CCTV Camera In Full & Other Facts About Setting Up CCTV At Home

Have you ever asked yourself what is CCTV in full? If you have, then this article is for you. We will discuss everything you need to know to understand CCTV. To start off, we will answer the question.

What is CCTV In Full & How Does It Work?

CCTV In full, CCTV is an acronym which stand for Closed-Circuit Television.

Nowadays, You might hear someone saying, “You can’t joke around or steal from that place, there’s CCTV there.” Or you might see a sign ascribed “This premises is under CCTV surveillance.”

Sometimes you come across a sign placed on a wall or a huge gate or even in banks and supermarkets looking like the ones in the images below.

Ever wondered what is this CCTV people are talking about, how does it work, and why many people fear it?

It is the use of video cameras to transmit a video to a specific place (control room) to be displayed on monitors in a control room, to the people who are designed to see it.

In other words, it is a system designed to help the user to keep an eye
in and around a home, a business, schools, etc. to protect people, assets and systems.

Modern CCTV systems can also be configured so that they are accessible on mobile devices and remote computers. This helps to keep up to date with the security situation when out of a premises.

How Do CCTV’s Work?

A CCTV Camera system work by converting an image into an electrical signal which can be transmitted to a reomte location through a wire or wireless means.

A basic wired CCTV Camera System consists of mainly five major parts namely;

The camera.
Power Supply
Connection Cable,
The display monitor and
The Digital Video Recorder or DVR.

The CCTV Camera

The camera works by picking the images using the lens by zooming in or out on an image at the point of interest convert the image into electrical signal, and transmits it to the DVR and finally to the monitor where it can be viewed in real-time or later as recorded files.

The Digital Video Recorder DVR

The DVR process the digital video feeds from the camera and also stores the feeds on a storage device e.g. Hard Disk or memory card.

A CCTV system can consist of as little as one camera or as many cameras as one may think of depending on the need. Nowadays, 32 cameras is set as the maximum per DVR machine.

CCTV Connection Cable

A CCTV camera is connected to the DVR using a special type of CCTV cables called RG59 Coaxial or RF cable. Power supply to the camera also use the same cable.

At the DVR, the video signals are processed i.e. can be titled, fast-forwarded, blurred, made clearer, controls the cameras by zooming in/out, panned on either side of the cameras, etc. All the camera signals can be viewed at the monitor individually or on split screens.

CCTV In Full -The CCTV Power Supply Unit

A CCTV Power supply is used to supply the camera with power. The power requirement for different cameras vary. The power supply ensures a continuous supply of voltage and current depending on the limit set by the manufacturer.

CCTV In Full- Brief History of CCTVs.

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CCTVs have become so common nowadays. You might have come across it in several places including but not limited to supermarkets, banks and on the roads in busy towns and cities.

They are everywhere! But have you ever wondered how CCTVs came into being?

CCTVs date back to the year 1942 during World War Two, where a German Engineer, Walter Bruch, wanted to be able to monitor V2 rocket launches from different locations.

He, therefore, designed the world’s first CCTV system, enabling him to watch the rocket launch from a different location.
This was a breakthrough to the CCTV world, although it remained a basic transmission device.

It was not until 20 years later when a lady, Marie Van Brittan Brown in USA utilized the technology from Walter Bruch and used it in a security setting, improving it by providing a way of recording footage.

She designed the world’s first CCTV security system and together with her husband, installed the first one in their home.

It is thanks to both Walter Bruch and Marie Van Brittan Brown that we have our homes, banks, schools, roads and other businesses protected
against any unforeseen dangers by the wonders of CCTV.

Why Do We Require CCTVs?

There are very many instances that CCTV Camera are of great importance. From securing homes, businesses, to Traffic monitoring and control, the list is endless.

Over the years, the population of people all over the world has been on the increase. The increase in the number of people has not been directly
proportional to the increase in resources especially food. This has led to struggle and thus scramble for the few available resources resulting in social mischiefs like theft, burglary, vandalism of private properties and other forms of social injustices.

This is where CCTV Security Systems come to play. Through CCTV, you will be able to capture mischiefs and take the necessary actions.
CCTVs have therefore become part and parcel of todays life.

A common application at home, CCTVs are used to ensure all the
properties are safe always, be it cars or household items.

In a business environment, it is used to identify shoplifters, or to supervise workers. It can also be used to inspect various production lines that might not be safe for humans.

In terms of cost, CCTVs are far much better than just employing security guards. The initial cost of installing CCTV in full may range from Ksh. 20,000 to probably Ksh. 80,000 for a small and
medium-sized premise, which may sound high but it’s actually very cheap in the long run.
Say you have incurred a sum of Ksh. 50,000 for an 8-camera CCTV security system installation.
This goes with minimal maintenance like once in three months which might only cost you roughly
Ksh. 5,000 per CCTV servicing, with amounts to a mere Ksh. 65,000 per year, for say 5 years.
Comparing that with 4 security guards, equivalent to the eight cameras. The minimum you can pay
a security guard is Ksh. 10,000 a month, equivalent to Ksh. 40,000 a month. Ksh. 40,000 for twelve
months means you have to part with Ksh. 480,000 a year!
Secondly, unlike humans who just have to sleep after staying awake for hours at night, CCTV cameras operate continuously. They keep an eye on everything every minute which can be integrated to sound an existing alarm system in case of an emergency.