IP CCTV Questions

[plux79 0]

Hi,

 

I am new here and have very little knowledge about this. Currently, I had 16 analog CCTV cameras in our office building that use coax cable using BNC connector. All 16 cameras are connected to multiplexer and output to a single monitor. There is no DVR connected.

 

I think it is time for an upgrade. Well, I would like to add IP CCTV cameras to our system. Can we use the analog cameras and IP CCTV cameras together? What equipments do I require to connect the analog cameras to the computer? What kind of cards do I require for the PC? I think I required about 24 IP CCTV in addition to the 16 analog CCTV and a PC as the DVR, is that possible?

 

Any recommendation? We are also building a wifi network at our office area (there are 4 buildings with 4 floors each). FYI, this office is in developing countries.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Ang

[Soundy 1]

Hi,

 

I am new here and have very little knowledge about this. Currently, I had 16 analog CCTV cameras in our office building that use coax cable using BNC connector. All 16 cameras are connected to multiplexer and output to a single monitor. There is no DVR connected.

 

I think it is time for an upgrade. Well, I would like to add IP CCTV cameras to our system. Can we use the analog cameras and IP CCTV cameras together?

 

Yes, depending on the DVR.

 

What equipments do I require to connect the analog cameras to the computer? What kind of cards do I require for the PC?

 

You need an analog capture card - there are a number available. The main thing is the software - it needs to support both analog and IP cameras. Or you need a ready-built "hybrid" system - both 3xlogic and Video Insight make them, and have representatives on this board.

 

I think I required about 24 IP CCTV in addition to the 16 analog CCTV and a PC as the DVR, is that possible?

 

It is - that's pretty ambitious though. While there are lower-resolution IP cameras out there, the main reason for using IP is to get beyond the 640x480 (or so) limitation imposed by analog video... meaning the cameras get into the megapixel and higher range, meaning a LOT more storage is needed than with regular cameras.

 

A 1.3MP camera, for example, is 1280x1024 resolution... which is more than 4 times the resolution of analog capture at 640x480. Depending on the codec and compression used, that means approximately four times the space needed. 24 cameras like that, you're looking at multiple terabytes just to hold a week or two of video.

 

Any recommendation? We are also building a wifi network at our office area (there are 4 buildings with 4 floors each). FYI, this office is in developing countries.

 

There are also WiFi-capable IP cameras, but the range is so limited with any reliability, it's not really feasible for CCTV usage.

[cctvexpert 0]

the first question to ask is why do you want IP. Understand that today you can run analog cameras over UTP with video baluns. So you can use the Cat5 infrastructure yet bypass network usage which is the best of all worlds. If you are in a single building I would run all analog using structured cabling and terminate in the DVR then go networked to leave the building.