Best CCTV Recorder by SCK
Security Camera King often gets asked by our customers, what is the Best CCTV Recorder out there? Today we’ll talk about it!
In the security technology industry, there are many different types of systems out there designed to help you be secure. Security Camera King is a leader in online retail sales of security equipment, specifically security cameras and CCTV recorders. You may already be familiar with some of the security technologies out there. For example, many homes and businesses already have a local alarm system installed. Perhaps you have also heard of the term CCTV, or maybe this subject is a bit newer to you. That’s okay, Security Camera King is here to help educate on what CCTV is, and how this relates to the main question of “what is the best CCTV recorder?”.
To understand what is the best CCTV recorder for your needs, we first should go over the definition of CCTV. That will help us build a foundation of understanding to go into further details on the recorder and what role it plays in CCTV. CCTV is an acronym, which stands for Closed Circut TeleVision. As you likely already know, television is a type of broadcast system which allows motion video to be sent over a variety of mediums in order to reach a viewer’s display. Closed Circut, however, means that this broadcast is private, and not being sent out for viewing by the public or paid access from a television network. CCTV is almost always synonymous with security footage, used to film a location to act as both a deterrent and as a way of gathering evidence. There are technically other uses for CCTV too. One common use is for school news broadcasts commonly known as morning announcements in public schools all over the country. However, for our purposes, Security Footage is what we’re concerned with when we talk about CCTV.
How does all of this work, how does one record CCTV footage? Well, first you need a series of CCTV cameras placed strategically around a given location. At security camera king, almost every single one of the cameras we carry is rated for both indoor and outdoor usage purposes. Our sales pros can recommend what types of cameras to use in certain circumstances. Many of our cameras feature the ability to zoom in, record audio, or both. For outdoors, often bullet-style cameras, shaped like cylinders or rectangular prisms, are usually used to position off of the sides of walls. For underhangs and indoors, you’ll more often find domes and vandal domes with protective shielding. However, it’s important to understand that these are just examples, and what can or should be used and where is highly dependent on the unique layout of your location.
Once you have cameras installed, they need to be connected to a central station for capturing and recording their footage feed, this device is called a CCTV recorder. The thing is there isn’t just one type of CCTV camera technology, and there isn’t just one type of recorder either. So when approaching the question, “what is the best CCTV recorder?” one must first decide what works best for their specific circumstances.
There are two major types of CCTV cameras out there today. The first is HD over COAX, or just COAX cameras for short. These are sometimes mistakenly referred to as ‘analog’ but technically nowadays the signal they carry is a digital high definition signal being transmitted over the same type of COAX cable which is also used for older, truly analog cameras. The cable is still the same, but the technology has changed. These types of cameras are connected to a recorder technology called Digital Video Recorder, also known as a DVR.
The other type of camera technology that exists is IP or Network cameras. Unlike COAX cameras IP cameras utilize a cat5e or cat6 ethernet cable to transmit their data over a computer network. This is entirely digital, and the cameras will have an IP address similar to any device on a computer network such as APC, phone, laptop, or anything else. These types of cameras generally connect to a kind of recorder called a Network Video Recorder, or an NVR. More often than not, IP cameras also feature something called Power Over Ethernet or POE. this means that, unlike COAX cameras which require a COAX cable, as well as power, leads for power, POE cameras transmit their data and receive their power over the same ethernet cable. Many NVRs come with built-in POE ports, but if not an external POE switch can be used to power the cameras and put them on the network alongside the NVR.
So back to the main question, “what is the best CCTV recorder?” Many locations have existing COAX cable runs installed. Being able to utilize these if they are still functional is going to be extremely cost-effective. COAX camera technology has come a long way and can support up to 4k resolution for maximum image quality. If your location has COAX cable run, this is the best way to go if your primary concern is just footage capture. Additionally most DVRs today are hybrids, which means they can also accept and use IP cameras if the need arises.
Now if you’re location is not pre-ran with COAX, and new cable installation has to occur, then going with IP cameras and an NVR is likely your best bet. Why is this the case? Well because the cameras require less cable to run, running new cat5 or cat6 will be far less labor-intensive, and cost-effective, than running new COAX cable. Further, IP cameras support a much wider range of resolutions, while also offering open AI features only found on IP cameras and NVRs. If your concern is constant alerting, accurate data recording, and more advanced features than just standard motion detection- go with an NVR!
CCTV is an extremely important part of any functional security system. CCTV is important too because it helps you keep a visual record of events, and can prevent bad things from happening in the first place! For more info on the amazing tech, and how to achieve total security on-site at your location; Call SCK at 561-288-5258 Today!
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