How do you install CCTV

[Guest gewens]

Hi

Can anyone tell me how to install a cctv system. There is a guide on here for alarms but i cant find one for cctv. Is there a site that i should be taking a look at.

Any help would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks

Gewens

[Guest Andyp]

What sort of CCTV system is it? Residential or Domestic? Fixed cameras or functional? Video Recorder or Digital? the list of variables is very long.

[Guest andy jinks]

That scared him off

[Service Engineer]

Was wondering if anyone would be having a crack at this one

Asking "how to install a cctv system" is a rather overwelming question to ask.

What sort of CCTV system is it? Residential or Domestic? Fixed cameras or functional? Video Recorder or Digital? the list of variables is very long.

Could you be a little more specific as Andy has asked..?

[Guest gewens]

I am looking at installing fixed camaras in a shop. I would be using a video recorder.

Thanks

[black knight]

option i: go to b/q and buy a kit

option 2: get a professional to do it for you

but seriously - cctv is such a complex subject(eg when it comes to recording you can have an old fashioned tape vid or an more modern hard disk type or a combined mulitiplexer and recorder) as you probably gather from the other postings you can try buying a kit from b/q or maplins etc or i would recomend that you get a company in to do it - at least that way you will get a sytem that works properly.

good luck

paul

[Guest Peter James]

Thats like saying I want to go to america and I will be using a car how do I get there.

Its always difficult when you try and do something youve never done before.

The problem with cctv is you need to know the basics before you even attempt to start installing.

And its not easy info to pass on on the forum , especially to a beginer.

If you have already promised to install something for someone (and it sounds like you have) you would probably be better of installing a kit system, not what I would use, but hey I have twenty years experience.

Phillips, used to do a kit not sure if its still available.

Pete

[paul fae kings]

Get a pro in to do it,it will be an expensive mistake if you try and do it yourself and make a mess of it.Cctv equipment whether its kit or conventional isnt cheap.

[morph]

The lads are right get a professional system installed.

Theres a lot more to it than simply plugging a camera,monitor and video together.

A few years back i had a customer with a small licenced newsagents, he had bought an alarm some years previously from us. Anyway he called me to say that he was concerned that the amount of trouble in his neibourhood was rising and that he has decieded to get a CCTV system installed, anyway I went round and surveyed the property and he needed 6 cameras. Gave him the cost and he was supprised because he had been to a local electrical wholesaler and had got a price for a kit and this was less. Anyway he said he would come back to me, a week later I called him to see what he was going to choose, he was going to buy the kit and install it himself.

To cut a long story short, about six months later my engineer was on site servicing the alarm and the customer was telling him how well the alarm had worked, when he was robbed the week before and that if only had the the camera system been as reliable then the Police would have had something to go on. Anyway my engineer offered to have a look at the system and found that out of the six cameras only one was recording and this was only visble late in the day, because it was to bright outside and the camera couldn't see who was there. The customer was only using one tape for his recordings and further two of the cameras although powered up where not sending the clear images back to the system. In short the system was a mess. Fortunately nobody was hurt during the the robbery other than the takings and cigarettes being stolen, when the Police questioned the customer and his two staff shortly after the theft, all three gave different descriptions of the robbers.( Try this when you last filled up with petrol what did the attendant look like- my guess is unless you shop there every time you couldn't give an accurate description)

The customer subsequently disposed of the system and has a new system fitted that fully meets his needs and the performance levels required.

Remember with CCTV there is no substitute for a proffesionally installed sytem and price shouldn't be a factor to dictate a DIY install, shop arround you should be able to get a decent system that will fit you budget, or be able to pay for it over a period of time - no one got hurt in the incident above but the outcome could have been very different.

Colin.

[Guest Andyp]

And not forgeting that CCTV in a commercial premises is now covered by the Data Protection Act. All systems mst be installed so to provide a high standard of image, and must be fit for purpose.

Basically it is easier to get a reputable CCTV Installer to do the job.

Hope these answers helped!!!!