How to record CCTV

gt568

I have 2 CCTV cameras that film the front and back of my house.  They don't record however and can be watched on 2 separate TV channels.

How can I record on them?  Maybe a day or twos worth?  Not keen on cloud subscription style affairs, I would rather store it myself and over write it IYSWIM....

dan958

How do you have it set-up? Are the camera connected to a computer?

CoastingHatbox

What sort of camera are they?
Are they connected via coaxial cable or are they IP cameras connected wirelessly or via Ethernet cable?
You will need some type of video recorder. The type you get will depend on the type of cameras you have. Also, if you are using WiFi/IP cameras and they are ONVIF compatible, you can use Network Video Recorder (NVR) software on a computer.

Neil_Jones

If you're able to access a network stream of them, there is a Raspberry Pi project that you could probably bodge to do what you want.

Or you could record a stream with VLC, but this wouldn't overwrite the older files, it would just record until the drive is full:

https://confluence.bethel.edu/display/ITSKB/Recording+a+Network+Stream+with+VLC+Player

gt568

They are co-ax cabled and can be watched on the TV.

jsmith9

so to clarify - are they connected to your tv in the socket where the tv aerial goes? if so, how do you also connect the tv aerial? if not, which socket are they connected to?

gt568

I think, and I stress think, they go into some kind of box in the roof that the digital aerial line goes into as well which then goes to the tv point in the wall.

I've tuned the tv and they appear as channels IYSWIM.

jsmith9

Thanks for the info. So one way to record them would be like you record any other TV channel eg using a PVR.

Or, if you use your PVR already for recording other channels eg BBC then you can use the RF 'loop through' to take the aerial RF signal out of the back of the PVR and into a second recorder.

This could be a second PVR permanently tuned to the camera TV channel(s), or you could install eg a USB TV tuner (Hauppuage?) onto a PC and record the channels onto your hard drive.

gt568

I don't have a pvr, I think you mean some kind of recorder?  I have a sqy Q box.

I was thinking some kind of flash drive or something but CCTV is not an area I am familiar with.

jsmith9

If you have Sky then you have a satellite signal for your TV so you can put that to one side it does not interfere with the cameras.

Use the RF signal from your TV aerial socket on the wall as the source signal for recording the TV channels.

This can feed into a PVR (google freeview humax pvr) and you can use that to record TV channels x and y - your CCTV channels.

Or you can use eg a laptop - buy a Hauppuage USB TV tuner, plug the TV aerial into it, install the software supplied onto your laptop, and choose to record channels x and y.

The saved recording can go onto your laptop HDD.

Norman_Castle

A Humax pvr will only record from its freeview tuner.