Analogue vs HD CCTV Cameras

What is the difference?

Images are made up of pixels, a small dot or square of colour so in simple terms the more pixels an image has the more detailed the picture is, as this example below shows:

An image with just 100 pixels looks entirely different to an image with 100,000 pixels.

HD CCTV London

In one image you can see the face of the car thief, in the other image the face is entirely indistinguishable.

Note

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CCTV Resolutions

(PAL UK Standard)

  • Term
  • CIF
  • VGA
  • 4CIF
  • D1
  • 720p HD
  • 960p HD
  • 1.3 MP
  • 2 MP
  • 1080p HD
  • 3 MP
  • 5 MP
  • Pixels (W x H)
  • 352 x 288
  • 640 x 480
  • 704 x 576
  • 720 x 576
  • 1280 x 720
  • 1280 x 960
  • 1280 x 1024
  • 1600 x 1200
  • 1920 x 1080
  • 2048 x 1536
  • 2592 x 1944
  • Total Pixels
  • 101,376
  • 307,200
  • 405,504
  • 414,720
  • 921,600
  • 1,228,800
  • 1,310,720
  • 1,920,000
  • 2,073,600
  • 3,145,728
  • 5,038,848
  • Notes
  • Low end analogue DVR
  • Standard VGA output
  • Higher End Analogue DVR
  • Higher End Analogue DVR
  • 720p High Definition
  • 960p High Definition
  • Some IP Systems
  • Some IP Systems
  • Alien HD DVRs
  • Some IP Systems
  • Some IP Systems
Catch the criminal

In terms of security systems is better to look at value for money rather than just simple costs as you either catch the criminal or you don’t!

Quality vs Cost

In terms of the quality vs cost argument, sure HD systems may have a higher price tag than a cheap low end analogue CIF but offer 20x the quality not 20x the price. At most the cost may be 2-3 times as much as a cheaper CIF model.