Axis Door Station Tested (A8105-E)

Published Jul 19, 2017 16:58 PM

Axis continues their push into niche markets, especially audio, with network speakers, an IP horn, and video door stations.

We bought and tested Axis' compact door station, the A8105-E, checking:

  • Audio quality
  • Echo cancellation
  • Noise reduction
  • VMS integration
  • WDR performance
  • Low light image quality

And more. See our full results inside.

Note: This is our first test of a video intercom. We plan to expand this coverage in the future. Comment with your suggestions/requests below.

Summary

In our tests, the A8105-E worked well, with several pros:

  • The A8105 added to Exacq, Genetec, and Milestone as a typical Axis camera, including video and audio streams without additional configuration.
  • Digital noise reduction improved subject audio in our tests, making speech more intelligible over moderately loud road noise (~65-70 dB).
  • Echo cancellation eliminated operator talkback audio from reflecting into the door station mic in enclosed areas (e.g. vestibules), a common problem in intercoms.
  • Shock and tilt detection worked properly in testing, notifying when the station was struck or removed from its backplate.

However, low light performance was poor below ~0.1lx, despite Axis' claims of "0 lux" using the call button LED.

Additionally, audio and tampering events are not fully integrated with all VMSes, requiring added configuration to receive notification of doorphone button presses. Users must set up I/O and/or TCP serial strings to integrate these alerts with Exacq, but are received as Camera Tampering by Genetec and Milestone.

Price

The Axis A8105-E can be found online for ~$800 USD.

Physical Overview

The A8105-E is a compact form factor door station, small enough to fit on many door mullions (shown below). The station may also be wall mounted or flush mounted (requires an optional mounting kit).

The video below reviews the physical features of the door station:

Audio Quality Examples

In our tests, microphone and speaker audio from the A8105-E was loud and clear, with low latency, demonstrated below.

For example, the clip below shows the subject at ~3' from the door station, speaking normally in a typical entrance vestibule with little noise. 

Outside, with wind and traffic noise in the background, the subject is still easy to hear. Noise is audible, but very low compared to the subject's voice.

We look at the specifics of echo cancellation, digital noise reduction, and other features below.

Noise Reduction

Noise reduction made subject speech much more audible in noisy environments, such as the entrance scene shown below. When turned off, wind and road noise reduce intelligibility. When turned on, noise is greatly reduced, making speech more clear.

Echo Cancellation

The A8105-E's echo cancellation features worked well, especially in smaller enclosed spaces such as the vestibule below where echo is typically prevalent. When turned on, operator audio could not be heard via the doorphone mic, but echo was present when turned off, demonstrated here.

 

Note that these features are of less use in push to talk configurations typical of most VMSes, as microphone audio is typically muted when speaking. However, in applications where the door station is used as a SIP endpoint, echo cancellation may be more useful, as audio is bidirectional full duplex. 

Shock/Tilt Sensing

The A8105-E also includes shock and tilt sensors which detect attempts to remove or destroy the station, for example to access the relay output connections to release a connected door.  In our tests, default sensitivity (80 shock/75 tilt) was sufficient to detect these attempts without false activations due to normal vibrations or activations.

These events are not integrated with all VMSes, but Genetec Security Center receives shock as camera tampering, shown below, as does Milestone XProtect.

WDR Performance

The A8105-E includes Axis' Forensic Capture WDR, the same variant included on many of their high end models such as the Q1615/Q1635, consistently top performers in our WDR shootouts. In our tests, Forensic Capture improved image quality in multiple WDR scenes.

Vestibule Entry

For example, when mounted indoors in the entrance vestibule, subject details were clearer with WDR on, while his face was partially shadowed when turned off. Additionally, objects outside were more visible, seen in foliage/vehicles across the parking lot.

Outside Entrance

Mounted outside the building entrance, WDR again provided better details.

Low Light Performance

The A8105-E does not include integrated IR, instead using the white LED ring around the call button for illumination. Axis claims 0 lux minimum illumination when using this LED, but in our tests performance was poor below ~0.1 lux.

In a dimly illuminated scene (~0.4lx), the camera is noisy, but displays subject details clearly at ~3-4', approximately the distance at which the station is operable by a subject. 

However, with lights out (~0.08lx), the IR ring itself provides little light, with the subject difficult to see and the rest of the scene almost totally dark.

VMS Integration

In our tests, the A8105-E added as a standard Axis camera to Exacq, Genetec, and Milestone, with bi-directional audio supported by all three. The camera would not connect to Avigilon Control Center in our tests.

Note that none of the VMSes tested automatically created an event for the door station's call button, but it could be manually created.

Axis Mobile/Windows App Support

The A8105-E is compatible with Axis' Companion app, both mobile and desktop, which allows users to receive popup notifications for calls, talk back, and release the door. No manual port forwarding is required for this feature.

The video below shows this working via the Android app, with video popping up on call and door release button shown.

 

Test Parameters

  • Axis A8105-E Network Video Door Station: 1.58.2.2
Comments are shown for subscribers only. Login or Join