Power & video connections

All our cameras feature industry-standard connections for both video and power. This makes it easy to replace or upgrade them in the future and also ensures compatibility with equipment from a wide range of manufacturers. Video output is via a BNC jack connector, and 12-volt power input is via a 5.5 x 2.1mm female jack socket.

There are a number of different methods you can use to connect cameras to the DVR recorder and supply the camera with 12-volt power. In most cases, a single cable running between the camera and the DVR will do both jobs. 12-volt power is supplied to the cameras by a separate transformer which is located close to the DVR.

The 2 most common cable types are “shotgun” which is a coaxial cable (video) with a twin core cable (12-volt power) fixed to the side and CAT5e uniform twisted pair, CAT6 can also be used. They both have 4 pairs of wires inside the outer sheath. We suggest using 1 pair of wires to handle the video and combining the remaining 3 pairs of wires to handle the 12-volt power to reduce the chances of voltage drop. We sell connections for both the video and the power which only need a small screwdriver to fit.

Be careful to avoid any equipment which uses proprietary connectors specific to that manufacturer as it is all but impossible to replace or upgrade components in the future. This is particularly relevant to pre-packaged kits.