My birthday is fast approaching and I'm (hopefully) due to move house soon. I thought it would be a good idea to get a semi decent CCTV system - on a low budget - an easy task I thought....
Not easy! Buying a CCTV system has turned out to be a nightmare task, so much to learn, sellers hiding information and so many different specifications.
The number one thing I have learnt is - under no circumstances ever buy an all-in-one box solution from Maplins etc etc.
The number two thing I have learnt is - resolution matters - a lot.
The number three thing I have learnt is - recording resolution on all channels matters - a lot.
In court, low resolution CCTV is not even valid. So whats the point of a CCTV system if your footage cannot be used to secure a conviction? You need high resolution cameras and a DVR that can actually record at high resolution at 25FPS.
Cheap one box systems may display live footage at a semi decent resolution at 25fps, but during recording it will be low resolution and low fps. Pointless.
Ive therefore decided to spec and build my own system.
First you have to choose cameras - cmos/ccd/sensor size, number of TV Lines, IR or not, weatherproof or not.
During my research it appears that Sony 1/3" CCD based cameras are the better ones (True CCD sensor, sony technology for low lighting, larger 1/3" sensor - think when choosing a DSLR. I went for 700TVL cameras, these provide 700 TV Lines (just below 720p) and 48IR LED's for night vision.
Beware of eBay ads for cameras that are cheap (£30 or below) always check the specs. I have seen many cameras advertised as "Top quality Sony CCD Nightvision" - however the specs reveal, 300TVL, 1/4" CCD, 12 IR Leds" - it may have the same housing as a more expensive model, but the insides will let you down.
Ok so ive learnt a little about cameras. Cables next!
Cabling isn't bad at all really, just remember that you will need a dual BNC/power cable. I bought cables that are way too long - best to have them too long than two short! Once installed and run to the DVR I will shorten them and add my own BNC/Power connectors (or just bundle them up and leave them).
Next up, power!
You'll find that CCTV cameras DO NOT come with power supplies. During my research, the easiest thing to do is buy a large single power supply and split the feed from it to all your cameras at your DVR end. Ive chosen an 8 channel system, I won't have 8 cameras, but best to future proof. Each camera will draw more amps depending on CCD/CMOS/Sensor size and the number of IR Led's.
Watch out - many ads on eBay are for small phone like charger units with 8 way splitters, some of these only provide 1 amp - no where near enough for 8 cameras.
Ive gone for a 5 amp power supply. That will be more than enough for 4 cameras, good enough for now
Finally the DVR! This is such a minefield, I will go over in another post. Im still researching....
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