DIY CCTV

Lots of people are buying CCTV for their home or business these days. Advances in technology mean high definition HD1080P CCTV is available as a realistic and credible solution. The benefit of CCTV is that it runs 24 hours a day and can capture footage that helps identify culprits after an event. Alarms sound a noise that everyone ignores and if the police are alerted the thief is long gone by the time they arrive. CCTV identifies and helps secure prosecutions.

More people are fitting their own CCTV

CCTV is easy to fit and well within the scope of a competent DIY'er. There is no mains voltage involved, all our equipment uses 12-volt power. All you need to do is fix the camera to your wall and run a cable to the DVR recorder which could be located in a loft space to make wiring runs easier. A single cable provides power to the camera and also transfers the video signal to the DVR recorder.

Cable technology has improved to the point where you don't need specialist tools. Using CAT5 cable, our video baluns and power connectors all you need is a small screwdriver to make the connections. The whole system runs on 12 volts so you don't have to touch the mains 240 volt supply.

Avoid poor quality DIY solutions

Unfortunately, the CCTV industry is not regulated and there are some shockingly poor quality systems on the market. Reading through the marketing material you would be forgiven for thinking they were great solutions but the reality falls well short. Have a look at our guide to Maplins CCTV solutions. They are one of the worst culprits when it comes to marketing making promises the products can't achieve.

Spend some time planning your system

There is some homework and planning to do if you want to get the best from your CCTV system, but that's what we are here for. We have a large CCTV buying guide but we are also a real company with real people only too happy to offer advice on your specific needs. We can view your property using internet mapping from which we can take accurate measurements whilst talking to you on the phone to establish exactly what you are hoping to achieve. We can then put together a list of equipment. We offer this as a free service and there is no obligation on your part, we won't keep hounding you afterwards.

We do all the difficult bits before you get your equipment

DVR recorders can be a bit tricky to set up initially so we do that bit for you. If you buy the DVR and hard drive together we will install the hard drive, format it and configure the DVR with basic settings so it arrives plug and play, connect the cameras and start recording.

Remote access using your phone, tablet or computer

All our CCTV systems can be accessed remotely using a phone, tablet (iPad etc.), PC or Mac. You need to do something called port forwarding on your internet router but don't worry,  if computers and IT aren't your things we have a remote set-up service that does everything for you via live screen sharing session with one of our technicians.

You will end up with the best CCTV system possible

By taking the time to understand a little bit about CCTV you will end up with a better system than if you'd just gone to one of the big security brands. They just want to get you signed up for that monthly direct debit and don't put as much time and effort in as you are prepared to. The fact you're reading this means you are taking CCTV seriously. The national firms tend to market a one size fits all solution and usually fit cameras that are too wide-angle and fail to capture sufficient detail. See our guide to CCTV camera optical range. We help you understand the basic principles so you know what is and isn't possible.

Feel free to get in touch if you are planning a specific CCTV project or just want some general advice.