You probably spent a lot of money on that old security video system.
If its older than four or five years, you might be surprised that upgrading to three (or more) times the resolution is about a third of the cost. HD video security cameras now provide the ability to better identify people involved in loss prevention and other issues that can cost you money.
IP or Coax?
Back in the early 2000s, we were told to install cat5 cabling (utp) to make sure we were fully compatible going forward. The idea was that we would install analog cameras (those cameras we have had for 40 years) using baluns, then be prepared for the IP revolution.
IP cameras did arrive in the late 2000s, and were bandwidth heavy at first. h.264 compression fixed that and soon it was clear that if you wanted an HD camera, it was going to be an IP camera. Shortly after, HD-CVI, and other HD formats came out, but whoa Nelly! They worked on coax – And they were inexpensive!
Though the initial HD-Coax cameras were a little lower resolution (720P) it wasn’t long before 2MP were avail, and following close behind that PTZ and zoom cameras that received control information up thew coax.
If you have an old coaxial system, and the cabling is in good repair, you can do a simple DIY replacement of your older analog cameras. A DVR for as little as $160, and cameras that are a fraction of the cost of their lower resolution cousins. HD security video has never been so affordable!
If you don’t yet have a system, and want to consider even higher resolutions, you might want to prepare for 8 and 12MP cameras that are currently only available using Cat5 or Cat6. 8MP PTZ cameras are available at 30FPS and 12MP at 20FPS now for under $3K and far less in quantity.
If you are considering a change to HD for your security video, give us a call 800-251-8839, and we can help you sort through your options.
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