The Basic Elements of a CCTV System

Closed-circuit television, or CCTV, technology offers businesses and venues the opportunity to have real time surveillance without interrupting the flow of business. More and more companies opt to install CCTV in order to prevent property crimes, deter the defacing of property by taggers and vandals, ensure employee compliance with rules and regulations, and also detect customer or client crimes, such as theft. In order to do so, these venues will need to invest in an appropriate CCTV system, which will meet their needs. The elements of a CCTV system are quite simple – here are just the basics:

Lenses and Their Protection

If you are ready to take a look at installing a CCTV system in your venue, you will need lenses. These lenses will be the eyes that take pictures on a continuous basis. Do you need to take surveillance only during daylight hours, or do you foresee operating your security system around the clock? If it is the latter, you will probably want to invest in infrared devices that will permit you to have night vision capabilities. Additionally, do you want a simple varifocal lens, or do you want to have the ability to zoom in on areas where action is taking place that you will want to take a closer look at? If the latter is the case, then a zoom lens is a definite “must.”

Once you have decided what kind of lenses you will want to use, you will need to decide if the cameras will be housed indoors or outdoors. If it is outdoors, you will need to consider purchasing housings that will protect your sensitive lenses from the elements. If your business is located in an area where the exposure to corrosive elements, such as saltwater or vapors, is constant, you will need to pay special attention to the protection of your camera lens. Another element that will need to factor into your decision about which kind of housing to purchase is your need for discretion. Some companies wish to disguise their cameras and have them blend into the surrounding environment, while others value the idea of being obvious for the sake of deterrence. If you are planning on keeping your lenses primarily inside, you will probably want to install them inside domes, which will obscure the cameras, thereby not alerting potential thieves when the camera is turned away from them.

Microphones and Monitors

You will need to decide if you wish to employ the use of wall-mounted microphones. This is usually a useful idea if your cameras are stationary and trained on certain objects, but if your camera will be moving, then you will probably not need the microphone.

Monitors will be another consideration of your basic system. It is important to ensure that your monitors will be compatible with the kind of feed your cameras will send back, so make sure to very carefully research your choices. If at all possible, try to purchase them as a package deal, which will ensure that the lenses and the monitors will indeed be able to interact.

Converters and Power Supplies

To make your surveillance system work on your computer you will probably need a converter that converts a PC serial port into the kind of serial connector used by the cameras themselves.

Consider your power supply. You want this power supply to be independent from your other power supplies to ensure that would-be thieves do not get the idea of disabling your surveillance system by cutting your power line. An independent power supply will also need to be large enough to supply power to the number of cameras you will most likely run.

These features are the very basic components of a CCTV system. There are most certainly more bells and whistles you will be able to purchase if you are so inclined. In addition to the foregoing, many security companies specialize in setting up equipment packages for companies so that you will not have to worry about piecing together your own system. It might be a little more expensive, but it ensures that each piece of equipment will work with other piece of equipment. Of course, if your business is rather small, or if you are confident in your abilities to put together the system yourself, then it will save you quite a bit of money to do so on your own, especially since it will permit you to go bargain hunting for the various components of the system and you may be able to find some great close-out deals!