Advice on NVR location and camera cabling

[Padraig]

Hi there

I still haven't progressed my CCTV installation plans beyond the thinking stage so would appreciate your advice to help cystalize my plan. I'm planning 6 poe IP cameras on the eves of the second storey of my house. A few questions if you don't mind:

Cable
What cable should I be using Cat 5 or 6 ?

NVR Location
Running cables in the attic should be a relatively straightforward affair. Need to decide on NVR location though. My broadband connection is on the ground floor and it'll be painful to run cable from the attic down (can be done but painful). What would you suggest ? Site the NVR in the attic and terminate all cameras there with a single run of CAT5/6 to the ground floor for outside world connectivity ? Site the NVR on the ground floor and run all camera cables down ? What about having a live monitor ? Ideally would like to be able to review footage and possibly have a live view from my office on the ground floor?

Camera Connections
My house is externally insulated - whilst superb from a heating perspective, it's a pain in the neck when you want to attach anything externally! At each camera location, I was thinking of drilling a single bore hole capable of just taking a piece of CAT5/6. The intent would be to feed the cable through to the outside, and make all connections outside (if you follow me) - so as I don't have to bore a large hole to take the RJ45 connector etc. Will this work ? I think I'll be using 2132 cameras mostly with wall mounted brackets (some will be flat against the wall) - can all connections be made in the bracket ? What of the ones flat against the wall? Also, I will need one 2332 camera (it'll be flat wall mounted) - what are the options here for burying the connections ?

I'm sorry for all the questions. Perhaps I am overthinking it - but I just want to get it right first time rather than spend forever saying "..if only I had..."

Thanks
Padraig.

 

[Bob]

Hi there Padraig, I'll answer some of your questions.

First of all, either Cat5 OR Cat6 cable will work fine. The only key difference between the two is that cat6 cable is slightly more efficient at transmitting data (and is wired slightly differently) however this is not something that will be noticeable when using IP cameras.

The NVR can sit anywhere really, so long as the cameras are connected to it. If wiring is an issue, there are a few alternatives such as network adaptors or Ethernet over Power (eg. Powerline). In order to make sure the device is fast enough to transfer the data this way, i'd recommend the device to be capable of transmitting at 1000mbps. Generally the best solution would obviously be a solid wire run from the NVR into an ethernet port.

There are several options for displaying a live view of the NVR. The NVR itself will generally have an HDMI/VGA output on the back (both the same stream) and you can also access a live view on your iPhone/Android mobile or any PC via the NVR's IP address.

There will be room for the connectors behind the wall bracket. Theres enough space to hide the connection within the wall bracket so it will remain out of sight.

As for the cameras mounted directly onto a wall, I doubt there will be space for the connector to sit under the camera between the camera and surface it's attached too. There is space for the wire of the RJ45 connector to tuck under and come out the side of the camera though. If the cameras are out of reach of people, You should be able to get away with covering the connectors with a bag and some elastic bags in order to shelter them.

If you need pictures I can supply them to help explain this more.

In future the quickest way to get hold of us for technical advice is to contact us via my email address bob@use-ip.co.uk and i'll be happy to assist you to work out the best solution. Alternatively you can call us at 01304 827609

 

[Padraig]

Bob
Your reply is most helpful - thank you very much.
Padraig