CCTV DESIGN & MAINTENANCE

Executive Summary

CCTV (video) surveillance systems have become like toasters. They are ubiquitous.

If you are willing to spend money on a video surveillance system and install it, find a skilled video surveillance specialist to help. Even if you simply have them review your needs, create a plan and parts list, and design placement and configuration settings. You will rue the day that you thought your 17-year-old “techie” could “save you big bucks” on the system. The issue with CCTV is that people “just expect it to work” when an incident occurs.

A skilled professional will assess your real needs, obstacles, distances, lighting, proper equipment selection, placement, installation, and provide maintenance for your CCTV system. If you are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on equipment, pay a skilled specialist to guide you in your purchase and installation. See Skilled System Design, Selection, Placement, and Maintenance

Everyone wants a good deal and to save money. But you get what you pay for. Even businesses fall into the trap of spending money for CCTV and having it fail to perform at that critical moment. It is too late when you find out that the system that you installed did not yield evidence or an identifiable perpetrator.

Background Details

Skilled System Design, Selection, Placement, and Maintenance

The value of a true professional is in proper selection, placement, installation, and maintenance of CCTV. Anyone can open a box and screw a camera on the wall.

Most people install CCTV because they are already having a problem or there is one nearby. Because the installation of video surveillance is not “just on a whim”, a result is expected.

Have you ever watched the local news and seen a video clip of a robbery where the police are asking people to help identify the perpetrator? Have you ever said to yourself, “with the level of technology today how is it that the perpetrator still looks like a blurry blob”?

Results Suffer When Critical Systems Attain Appliance Status

When highly technical devices reach “appliance status” in their product cycle, failure is soon to follow. All products have a life cycle, even critical products. The more commonplace that a product becomes, the less attention to detail and professional work. The end of a product is when the product is accompanied by the death phrase, “self-installation kit”.

Installing a CCTV system in 1979 required technical skills. Video surveillance cameras were huge and the lenses were gigantic. Most of them required to plug directly into a 110 outlet. The installer had to select a compatible and appropriate lens for the camera. The prices were high. CCTV hardware was only sold through security distributors and required a reasonably high level of skill to setup the camera, lens, and time lapse VCR.

Due to the technical nature of CCTV at the time, results were remarkable considering the unreliable nature of the equipment and low quality of the output and recording medium. Today, you can walk into a BJ’s, Sam’s, or Costco Wholesale Warehouse store and buy an eight channel DVR with 8 cameras for under $400. The cameras are average, they use IR LEDs to yield and image in low light. The Lenses are fixed not adjustable. You are stuck with the field of view offered by the fixed lens. Depending upon the brand, you have remote access to the video via the internet. The recording, offline saving, and playback features are all over the place.