CCTV installation is where a good system is made or spoiled. The same cameras can give clear evidence or useless footage depending on where they are mounted, how they are cabled and how the recorder is set up. Send one request with your site, the number of cameras you have in mind and what you want to see, and independent South African installers visit, draw up a camera plan and quote you directly. It is free and there is no obligation. For choosing the hardware itself, read about CCTV cameras.
The site survey and camera plan
A serious quote starts with a visit. The installer walks the boundary and the building, notes where light, trees and walls will interfere, and marks each camera on a sketch with the field of view it must cover. Ask for that plan in writing. It shows whether the quote is for a few cameras on a guess or for a design: gates and doors covered first, then the blind spots along the sides and rear.
Mounting matters. Cameras are usually fixed at about 2.5 to 3 metres, high enough to be out of easy reach, low enough to see faces rather than the tops of heads. Angled slightly downward and away from direct sun, they give a better picture than a camera pointing at a floodlight.
Cabling, power and the recorder
Most new systems use IP cameras on Cat6 network cable with power over Ethernet (PoE), so one cable carries both power and picture. Cat6 runs are limited to about 100 metres, so a farm or large yard may need extra switches or fibre. Cable should run in conduit or trunking, not loose along walls, where it is cut or chewed by rats.
The recorder belongs in a locked cabinet or room that is hard to reach, not under the TV where it can be carried off. A small UPS keeps the recorder, switch and router alive when the power cuts, so the system keeps recording through load shedding. Ask for remote viewing on your phone to be set up and tested before the installer leaves.
Privacy, neighbours and POPIA
Cameras that capture people are covered by the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Put a notice at the entrance, keep footage only as long as you need it, and limit who can view it. Ask the installer to use privacy masking so a neighbour's window or bedroom stays blacked out in the picture. For a business with staff, tell employees where cameras are.
What a quote should include
Compare quotes line by line: number and type of cameras, recorder and drive size, cabling and conduit, the UPS, labour, setup of phone viewing and the warranty. Ask who holds the admin password, how long the installer's workmanship is covered and what a call-out costs after that. A few cameras on a house suit one visit, but a bigger site is often installed in stages. A system can later be linked to off-site monitoring or an alarm.
What to include in your request
- The address and a rough sketch of the site
- How many cameras and where they should go
- Whether the site is wired or must be trenched
- Phone viewing and recording days wanted
- Any existing cameras or recorder to keep
CCTV Installation for different sites
- Homeowners and families: four to eight cameras on the gate, driveway and sides, with phone viewing set up
- Estates, complexes and body corporates: cameras on the gatehouse and perimeter wired back to a central recorder
- Offices, shops and retail centres: cameras over entrances, tills and stock rooms, with the recorder locked in a back office
- Factories, warehouses and yards: long cable runs or fibre to cameras on the fence and across the loading yard
- Building sites and contractors: temporary cameras on poles and the site container, moved as the site changes
- Farms and smallholdings: cameras at the gate, sheds and workshop, linked back over wireless or solar 4G
- Events, venues, hotels and lodges: cameras on entrances, parking and back-of-house, kept discreet for guests
- Schools, clinics and churches: vandal-resistant cameras at gates, halls and corridors, with the recorder in a locked room
Frequently asked questions
How long does CCTV installation take?
How much does CCTV installation cost?
Can I install CCTV myself?
Who should hold the passwords?
CCTV Installation by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg