About Us

A little bit about us and our company

CCTV42 was formed because I was disillusioned with the lack of information available to customers and the poor quality of products sold by most of our competitors. Even today the vast majority of CCTV equipment out there fails miserably when compared to the advertising promises.

There was and still is a lot of product confusion in the market. DVR recorders with seemingly inferior specifications are more expensive than supposedly "better" DVRs on the same website. Technical jargon that makes no sense or is just wrong. Cameras with advertised ranges that fail to provide sufficient detail to identify someone at even a quarter of the promised distance. The list goes on.

Although based in a quiet corner of South Buckinghamshire just outside London we travel overseas to Asia and source directly from manufacturers keeping us at the cutting edge of available technology. We understand how CCTV systems function and work with the manufacturers to develop solutions many of which are unique to CCTV42.

That said we are firm believers in the old adage of keeping things simple. People selling CCTV are always jumping on the next bandwagon without actually asking why or addressing the real problem. Camera resolution is a prime example. Just throwing pixels at the problem merely fills up your hard drive too quickly and puts strain on your system. Far better to strike a comfortable balance between sensible High definition and avoiding wide-angle lens cameras which then waste all those valuable pixels.

Our 3-acre site here in the UK allows us to test and evaluate products in the real world both night and day. It’s no use looking at an outdoor camera in a small office or shop.

We sell what works, our customers have achieved positive identifications and prosecutions on the back of CCTV42 equipment. Working directly with manufacturers allows us to gain a deep insight into the technology helping us to separate facts from advertising hot air. We then aim to provide information in a clear, easy-to-understand format so you can make informed decisions.

Whilst we avoid offering several products that do the same job we develop and stock a full range of products. This is particularly relevant to camera selection where we offer various styles of CCTV cameras with different lens configurations. Each one is suited to a particular task. Knowing your application we can help you select the camera which best suits your needs rather than what happens to be in stock at the time.

We are a real company, not just an internet site and offer one-to-one advice if you are planning a CCTV system. We are also there in the event something goes wrong or you need technical help setting up or operating your system. You get to speak to someone with real knowledge rather than a call centre operative working off a script.

We don`t claim to be the cheapest CCTV supplier in the UK but are confident our prices stand close scrutiny when compared like for like. The low price does sometimes come at a far greater cost. Any amount no matter how small is a waste if the system won’t do what you were hoping.

Finally one of my pet hates - generic images. Every image used on this site is ours, if it claims to be a screenshot from a camera that’s exactly what it is. All too often in our industry companies use digital SLR camera images and claim they are from CCTV cameras. We even see daytime photos turned to black and white and then passed off as nighttime screenshots!

CCTV is a great product that can provide assurance in so many different ways but as an industry, we are full of lies and misinformation. I want to turn that around so you end up with a CCTV system that does exactly what it says on the tin.

Henry Firman – director