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Surveillance Solutions Camtech Surveillance CCTV Systems, Security Cameras, IP Camera Systems, Commercial and Home Surveillance Solutions Home About ← Older posts IP CCTV Camera Systems Made Easy Posted on June 29, 2014 by admin There is a new trend in IP Camera Systems. More and more manufacturers are trying to simplify IP CCTV System setup so it’s more appealing to installers. Recently we’ve been seeing more and more NVRs with built in network switches. The next step was taken by LTS with their new line of Platinum Series NVRs and Platinum Series IP Cameras . Now NVR not only comes with a built in switch, but also it is a PoE switch, so it can power connected IP cameras without a need for a separate power supply. There is also a built in network server, so all compatible IP cameras can automatically be assigned with a IP address within internal network. Installation of a IP Camera System with Megapixel Cameras and High Definition NVR has never been easier. All you need to do is connect Ethernet cable from the NVR to compatible IP camera and everything else is taken care of automatically. No network or IP setup is required. NVR creates its own local network so you don’t need another router or network server and on the top of it, it doesn’t steal bandwidth from existing network. Suddenly installation and setup of a high definition IP Camera System is as easy as installation of a Standard Analog system. All you nned to do is run cat5 cables from the NVR to each and every camera and everything else will be taken care of. This is not only a great product for an average CCTV installer, but it makes IP CCTV available for DIY installations. This is a future of IP CCTV Surveillance. Make sure to check our new Platinum Line of LTS IP Cameras and NVRs. Posted in General CCTV Discussions , IP Cameras and NVRs | Leave a comment New DVR’s. New Resolutions: CIF, D1, WD1, 720p, 1080p. Finally, Full High Definition Available in CCTV Systems. Posted on March 31, 2013 by R.D. In late 2010 we started seeing new DVR models available with new higher resolution. It was about time CCTV systems were capable of recording resolutions higher than D1 known also as 720×480. The revolution in CCTV has began. New CCTV Cameras were capable of 700TVL resolution. Unfortunately when using 700TVL resolution cameras with D1 Digital Video Recorders , we couldn’t take advantage of better quality. To solve this problem manufacturers came with a new resolution known as WD1 (Wide D1) which is often also described as 960H or just 960×480. Since most of current monitors are in wide angle format, 960H was a great answer for a new video format extending already standard resolution D1 to a new wide screen format. It is an easy solution to improve picture quality without massiveYou are getting full HD picture at full framerate on every channel all the time. As of today, SDI cameras and DVR’s are becoming more and more affordable and currently those systems are already lass expensive than IP systems usually surpassing IP quality. SDI looks like a next big thing in surveillance technology and it is here to stay. Posted in CCTV Cameras , CCTV Systems , General CCTV Discussions | Leave a comment Using Cat5 (UTP) in CCTV installation vs RG59 Siamese Cable Posted on December 2, 2012 by R.D. Recently we have noticed that more and more CCTV installers use Cat5 cables for analog CCTV system installations. With Passive Video Baluns based on specification you can use UTP cable to transmit color video as far as 1300ft. With a active CCTV Balun you can go as far as 5000ft. While it is much more than with RG59 cable there are some issues you may run into while using Cat5 cable on long runs. First of all it is a power issue. With Cat5 cable you can use remaining 3 pairs for power. This is recommended for long runs of 500ft and more. With those distances, I would not use 12V DC. Due to the voltage drop you need to use 24V AC cameras. With more power consuming infrared cameras, you need to actually use AC power supply with a 28V output. Only this way you can compensate for a voltage drop at the end of the cable. Long range infrared cameras would need a power supply located much closer to the camera or need an extra cable to supply power at those distances. 3 Pairs of Cat5 cable will not be sufficient to provide enough power even with 28V power supply in case of Long Range Infrared Cameras . When using an active CCTV Balun , it is necessary to put power supply much closer to the camera. There is no way we can transmit the power at a distance of 5000ft using traditional methods. Another thing about UTP installation is a higher resistance to interference of UTP Cable. We have some observations of our own regarding this issue. There are cases where coaxial cable may be useless. Installing cameras in close proximity to high powered TV or Radio antennas or even cell towers may result in complete lack of image on coaxial cable. This may happen even on a short runs of 200ft. Cat5 Cable usually performs much better in this type of environment. But where there is no significant electromagnetic field we observe coaxial cable to actually outperform Cat5 cables on runs of 500ft and more. In both cases video has very decent quality, but Cat5 cable tends to produce lines and sometimes little ghosting effect while RG59 picture is more stable. So there is no one perfect solution. Choice of the cable should be based on few other factors other than just installer’s own preference. We like using RG59 Siamese cables on most of the installations where cameras are located not farther than 1000ft and there is no more than 32 cameras. On the other hand Cat5 cable is much easier to run and if you are using Conduit, Cat5 cable will be a great money saver. Cable management at the base is also an issue with a UTP cable. There is just no way to make it look perfectly clean. Thus we really do recommend using dedicated cabinet or a server rack when dealing with Cat5 cable. If you put DVR on the desk and have all those baluns and wires hanging there, you will be back there many times with a service call. Something to keep in mind. Posted in CCTV Systems , General CCTV Discussions | Leave a comment How to secure your home with surveillance camera system? Posted on July 30, 2012 by R.D. Here is a simple guide on how to secure an average home with surveillance camera system. It may seem as simple as just mounting surveillance cameras and connecting them to DVR unit . But many times it is one of those situations when the more you learn and read the less you know. So I will try to provide a few important tips helping homeowners securing their property with CCTV system. Unless we want to keep an eye on the babysitter, most likely we will be talking here about outdoor surveillance for home. In case of surveillance for single family house , there is few locations we should focus on and cover them with surveillance cameras. So, we should have a camera at every entrance to the house. That means putting wide angle lens surveillance camera right above each door in left or right corner. It is important to keep in mind that we don’t want the camera to be blinded by the door if it is open. Also we don’t want to have a light right in front of the camera. It is a good practice to mount surveillance cameras so outside light are behind the camera. It is essential to have an camera at every door because if someone breaks in, most likely they will use the door and getting close picture of the criminal is very important. Let’s don’t forget about garage door and basement door. I would also install several cameras inside of a house. They don’t need to be everywhere, but if you have a garage, put one camera there. Since garage is usually unfinished, it is easy to run the cables and install camera there. This camera should be as hidden as possible. This will be 2nd layer of protection in case outside cameras were disabled. I would suggest putting also surveillance...