CCTV stands for Closed Circuit Television. However, what many people refer to as CCTV isn’t actually technically CCTV when looking carefully at the technology involved.
To be completely accurate, CCTV is basically analogue cameras that are wired together with a dedicated set of wires that feed into a recording device and a monitor or series of monitors. The footage is recorded on the site and is stored on site. It is in effect its own, ‘closed’ circuit.
However, more and more people and businesses are choosing to use IP cameras to protect their property. This is because they are generally better than analogue cameras, offer better footage and a host of other features. Whilst for convenience many people still call these systems ‘CCTV’, technically they are not as they work on an IP (Internet Protocol) network rather than a closed circuit. Footage is generally served on a server offsite or more commonly in the cloud.
To avoid confusion however, it is now recognised that the term CCTV covers all types of camera surveillance systems.
