Episode II - Upgrading a legacy CCTV System

Today's blog is about upgrading and investing in a new CCTV system, what options are there and how can you decide what is best for your requirements. Technology is developing at such an impressive rate, so we have come to expect the annual launch of the latest phone or laptop or talking fridge that delivers a beer to your couch (that one isn't real, but I'm working on a patent). It seems common practice to upgrade various tech every 2 years, so why is CCTV any different? Why are some companies clinging on to a 20 year old system? The old blurry CCTV images you used to see on Crimewatch should be a thing of the past!

There are a lot of legacy CCTV systems out there at the moment in need of an upgrade. Investing in an upgrade of these old CCTV systems is inevitably a grudge purchase, so how can we make the upgrade less of a burden and help to decrease the costs.

I would say the vast majority of old CCTV systems are analogue systems running on coax cable. There have been fantastic technology advancements on improving analogue systems over the last few years. It is now possible to get HD and even 5MP images using existing coax cabling on site where previously to get these high resolution images you would have to re cable the entire system to make an IP infrastructure. These advancements in analogue technology have made it so simple and cost effective to upgrade. This is predominately down to the engineering time would usually be taken up by installing new cables not being needed.

There are, however limitations to a HD analogue system compared to IP. Here are some key advantages to IP instead of analogue:

• Intelligence and analytics: IP cameras are basically small computers that can be programmed to provide all sorts of analytics. They can detect motion or smoke, count people, provide heat maps, track objects, sense when something disappears, and set off alarms.
• VMS Solutions: IP systems have the ability to use 3rd party servers to store the video, and VMS (Video Management Software) can then be used instead of a traditional recording unit. VMS solutions provide more advanced search/save or live monitoring functionality, especially with large numbers of cameras. Stronger integration with other building automation systems such as access control, alarm systems, etc. They also have fail-over & redundancy options to help protect their stored information.
• Ease of integration: The ease in which other IP devices can be integrated in an IP CCTV system can really enhance the solution, devices such as IP speakers, detection devices and access control can utilise the IP infrastructure on sites.

It's clear that even though analogue systems are catching up with the resolution of IP systems there is definitely still a gap in terms of the technology and the features available. However, analogue systems certainly have their place in the market and for some sites where low resolution images are causing issues an upgrade to HD analogue cameras would be a major improvement.

There is a third option available as well, and this a Hybrid system. Some manufacturers have developed recorders which have the ability to take analogue cameras as well as IP cameras. The benefit of these systems is to help to upgrade an old analogue system to a full IP system over time. This works particularly well where the system is expanding and keeping costs to a minimum is key. You can install new IP cameras for the new locations whilst keeping the existing cameras as they are, and then in time the analogue cameras can be upgraded.

So there you have it, all of the options available to you when you are considering an upgrade on your CCTV system. My suggestions would be to have a think about what you are wanting to achieve with your security solution, are locally monitored images sufficient or do you want to incorporate detection, speakers or even analytics to get more out of the system. If you are looking to expand the system do you want to invest in a full upgrade to IP or can this be done in a stepped approach to help spread the costs?

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my blog, I hope you have taken away some points from this. And if you wish to chat to me more about this or other solutions we can provide please feel free to contact me: [email protected] 07800628580

Established in 1996, and founded on the principles of service excellence, Guide Security specialise in the Design, Installation, Maintenance and Monitoring of security solutions across a wide range of sectors.