Analog Vs. IP (Digital) CCTV system Cameras

What is Analog camera and what is IP CCTV camera? We have looked at the various cameras but now let’s broadly consider IP vs. Analog camera.

The main difference between Analog and IP cameras is the way the recorded video is transmitted.

IP or Digital Camera

IP stands for Internet Protocol, and basically refers to a digital video camera that can send and receive data via a computer network, as opposed to sending a feed to a Digital Video Recorder (DVR).

Here’s a major advantage and disadvantages of the Analog and IP (Digital) CCTV System Camera. This is according to c1c.net.

Analog Security Cameras

Advantages

• Cost: Analog cameras tend to cost less, sometimes even a lot less, than their digital counterparts on a per camera basis.
• Simplicity: DVR is easier to set up and understand for most. It is one unit with one cost, and the installation is a bit more straightforward.
• Lower Bandwidth Requirements: Analog recorded video files tend to be smaller, and they are transmitted to the DVR over coax instead of LAN, so transmitting them doesn’t take as much bandwidth and doesn’t tax your network as much. Plus, DVRs also usually only transmit the information and use bandwidth when someone is viewing the video, rather than on a more constant basis.
• More Design Options: With a wider variety of analog camera designs, you may have an easier time finding a camera model with all of the features you need at a lower cost.

 

Disadvantages

• Cabling: Because the cameras need to be connected to both the power supply and the DVR via cables, you tend to have a lot of wiring to handle, even if you use cables that bundle video and power. Furthermore, coax cables are usually more expensive on their own than the Cat 5 or 6 counterparts used for digital systems.
• Image Quality: The image quality on analog cameras is pretty low. Most smartphones today have higher resolution. As a result, details at a distance may be grainy, making it difficult to identify potential suspects in an incident with a high degree of confidence. Moreover, there’s no digital zoom. If you try to zoom in on something on analog video, you’ll likely get an image that is even more blurred and grainy.
• Coverage Area: Typically, analog surveillance cameras have a much narrower field of view than their digital counterparts, so you may need more of them to cover the area you need.
• Positioning Limitations: Because analog cameras need to be connected to the DVR, you have to keep these cameras within a reasonable range of the device, or you risk diminishing the reliability of the connection. As a result, you become more limited on where you can place your cameras.
• Port Limitations: DVRs have only so many ports on them, so you can only connect a limited number of cameras to them. If you want to exceed this number, you’ll probably have to get a second DVR.
• Wireless Capability (or Lack Thereof): The reality is that analog wireless systems don’t work very well due to government regulations regarding analog frequencies and signal strength. As a result, other wireless devices and even fluorescent lighting can interfere with and distort the video signal.
• Encryption: Analog signals can’t be encrypted, typically speaking, meaning that it could be easier to for unwanted eyes to view the signal.

 

Digital Security Camera Systems

Advantages

• Image Quality: The image quality from digital security cameras is significantly higher than analog, with many cameras capable of recording and transmitting high-definition video. Plus, digital cameras are more likely to have digital zoom features, which can have zoom distances over 100ft.
• Coverage Area: A single digital camera can cover an area that would require three or even four of its analog counterparts. As a result, you may require fewer cameras and be able to maintain security surveillance over a wider area.
• Fewer Cables Needed: Instead of individually wiring each camera with power and then cabling each camera to the DVR, digital systems can have multiple cameras connected to a switch, and then all of those cameras on the switch can be connected to the NVR with a single cable.
• Positioning or Port Limitations: Because cameras merely need to be connected to your LAN network in order to connect to your NVR, you are no longer limited by the distance between cameras and the video recorder. As the NVR is software-based and does not have ports, you also eliminate that limitation as well.
• Power over Ethernet (PoE): Power over Ethernet switches enable your signal cables to provide power to the cameras as well, reducing the need for those additional cables.
• Wireless Capability: Digital security camera systems are very good at operating within a wireless network. They are not susceptible to the same kinds of interference that affect their analog counterparts, so you can easily view a live feed from more remote locations if desired.
• Encryption: A lot of digital security cameras have encryption built in, so your data is safer from the beginning of its journey to its end.

 

Disadvantages

• Setup Complications: If you don’t have the network set up already and the switches in place, these can increase the cost and labor involved in your CCTV installation, regardless of the fact that you’d need fewer cables overall.

• Higher Initial Cost: The cameras and equipment (aside from cables) tend to cost more on an individual basis compared to their analog counterparts (though you might need fewer of them, so the costs may balance out).

• High Bandwidth Requirements: IP security camera systems usually require a lot more bandwidth than analog ones. Between the higher resolution and higher frame rate, even with compression, you’re looking at around 720Kbps, and that’s before considering the newer cameras that have megapixel resolution. As a result, this could drive your costs up.

• Storage Requirements: Higher resolution and higher frame rates mean larger files, so you’ll need a lot more storage space on your hard drive to accommodate them.