CCTV Camera World Knowledge Base

The introduction of a Network Video Recorder (NVR) with a built in network switch confused a good portion of the professional market. It very much seemed to be something that was geared towards catering to a side of the market that was completely unfamiliar with how an IP camera system is setup and installed. Not a lot has changed since their original release dates. Most installers still scratch their heads at the thought of using them, but the fact remains that there is an audience. For those who aren't looking to educate/teach themselves the way of "proper IP installation," these simple to adapt to NVRs are very appealing. Having said that, it's equally important to understand what you're getting yourself into with a built in switch. Continue reading →

Dahua has built a pretty strong reputation for manufacturing standalone Digital Video Recorders (DVR) and Network Video Recorders (NVR) that live up to peoples expectations. Not only do they possess all of the features people have come to expect, but they also stand the test of time where others fail. With Hikvision arguably not having options that are as highly sought after, but with their IP cameras still being as popular as they are, it makes sense to look at Dahua to fill the gap. Continue reading →

We’ve already taken a look at High Definition Composite Video Interface (HDCVI) in previous articles and we may not have mentioned it, but we also took a pretty long and hard look at High Definition Transport Video Interface (HDTVI) as well. In addition to comparing these two "HD over coax" technologies side by side, we’ll also hopefully be clearing up some of the conflicting, or contradicting, information found on the subject. Continue reading →

The Hikvision model DS-2CD2032-I and Dahua model IPC-HFW4300S are easily two of the most popular bullet style IP security cameras on the market. This only makes sense with these two manufacturers being as popular as they are. When posed with the question of which manufacturers, or brands, give you the most “bang for your buck,” you’d be hard pressed to find someone who won’t throw the Hikvision and Dahua names out there. Hikvision’s 2032 and Dahua’s 4300S have noticeably stood out as the most popular among these company’s other products in their IP camera lines. When you look at the information that’s out there regarding these cameras, they come off as nearly identical in almost every possible way. For that reason, we figured it was time to get both of them out side by side and see if we can’t find the real differences between them. Continue reading →

First and foremost, we'd like to state that any and all of what we're about to discuss can be harmful to your camera if done improperly. Having said that, you should not attempt any of the following repairs unless you are confident in your ability to properly do so. Also, It should go without saying that your camera should be disconnected from power before attempting any of this. Please feel free to leave any comments and/or questions in the comments section. Continue reading →

It’s a fairly frequent occurrence for people to ask which type of cameras, or systems, are the best. As long as you’re talking to someone with experience with them, IP/network cameras is always going to be the unanimous answer. There is virtually nothing that an IP camera can’t do that another type of camera can; we’re willing to submit that there might, in fact, be nothing at all. With their increasing popularity over the last several years, there is no shortage of quality options as there once was. So, just what is it that makes IP cameras so special? Continue reading →

We've had a lot of requests from our customers to start alerting everyone of new products through our blog instead of just via social media. This will be the first of many new articles that will give you a brief overview and demonstration of our newest products hitting our website. Stay tuned for more new releases and possibly even some sneak peaks. Continue reading →

If you're not familiar with Infrared, it's what grants CCTV security cameras the ability to see in the dark. Unlike true "night vision", Infrared LEDs emit their own source of light instead of using existing sources; these LEDs essentially become a spotlight for your camera. While this is a magnificent feature to have in a camera, we live in an imperfect world and like everything else, it's not always what we'd like it to be. This short list of common problems people encounter with Infrared should provide you with some finer details to consider while installing your security cameras and potentially troubleshooting at a later date. As always, if you have any questions, just leave them in the comments section and we'll be happy to answer them. Continue reading →

We've been pleading people for as long as we've been around to commit to changing their usernames and passwords and not to use the default accounts. Why? TechCrunch, among many others now, has recently published an article that demonstrates exactly why. Continue reading →

Glare is a very common problem for security cameras. Due to the environments in which they are commonly installed, it’s a frequent occurrence to be dealing with or adjusting for glare. Regardless of the surface or source that’s causing the glare, the fix to the problem lies in a particular feature that not all security cameras have. Continue reading →

We are frequently asked by customer migrating their existing network camera systems to our NVRs whether their IP security cameras would be compatible with our video recorders. After extensive research, we have compiled the list below. It applies to CCTV Camera World NVRs, Hybrid NVRs, and Tribrid DVRs. If you don't see your camera on this list, we suggest you check with the manufacturer whether it is ONVIF compatible. IP cameras that are ONVIF 2.0 or higher tend to be easy to connect to our NVRs since our recorders are ONVIF 2.0 and higher. Continue reading →

Standard definition (SD) and High definition (HD) systems that run over coaxial cable have already had their cameras measured by frame rate. Once we understood what it was, it provided us with a good idea of what kind of capabilities a camera may have. Network camera, or IP cameras, are measured differently; instead of a frame rate, IP cameras depend on bandwidth. These types of cameras can still have their frame rates limited to certain numbers, but it’s really going to come down to what the bandwidth requirement for that camera is, and what the video recorder (NVR) is capable of supporting. Continue reading →

In this video, we are going to show you how to convert your DAV video files to the AVI format so you are able to upload you videos to sites such as YouTube. The first step is to download the DAV player from your provided software disk. Once you have the DAV player, begin by downloading your video to from your DVR to your storage device; this can be a flash drive, or external hard drive. Save this file to your computer and then open the video in the DAV player. You’ll notice that the file plays back in the 4x3 aspect ratio. The video will return to a 16x9 aspect ratio once it’s been converted to AVI and played back in a standard video player, so don’t worry about losing your high resolution or high definition resolutions. Continue reading →

Where more traditional standard definition (SD) analog CCTV cameras wouldn't do the job, people needed to start looking to high definition (HD) security cameras. With HDSDI being a flop for the industry, IP cameras have been almost unopposed in the HD market since it began. HDCVI cameras are becoming much more commonly known about and sought after these days. With this new and now proven technology growing in popularity, it's caught people who only used to consider IP cameras potentially looking in another direction. Rather than a versus, think of this more as a comparison. Continue reading →

Smart PSS is a computer software that will allow you to access your DVR with a multitude of functionalities. To be able to access your live video feeds, stored video, and download recorded video brings a whole new element of security. To new users, this program may seem intimidating to master. We assure you that it is not. To make things simpler, we have made several videos tutorials showing you the different functions of this program. Continue reading →

Frame Rate

Most have become accustomed to what’s referred to as real time recording; this implies recording at a rate of thirty frames per second. The end result is fluid recorded video that looks identical to what you’d see during live viewing. Granted, this is a nice added bonus to have, but how realistic is it for businesses? The average homeowner has around eight to twelve cameras making recording at this rate pretty easy to obtain. Businesses don’t have such an easy time as their average ranges from twenty four to thirty two cameras. Continue reading →

There a lot of things that can go wrong with security cameras. The most noticeable are going to be problems with the image itself. The good news is that identifying the problem isn't as difficult as you may think. For as many things that can potentially going wrong, each one of those problems presents themselves with their own set of unique characteristics. Continue reading →

Simply put and as it pertains to security cameras, a lux rating is a way of determining a cameras ability to see in various degrees of darkness. It’s very important to note that lux ratings for IR cameras are rated differently from cameras without that Infrared capability; be careful not to compare these two side by side as they are going to need to be interpreted differently.
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Tribrid video recorders are very new to the market. If you're not already familiar with them, we encourage you to read our previous article first outlining what Tribrid DVRs are all about. From here on out, it's essentially going to be a grudge match between Tribrids and Hybrids to see which one will come out on top. It’s already being speculated that Tribrid series DVRs may completely replace Hybrids altogether but as we don't want to assume anything just yet, we'll all want to know which the better option is for our own personal situations. Continue reading →

“Tribrid” digital video recorders (DVR), as they've come to be known, aren't exactly a new thing. Previous to the release of Tribrid DVRs, there were Hybrid DVRs. If you recall from previous articles, Hybrid’s are capable of streaming and recording both standard analog and IP/network cameras. The Tribrid simply introduces the ability to now have HDCVI cameras in addition to those analog and IP cameras.

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