External SIP access

[ERDrPC]

My CI and I have been looking into door stations. He tells me that his C4 rep has told him that there is no instant external SIP communication possible. IE I'm in another country and when my doorbell is pressed, my phone rings. I know there are work arounds where an email can be triggered with a picture from the camera, then VPN into the system to use SIP. This takes far too long and defeats the purpose. Elan G's new door station has full internal and external SIP support  

Doorstations currently considering - Mobotix T25 IP Video; Holovision 424-VoIP/VIK-CC-BC; doorbird

Is my CI wrong? Is this possible

[Cyknight]

Mobotix integration is new and I'm not overly familiar with it, but it should do what you want.

 

https://www.houselogix.com/shop/mobotix-control4-driver

[eggzlot]

I went with Holovision for a few specific reasons:

1) There was no confirmed driver yet for Mobotix though I heard was one en route

2) Mobotix only had silver options from my research and everything on the exterior of my house is oil rubbed bronze so needed something in that family to match door hardware, exterior lights (one is right above the door station), etc

3) Size - I already had the original C4 door station and the Holovision is the same size face plate and the back box is just slightly bigger, and I have brick on the house so it was easier to cut just a slightly bigger hole to get the Holo back box in place so it can be mounted flush

4) Doorbird and Mobotix had fixed lens positions and given my setup and how the original fixed lens of the C4 doorstation performed, I wanted something that was movable.  The Holo one can move left to right and also swivel so you can really aim the camera to get a good view of your area.  This is not required for all set ups but when the door station is mounted next to a door on the same wall, i find the field of view offered on these cameras was not sufficient and if someone did not step back 2-4 steps you cannot see them on the camera.

As far as external SIP goes, since I am doing beta testing I actually have the contact info for Holo's development team, not houselogix for the driver but the actual people doing the Dev of the software for their SIP unit (the VIO).  They were confident any 3rd party SIP product would work and they asked if I had any in mind they could test so I sent them 3 products I found for iOS:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zoiper-sip-softphone-for-voip/id438949960?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bria-iphone-edition-voip-softphone/id373968636?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vasercontrol-doorcom/id545172761?mt=8

I sent these 3 apps to them about a week ago and was going to follow up shortly to see if they had any success.  I am semi technical myself but between work, planning a wedding and a few other things I am so short on time.  I downloaded Zoiper because its free and I can see how to set up an account and I gotta figure with some simple port forwarding and hacking around I could figure it out but I am waiting to see if the Holo team has mapped it out.  Someone once posted they were using Bria with some success as well which is why I asked Holo to look into it.

Here is my review of the hardware but if you have further questions about the product just ask.

 

 

[MOBOTIX]

Hi there. Couple of things.

1. There are drivers available for the MOBOTIX T25 for C4.

2. The lens is fixed 360 with floor to ceiling, wall to wall coverage with software selectable custom views.

3. If you needed a bronze type finish we still have them in stock.

Hope this helps for future needs for others.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[3D - Benn]

I had a nightmare with this. In the end the client settled for LAN sip to iPhones from the door station (which was the main priority) with push notifications to prompt to view IP cam while they were away. Clunky!  Interesting to see about this mobotix option!

[control.four]

Hi there. Couple of things.

1. There are drivers available for the MOBOTIX T25 for C4.

2. The lens is fixed 360 with floor to ceiling, wall to wall coverage with software selectable custom views.

3. If you needed a bronze type finish we still have them in stock.

Hope this helps for future needs for others.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Can you post a picture of the bronze finish? Thanks.

[rayk32]

Did you set up DNS?  SRV and A records are needed for SIP.  SRV records allow you to resolve SIP URI's.   You could also connect directly to a NAT'd publc IP address, as well.   Either scenario would be hard if you don't have a static IP from your ISP.  I'm guessing you set up your firewall rules to allow connectivity.  If Control4's SIP implementation is standards compliant, this should work. 

The manufacturers you listed are VoIP companies and their stuff should be standards compliant.  You could build a FreePBX or 3CX box and run a VoIP client for your phone, like Bria, 3CX or one of the others.  Everything would communicate internally and externally via the server over SIP. 

I've been wanting to try getting the C4 doorstation to connect to my PBX via the SIP proxy, but it's too costly and too much of a hassle to get my installer involved in something that may or may not work.  I can communicate internally to and from the door station from my iphone and ipads using Bria.

[MOBOTIX]

Here you go.

[rayk32]

Hi Mobotix,

What are the model numbers, differences and cost for the 2 door stations in your pictures.  I checked your site but did not see them.

Thanks

[control.four]

Those pics look great. So it seems like you can mix and match 1-3 modules?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MOBOTIX]

Hi all, 

Just now seeing these reply's.

Pricing is determined by the application of course as some will need to convert existing Bell Wire for power and data communication and others will not. IO capability is another option as well. In terms of the module approach of the intercom- The Mobotix T25 can be configured as a single camera module, Dual, Triple and Quad.

 

You can always send me an email and I'd be happy to walk you through all options and setup/configuration into C4.

Hunter.Fort@Mobotix.com

[ERDrPC]

Has anyone been able to get SIP working reliably?  Ie doorbell pressed and all touchscreens notify of call with two-way video / audio upon answer as well as notification of Android phones either on or off site with same two way capabilities? 

[South Africa C4 user]

1 hour ago, ERDrPC said:

Has anyone been able to get SIP working reliably?  Ie doorbell pressed and all touchscreens notify of call with two-way video / audio upon answer as well as notification of Android phones either on or off site with same two way capabilities? 

I wish... I have stuck with push notification and emailing a picture for off site notification

[eggzlot]

I am starting to mess around with Ooma as my home phone.  Between ooma having sip functions I think and also part of ifttt with Alan's new driver I'm hoping I can dream up something that could work since I'd love a solid sip system. 

[South Africa C4 user]

Let us know if you succeed!

[sturama]

Just an update to this in case people are still looking at these options.  I've had pretty decent success with integration of the Mobotix T25 door:

Doorbell button press -> all touchscreens have instant 2-way audio video notification/comms (not so trivial to set-up, but works just fine now).  Also, the Mobotix is very configurable and it is trivial to send instant push text/emails for off-site notification.  I used to have it set-up to communicate w/ VoIP phones (via SIP), but took those offline now that the touchscreens work well.

I don't think the driver allows for 2-way off-site comms thru the C4 mobile interface.  Instead, I use either Mobotix's own smartphone app and/or one of the 'universal' camera apps (i.e., UCamPro) for the remote audio/video stuff.  Lots of other configuration options for the Mobotix itself, and no cloud 'dependency' (unlike say a Doorbird).  Again, just my 2 cents.

 

 

 

[Hisma]

On 11/21/2016 at 11:29 PM, sturama said:

Just an update to this in case people are still looking at these options.  I've had pretty decent success with integration of the Mobotix T25 door:

Doorbell button press -> all touchscreens have instant 2-way audio video notification/comms (not so trivial to set-up, but works just fine now).  Also, the Mobotix is very configurable and it is trivial to send instant push text/emails for off-site notification.  I used to have it set-up to communicate w/ VoIP phones (via SIP), but took those offline now that the touchscreens work well.

I don't think the driver allows for 2-way off-site comms thru the C4 mobile interface.  Instead, I use either Mobotix's own smartphone app and/or one of the 'universal' camera apps (i.e., UCamPro) for the remote audio/video stuff.  Lots of other configuration options for the Mobotix itself, and no cloud 'dependency' (unlike say a Doorbird).  Again, just my 2 cents.

 

 

 

can you expand a bit on this?  This sounds exactly like what I am looking for.  At my previous home, I wired up a 2-way SIP doorbell.  It talked to a asterisk PBX in my home, and using a bria softphone, it called a ring group that included the IP phones inside my home, as well as my android soft phone (whether I was at home or not).  Worked great.  But I would love to add video as well. 

So could I effectively control the camera and phone with 1 CAT5e cable (via POE)?  I am building a new home, and am going to pre-wire for a POE-based door bell.  Ideally, I could add the camera to my blue iris server, so that it can auto-record when motion is detected, the same way my bullet cams do.  But at the same time, when the bell is pressed, video feed would show up on my TV & touchpads, and I can have 2-way communication that way.  If I am away from home, I can still answer the call via SIP with audio only.  

Sounds like a lot, but that to me would be the perfect scenario.  Hopefully it will work!

[sturama]

I think what you are trying to do is feasible.  One PoE Cat5e is sufficient do control the Mobotix T25 (and I believe most other current options, i.e., DoorBird, C4 Door Station).  The Mobotix camera is not PTZ, but the software/programming interface is essentially 'over-engineered' as a commercial solution (i.e., lots of configuration and accessory options).  I have it configured to send a video clip to me (via email) and sms a pic to my phone, when somebody pushes the doorbell.  The notification delay to my phone is minimal.  I then fire up a 3rd party app (Mobotix usually) to do the audio interaction- in theory, I think the Mobotix app will itself notify me remotely if I kept it on all the time on my phone.  Dunno know how this compares to other products' functionality.

Now, since you are building new, my advice is to add a little more wiring around the front entry door area (say a few extra 18/2 wires), such that other options could be entertained in the future- for instance, an electric door strike, alarm relay, or backup/simultaneous door bell chime, etc.  It's minimal up-front work now, but pain-in-the-rear to retrofit.

[GoBlues]

Can anyone advise were I can download the C4 Mobotix T25 driver from? Cannot find this on the Houselogix site.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sturama]

Here's a link to another topic which has the download links...

http://www.c4forums.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=1492

http://www.c4forums.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=1493

[Hisma]

Based on your reccomendation I went ahead and told my low volt contractor to add some extra wire.  I will already have a door open sensor going to my alarm system, so I don't need a pair of wires for that.  But the door strike is a great idea.  I looked at the T25 documentation, and I can get by with a 18/2 going from my door frame to the module, which is a really short run.  To provide power to the relay however, I need 12VDC.  So what I will do is simply re-purpose the existing doorbell wire that will already be there (by the builder), and replace the doorbell transformer with a 12VDC power supply.  That would complete my loop and give me door strike capability.  I can also use the power supply for the anti-theft protection feature.  I will put the power supply on a UPS, so that in the loss of power, the door still works.  

I love doing this stuff.  lol

On 11/24/2016 at 0:48 PM, sturama said:

I think what you are trying to do is feasible.  One PoE Cat5e is sufficient do control the Mobotix T25 (and I believe most other current options, i.e., DoorBird, C4 Door Station).  The Mobotix camera is not PTZ, but the software/programming interface is essentially 'over-engineered' as a commercial solution (i.e., lots of configuration and accessory options).  I have it configured to send a video clip to me (via email) and sms a pic to my phone, when somebody pushes the doorbell.  The notification delay to my phone is minimal.  I then fire up a 3rd party app (Mobotix usually) to do the audio interaction- in theory, I think the Mobotix app will itself notify me remotely if I kept it on all the time on my phone.  Dunno know how this compares to other products' functionality.

Now, since you are building new, my advice is to add a little more wiring around the front entry door area (say a few extra 18/2 wires), such that other options could be entertained in the future- for instance, an electric door strike, alarm relay, or backup/simultaneous door bell chime, etc.  It's minimal up-front work now, but pain-in-the-rear to retrofit.

 

[sturama]

Yeah, sounds like a good set-up.  The Intercom function integration w/ C4 was the tough part on my end... ended up getting user Mobotix (see Hunter's post above) to help my dealer with the install.  Camera integration was cake.   Once set-up, it's a nice little system which is eons ahead of the convenience/functionality available to us C4 minions just 2yrs back.