CCTV camera technology is advanced and sophisticated, requiring specialist knowledge by a CCTV installer to install and set up correctly. There is a vast array of options, together with terminology that you may not have heard of before. So we decided to create this guide to help you understand CCTV cameras better when considering home or business CCTV installation.

As well as installing CCTV systems, Tech cube also supply equipment, including CCTV cameras, DVRs (Digital Video Recorders), NVRs (Network Video Recorders), and also tools to carry out CCTV installation.

When buying a camera system, many factors must be considered, for example how the system will be used, technical CCTV camera specifications and constraints of the environment into which the system is installed. Each section of the buyer’s guide below will inform you about the different aspects of cameras.

With digital IP (Internet Protocol) cameras, each camera captures an analogue signal, but this is converted to a digital signal within the camera itself. Digital processing may also occur within the camera. The digital signal is then sent via a LAN (Local Area Network). The cables used here are Ethernet, e.g. Cat5e.

Instead of the analogue system’s DVR, for IP cameras, the video from each camera is compressed and recorded onto an NVR (Network Video Recorder). The key difference is that the signal is digital and a much higher resolution (see further down in this guide) than analogue. The NVR streams the video from all cameras and broadcasts over LAN and over the internet for remote viewing.