A buying guide for CCTV that will still work in five years

Almost every camera quote we are asked to review competes on resolution. It is the wrong axis. A 4K camera on a saturated switch with fourteen days of storage is worse than a 1080p camera specified properly.

The four decisions that matter

• Retention — thirty days is the practical minimum for insurance claims
• PoE budget — leave 40% headroom or you cannot add cameras later
• Credentials — insist on owning the NVR admin account
• Placement — one well-placed camera beats three badly aimed ones

If your installer keeps the NVR password, you have rented your own footage.

We hand over every credential on the day of sign-off, in writing. It occasionally costs us support revenue. It has never cost us a client.