Most CCTV disappointments trace back to specification, not to the cameras themselves. A system can look impressive on paper and still fail to identify a face at the gate or a plate in the car park. Here is how we approach specification at TSB Smart Tech, and what to insist on before you buy.
Start with the task, not the camera
Every camera position should answer a written question. Security professionals usually separate four levels of detail:
- Monitor — is someone in the area at all?
- Detect — is that a person or a vehicle?
- Recognise — is that someone we know?
- Identify — can this footage stand up as evidence?
Identification needs far more pixels on the target than simple monitoring. Deciding the level per position first is what prevents the classic outcome: plenty of recorded video, none of it usable.
Resolution is about pixels on target
An 8 MP camera pointed at a wide forecourt can deliver fewer pixels across a face than a well-placed 2 MP camera on a doorway. What matters is pixel density at the distance you actually care about, which is a function of resolution, lens focal length and how far the subject is. Higher resolution also increases storage and bandwidth, so it should be spent where it earns its place — entrances, tills, gates, server rooms — rather than uniformly across the site.
Lens and field of view
A wide lens covers more area with less detail; a narrower lens does the opposite. Varifocal lenses let the installer tune the view on site, which is usually worth the small extra cost. For long approaches and perimeters, a PTZ or a dedicated long-focal camera is more effective than hoping a wide-angle unit will cope.
Low light is where systems are won or lost
Incidents rarely happen in good light. Ask what the camera does at night, not just in daylight:
- Infrared gives usable monochrome images in complete darkness, within a stated IR range — beyond it, you get nothing.
- Low-light colour technologies (Hikvision ColorVu, Dahua Full-colour and similar) keep colour at night with a supplementary white light or a very sensitive sensor. Colour matters when clothing or vehicle colour is the identifying detail.
- WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) handles scenes with bright and dark areas together — the usual case for a doorway facing sunlight.
IP or analogue?
New installations are generally IP. It gives higher resolution, single-cable power over Ethernet, analytics at the camera, and a network you can extend later. HDCVI/TVI over coax remains a sensible choice when reusing existing cabling in an older building, where re-cabling would dominate the budget. Where a site is being upgraded in phases, a hybrid recorder can bridge both while the cabling is replaced.
Storage and retention
Retention is a commercial and regulatory decision before it is a technical one. Requirements vary by sector and by insurer — banking and government sites commonly hold considerably longer than a small retail unit. Confirm your obligation with your insurer and the relevant authority, then size the recorder for it. Two practical points:
- Modern codecs (H.265, plus vendor smart codecs) can cut storage substantially versus H.264 for the same picture.
- Use surveillance-rated drives. Desktop drives are not built for continuous write and fail early in NVRs.
Build it to survive the site
In Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, heat, dust and power quality do more damage than intruders. We specify:
- IP66/IP67-rated housings outdoors, with correct gland sealing — most water ingress arrives through a badly finished cable entry, not the housing.
- Surge protection on external runs and a UPS on the recorder and core switch, so the system survives the outage rather than recording up to it.
- Proper cable management and labelled patching, which is what makes maintenance affordable later.
Questions worth asking any supplier
- What identification level does each camera position achieve, and at what distance?
- What is the retention in days at the proposed frame rate and resolution — with the calculation shown?
- Is the system ONVIF-conformant, so you are not locked to one manufacturer later?
- Who holds the admin credentials, and how are firmware updates handled after handover?
TSB Smart Tech designs, supplies, installs and maintains CCTV across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and we are happy to review an existing design before you commit to it. Talk to our engineers about a site survey.