Guides Choosing CCTV: the questions that matter
Choosing CCTV: the questions that matter
What to decide before you buy cameras: what you need to see, where the footage is kept and how you will watch it.
What do you need to see?
Start with the places that matter: the front door, the drive, a side gate, a yard or a car park. For each one, decide whether you need to see that someone was there or to recognise who it was. Recognising a face needs a closer, sharper view than seeing a figure.
Wired or wireless
Wired cameras are powered and connected through one cable each, so they keep recording without batteries and are hard to knock offline. Wireless cameras are quicker to put up but rely on batteries or a nearby power point and a strong Wi-Fi signal. For most homes and businesses we recommend wired cameras.
Where the footage is kept
A recorder in your property keeps footage from every camera for a set number of days, then records over the oldest. You can watch live and play back recordings on your phone through the app.
After it is fitted
Cameras need clean lenses and the recorder needs checking now and then. We offer maintenance for the systems we fit, and we are a phone call away if something stops working.