Checking Camera Compatibility with Synology

The short answer

Synology's video recording software, Surveillance Station, is built around network (IP) cameras. A camera is most likely to work if it appears on Synology's own compatibility list for your Surveillance Station version. If it isn't listed, it may still work through the ONVIF standard or a generic RTSP stream. An ordinary USB webcam is a different case. Surveillance Station is not designed as a general way to record from a USB webcam plugged into the NAS. In practice, the webcam usually has to be turned into an IP stream by a computer or other device first, and Surveillance Station then records that stream.

Audio adds a second condition. A camera can be compatible for video while its sound is missing, unsupported or one-way only. You need to check audio support separately from video.

No model-specific test data, specifications or compatibility results were supplied for this guide. The points below are general principles, not confirmed results for any particular camera, webcam or NAS. Confirm details against Synology's current documentation and your camera maker's documentation.

Three ways a camera can connect

Connection route | What it means | Audio implication

Listed on Synology's compatibility list | Synology has documented support for that model, often with specific features noted | Most dependable route, but check whether audio is listed as supported for that model

ONVIF (an open standard for IP camera communication) | Works with cameras that implement the standard, even if they are unlisted | Video often works, but audio support varies by camera and is not guaranteed

User-defined or generic RTSP stream | You enter the stream address manually | Audio is recorded only if the stream carries an audio track in a format Surveillance Station accepts

Converting a webcam into an IP camera source

Converting a webcam means connecting it to a computer or small device. That device runs software that publishes the webcam's picture, and optionally its microphone, as a network stream. Surveillance Station then connects to the stream as if it came from an IP camera. Whether this works depends on the conversion software and on the format of the stream it produces. It does not depend on the webcam brand.

• Confirm the conversion software includes the webcam's microphone in the stream; some tools send video only by default.
• Check that the audio is encoded in a format Surveillance Station can handle. An audio codec is the method used to compress sound. If the codec is unsupported, you may get silent recordings while the video plays normally.
• If the software offers ONVIF, try that first. Otherwise, use Surveillance Station's user-defined or generic stream option with the RTSP address the software provides.
• Keep the host computer or device running at all times. If it sleeps, restarts or loses the webcam, recording stops.

What this means for capturing speech

Webcam microphones are generally designed for near-field speech, such as one person sitting close to a screen on a video call. Repurposed as a surveillance source, the same microphone may sit much farther from the people speaking. Speech is then likely to sound quieter, more echoey and more affected by background noise. This is an inference from how microphones behave with distance, not a measured result for any model.

• Test with a short recording at the actual mounting position, not at your desk.
• Listen for whether speech is intelligible, not just whether any sound was captured.
• If the camera supports it, enable audio in the camera's settings within Surveillance Station, then check playback for audio that drifts out of sync with the video.
• If the webcam microphone is weak at that distance, a separate microphone fed into the same stream may help. This depends on whether your conversion software supports choosing a different audio input.

A legal point before recording audio

In the US, recording conversations is regulated differently from recording video, and the rules vary by state. Some states require consent from everyone being recorded. Check the rules that apply where the camera is located before you enable audio capture.

What could not be confirmed here

• Which specific cameras or webcams are currently on Synology's compatibility list.
• Which audio codecs your Surveillance Station version accepts.
• How many camera licenses your NAS model includes, and the cost of adding more.
• How any particular webcam microphone performs at room distance.

Next step: look up your exact camera model and Surveillance Station version in Synology's compatibility information. If you are converting a webcam, make a short test recording to confirm that both video and intelligible speech come through before you rely on the setup.