CCTV Cameras Prices In Kenya
For quite some time analog cameras have been used for both residential and commercial security surveillance. However, with technological advancement in the security surveillance industry, IP CCTV camera is fast becoming popular. As a CCTV installation company in Kenya, we know IP video surveillance offers more value in terms of image quality and video analytics. CCTV Cameras prices in Kenya continue to go down thank to the ongoing innovation in the industry. In fact, KES 35,000 CCTV cameras installation price will be sufficient for a shop or small office surveillance.
In as much as analog cameras can be accessed remotely via the DVR, IP video surveillance cameras can also be accessed remotely through their own IP address. Whether analog or IP cameras, the CCTV cameras can either be bullet or dome-shaped. And third camera type is the PTZ camera. PTZ cameras have the ability to pan, tilt and zoom. As matter of fact, PTZ cameras are some of the high-level video surveillance devices due to their advanced security features.
Bullet cameras tend to have a narrower field of view and a long focal length. Since bullet cameras have been designed with a longer focal length, they are ideal for outdoor installation. On the other hand, dome cameras have been designed with a wider field of view but a shorter focal length. Hence the dome cameras are ideal for indoor installation.
CCTV camera
The CCTV camera installation at your shop or office is a basic requirement for every business in Kenya. Actually, small and medium enterprises have embraced the idea of private security by installing security cameras at their premises. Adding access control systems, then it becomes impossible to breach security. In the event of a robbery incident, security officers have relied on the recordings captured by security cameras. No doubt, security officers’ work has been aided by the recordings from security cameras.
Due to the importance of surveillance security cameras, their resolutions have improved tremendously over time. Today, it is nearly impossible to find analog cameras. The industry is fast-moving to HD security cameras and IP security cameras.
For a long time, the security camera industry was dominated by Hikvision. But the entry of Dahua security cameras and other new entrants has changed the landscape. Finally, it is the end-users who are reaping the benefit of competition in the market. For instance, about a decade ago, CCTV installation in Kenya in residential areas was a preserve of the rich. But tough competition in the security industry has led to the production of high-quality security cameras at a very affordable cost. Even so, a single HD dome CCTV camera price in Kenya has dropped to as low as KES 3,000. Today, it is very common to find even small MPESA shops equipped with security cameras.
CCTV Cameras In Kenya
Depending on the security surveillance requirements, clients have the option of installing security cameras as either IP or HD cameras. Additionally, you can select your home security camera based on the resolution capacity. A surveillance camera’s resolution can be measured in megapixels or TV lines.
Should you decide to install non-IP cameras, the setup will rely on a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) to capture and store recordings. This kind of setup has been around for quite some time now. However, DVR systems are still very reliable as security surveillance systems. By and large, HD CCTV cameras work very well with HD DVR systems. These security camera’s clarity is usually rated in terms of megapixels, that is, 2MP. Coaxial cable is the most suitable cabling standard for non-IP security systems.
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With the IP cameras, the surveillance system is usually cabled using the CAT6 Ethernet cable. This is the type of cabling system normally used for data and voice infrastructure. The images captured by IP cameras are captured and recorded in an NVR (Network Video Recorder) system. The NVR technology is the most recent in the industry. With this technology, you are able to view individual security cameras by their IP addresses. Moreover, you can remotely view security cameras in the entire network through a process known as port forwarding.
CCTV Camera Installation
The beauty about the IP cameras is that they can ride on the existing local area network infrastructure. Under the IP surveillance setup, IP cameras are powered by a POE switch. The NVRs also is designed with the PoE capability (Power over Ethernet). You may have realized that while the analog cameras depend on power adapters for power, IP cameras rely on the PoE technology to get powered up.
The security cameras recording. Now, storage space can present a challenge if a lot of cameras recording to the same memory location i.e. the NVR or the DVR. For instance, a two-terabyte hard disk can barely a whole month if connected to over 15 cameras actively recording day and night. To counter this challenge, you are advised to set your cameras to motion detection mode. In such a situation, the NVR or the DVR will only record when motion is detected within the area of surveillance. Otherwise, no recordings will be done in a still environment.
Today we talk about simple tips for servicing your CCTV cameras in Kenya.
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Setting up your home or office security surveillance system is usually a long-term undertaking. Best practice requires that you service your surveillance system regularly, usually twice a year. Regular servicing and maintenance will save you the hassle of reworking the entire system afresh. As ORACO Kenya, we have built our business as professional installers of IP cameras. And below we have highlighted some of the key surveillance system components that require regular servicing:
Servicing the Security Cameras
The DVR is the nerve center of the whole surveillance system. And as such, it requires a lot of care during servicing. The obvious starting point would be to dust it off. Dust is likely to settle on the DVR if it has been in the same position for a long time. The dust might clog the BNC connectors thus interfering with the quality of the signal received.
Another area that deserves careful scrutiny is the DVR settings. In-house technicians are known to interfere with the DVR settings. When they are unable to undo certain settings, they usually reverse the entire DVR settings back to factory default.
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For security reasons, you should not allow your DVR to operate on factory default settings. When operating on the factory default setting, the DVR and the entire surveillance system is open to attacks from hackers. So as part of the servicing exercise, you should ensure that the DVR has the recommended settings. Moreover, the selected port forwarding IP addresses and port numbers are secure.
Security Cameras recordings
The hard disk is where images, sound, and video recordings from security cameras are stored. It is advisable to regularly check the status of the hard disk, whether recording or full. Most people prefer to set the DVR to override state. This means that older recordings will be deleted to create space for fresh captures. In rare occurrences, the surveillance hard disk might freeze. A hard disk in a frozen state cannot capture recordings. Disk error is a sign of a frozen hard disk. Before you format the surveillance, it is advisable to create a backup.
CCTV power supply unit
The power supply, as the name suggests, supplies power to the surveillance system. A faulty power supply unit might cause damage to the entire security system. A good power supply unit works well with a backup battery or UPS. This is because the backup battery protects the surveillance system from power surges.
Another obvious benefit of a UPS is the ability to continue supporting the surveillance system even when there is a power blackout. You can check to see if the backup battery is not leaking and can still work in case of a power blackout. If there is leakage from the roof near the network cabinet or cage, you should seal it immediately. Likewise, you can relocate the equipment to the safer corner of the house.
Wireless CCTV cameras
Security cameras also require servicing once in a while. Obviously, the starting point is usually the removal of dust from the outer casing. If a lot of dust settles around the lens area, camera vision is severely impaired. You can also replace the acrylic glass if it is broken. These simple and minor repairs can save a lot of money.
CCTV system wring
Regularly check if the wiring of the security cameras is alright especially when the signal from certain security cameras disappears and reappears. The lost signal from a security camera is usually a sign of a weak connection from the power jacks or the BNC connectors. Sometimes the connectors might be getting rusty and this also can lead to signal loss. If the place is rat-infested, you should find a way of eliminating rats because they are a danger to the cables.
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Servicing CCTV systems
We believe that the above tips for servicing and maintaining your security cameras are adequate for the novice. Simple security systems maintenance exercises can easily be done at home without involving skilled technicians.
For comprehensive premise security, electric fence installation as well as Garrett metal detectors in Kenya. Nonetheless, it is important to seek the advice of security systems installers before attempting anything you are not sure about.
At ORACO Kenya, we also offer flexible security camera repair and services in Kenya. So instead of overhauling the whole system every four years, servicing will ensure that your surveillance system lasts longer. Contact us today and save yourself the headache of frequent system breakdown.
Another way you can counter space challenges is by the use of cloud storage. There are several cloud storage subscriptions that are relatively affordable. Cloud storage solutions come with a lot of benefits. To start with, the cloud storage enables you to access your security camera recordings from anywhere as long as there is internet connectivity. Secondly, instead of having all your security recordings onsite, cloud storage gives you safe offsite storage. Ultimately, the security camera cloud storage service acts as backup storage and a good disaster recovery strategy.
ORACO Kenya is one of the most affordable dealers of security cameras in Kenya. Additionally, we are one of the most sorts after security camera installers in Kenya. Try out our services today by contacting us here. We do not charge for a site survey.
Difference between analog CCTV camera and the IP Camera
Signal transfer
The analog cameras will transfer the signal to the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) in analog format. The analog stream will then be converted to a digital stream in the DVR. On the other hand, the IP video surveillance cameras will transfer signals in digital format over the Ethernet networking infrastructure to the Network Video Recorder (NVR). This is much more efficient than an analog CCTV system.
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The Video Recorders
The video recorder for the analog cameras is known as the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). While the video recorder for the IP cameras is known as the Network Video Recorder (NVR). Therefore, recordings from the analog CCTV cameras will be kept in the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). However, the IP CCTV cameras will send the captured video to the Network Video Recorder (NVR).
The connectors
Since the wiring of the analog CCTV cameras will be based on the RG59 cabling system, the connectors used will be BNC connectors. Also, balloon connectors can be used for analog cameras. On the flip side, the wiring required for the IP cameras will be a CAT6 Ethernet cabling system. Thus, the connectors will be RJ45 connectors patched into the network port.
CCTV power supply
the IP cameras get powered through Power over Ethernet (PoE). This means that the Ethernet cabling system will transfer both and signal directly from the NVR device. Network cameras will run on the existing structured cabling and networking infrastructure. The analog CCTV cameras get will require separate wiring for power and additional wiring for the signal.
Video compression and encoding. CCTV cameras ride on different technologies for compressing the video data captured. Presently, H.264 video compression standard is what is being used on most CCTV cameras. However, a new compression standard H.265 is slowly being embraced as the standard for video surveillance compression.
The H.265 is also known as the High-Efficiency Video Coding technique. This compression technology is twice as efficient as the previous one. Besides, the H.265 can optimize bandwidth utilized to just about 35% of the standard requirement. Moreover, the original quality of the video will be maintained even after compression.
The main reason why all video footage has to be compressed is to reduce bandwidth requirements, particularly during transmission. Secondly, video compression also saves on storage requirements since the video file will tend to be smaller upon compression.
After encoding the video, it needs to be encoded so that a different can read it. For instance, the compressed CCTV video footage needs to be encoded so that it can be viewed on a computer or any other device. This is because different devices require video files to be in a format compatible with the recommended video format.
Types of CCTV cameras in Kenya
The Night Vision cameras
The night vision capability was only available on select analog cameras. Thus, a client needed to specify categorically that the CCTV camera to be installed must have vision capability. However, today most IP video surveillance cameras come with night vision capability as a default feature. The camera feature that enables night vision is called infrared (IR). The inbuilt light sensors will detect dim light so that IR can be turned on.
With the night vision feature, IP surveillance cameras can still capture good quality images in low-light areas such as parking basements. Also, these cameras can capture clear images even at night when the security lights are switched off.
CCTV Camera type in Kenya
Fixed focal length camera lens: as the name suggests, this lens is fixed and set to focus in one direction. In order to shift the area of focus, the camera has to be adjusted physically to face the desired direction. This is the most common CCTV camera lens type.
Varifocal camera lenses: these camera lenses are found inside CCTV cameras with zooming capability. With this type of lens, you will be able to zoom in on an image that might appear to be far, by bringing the image closer so that more details can be visible.
Motorized varifocal camera lens: this type of lens is designed to allow zooming especially from the video management system, and client application software. Since this is software-based, a user can zoom remotely the real-time CCTV video footage or the recorded CCTV video files.
As CCTV installers in Kenya, we offer a variety of IP video surveillance solutions depending on the client’s unique needs. Contact us today for the best IP CCTV cameras with the capability for remote viewing.
