Ajax records cameras too — and not only its own
Ajax has its own network video recorder, the Ajax NVR, which is compatible with the ONVIF standard and with RTSP. In plain terms: as well as Ajax's own cameras, it takes IP cameras from other manufacturers. There are 8-channel and 16-channel models, depending on how many cameras you want to connect.
Brands such as Hikvision, Dahua, Uniview, Safire or EZVIZ are recognised with practically no configuration. Other generic ONVIF/RTSP cameras are added manually by entering their username and password. Everything is viewed in the same Ajax app, alongside the alarm.
This matters for a practical reason: if you already have cameras from another brand installed, with Ajax you do not have to throw them away. You can bring the alarm and those cameras together into a single system and a single app, instead of having one app for the alarm and a different one for the video.
What about Ajax's own cameras?
Since October 2023, Ajax has made its own camera range (models such as TurretCam, BulletCam, DomeCam Mini, plus an indoor camera and a video doorbell). They integrate with the same NVR and the same app as the rest of the system, so the experience is identical whether you fit Ajax cameras or reuse the ones you already had from another brand.
We choose between one and the other based on the project: budget, the image quality you need, whether there are existing cameras worth keeping, and the conditions at each point (indoor, outdoor, low light).
Scenarios: making your security system act on its own
An Ajax scenario is an automation: you tell the system "when X happens, do Y". To carry out the physical action (switch on a light, open/close a contact, activate a device) Ajax uses devices such as the Relay, the WallSwitch or the Socket smart plug. Some real examples we install:
- Light on movement or opening: if a detector trips at night, an outdoor light switches on automatically. Most intruders leave the moment they feel they have been seen.
- On mode change: when you arm the alarm, lights or a device switch off; when you disarm in the morning, they switch on.
- On a schedule: switch something on or off at a fixed time (lighting, a sign, irrigation), wherever you are.
- With a button: press a wireless button to turn on a night light without hunting for the switch.
- By temperature: activate a device when the temperature drops below or rises above a threshold.
The WallSwitch can work in a fixed way (on/off) or as a pulse of configurable length, useful for example to open a door or gate for a few seconds.
Photo verification and video: see what is happening before you act
It is worth separating two things people tend to mix up:
- Photo verification (MotionCam): these are motion detectors with a built-in camera. When the alarm trips, they take a series of photos and send them to your phone. The alert arrives almost instantly and the images just after, within seconds. They let you know on the spot whether it is a real break-in or a false alarm before calling anyone. Note: MotionCam sends photos, not video.
- Live video: that comes from the IP cameras and the NVR (Ajax's own or another brand connected to it). The live video is viewed in the app, in a mosaic-style view where you have all cameras at once.
Combining the two gives you the best of each: photo verification alerts you with visual proof at the moment of the trip, and the cameras let you look live whenever you want.
App alerts: push, SMS and even a phone call
The official app is called Ajax Security System (iOS and Android). When something happens —an alarm, an opening, movement— the system alerts you through several channels at once:
- Push notification on your phone through the Ajax cloud.
- SMS to the number you have set up.
- Phone call for important alarms: the hub calls the configured users, one after another, until someone answers.
From the app you also control the scenarios, arm and disarm by zones, and check the event history (who armed, who disarmed and at what time). You can give access to several users with different permissions.
For large projects: Ajax integrates with professional systems
Since March 2025, Ajax's video devices support ONVIF Profile S, which lets them be integrated into third-party professional video management systems (VMS) such as Milestone, Genetec, Axxon or Digifort. For a large residential complex, a hotel or a warehouse that already has a central video system, this means Ajax can coexist with that infrastructure instead of replacing it. If that is your case, we look at it under our large projects service.
Why we set up Ajax this way at Dartel
We have been installing security in Málaga and the Costa del Sol for more than 15 years. We like Ajax for what it lets us do, not for the brand:
- One system, one app. Alarm, cameras (Ajax's own or another brand) and automations all in the same place. Fewer apps, less hassle for the client.
- Reuse what you already have. If you have Hikvision or Dahua cameras, we bring them into the Ajax NVR instead of starting from scratch.
- Genuinely useful scenarios. This is not showroom home automation: switching on a light when a sensor trips, or opening a gate with a button, solves everyday problems.
- Alerts with proof. Photo verification stops you rushing out over a false alarm, and the cameras let you check live.
We are Ajax distributors and installers in Málaga: we handle the equipment and the installation in a single step, with a guarantee on both the hardware and the work.
Want your alarm and cameras in a single system?
We advise you on which cameras to keep, which scenarios are worth it and how to leave everything in one app. Installation with guarantee in Málaga and the Costa del Sol.