Create rules for camera issues

Last modified: Tuesday May 13, 2025.

Create rules to alert your operators about issues with your cameras. Choose how Alta Video notifies your users, allowing them to quickly and efficiently respond to issues.

Watch how to create rules for camera issues:

Prerequisites

If required, you can create a rules template to simplify making similar rules. See Create templates for use in search and rules.

Task — Create a camera issues rule

  1. Go to Alta Video in your web browser.

  2. Choose Tools > add tool button Rules > System.

  3. Click Add Add rule.
  4. Enter a name for the rule.
  5. Click Camera issues Camera issues.
  6. Set the Level of importance.
    High importance rules prioritize the cameras displayed in the Video view when a rule is triggered.
  7. Click Next.
  8. Select one or more issues that trigger the rule:
    • Camera connection failure (any camera)
      • To reduce camera connection alerts on unstable networks, you can increase the timeout before the rule triggers.
    • Unmet retention period (days) (Alta cameras)
      • The rule triggers if the camera cannot store recordings for the set retention period.
      • The recording settings in a camera configuration profile and bookmarked or shared clips can impact onboard storage and the stated retention period. Create an unmet retention period rule if you have an obligation to store camera recordings for a minimum time period. See Alta camera bandwidth usage, video quality, and video storage.
      • Check the camera configuration profile does not limit the retention period below the time specified. See Create Configuration profiles for your devices.
    • SD card failure (Alta cameras only)
    • Analytics failure (Alta cameras only)
    • Camera top cover removed (Avigilon Alta Dome and Avigilon Ava 360 cameras only)
    • Camera in recovery mode (Alta cameras only)
    • Camera not storing (Alta cameras only)
    • Image health
  9. Click Next.
  10. Select the cameras to be monitored for issues:
      1. Use Search to help find the required cameras in the list.
      2. Click Site and device groups icon to filter cameras by site name, device group name, and device name, or click Labels icon to filter by label.
      3. If you have predefined them, use Camera presets to simplify adding the same groups of cameras to multiple rules.
  11. Click Next.
  12. Specify your required Date & Time and RULE ACTIVATION settings.
    If you have predefined them, use Templates to simplify adding the same date and time parameters to multiple rules.
  13. Click Next.
  14. Select your required actions. Select from:
    • Pop-up — when triggered, pops up a notification in Alta Video that includes a thumbnail view of the camera view that triggered the rule.
      To receive notifications on the Alta Video mobile app, check Also send a push notification on the mobile app.
    • Email — when triggered, an email message is sent to the defined user or group of users.
    • External link— when triggered, Alta Video automatically creates a shared external link that can be embedded in an Email or Webhook notification.
    • Webhook — when triggered, enables notification via a webhook to your preferred communication system.

    Alarms are only shown to operators that have access to the cameras that trigger the rule.

  15. Choose to require your operators to acknowledge the triggered rule.
  16. Click Done.