Since the instructions for the camera don’t give any guidance on how to reset the camera, and I could find nothing quickly in a google search, I thought I’d post a quick set of instructions on here.

Since my camera now could no longer talk to Alarm.com, I couldn’t access it via their servers to change IP information.   Instead I had to reset the camera and perform the “initial camera setup” steps all over again.

To reset the camera, take a paperclip or similarly sized object and press the reset button located in a recessed area on the back of the camera.  I held that for approximately 15-20 seconds before releasing.    The blue and orange led’s on the front of the camera flashed a few times and it rebooted (twice, I think).  Do this WITH power connected.

After that I followed the instructions for initial setup of the camera and all was fine.

Simple.  The way I like it.

After almost a year I am still very happy with FrontPoint Security, and the alarm system.   The company has been very responsive whenever issues would arise – and that’s very important to me.   I’m realistic enough to know that problems WILL arise with ANY system.  The test of a company is how they handle those problems, and FrontPoint has exceeded my expectations.  They are prompt in responding to issues, knowledgeable on the systems and how to fix things, and will continue to follow up until the issue is resolved to your satisfaction.

Recently the service, which for those who didn’t know allows you to access your alarm from anywhere in the world via the internet, sent an unexpected bonus my way – an iPhone app.

The free iPhone app, Alarm.com, allows you to log in to your alarm.com enabled services natively from the phone.   This means I no longer have to go to a website, awkwardly enter my username and password, and use a sparse web interface to interact with my alarm system.   While that method still works, and worked well enough for what I wanted before, the alarm.com app makes interacting with my alarm a beautiful experience.

The interface is clean and straightforward, allowing you to see the current status of the alarm (status of doors and windows, armed or disarmed, etc), change the status of the alarm (arm/disarm), see the past history of events on the alarm and, if you’ve got the service, you can view and interact with an alarm.com video camera.

All of this works beautifully from the iPhone app, and there looks to be expanded ability to do home automation functions directly from the alarm.com app on the iPhone in the works as well.  The automation functions are ones I am waiting for, and am really hoping to see some cool things come from that.

The app is fairly sparse, but I didn’t expect much.  That said, it’d be nice if I could use it to change alerts, and do “everything” the web app could.   I’m not sure that’s realistic, or feasible, but it’s a “would be nice”.

Overall, I feel the app is a solid app for what it’s supposed to do.  It gives people who have alarm.com powered alarm systems the ability to interact with their systems via a native iPhone app, and does a good job of doing that.   It’s obvious that expanded functionality is coming soon as well, which means we have even more to look forward to.

I’ve been told that a Blackberry app is in development, so those of you with a crackberry addiction can get in on the phone app goodness as well.

In the year since I’ve started using FrontPoint’s Alarm.com powered service, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.   New features and capabilities keep being rolled out which keep expanding on the base functionality, making it ever more useful for a geek like me.

I’ve also had a chance to see the response times of their central station,   and I was pleased with the results.   I’ve accidentally set off the alarm twice (both within the last week, actually) – once when leaving, and once first thing in the morning.   The first time it was a full on alarm – and they called to verify everything was OK.   They followed procedures, got my pass phrase and made sure everything was alright.  They also called about 15 – 20 seconds after the alarm went into full alarm state.

The second time I was able to disarm the system before it went to full alarm state – they didn’t call as fast (presumably because it recieved the proper disarm code), but DID call within two minutes to verify with me that everything was, in fact, OK.

The latest technological addition to my system is a security camera.   The unit is an alarm.com wireless video camera that is integrated into the alarm.com features FrontPoint offers their clients.  This enables you to view a live feed from the camera from any internet enabled computer through your alarm.com enabled portal – but it ALSO means you can do so from many cell phones and pdas as well.  In fact on my iPhone (1st gen, sadly,  3G is sold out here) it works great – even streaming over an edge connection.  It’s not SMOOTH video, but it’s passable if you want to see what’s going on at home and edge is all you’ve got.

A representative from FrontPoint told me that the video image quality was surprisingly good,  and that he thought I’d be quite happy with it – and he was quite correct – it’s got good image quality for a camera it’s size, streaming over a network.

The service, which is between $5 and $10 extra a month (prices subject to change, as I don’t control them!) Isn’t too expensive and it allows for several cameras from the same location (I’m not sure exactly how many but I think at least up to 4 cameras).

The camera’s mount is a durable metal mount that comes with mounting screws (and drywall anchors) and allows it to swivel wherver you need it pointed.  It’s wireless, but has a network port to be run wired if that’s your cup of tea (initial configuration requires it to be hooked up wired to the router).

Cool features of the service include the ability to record video upon certain events happening (like, if your alarm is triggered),    or even when it detects motion.    Those video recordings can then be emailed to you automatically if you so choose, and are stored on your account portal to view at will.    This is pretty slick as I can have the system automatically capture evidence for me in the event of a breakin.  Going one step further than that,   you could have it set up to monitor say, your liquor cabinet, and record when it detects motion in front of the cabinet – then when you go to confront your kid about why he/she snuck into the booze – you’ll have evidence showing them do it.

So – while I think the camera is great,  and am quite happy with the product – are there any downsides?  Yes.

The one BIG downside, and possibly the only real gripe I have with the camera, is that any configuration you want to do on it has to be done using Internet Explorer.  This is, IMO, a design flaw.  I’m a Mac user primarily, backed up by Linux workstations – I rarely use Windows, and IE is not cross platform.  This essentially means that any user who wants to use this camera HAS to have a Windows computer if they want to set it up or modify the configuration.  Luckily for me I have a laptop that has Windows on board.

That is an issue that *SHOULD* be solveable,   though I think that would need to be done on the Alarm.com side, and not the FrontPoint side – and outside of that one issue i’ve yet to find something I didn’t like about the camera – and the service.

Overall I give the service and hardware an A.    The hardware and service works great – even over slower edge connections (you will get reduced FPS, but it will work).  The downside, and thing I wish would be fixed, is the dependence on IE for configuration.

If you’re looking for a good,   relatively inexpensive and fully interactive way to have video monitoring coverage of your home – the alarm.com camera system is a great choice.  You can get the system from any of the alarm.com authorized providers, though I have my hardware and service from FrontPoint Security Solutions and am very happy with the service, personnel and support.

I still recommend you shop around and do your homework, but definitely give FrontPoint a look.

It would appear I spoke too soon.

While on the web portal today to set up a reminder that will send me a text message reminding me to arm the system at night if I’ve not armed it by a certain time, I noticed a section I had not previously explored – primarily due to the fact that I’m not USING the X10 features.  Specifically the “Automation” tab.   That tab lets me set up “lights” as X10 devices, and assign them names to track them on the portal.  I thought “well THAT is neat… ” and started to get interested in what I was seeing.  A subtab of the automation was “sensor-light interaction”,  which is where all of the magic happens.

Once you define the light devices (in my case I’m not using this as it was originally intended – I’m not defining lights, but doors) you can set them to trigger when certain sensors trigger – in my case, my doors.   Then whenever you open those doors or trigger the sensors, it sends the X10 command.

What was interesting, and REALLY cool, is that this isn’t limited to just the door sensors – I can do this with the motion sensor too, allowing me to have lights come on at night just by walking into the room.
The other piece of the puzzle, and the part I’ve not played with to set up yet,  is to set up the home control server to see those X10 commands and then translate those into the lights actually being turned on.   The trick is that I don’t want them to ALWAYS turn on,    but rather only when the lighting outside would dictate they should (say, at night).   The good news is that Indigo is well suited for that kind of customization and can easily handle that.

So, I’ve just found a way to fully integrate my alarm system into my home automation system to provide me with the ability to have a REAL smart home.

This system is like a christmas present every day

Tonight I wanted to play around with it to see what all the X10 commands are it sent out – primarily to see if what I would LIKE to do is possible (it’s not, yet).

Since the panel basically acts as a giant X10 controller, I was hoping to find that when I opened a door, an X10 signal would be sent. Specifically, a UNIQUE X10 command. Were that the case, then I could do a LOT more with the home automation (like, make it truly automated).

The scenario that I dreamt up was having the system set up such that when I opened an external door, the panel would send an X10 signal for that door being opened. That signal would be interpreted by my home control server to mean that it should turn on a light or set of lights near that door. The neat part (and part that Indigo would excel at) is putting conditions on that such that it only happened after sunset and before sunrise ( kinda like how I have my outside lights now, they come on a certain period of time before sunset and go off a certain period of time after sunrise (5 minutes, I think, for both). The server knows when sunrise and sunset is, so there would be no need to constantly update the system – it does it for you.

Adding that kind of control in, I could open the door, have the lights come on so I don’t have to fumble for a light switch before heading over to the wireless panel to disarm the system.

From what I gather, it looks like Alarm.com (and others) are looking into ways to improve the home automation aspects of these kinds of systems. I really hope they make great strides in that endeavor, as I can guarantee I would find a use for that kind of stuff. I’ve definitely been bitten by that bug and am anxious to see what new and wonderful things they can come up with.

I kinda wish they had a beta program like there are with software – but I’m a tech geek, so of course I’d feel that way

Anyways – this system has definitely proved itself to be pretty awesome. This is a *minor* disappointment, but in the grand scheme of things doesn’t change my feelings about the system. This was a “it’d be really cool if” kind of feature, but just goes to show that just because I can dream it doesn’t mean it’ll work

Regardless, Kudo’s to the FrontPoint, and Alarm.com teams for some great tech.

I was wrong.

Tonight, enjoying a nice quiet night at my house, I decided to play around with my home automation system. The heart (or perhaps brain) of my system is a Mac Mini (with OS X 10.5 Leopard) running Indigo 3.0, from PerceptiveAutomation. I wanted to clean up a lot of the clutter and kludge that has seeped into my configuration since I’ve been piecing this system together. While doing that, however, I noticed some stuff showing up in the logs – specifically, X10 commands. It was about this time that I made the realization that my alarm system was sending out X10 commands…. and my home control server was seeing them.

I then grabbed my keys and pressed the button on my security key fob that has a light bulb symbol on it. Sure enough, Indigo registered an “All lights on” X10 command (for house group A). I set up a test trigger action that triggered when it got that specific command, and executed a Insteon Group / Scene command (specifically to turn my great room lights on). I then tested. Sure enough, when I pressed the key fob button, my great room lights turned on. Awesome!

That was half the battle. The second half was – how to use the key fob to turn the lights OFF. Turns out, each time you press the key fob button it alternates between on and off – I think this is actually done based off what the panel thinks is the status of the lights. Initially I figured it would send the All Lights Off command, but instead it sent the All Units Off command. Once I figured that out it was easy to get the key fob to be a simple remote for my lights. No more stumbling into a dark house fumbling to press the right switch to turn the lights on – now I can do it before I ever open the door.

So far I *really* like my alarm system. This was just a bonus that made the system even more valuable to me. I’ve been very impressed with the quality of service from FrontPoint, and the technology provided by Alarm.com is amazing.

It was rather funny – a rep from the alarm company that handles the physical security measures at my office was out talking to me today, and he was all excited and wanted to show me their new system. He had me fire up a browser and took me to their new web portal which was…. powered by Alarm.com. He was a bit surprised that I already knew about it, but was happy to know that I loved the service.

I was quite happy to note that, about 20 minutes later when I finished installing the hardware, they were correct – it really is that easy and fast. Think about that for a minute: It took me 25 MINUTES to install my own home security system.

After I had all of the hardware installed I called them to activate the system. After providing a little info to let them find my account they were able to connect in to the panel and see that all of my hardware was, in fact, installed correctly and talking like it should. The (very friendly) service rep then walked me through the features of the panel – how to arm the system, how to disarm the system, and all of the additional features like how to silence the chime noises it makes, etc. He was very knowledgeable and the whole process took only a few minutes – I was very happy with the whole process. In under an hour I had a fully working – monitored – security system set up.

Once I had the system activated I received an email with my initial login credentials for the web portal. I was happy to note that these are temporary credentials – you can change them to something more suitable to you after your first login ( in fact, that’s part of the initial login/ setup process).

I was able to log in, customize my system with things like changing the names the panels would speak when referencing certain sensors, set up alerts on specific events to go to my email (and txt messaging), set up reminders to remind me to arm the system if it hasn’t been armed by a certain time (for instance, if I’ve not armed it by the time I’m usually at work in the morning the system will notify me and remind me to arm it.).

The web interface also let me add a system code for Ann (my girlfriend, for those who don’t already know) to be able to disarm the system, and set up alerts for her as well. Other functions include: History of past events, check the status of the system / sensors, and arm/disarm the system remotely.

Though I am really quite pleased with the system, it’s not entirely without it’s problems. Though in my case, it was a single problem and a call to FrontPoint support had it resolved in under 10 minutes. Specifically, on the morning after I installed the system it was reporting that the glassbreak sensor was malfunctioning. The support rep suggested that the sensor was not learned into the system properly and so we tried to re-add it. That involved deleting the sensor from the system then re-adding it via the system panel. It took a few minutes to perform the steps, but once done the sensor was working fine and the panel immediately reported an end to the malfunction state. I’m fairly forgiving of such things – small things like this happen sometimes. The important thing for me was that FrontPoint was able to quickly walk me through resolving the issue, and I’ve not had a repeat since.

Now – I must admit – I’ve not REALLY had the time to put the system through it’s paces. I’ve been using it for a couple of days now, but to really know a systems value and worth requires more than a few days of use. I really don’t expect to have any problems with the system, and in fact am really quite pleased with it.

My parents have ADT in their Florida house. They’re paying the same amount of money for ADT as I am paying, but are getting much less with it. I’m quite pleased with that.

I’ll post another followup in a few weeks, once I’ve had the system running for a while and can give a “few weeks in” update.

So far, though, it’s been great.

Also – for those wondering – the web portal is actually using the services and functionality provided by Alarm.com – this isn’t always obvious looking at the website, as it’s definitely branded as FrontPoint – but representatives from both Alarm.com AND FrontPoint have assured me that it is, in fact, utilizing Alarm.com services to provide the web portal. Very cool tech – for a demo of it head over to www.alarm.com

Still, I was unimpressed with what companies like ADT, Brinks and others had to offer. ADT had mixed reviews online – some people had no problems, others had a lot of problems. Brinks got good reviews for customer service and reliability, but the technology just wasn’t all that exciting.

I wanted more. After seeing the capabilities of the home brew system, it was difficult for me to settle for a proprietary system with equipment I don’t own, that can’t do nearly as much as the home brew system (with equipment I *do* own).

A friend of mine, Jason, recommended that I check out Alarm.com – which is dubbed by some as being the first of the Alarm 2.0 companies. It’s essentially a technology enabled alarm system, using a cellular link to the central station rather than a regular phone line. The cool thing about it being cellular is that phone lines can be cut, usually without much difficulty, by someone trying to break into your house. Doing so prevents an alarm signal from reaching the central station – IF your alarm system works over your phone line. There are other companies that offer monitoring over a high speed internet connection, but since my high speed internet connection is DSL – that is no better for me. Cellular means there are no wires to cut, so no ability for an easy bypass.

The other cool things about their technology is that it’s web enabled. I can log on to the system from any internet connected computer and arm the system, disarm the system, configure the system, see logs of what activity has gone on with it, etc. It essentially lets me control my security system from anywhere I am – and that’s damn cool. Say I forgot to arm my alarm when I left for work in the morning. I remember halfway to work. For kicks, say I’m leaving for a business trip FROM work and won’t be home for a few days. In that kind of situation with a traditional system I’d either have to a.) drive back home to arm it, or b.) have someone I trust go over and arm it. Both are inconveniences. With this system I could continue on to work, log in when I get to work and arm the system. That’s convenience.

Their systems are also X10 capable, for those who are into home automation. I’m not currently planning on using this functionality as I have only a few X10 devices in my home, most of my home automation network uses Insteon.

Alarm.com, however, doesn’t deal direct with customers anymore (I guess they used to, but now only work with dealers who sell their services). They DO however answer questions and will kindly point you in the direction of a dealer that meets your needs. They even will provide you with alternative dealers if you want to shop around for the best value.

They referred me to FrontPoint Security Solutions, a small company from what I gather, out of Virginia.
I’ll admit, I was initially pretty skeptical about them. Of course, in my line of work you tend to get that way about any new entity you come across. Alarm.com gave them my contact information (with my permission) and the next day I received a phone call from a company representative who wanted to talk with me in detail about what they offer, what their services cost, and to get a better understanding of my own specific needs. This impressed me, as none of the other companies I dealt with seemed all that interested in my own specific needs.

It was a busy day, so I didn’t get a chance to call him back right away, so I followed up via email that I had received his message and wanted to work out a time (since my schedule is fairly busy these days) to talk about their systems. I wanted to schedule a time so I wouldn’t get into an endless cycle of phone tag.

We got a time set up, and had the call last night on my drive home from work (a time when I’d have a half hour or so free to talk). I was pleasantly surprised – he was more than willing to answer the battery of questions I threw at him (included topics were: certifications of the central station, who owns the equipment, would they give me the installer codes (yes), equipment failure rates, contract terms, technical capabilities, pricing, licensing (licensed in all the states that require it), etc. ) – in fact at the start of the conversation when I mentioned that I had some questions he replied that he welcomed them, and was glad that I did have questions and was asking them.

The answers to the questions were direct and felt very open and honest. I was impressed. After learning a bit more about my personal needs (and also future plans), he told me about some equipment that isn’t available via their website that is also available. He then suggested that after I get the system set up and see how great it works, if I’m interested in any of the additional equipment (for things I had thought about doing anyways, separate from the security system) to contact them and we could get something worked out.

The conversation literally lasted the entire trip home, and was mostly a question and answer session of me bouncing questions off him. Towards the end he asked what my time frame was for pulling the trigger on a system. I was pretty well set by this point as I have been doing homework on these systems for a while now and his answers to my questions gave me a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. I told him that and he suggested that we find a time where we could both sit in front of a computer and on their website go through the equipment they offer and piece together a system that fits the needs of my home. He said he’d be working late that night (last night) and so we set up a call for 930 last night.

Sure enough, 930 came around and the phone rang – it took only about 20-25 minutes to go through the equipment and decide what items were right for my home – I was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn’t try to sell me equipment I didn’t need and wouldn’t have a use for. Instead he got me a good solid system that would be able to cover all of the variables in my home, and be right for me.

So far my customer experience has been exceptional, and I’m really looking forward to getting the system and putting it through it’s paces. Once I have the system installed and up and running, and have taken the time to use it a little bit, I’ll post a review.