Welcome to the Technical Guide to CCTV Surveillance Systems Buying a CCTV system is a simple task but the vast array of products available nowadays could confuse anyone so we have tried our best to put together a guide to help you make an informed decision about what system should fulfill your requirements. We start by splitting this guide into the six sections below; if you can learn to understand these separate sections then you will have a good idea of what products will be suitable for your situation. Please bear in mind that this guide is focused around products that we offer, for example there are multiplexers and switchers - however we don't supply these products as a Digital Video Recorder replaces each one, so they do not feature in this guide.

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Technical Guide to CCTV
Surveillance Systems
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Welcome to the Technical Guide to CCTV Surveillance Systems
Buying a CCTV system is a simple task but the vast array of products
available nowadays could confuse anyone so we have tried our best to
put together a guide to help you make an informed decision about
what system should fulfill your requirements.
We start by splitting this guide into the six sections below; if you can
learn to understand these separate sections then you will have a good
idea of what products will be suitable for your situation.
Please bear in mind that this guide is focused around products that we
offer, for example there are multiplexers and switchers - however we
don't supply these products as a Digital Video Recorder replaces each
one, so they do not feature in this guide.
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Table of Contents
1
CCTV Camera Basics
4
1.1 Types of CCTV Cameras
4
1.2 Commonly used CCTV Cameras
5
1.3 Camera Specifications
6
2
8
Digital Video Recorder Basics
2.1 Features of Digital Video Recorder
8
2.2 CCTV Hard Drive Space Calculator
11
3
11
Power Supply
3.1 Types of Power Supply
11
4
Video Cables
12
5
BNC Connectors
12
5.1 Types of BNC Connectors
12
6
13
Hard Disks
6.1 Types of Hard Disks
13
Contact Information
14
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CCTV Camera Basics – Section 1
CCTV Cameras are the "eyes" of a CCTV system, you place them inside and
outside buildings to enable you to see and also record (via a digital video
recorder) what the camera is looking at.
1.1 Types of CCTV Cameras

Indoor Cameras
Indoor cameras come in all types, sizes and styles. The most popular is the
dome camera. The dome camera can be mounted on the ceiling or wall and
adjusted to view any angle. Although the dome is designed to protect the
camera inside, they are not weatherproof and should not be installed where
they are exposed to moisture or extreme temperatures.

Outdoor Cameras
The only difference between indoor and outdoor cameras is that the outdoor
cameras are in weatherproof housing. Weather proof is measured using an IP
Rating. So for using CCTV cameras outdoors, it should have an IP rating of 66
i.e. IP66.

Day/Night or Night Vision
Affordable night vision cameras are the latest innovation to the video
surveillance industry. There are many types and styles to choose from but they
all have one thing in common, infrared LED's. Small LED's that transmit out
infrared light surround the cameras lens. The more LED's on a camera, the
further it can see at night i.e. more is the IR Range of the camera.
These cameras provide high quality color pictures during the day and when the
light levels drop past a minimum level, they automatically switch to night
vision or black and white pictures in complete darkness. Infrared Security
Cameras are a great choice for both daytime and nighttime video surveillance.
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1.2 Commonly used CCTV Cameras

Dome Camera
DOME CAMERA is named for their dome like shape. Dome cameras are
commonly used in Surveillance Systems inside of Homes, Retail Stores, and
Restaurants etc. This is because dome cameras are more fashionable and
blend in very well to their surroundings.
When shopping for a Dome Camera, you should consider if you need night
vision, in that case you should look at an INFRARED (IR) DOME CAMERA.
If the area that you are installing your camera is susceptible to vandalism or
tampering, you should consider installing a VANDAL - PROOF DOME CAMERA.
A VARI-FOCAL DOME CAMERA gives you the flexibility to adjust the focal
distance of the camera lens to exactly where you need it.
Dome cameras are both ceiling mounted or suspended from a wall mounted
bracket depending on the application and the field of view required.

IR Bullet Camera
An INFRARED or IR BULLET CAMERA is a cylinder-shaped surveillance camera.
It can be used inside or outside premises. Usually comes with Infrared (IR)
LED’s for night vision. Most bullet style cameras are designed to be
weatherproof with IP66 Rating. It means that they can be safely used outside
even in all weathers.
Ok, now hopefully you have a better idea about what a CCTV camera is and
what kind best suits your situation, now I would advise you refer to the
features listed below to learn more about what a CCTV camera is capable of.
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1.3 Camera Specifications
This section will help you understand basic camera specifications and their effect
on the performance of the camera.

Image Sensor (CCD, DIS, HDIS)
It is the sensor in the camera that actually senses or captures the image. CCD
(Charge-Coupled Device), DIS (Digital Image Sensor), HDIS (High Resolution
Digital Image Sensor) are the common Image Sensors used now a days. The
size of the Image Sensor is normally 1/4", 1/3". As a rule of thumb, the larger
the size, the higher the quality of the image produced and the higher the price
i.e. why 1/3” Image Sensor is better.
The most common of the above is the 1/3" CCD, which is suitable for over 90%
of CCTV applications. Also bear in mind it is widely accepted that SONY
produce the best quality CCD Image Sensors, so we recommend you choose a
camera with a SONY chip.

TVL Resolution
The number of TV lines (TVL) in the security camera image is a measure of
picture resolution (sharpness).
The larger the number of TV lines (TVL), the better the resolution and hence,
overall picture quality.
 Standard image quality is 380TVL to 420TVL.
 High image quality is 480TVL.
 Very high image quality is 540TVL to 700TVL.
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
Lens
Lens is a light-gathering device of a camera. Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) security
system cameras offer the option of changing the lens to better fit the needs of
a location or user.
A camera can view much further but recognize things till a particular distance
only. Approximate data is given below for a particular lens.
S.No. Lens (Focal Length)
Field of
(approx.)
1
2
3
4
5
6
72 Degree
65 Degree
43 Degree
32 Degree
22 Degree
17 Degree
3.6 mm
4 mm
6 mm
8 mm
12 mm
16 mm
View
Face Recognition
Max.
Distance
(approx.)
10 ft
12 ft
18 ft
25 ft
35 ft
50 ft
For instance, if you want to identify people
25 ft away from a camera, a short focal
length lens (e.g. 3.6mm) would give such a
large field of view that recognition would be
uncertain. An 8mm or even 12mm lens
would be far better.
 The smaller the lens focal length, the
wider the camera view and the smaller
things will appear.
 The larger the lens focal length, the
narrower the view and the bigger things
will appear
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Digital Video Recorder Basics – Section 2
There is a large selection of Digital Video Recorders with us alone, we understand
trying to buy the right one is not simple, and differs for each situation. So we have
put together some information about the features available so that you can try to
make a more educated decision.
The Digital Video Recorder is the "brain" of a CCTV system; it takes the images
from the cameras and stores them on to a hard disk drive. You can then look at
the images recorded on the hard drive, and review what the cameras have been
viewing by connecting a monitor (or other form of display unit) to the DVR. You
can forward & rewind through the video in much the same way you may have
done so with a typical Video recorder. On many you can search for specific dates
& times to quickly find the footage you want to view and back up the data from
the hard drive on to another storage device.
Ok, now hopefully you have a better idea about what a digital video recorder is,
and its purpose, now I would advise you refer to the features listed below to learn
more about what a digital video recorder is capable of.
2.1 Features of Digital Video Recorder

Number of Channels
Have a good look around your premises and decide how many cameras you
are going to need, you should take your time with this and make sure you have
all the angles covered.
Digital Video Recorders come in several sizes, most commonly:
 4 Channels
 8 Channels
 16 Channels
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But once you have decided how many cameras you need, you can then start
looking at appropriate Digital Video Recorders. For example if you only need to
use 2 cameras, there are not many 2 channel Digital Video Recorders on the
Market, so you will probably need to buy a 4 channel Digital Video Recorder.
But buying more channels than you actually require, isn’t a bad thing, as many
people find they want to add cameras in the future that they didn’t initially
think about.

H.264 Video Compression
To save hard drive space the most important consideration is the type of
encoding used to compress the video. There are three types of compression
used in security DVRs: MJPEG (motion Joint Photographic Experts Group),
MPEG4 (Moving Picture Experts Group version 4) and H.264.
H.264 is the best encoding because it uses hardware to encode and decode
the signal, the pictures are clearer and the file size is smaller.
H.264's higher compression ratio (up to two times better than prior generation
technology) effectively increases storage capacity by 100%, producing smaller
file sizes and, therefore, longer recording time on a fixed-capacity storage
device. In addition, the use of H.264 allows high-quality images to be
transmitted over networks at very low bit rates. Our DVR systems use H.264
Video Compression

Real Time Recording
Lots of people say their systems run in "real time." It is important to know how
many Frames per Second (FPS) the security DVR records. Make sure you
understand this because it means different things to different people in
different scenarios. First off, REAL TIME (as in watching Live TV) is 25 Frames
per Second (FPS) per camera in PAL (European Standard). So anything in this
range will be easily viewable and appear as full motion video.
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A four-channel security DVR that is rated at 50 FPS will record a total of 50 FPS.
If you connect two cameras to a four-channel security DVR with 50 FPS
capability, each camera will be recorded at 25 FPS, but if you connect four
cameras to the unit each camera will be recorded at 12.5 FPS. While this may
be fine for your situation, it will not be sufficient for full motion recording.
Our Real Time Recording DVR displays and records at 25 Frames per Second
(FPS) per camera. The purpose of recording in real-time is to have the
smoothest picture. In security, you cannot afford to have glitchy, unclear,
video.
 For 4 channels, our DVRs have 100 Frames per Second.
 For 8 channels, our DVRs have 200 Frames per Second.
 For 16 channels, our DVRs have 400 Frames per Second.

Motion Detection
Almost every Digital Video Recorder on the market comes with motion
detection built in nowadays; this can be a very important feature that can
considerably extend the recording capacity of your Digital Video Recorder. You
can set DVR for Continuous recording or Motion based recording.

Other Features





Full Backup Function
Easy Search by event or date/time
Support USB Flash Disk
Full Function on Remote Control/Mouse
Online viewing of images from remote location through windows PC or
Mobile (I Phone, Android etc.)
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2.2 CCTV Hard Drive Space Calculator
No. Of
Cameras
Frame Rate
per Camera
Expected Hours
Each Camera Will
Record per Day
Desired Storage
Hard
(Number of Days) Disk
per Camera
Required
4
8
16
25 FPS
25 FPS
25 FPS
12 Hrs
12 Hrs
12 Hrs
30 Days
30 Days
30 Days
500 GB
1000 GB
2000 GB
Power Supply – Section 3
Insulated 2 core wire should be used to connect the cable to both the camera and
the power supply.
3.1 Types of Power Supply

Individual Power Supply
You can power each camera with its own plug in power supply i.e. Individual
power supply for each camera

Multi Camera Power Supply
You can wire multiple cameras back to a multi-camera power source.
Both options plug into a regular 220V electrical outlet and then step the power
down to 12V DC to feed to the camera.
Plug in power supplies are usually located within 6-10 feet of the camera. The
multi-camera power supplies are installed in a closet or somewhere out of the
way and then a two core power wire is pulled to each camera. When designing
a surveillance system you may want to use a combination of plug in and multicamera power supplies. This will depend on where your power outlets are
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located and how easily you can pull a wire from a multi-camera power supply
to each camera.
Video Cables – Section 4
For the best quality CCTV video signal, we have to use proper video cable.
Surveillance systems using video coax cables (RG Series- pure copper) to transmit
the video from the camera to the recorder produces the best quality image than
those using 3+1 core cables. Even in DTH connection RG6 Cable (pure copper) is
used for best quality output.
The maximum distance the cameras can be from the recorder is a function of the
cable rather than the camera itself. Using RG6 video coax cable (pure copper) you
can run up to 600 feet per camera.
BNC Connectors – Section 5
BNC Connectors are the most common connectors used to terminate RG6 coaxial
cable in CCTV camera installations.
5.1 Types of BNC Connectors

Crimp BNC Connector
It is an older style connector that is still commonly used today. Crimp BNC
Connectors are not always left air tight. So eventually the crimp connectors
can go bad or cause the connection to fail.

Wired BNC Connector
It is the #`1 solution for terminating RG6 coaxial cables in CCTV video
installations. It makes it impossible for moisture and dust particles to enter the
termination. If dust and moisture make it into the termination they could very
well eventually cause corrosion or completely damage the connection. Did you
know that 80% of the service calls or video signal issues in CCTV installations
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are BNC Connector related? Many of those service calls are due to poorly
terminated connectors. If you are looking for the best long lasting termination
type for your CCTV system installations then Wired BNC Connectors are the
best option for you.
Hard Disks – Section 6
Hard Disks are designed to deliver reliable 24×7 operation—optimized for lowpower consumption, quiet operation, smooth video streaming, high reliability and
high capacity.
6.1 Types of Hard Disks

Surveillance Hard Disks
These are Purpose – Built Hard Drives for Digital Video Recorders. They offer
durability and performance tuned to the high – write workloads of today’s
24x7 video surveillance systems.

Desktop Hard Disks
These Hard Disks are used very commonly now-a-days in DVR’s but are not
recommended. These Hard Disks are only meant for Desktop Computers.
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Contact Information
www.securitybazaar.in
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS,
INDIA
4/1, Malviya Road,
Laxman Chowk,
Dehradun-248001
Uttarakhand
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