Recording by input status

Answered

Ross Thomas

August 26, 2026 00:52

I have a site that requires recording on a number of cameras, based on the status of an input that is connected to the system.

I have been testing this on my own system, using an I/O module.

 

I have created a system rule, that says to start recording when the input is triggered, and to remain recording for the duration of the event. This seems to be working OK, but I’m wondering if we can improve on it at all.

As I only want those cameras to record when the input is triggered, should I set the cameras to ‘Do not record’ under the schedule within the setting for the relevant camera?

 

This is what I’ve done for now. My main concern is that doing this seems to mean that the smart motion search does not work, on the footage recorded when the input is triggered. I guess it just reverts to ‘record always’ while the condition in the rule is met, but does this necessarily have to mean that we can't have any motion searching on that recorded footage?

Is there a way around this? I am very much open to suggestions on this matter.

 

Thanks

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  Norman

  • Network Optix team

  August 26, 2026 06:51

  Hi Ross Thomas,

  I think this article covers your needs: 

  • How to Manually Start and Stop Recording via Soft Triggers

  If you replace the Soft Triggers for Inputs, you should achieve your goals. 

  Regarding Smart Motion Search, this should be unrelated. The Smart Motion Search should work for any recorded data, unless there is no secondary stream or the resolution was set too high (>1024x720). 

  Best regards. 

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  Ross Thomas

  August 26, 2026 20:24

  Thanks for that.

  The article doesn't state what to do with the recording schedule for the camera. Should this just remain empty, with no recording enabled?

  Also, it states that I would need two inputs for this function; one to start recording, one to stop recording. Can I not just use the input to trigger recording to start, then continue so long as that input state remains true, then stop again when the input state changes to false? Hence only actually needing one input.

  I think my current rule may only be enabling recording of the hi res stream. But it is otherwise working as intended; if I just created another to record the low res stream, would that solve my problem, as far as the smart search goes? I have little experience with writing rules in https like that, so would probably prefer to just use the GUI within the client to create the rules.

  Thanks

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  Norman

  • Network Optix team

  August 27, 2026 07:39 Edited

  Hi Ross Thomas,

  The article explains how to enable and disable recording directly, but it does not alter the actual recording schedule. While modifying the schedule itself is possible, it is a significantly more complex process.

  Unfortunately, you cannot rely on a single I/O port based on state changes alone. Most camera models do not share (and keep sharing) their state with third-party applications like our VMS. More importantly, using a single I/O state is not a tamper-proof approach.

  If you follow the guide step-by-step, everything can be configured through the user interface. No developer skills are required—if you can copy and paste, you can handle this configuration.

  Additionally, you might want to reach out to Andrew Sharrem. He created the Nx PowerTools application, which makes achieving this goal (and unlocking additional functionality) much easier.

  Best regards.

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