The problem with DIY cameras
Consumer cameras — Ring, Nest, Arlo and their equivalents — have their place. They're inexpensive, easy to fit, and give you a notification when someone approaches your front door. For that specific use case, they work well.
Where they fall short is as a security system. Cloud-recorded footage is typically compressed to the point where identifying a face or a number plate is genuinely difficult. Storage is limited by subscription tier. Camera positions are driven by where it's easiest to mount a wireless device rather than where coverage is optimal. And when you actually need the footage — after an incident — consumer systems regularly disappoint.
A professionally specified system starts from what you actually need to see, and designs the installation around achieving that.
Camera quality: resolution and low-light performance
We specify Dahua cameras for the majority of our residential and commercial CCTV installations. Dahua is one of the world's largest CCTV manufacturers and produces professional-grade hardware across a wide range of form factors — fixed domes, varifocal bullets, PTZ cameras, covert cameras, and specialist products for difficult lighting environments.
Modern Dahua cameras capture at 4K or 8MP resolution, which gives you the ability to zoom into recorded footage and identify faces, vehicle registrations, and other detail at distances that consumer cameras simply cannot match. Full-colour night vision (using additional light sources rather than infrared) means night-time footage is genuinely useful rather than a grainy monochrome image.
Camera selection also matters. A camera covering a long driveway needs a different lens to one watching a car park or an entrance door. Varifocal lenses, chosen and set correctly for each position, ensure every camera covers exactly the right area at the right level of detail.
Recording: NX Witness and local storage
We use NX Witness (Network Optix) as our video management software. NX Witness is an enterprise-grade platform used by police forces, airports and large commercial operators — and it scales equally well down to a ten-camera residential installation.
All recording happens locally, on a dedicated Network Video Recorder (NVR) with sufficient storage for 30, 60 or 90 days of continuous footage at full resolution. This is significantly more than cloud-based consumer systems typically offer, and the footage never leaves your property — no cloud subscription, no third-party server.
NX Witness gives you a clean, fast interface for live viewing, playback and export. Searching for a specific event in recorded footage takes seconds. Exporting a clip for the police is straightforward. The system can send you push notifications when motion is detected in defined zones, with genuine AI-based filtering to reduce false alerts from trees, rain and passing headlights.
On data privacy: a professionally installed CCTV system that records only your own property is governed by the ICO's domestic CCTV guidance. We advise all clients on their obligations at the time of installation — including signage requirements if cameras cover any public or shared space.
Camera positions: coverage by design
Good CCTV coverage is the result of a site survey, not guesswork. We walk the property and identify the key areas — entry points, vehicle access, outbuildings, vulnerable blind spots — and design a camera layout that provides overlapping coverage with no gaps. Every camera position is chosen to give the best possible image of something specific, not just to be visible as a deterrent.
Deterrence matters too, of course — visible cameras do discourage opportunistic crime — but a system designed purely for deterrence often fails at actually recording useful footage when an incident does occur.
Integration with access control and smart home
A properly installed CCTV system integrates with the rest of your property's technology. Common integrations include:
- Video doorbell and intercom. When someone presses the gate intercom, the camera covering that position automatically appears on the nearest screen — or your phone — so you can see who's there before deciding whether to open.
- Smart home events. A camera detecting motion in the driveway can trigger an external light, send a notification, or pop up a live view on a Savant touchscreen inside the house.
- Access control. Gates, door entry, and CCTV all managed from one interface — so you can see who buzzed, speak to them, and release the gate without picking up a separate device.
- Alarm integration. CCTV footage timestamped against alarm events is far more useful to insurers and police than footage with no context.
What does a proper system cost?
A professionally installed residential CCTV system — six to eight 4K cameras, NX Witness software, a local NVR with 60 days' storage, and all cabling — typically starts from around £4,000–£6,000 installed. Larger properties, more cameras, or additional access control integration will increase that. It's a meaningful investment, but one that provides genuinely useful protection and footage quality that consumer systems cannot match.
We'll always survey the property first, design a system that covers what needs covering, and give you a fixed-price proposal before anything is committed.
Want to Talk Through Your Security Requirements?
We'll come and look at the property, give you an honest view of what coverage you need, and propose a system that's properly matched to your home. No hard sell.