service works well with voip service? aside from the alarm, we will not need voip for another thing at this time. our gsm shared cell plan very capably handles all of our voice communications needs. if i were to go voip, i'd like to consider either broadvoice or vonage. thanks in advance for recommending any alarm systems that might work w/ either of these services. bub]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142142 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 05:39:50 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142096 anon : Note that the screenshot above is not for your panel. Your manual can be found here.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142096 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 05:07:46 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142091 anon : Never heard of the 'linear' brand. In glancing at your manual, your alarm does not appear to support reducing the data transmit to 10pps, SIA or a lot of other things. It looks like your choices are restricted to 4/2 PTP or contact id. I would suggesting trying 4/2 and a conservative modem init. string for best results.

typical reporting options
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12142091 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 05:05:28 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12141160 scuuder3 : with the CV would I have to turn the fax and modem support on every time I set the alarm, or could I leave it on and still recieve voice calls?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12141160 Fri, 17 Dec 2004 00:14:01 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12140752 nert : AT&T supports fax and modem for everything now.

»https://www.callvantage.att.com/signup/O···ac=64525]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12140752 Thu, 16 Dec 2004 23:20:09 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12140316 scuuder3 : According to the literature on my alarm, the linear dvs-2400, it can use contactID or 4x2. I do not see anthing related to setting the 20pps or 10pps? should this be an option? I have the alarm huy coming tomorrow and would like to have my ducks in a row. thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12140316 Thu, 16 Dec 2004 22:29:34 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12130558 voiplover : 4+2 using the slower format is the most reliable. SIA format may also work.
Your alarm panel has to be able to call using at least 2 different formats as required by UL.
It is recommended that 4+2 20pps is used on the first attempt, then 4+2 10pps to be used on the second attempt if the first attempt is not successful. That way limiting the amount of time that your phone service is disconnected during an emergency.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12130558 Wed, 15 Dec 2004 21:47:56 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12130455 usa2k :
said by lestat99 See Profile:

You can check out these guys who support alarm monitoring over IP connections using a separate ATA. So you could use any VoIP provider with one ATA and the second ATA would handle your alarm.

»www.nextalarm.com
Rewording the title to "Best alarm system to use VOIP service with?" seems the forward thinking answer.

I don't have an alarm system, and I'm not sure how easy it is to get out of those contracts . . . I wonder how many are like NextAlarm?
--
Jim -- USA2K
SEE: |DCWU |FAH |PICS |BVX REVIEW |
FWD, Vonage 01/03 to 12/04, & BVX 07/04 to now]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12130455 Wed, 15 Dec 2004 21:34:35 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12129774 scuuder3 : the nextalarm company looks great, but I am in a contract for two more years. If the 4x2 switch doesn't work than I will try Vonage. I had the alarm direct to the ata with no other phones and it still would not work.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12129774 Wed, 15 Dec 2004 20:24:14 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12129702 lestat99 : You can check out these guys who support alarm monitoring over IP connections using a separate ATA. So you could use any VoIP provider with one ATA and the second ATA would handle your alarm.

»www.nextalarm.com
--
Info Network Security: »www.packetdefense.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12129702 Wed, 15 Dec 2004 20:17:28 EDT Re: Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12129491 TuscanRaider : My Vonage works fine with ADT. The setup must be ATA -> alarm system -> telephones; otherwise, the alarm system can't "seize" the line in the event of an emergency.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12129491 Wed, 15 Dec 2004 19:50:44 EDT Best VOIP service to use alarm system with? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12129466 scuuder3 : I just signed up with Packet8 and the sound quality is good. Also, got my fax machine to work. My alarm uses ContactID and it will not work. I have the alarm company coming out on Friday to switch it to 4x2. If that doesn't work, what is the best VOIP service to work with alarms. Both broadvoice and Vonage claim they work with alarms. Is Vonage the best for this?

Thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12129466 Wed, 15 Dec 2004 19:47:26 EDT