Surveillance Station Speaker - Any Suggestions?

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Surveillance Station Speaker - Any Suggestions?

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After successfully installing two HikVision cameras, I am ready to take the next step in my home security system: an alarm speaker.

My intention is to set up 'Action Rules' that will sound an alert inside my home (message and/or sound) when a camera event is detected and HOME MODE is not engaged.

I see that SS supports AXIS and only AXIS speakers (per SS PC client). I also see that the available CODEC are: ACC G726 and G711. That is not many options and these AXIS speakers are double (or more) than a camera.

Q1. Will I need a separate SS camera license to set up an SS (IP PoE) speaker?

Q2. Any suggestions on alternative IP PoE speakers that will work with SS (e.g. will SIP speakers work)?
 
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My Synology Surveillance Station (SS) is nearly complete. The only thing missing is a speaker for a local, indoor, and audible alarm to notify intruders and inhabitance of an intrusion detection.

There are a number of AXIS choices on the Synology speaker compatibility list: Surveillance Device Support List | Synology Inc.. All the AXIS speakers listed support AAC, G726, G711 CODECs. Yet all these choices are very expensive (2-4x the cost of a single camera).

My search has taken me to the Grandstream model GS3506 (GSC3506 | Grandstream Networks ). This is a relatively new addition to their product line and sells for $99.99 (plus shipping and tax) from “The Telecom Spot”: Grandstream GSC3506 SIP/Multicast Intercom Speaker. At ¼ the price of AXIS speakers, the GS3506 is an attractive alternative.

According to Grandstream, their model GS3506 datasheet supports these Voice Codecs and Capabilities:
G.711µ/a, G.722 (wide-band), G.726-32, iLBC, Opus, G.723, G.729A/B, in-band and out-ofband DTMF (In audio, RFC2833, SIP INFO), VAD, CNG, PLC, AJB, AGC, ANS.​

The only audio CODEC information on Synology’s website is here: Surveillance Station Technical Specifications | Synology Inc.. This page lists Camera audio codecs:
PCM, AMR, G.711, G.726, 16-bit PCM-LE. I can only presume that the speaker CODECs are the same.​

It would seem that both the Grandstream model GS3506 and SS support both G.711 and G.726. However, the Grandstream support for G.726 is 32 bit whereas SS says 16 bit.

I am reluctant to move forward and purchase a GS3506 and would appreciate others with more experience to weigh in on the GS3506 potential compatibility as an SS speaker.
 
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Progress Report...

I purchased a Grandstream model GSC3516 2-way SIP speaker. I must admit, Grandstream has done a good job designing this device. The build quality is very good as well as good sound quality.

The good news is that
  1. I have been able to upload music and play music through the speaker - nice tone.
  2. I have been able to Bluetooth connect to the speaker through my Android phone and play music.
  3. I can also receive phone calls and use the Bluetooth connection feature as a speaker phone - 2 way audio.
  4. And, although I have not tried it, there are inputs for mpg audio.
The bad news is that I have yet to find a GSC3516 GUI configuration that plays CODEC G.711 (or other) from Synology's Surveillance Station (SS) to the speaker. It appears that the GSC3516 wants to connect to a SIP server and SS is not a SIP server. If only there was a G.711 to Bluetooth gateway that worked with SS.

At this stage of the "game", I will solicit GrandStream technical support help - if they are willing. I am still holding out hope that there may be a configuration or unsupported path that would allow Synology's SS and Grandstream's GSC3516 to talk to one other. If not, then the Grandstream GSC3516 goes back to Amazon.

Update
Appeal to GrandStreem Technical Support:

Screenshot 2023-10-26 105327.png
 
Well, not unexpected, here is the GrandStream reply. Too bad because the GSC3516 is a nice piece of hardware.

Screenshot 2023-10-26 143108.png


On the off-chance some GrandStream engineers is intrigued and thinks my request has a simple solution, I will keep my GSC3516 for a week or so longer. Then it is back to the drawing board.
 
UPDATE...
A shout out goes to GrandStream engineers who have been working with me to get their model GSC3516 2-way speaker to work with Synology Surveillance Station (version 9.1.2).

This morning at the request of GrandStream engineers, I ran a diagnostic tool that is part of the GSC3516 Firmware. It produced pcaps. Here is a screen shot of these pcaps when I clicked the [test connection] button on Synology's IP Speaker module (package).

Screenshot 2023-10-31 120104.png


As you can see, Synology is sending the test audio to what appears to be a .../axis-cgi/... folder that probably does not exist with the GSC3516. At this point, compatibility of the GSC3516 as a viable IP speaker is pretty gloomy without a GSC3516 Firmware rewrite or change to Synology's IP Speaker module.

The above pcaps have been sent to Grandstream. At this point in time, I am awaiting their reply. But, I have to admit, things don't look good.

Observations and comments by others in this forum to this post are welcomed and appreciated.
 
Well, the debate (and hope) is over. For now, GrandStream speakers are NOT compatible with Synology Surveillance Station. Too bad. Based on my limited experience, GrandStream products are well designed and made. And the tech support team was eager to help.

Here is todays reply from GrandStream Technical Support...

Screenshot 2023-11-01 123104.png
 

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