In addition to officially certified models, Synology Surveillance Station fully supports Helix IP cameras that adhere to the ONVIF standard. Using the ONVIF protocol allows Helix cameras to integrate smoothly into your setup, providing a flexible and scalable surveillance solution. Even if your specific Helix camera model isn’t explicitly named on Synology’s official compatibility list, you can typically connect it without any issues using ONVIF protocols.
Note: While standard video streaming and recording are widely supported, feature availability may vary depending on the camera model, and some advanced functions may not be fully supported compared to officially verified devices.
In this article, we will demonstrate how to set the camera up using Synology Surveillance Station. Please note, audio output, NTP server setup, edge recording, mirror, flip, pan/tilt controls, and day/night settings are not supported.
The device must be set up first on your network or using the Helix Pro app before it can be connected to a NAS. Please make sure the camera and the NAS are on the same network during setup.
Step 1: Launch Surveillance Station and Click IP Camera.
Note: You can also access this option by launching Surveillance Station and going to Main Menu > IP camera.
Step 2: Add the camera.
To add a camera to Surveillance Station, choose one of the following options:
- If there are no already connected cameras, click the Add in the dialogue box to activate Add Camera Wizard.
- In the top left corner, click Add > Add Camera to activate Add Camera Wizard.
Step 3: Setting up the camera.
In Add Camera Wizard, choose between Complete Setup or Quick Setup. While Complete Setup allows you to configure device information, video settings, recording settings, and schedule settings, when you select Quick Setup you only need to set necessary device information. You can edit advanced settings in Advanced later. Click Quick Setup and click Next to continue.
Step 4: Setup the camera information.
Under Information, click the search icon to the right of IP address to open the Camera search result window.
Surveillance Station will automatically search for the device. If the device is not displayed, click on the General Interface (ONVIF) tab. Select the device from the interface and click OK.
Since we will be using ONVIF to connect the camera, in the Brand field select ONVIF.
In the Camera model field, enter the model number of the device being added. The model number for the device.
The camera's information will be imported into the interface. Enter a name for the device as well as the username and password. Click the Test Connection option to test the connection between the camera and the NAS. A green checkmark will be displayed if the camera is properly connected. Click Next to continue.
Click on Finish.
The device has been added to the NAS using Synology Surveillance Station. To preview the device, hover the mouse of the device and click the play button. A preview of the camera will be shown.
Please note, a red dot will be displayed indicating that the device is properly recording to the NAS.