CCTV Camera
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are security cameras that only transmit their video to a specific location, unlike the broadcast TV sent to every home.
What is a CCTV camera?
A CCTV camera is usually hardwired into a security system and transmits the feed to a recording system. This recording system can be either digital or analog. CCTV cameras are often used synonymously with security cameras or surveillance cameras. However, they originally only referred to analog cameras that transmitted data directly to a single TV using a coaxial cable.
The term “closed-circuit television” is used to describe that CCTV cameras do not send their video feeds openly to main receivers. This is in contrast with broadcast television cameras, which collectively send their footage to over a billion TVs globally.
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Why are CCTV cameras important?
Traditional analog CCTV cameras are still in use today and are inexpensive to acquire. However, there are many newer systems that are similarly priced and more modern. Here is a separate article that describes all the different types of security cameras for business, including CCTV cameras.
These systems operate on a closed system and are not broadcast. Unlike many newer systems, analog CCTV camera systems still record onto video cassettes instead of digital formats. These systems may incorporate digital video recorders (DVRs) attached to the camera using coaxial cable systems.
Many of these cameras are wired systems and will transmit their video feed to specific television sets. Traditional CCTV systems use tapes to record what was viewed by the cameras. This meant that reviewing the tapes to look for theft could be extremely time-consuming.
While Solink recommends purchasing digital IP security cameras going forward, it is usually still possible to connect analog CCTV cameras to the Solink platform.
It is worth repeating that many people use the term CCTV as a generic term for security cameras, which are currently far more likely to be digital.
