How to Do CCTV Systems Maintenance and Storage - Tips & Guide

CCTV Systems are an excellent way for business owners to enhance security, but how many are using getting as much out of their systems as ...

CCTV Systems are an excellent way for business owners to enhance security, but how many are using getting as much out of their systems as they should?

To get the most out of your CCTV system it must be maintained correctly and you also need a convenient, cost-effective means of storing the footage you’ve recorded for future use. In this article we are going to share Top Best Guide and Tips on CCTV Security Camera Systems Maintenance and Storage to Getting the Most Out of Your CCTV System.

CCTV Maintenance

How regularly you check and perform maintenance on your CCTV system is up to you, though it’s advisable to check it on a regular basis and if you notice any peculiarities or problems you should address them immediately. 

Some CCTV systems are more complex than others, though there are usually three parts to a CCTV system – the camera and housing, the control equipment and the cables and wiring. 

Camera and Housing

1. Ensure the camera focus and iris are adjusted properly
2. Clean the camera, lens and housing to remove dust 
3. Ensure the focus is adjusted in accordance with any recent layout changes 
4. Use the control to check pan tilt and zoom focus

Control Equipment

1. Clean control panels, monitors and other equipment to remove dust
2. Check monitor brightness and contrast
3. Ensure the system is recording correctly
4. Check the footage for distortion and other issues
5. Ensure the CCTV footage is stored correctly
6. Check for loose connections (coaxial cables, power, etc.)

Cables and Wiring

1. Check cables and wiring for loose connections
2. Ensure cables and wiring aren’t affected by the elements
3. Ensure adequate insulation/protection 
4. Check for wear and tear

As mentioned above, how regularly you choose to check and clean your CCTV equipment is up to you, though to be on the safe side, the more frequently you check it the better. 

Storing CCTV Footage

You’ve likely seen films in which the police go to a place of business to check the CCTV tapes and more often than not they’ve been deleted and rerecorded or something along those lines. 

It would be a mistake to do so at your place of business because you never know when CCTV footage may be required at a later date to, amongst other things, prosecute an employee whom you suspect of theft or assist with an investigation into an incident that’s occurred on your business premises.

Moreover, the days of VCR recordings are well and truly behind us and with digital recordings business owners are presented with a number of excellent options to consider with regard to storing the footage their CCTV camera security systems record, including the following three to consider for your workplace.

1.    PC Hard Drive

This is the most common way of storing the footage your CCTV system records and for most businesses this is fine. There’s a notable drawback to storing CCTV footage on your PC’s hard drive which is that it’s easy to tamper with. 

Therefore, if your place of business was broken into afterhours, those responsible could tamper with the footage; if not just take the PC with the footage on it.

If this is the option you’re planning to go with, ensure your PC is kept out of sight.

2.   Cloud Storage 

This would involve taking the footage you’ve recorded and uploading it to a Cloud Storage platform. 

The standard resolution for CCTV systems is 320x240 image resolution which is one frame every two seconds. Over the course of one week this adds up to roughly 3 ½ GB – 12 KB x 86400/2 x 7 = 3.5 GB – which is easy to store if you use data compression methods. 

There are further ways to reduce the amount of data required, for example using motion detection equipment.

3.   Offsite Storage 

This is the most secure means of storing CCTV Camera footage because it’s offsite and therefore can’t be tampered with, but it can be difficult and expensive to set up due to its complexity. 

Whilst your data is secure, any problem that occurs with your IP system could result in errors that could undermine security at your place of business. 

Your CCTV system is an important tool for a number of reasons – crime prevention, insurance purposes, etc. – and must be maintained regularly and the footage it records stored securely.