Which video surveillance system to choose?

Perhaps you are planning to install a video surveillance system for your home or business? You started to research what systems are on the market, and realized that it is quite difficult to figure it out on your own. The choice is huge, there are many manufacturers, prices vary greatly, and there are many different, conflicting reviews on the Internet. So which system should you choose?

To answer this question, you must well formulate:

1. What would you like to receive from video surveillance cameras?

2. What tasks should the system perform?

3. What objects need to be viewed and recorded?

In fact, it is necessary to draw up a technical task. And in order to make it easier for you to navigate in the choice, we will tell you about the main technologies presented in video surveillance systems, as well as the characteristics that you need to pay attention to in 2024!

I want to start with the main part of a modern video surveillance system - software and applications. Indeed, one of the most important things in video surveillance systems is the convenience and ease of everyday use. It is important to quickly access real-time and archived records, download these records and share them in instant messengers or social networks. The largest manufacturers of video surveillance systems spend most of their budget on software, in order to provide the user with a convenient, fast and modern application. Why should you pay attention to the brand of the video surveillance system? You will probably agree that everyone loves Apple for its high-quality and well-thought-out operating system. Other well-known and lesser-known smartphone companies try to compete with Apple, but every year Apple takes the lead, although they all try to offer better features: more megapixels in cameras, bigger batteries, larger screens, faster processors, more RAM, etc. But all these characteristics, unfortunately, are far from being an indicator of the best device!

The same is true for security systems. The number of megapixels, beautiful packaging and a bunch of other things that the manufacturer offers is not an indicator of quality. Why is it better to trust a large and well-known video surveillance company? High-quality assembly materials will ensure operation in different weather conditions - snow, rain and frost. A quality application, regular system support and updates is what you can expect from a well-known manufacturer. We often encounter a situation where a client asks to come and fix his video surveillance system, which has stopped working due to problems with the application or the computer. And such a situation most often occurs when a system is installed from an unknown manufacturer or a one-day manufacturer from Aliexpress, which manufactures products, sells them and maintains its maximum warranty period of 1 year, or even less, and then shrug and says: “You have to buy a new system,” or disappears from the market altogether.

Therefore, the brand, or corporation, matters! A brand can attract and hire good engineers, talented designers, modern marketers and establish quality production.

Therefore, only 3 of the best manufacturers of video surveillance systems in the world are represented on our website - Dahua, Hikvision and Uniview.

Let's look at the main technologies. Video surveillance technologies can be divided into 2 types - IP and analog technologies such as CVI, TVI and AHD (in fact they do not differ much from each other).

- IP technology is the most advanced of all. IP cameras are made from the top-shelf, newest parts, and these cameras also have great features, which we will talk about next.

- Analog technologies (CVI, TVI, AHD) were invented to upgrade the old analog system that used coaxial wires (RG6, RG59) and increase the image resolution without changing the old wiring. Sometimes installing new wires is a very difficult or even impossible task. And then this system will be most suitable. But if you're planning a completely new installation, consider IP technology.

Let's divide the features of a modern video surveillance system into 3 types:

1. Basic system

2. Security system

3. Advanced system

and let's talk about each of them.

Basic video surveillance system in 2024.

What do we call the base system? This is a system that has the ability to conduct video recordings at the facility 24/7. This is the system that you have access to through an app and it consists of real-time and archive browsing. This system will be very useful for many purposes. Let's say you want to secure your property or you want to control your employees - then this system is for you! In itself, the presence of a video surveillance system is a very good psychological factor that greatly affects people. According to statistics, homes or businesses equipped with CCTV cameras are 50-60% less likely to experience theft. Therefore, the installation of the system can pay for itself in the first days of use. But of course, that's not all! You also get control over processes. You can check what is happening at your facility at any time and act accordingly! Video recordings also serve as protection and evidence that can be provided to the police or at the time of conflict or confusion. Therefore, this basic system will already be an excellent assistant and an indispensable tool in your hands! How to find the base system and buy it or order the installation? If we are talking about manufacturers such as Dahua or Hikvision, then these manufacturers call the basic systems Lite Series or EasyIP. Most often these are cameras of 1-2 series. These cameras start at 50-150 euros.

Security video surveillance system in 2024.

What do we mean by CCTV security system? This is a system that has all the characteristics as in the basic system, and additionally it has artificial intelligence capabilities, with which you can determine the movement of a person or car on an object, filter out false movements (such as the movements of animals, leaves, rain, snow and etc.) and send notifications to the application about motion detection, with an image from the surveillance camera. This system allows you to protect objects and control them in real time! Also, with the help of this technology, it is much easier to find the desired period of time in the archive, filtering by category - "person" or "machine" - i.e. there is no need to spend many hours looking for the right amount of time. Save your money and your time! These systems are called WizSense by Dahua or AcuSenseby Hikvision. The cost of such a camera is from 150-300 euros.

Advanced video surveillance system in 2024.

And now let's proceed to the most advanced video surveillance system. This system combines all the characteristics of a basic and security system, but also has an active alarm notification (built-in siren and LEDs) to scare and attract attention. This system will not only record the movement of a person and transmit a message about this event, but also turn on an alarm message from the speakers built into the surveillance camera. The attacker's first reaction is to look up and see where the sound is coming from and the police red and blue strobe lights are shining, at which point their face is well captured in the recording. Also, neighbors or people nearby will definitely pay attention to what is happening and may call the police. This system is the most effective way to keep your property secure, even from a distance, without guards. Additionally, these cameras often also have built-in technology for color imaging at night. This system is called TIOC by Dahua and Hikvision calls it AcuSense Strobe Light and Audible.

These are the 3 main types of CCTV systems that you can find in our range.

There are also some characteristics that apply to all CCTV cameras:

1. Image resolution and matrix

2. Viewing angle (lens)

3. DORI distance (motion detection distance and motion detection)

4. Codec (image compression)

5. Archive, recorder or registrar

1. Image resolution and matrix.

What is image resolution? Simply put, it is the number of pixels, or dots, in an image. Modern cameras most often have a resolution of 2-8 megapixels. But how do you know how many megapixels you need? After all, even 2 megapixels can be enough. Modern phone screens have approximately the same screen resolution. Therefore, it is quite difficult to see the difference between two and eight megapixel cameras on the phone screen. Then the question arises - why overpay for megapixels? The thing is that the number of megapixels helps to see the details when zooming in. Therefore, you need to determine what objects you would like to capture? Is it just an overview camera for an office or a private home, or is it a camera aimed at small jewelry? How many megapixels you need depends on this. But image resolution is far from all that is needed for a high-quality image! There is another very important characteristic - the size of the camera matrix. The larger the matrix, the more light it can receive and use to display a high-quality image. The size of the matrix also differs from the series of CCTV cameras. In basic cameras, a 1/3" matrix is often installed, and in more expensive ones it can even be 1/1.8", which is much larger and, as a result, the image will turn out to be clearer, especially at night.

2. Viewing angle (lens).

Angle of view is a very clear term - this is the amount of space and objects that fits into the camera's image field. Viewing angles or lenses are measured in millimeters. For example: if we see a 2.8 mm lens in the camera specifications, then this implies that the viewing angle of this camera is 90 or more degrees. If this camera is installed in the corner of the room, it will capture the image from wall to wall and you will see the entire room (except for a small radius under the camera itself). If 6 mm is written on the camera, then this indicates that the viewing angle is much smaller - about 60 degrees, and in order to view this room, you will need not one, but two cameras of this type. But what if you see this designation: 2.7-13 mm? What does this mean? This designation indicates that this camera has the ability to zoom. In 2023, such cameras most often have a motorized lens that can be controlled from an application or software to zoom in or out on objects.

3. D.O.R.I. distance (distance for detecting and fixing movement)

DORI distance is a completely new term that has appeared with the development of artificial intelligence systems. DORI is an abbreviation for the words Detect, Observe, Recognize, Identify. In fact, this is a characteristic that helps to determine at what distance the camera is able to catch the movement of a person or a car, at what distance the camera is able to observe this object, at what distance to classify it and specifically compare this object with the database to find the target. Thanks to this characteristic, you will be able to correctly select and design your video surveillance system.

4. Codec (image compression)

This is a very important characteristic for the speed of data transfer and the size of the allocated space in the data storage (on a hard disk or in the cloud). Let's say you buy 4K video surveillance cameras, but with the old H.264 image compression system, then you will get a big headache! Why? In order to transmit this image via the Internet, you need a wide communication channel. For a single camera, it can reach up to 30 Mbps. What if you have 16 of these cameras? To simultaneously broadcast so many cameras in 4K resolution, you will need an Internet speed of about 500 Mbps, both for upload and download. This is a huge amount of traffic, which is often not available even in expensive high-speed Internet connections. But what does the modern H.265 or H.265+ codec do? It compresses the image, which allows you to transfer information faster using less traffic without losing quality, and the image will also take up much less space in the recording; consequently your archive will be longer and you will be able to view earlier dates. You can also use the mobile Internet in your smartphone to broadcast your cameras without any problems! Always look at this characteristic when choosing cameras!

5. Archive, recorder or registrar

The basis of the entire video surveillance system is not only video cameras, but also a video recorder. This is a device for accumulating records on a storage medium. But the registrar performs not only this function, as it also serves as a hub that unites all surveillance cameras into a single system - it synchronizes the time, allows you to search the archive for many cameras, and also complements the cameras with new smart functions. Depending on which series of registrar you purchase, you can get these features:

1. Determining the movement of a person / machine (even if the data is not presented in the camera).

2. Determination of car numbers (database with the ability to control allow / deny lists and control gates and barriers)

3. Visitor Counting (Registrar will determine and issue a report on the number of visitors)

4. The registrar will draw a heat map of the object (to determine where people spent the most time, this function will help, for example, determine which product in the store is the most popular, and your marketers will like this function!)

5. Human Face Detection (The recorder can compare the uploaded real-time face photos with the camera image and send notifications of a match, so you can track down the intruder or use this function for other purposes)

6. And much more.

I hope this article was helpful to you. Remember that you can always apply for picking the best solution to security professionals - DIR.LV!