Things to Consider When Getting A CCTV System

So you have decided you want cameras. Today I will be talking about a few things to consider when purchasing cameras for your home or business place.

The first thing I would advise anyone to do is check the number of areas they would like to cover and come up with a budget for your project. When doing your budget there are three main cost factors to consider  

1. The Equipment cost. This would consist of the cost of the cameras, recorder, power supplies, UPS, monitor, etc.
   
2. The Installation material cost e.g. wire clamps or electrical conduit for securing your camera cables, etc.
   
3. a) The Labour cost of the installation if you decide to hire a technician. Please bear in mind this is usually a very high cost. The price to install a camera varies from person to person and can start from about $250 - $500 per camera or even more depending on the distance the camera is from the DVR to type of camera you are installing etc.
   
   
   b) The Networking cost. This involves putting the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) on the internet where the video feed can be accessed anywhere in the world. This can sometimes be done by the installer of the cameras but is often done by an IT professional and would therefore add to the cost of the overall installation.
   

After you have come up with your budget the next step would be picking out equipment that fits both your pocket and your needs. A lot of people these days are cutting cost and buying those nice do it yourself camera packages, and I must admit there are some reasonably good kits on the market. Unfortunately, no matter how good the quality of the kit is, they still come with two major flaws. The first is the power supply for the cameras and the second is cabling that comes with the kit.
              

When I speak about the power supply I am speaking about the power source for the cameras. Most kits have one of two power sources for cameras, either each of the cameras has its own adapter which draws power directly from a wall outlet or the recorder may power the camera directly.
Adapters are the more common of the two so we will talk about those. When using adapters one must consider finding space to plug them all in and that can cause quite a bit of cluttered in larger camera systems. Another weak point of an adapter is it allows fluctuation in your current supply to affect the power supplied to your cameras. This can reduce the life of your cameras. They are also easily damaged by short circuits caused by blown cameras or damaged wiring and can sometimes even cause fires. 

To safeguard oneself against this I usually recommend using a commercial power panel which was designed for long term use and has built in protection against short circuits and ensures voltage to your cameras is consistent.

              

Next let’s talk a little about the cables supplied. They are usually thin cables that are not very rugged and can be easily damaged during and installation.
 The shielding on the inside of the cables is usually light and can ultimately lead to very little protection against interference. (Interference can look like waves on the screen or rolling of the picture and is usually caused by electrical wiring). Last but not least they are almost always the wrong length for the installation. 

 My solution for this is buy commercial cabling and make up your own camera connections. The benefits of doing this is they can handle interference much better, they can be made into any length you desire. Most importantly they are more durable than cables supplied in CCTV kits.

This Post is the hopefully the first of many, please feel free to leave questions and/or suggestions in the comment area below.