As a business owner or a homeowner, safeguarding your property is a priority. One of the most effective ways to protect your property is by installing a CCTV surveillance system. Digital video surveillance systems offer excellent features compared to their analogue ancestors. However, they still require thoughtful design, installation, and maintenance to ensure maximum effectiveness.
Historically, video surveillance systems were recorded for a set amount of time, then when the tape was full, you kept it for a nominated period before reusing it. Meaning the system’s storage capacity depended on how many videotapes you had, Fortunately, a modern NVR (Network Video Recorder) comes with a hard drive, depending on the size of the hard drive along with other variables will depend on how long you can record for, once the recording meets its limit, it then loops on self.
Setting Cameras to only record on motion setup and with the recent introduction of Artificial intelligent Cameras which only trigger motion on Human or Vehicle activity really helps reduce the amount of storage required.
Learning how to store and back up your CCTV footage can be tricky, so talk to one of our experts who can help guide you through the process. There are several options, each with complexities and costs to consider; let’s look at the two most popular choices, short-term and long-term storage.
Short-term Storage
Short-term storage is where you recycle the available storage space using the first in, first out (FIFO) principle, as mentioned above regarding video footage. If recorders have a 14-day drive capacity, an incident three weeks ago won’t be retrievable as new footage is recorded over older footage. Some call this short-term storage retention. You can extend retention by adding more drives in the planning stage (anywhere from 6 – 12 months storage), but this is expensive. It can also take more physical space, consume more power, and take longer for operators to find an incident.
Long-term Storage
Long-term storage refers to the indefinite storage of information – this can be in hard copy or digital cloud storage. Long-term storage typically occurs through backing up detected incidents from short-term storage to another media form. You then store the information indefinitely by not allowing it to be overwritten or erased. Long-term storage is also known as archived storage.
Why cloud storage?
Cloud storage provides a secure offsite backup and centralised platform to remotely view footage from multiple sites, giving you the ultimate flexibility. Cloud CCTV system is proactive, alerting you to motion detected on your camera and allowing you to view the footage from anywhere – laptop, office pc, phone. It’s also a cost-effective way to store your footage as you are buying virtual space to store your footage. Digital footage never ages, fatigues, or gets lost. It is truly the future of CCTV surveillance footage storage.
Why choose Castle Security for your residential or commercial CCTV?
Castle Security is a family-owned Western Australian company. We specialise in the design, supply, and installation of commercial, government, and residential security systems across the Perth Metropolitan Area and all country areas of Western Australia.
Over the past 30 years, we’ve cemented our reputation as trustworthy and reliable operators through our commitment to integrity, transparency, and, most of all, quality security services. You can count on Castle Security to secure your home or business.