skywalkerdigital 0 Posted February 21, 2015 Hi I am new to cctv so I am wondering what is the best type of cable for cctv in domestic properties.. I have only ever installed 1 camera with RG59 twin cable with the power in. the sort of system I am looking at installing is: an 8channel 1tb DVR 4x Eye700 Camera I am wondering if I would be better off using cat 5e or 6 for future installs and what are the pros and cons? any good advice appreciated as I am wanting to learn this trade cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boogieman 1 Posted February 21, 2015 Hi I am new to cctv so I am wondering what is the best type of cable for cctv in domestic properties..I have only ever installed 1 camera with RG59 twin cable with the power in. the sort of system I am looking at installing is: an 8channel 1tb DVR 4x Eye700 Camera I am wondering if I would be better off using cat 5e or 6 for future installs and what are the pros and cons? any good advice appreciated as I am wanting to learn this trade cheers Install cat6...if you use analog then just hook up baluns..but a smarter option would be to use ip cameras..the prices have come down...its really a shame to run rg59 in a new install in 2015... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skywalkerdigital 0 Posted February 21, 2015 Hi I am new to cctv so I am wondering what is the best type of cable for cctv in domestic properties..I have only ever installed 1 camera with RG59 twin cable with the power in. the sort of system I am looking at installing is: an 8channel 1tb DVR 4x Eye700 Camera I am wondering if I would be better off using cat 5e or 6 for future installs and what are the pros and cons? any good advice appreciated as I am wanting to learn this trade cheers Install cat6...if you use analog then just hook up baluns..but a smarter option would be to use ip cameras..the prices have come down...its really a shame to run rg59 in a new install in 2015... cheers for help - as you can probably tell I am 100% amateur when it comes to cctv I will get some cat 6 this week and look into how to install using that as I don't really know?? -I have only ever installed one camera in my life and that was using RG59 twin cable with power plus and a BNC connector Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fertilebert 0 Posted February 21, 2015 RG59 is specifically designed for use for cctv applications, cat 5 and baluns are a work round for when RG is too difficult to run or the engineer can't be bothered. Cat 5/6 (network cable ) is for IP cameras and the only time in my experience (25 years) people cross the two is when they want to get a work around for a site with complex issues. So here is your answer , analogue /hdsdi Rg59 Ip , cat5/6 Don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted February 22, 2015 RG59 is specifically designed for use for cctv applications, cat 5 and baluns are a work round for when RG is too difficult to run or the engineer can't be bothered. Cat 5/6 (network cable ) is for IP cameras and the only time in my experience (25 years) people cross the two is when they want to get a work around for a site with complex issues.So here is your answer , analogue /hdsdi Rg59 Ip , cat5/6 Don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise. Must of had a bad 25 years ........ Cat5 or 6 had no problem At all infact for distance cat5 will out run rg59. Also along with what has already been said cat5 or 6 makes for a much easier install than coax and give much better options over the years for a novice installer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the toss 0 Posted February 22, 2015 I have to agree with fertilebert. With IP cameras you really have no choice but to use UTP cable. The trouble is that many people don't give the full story - only what their preference is. Many people think that if you want HD then you go IP. When based on affordability HD-cvi & HD-tvi will generally outperform IP especially in poor light. They run on coax which is light years ahead with regards to robustness. Unless you use proper terminating techniques ( ie. a patch panel) then using UTP with baluns swinging around on the end of the pairs is just asking for trouble Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boogieman 1 Posted February 22, 2015 I have to agree with fertilebert. With IP cameras you really have no choice but to use UTP cable. The trouble is that many people don't give the full story - only what their preference is.Many people think that if you want HD then you go IP. When based on affordability HD-cvi & HD-tvi will generally outperform IP especially in poor light. They run on coax which is light years ahead with regards to robustness. Unless you use proper terminating techniques ( ie. a patch panel) then using UTP with baluns swinging around on the end of the pairs is just asking for trouble CVI or tvi is not better in low light...if you compare 720p ip systems to 720p cvi, they will be more or less the same with respect to night vision and low light ..its just when you go to the higher mp cams that night visions suffers. Hd-cvi requires separate power runs which can be a pain and also requires a home run to the dvr..which can be alot of work on some install.. As far as robustness, i dont know what you are talking about...never had ethernet cable fail once its installed.. With 720p ip systems running cheap, its silly to run coax in 2015..it simply makes no sense.. and if op "must" run coax then he should be looking at hd-cvi not the junk 960h systems that look like crap.. OP what is your budget and how many cameras are you installing? When you buy cat6 make sure you buy from a reliable well known seller and that the cable is NOT copper clad aluminum (CCA) rather solid (not stranded) copper cable. Monoprice is a good source. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the toss 0 Posted February 23, 2015 I have to agree with fertilebert. With IP cameras you really have no choice but to use UTP cable. The trouble is that many people don't give the full story - only what their preference is.Many people think that if you want HD then you go IP. When based on affordability HD-cvi & HD-tvi will generally outperform IP especially in poor light. They run on coax which is light years ahead with regards to robustness. Unless you use proper terminating techniques ( ie. a patch panel) then using UTP with baluns swinging around on the end of the pairs is just asking for trouble CVI or tvi is not better in low light...if you compare 720p ip systems to 720p cvi, they will be more or less the same with respect to night vision and low light ..its just when you go to the higher mp cams that night visions suffers. Hd-cvi requires separate power runs which can be a pain and also requires a home run to the dvr..which can be alot of work on some install.. As far as robustness, i dont know what you are talking about...never had ethernet cable fail once its installed..With 720p ip systems running cheap, its silly to run coax in 2015..it simply makes no sense.. and if op "must" run coax then he should be looking at hd-cvi not the junk 960h systems that look like crap.. OP what is your budget and how many cameras are you installing? When you buy cat6 make sure you buy from a reliable well known seller and that the cable is NOT copper clad aluminum (CCA) rather solid (not stranded) copper cable. Monoprice is a good source. Then you are a very lucky person. A solid conductor UTP pair terminated to a balun floating around behind a DVR is a problem just waiting to happen which ,as I said, can be minimised by use of a panel mounted balun & patch lead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boogieman 1 Posted February 23, 2015 I have to agree with fertilebert. With IP cameras you really have no choice but to use UTP cable. The trouble is that many people don't give the full story - only what their preference is.Many people think that if you want HD then you go IP. When based on affordability HD-cvi & HD-tvi will generally outperform IP especially in poor light. They run on coax which is light years ahead with regards to robustness. Unless you use proper terminating techniques ( ie. a patch panel) then using UTP with baluns swinging around on the end of the pairs is just asking for trouble CVI or tvi is not better in low light...if you compare 720p ip systems to 720p cvi, they will be more or less the same with respect to night vision and low light ..its just when you go to the higher mp cams that night visions suffers. Hd-cvi requires separate power runs which can be a pain and also requires a home run to the dvr..which can be alot of work on some install.. As far as robustness, i dont know what you are talking about...never had ethernet cable fail once its installed..With 720p ip systems running cheap, its silly to run coax in 2015..it simply makes no sense.. and if op "must" run coax then he should be looking at hd-cvi not the junk 960h systems that look like crap.. OP what is your budget and how many cameras are you installing? When you buy cat6 make sure you buy from a reliable well known seller and that the cable is NOT copper clad aluminum (CCA) rather solid (not stranded) copper cable. Monoprice is a good source. Then you are a very lucky person. A solid conductor UTP pair terminated to a balun floating around behind a DVR is a problem just waiting to happen which ,as I said, can be minimised by use of a panel mounted balun & patch lead I was referring to just running ethernet and using ip cameras which is what should be done in 2015... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeromephone 6 Posted February 24, 2015 Cat 6 iPhone cam run spares the next latest and greatest cam access control phone lights? Are not going to be running on coax Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skywalkerdigital 0 Posted February 24, 2015 Cat 6 iPhone cam run spares the next latest and greatest cam access control phone lights? Are not going to be running on coax Can u please explain what you mean ? Are you saying it's better to always use cat 6 incase you ever want to upgrade ? Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skywalkerdigital 0 Posted February 24, 2015 I have to agree with fertilebert. With IP cameras you really have no choice but to use UTP cable. The trouble is that many people don't give the full story - only what their preference is.Many people think that if you want HD then you go IP. When based on affordability HD-cvi & HD-tvi will generally outperform IP especially in poor light. They run on coax which is light years ahead with regards to robustness. Unless you use proper terminating techniques ( ie. a patch panel) then using UTP with baluns swinging around on the end of the pairs is just asking for trouble CVI or tvi is not better in low light...if you compare 720p ip systems to 720p cvi, they will be more or less the same with respect to night vision and low light ..its just when you go to the higher mp cams that night visions suffers. Hd-cvi requires separate power runs which can be a pain and also requires a home run to the dvr..which can be alot of work on some install.. As far as robustness, i dont know what you are talking about...never had ethernet cable fail once its installed.. With 720p ip systems running cheap, its silly to run coax in 2015..it simply makes no sense.. and if op "must" run coax then he should be looking at hd-cvi not the junk 960h systems that look like crap.. OP what is your budget and how many cameras are you installing? When you buy cat6 make sure you buy from a reliable well known seller and that the cable is NOT copper clad aluminum (CCA) rather solid (not stranded) copper cable. Monoprice is a good source. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeromephone 6 Posted February 25, 2015 I am saying that more and more things are running on the network and on cat 6 and I am unable to predict what new stuff will be riding on the network. I would run cat6 to my camera locations and add a spare cable in areas where you might some day want to add things like access control, audio, climate controls etc. There is talk of LED lighting over POE as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites