When designing an IP CCTV system, it is necessary to know how the data will be transmitted from the cameras to the recording and monitoring system.

There are different ways to send the cameras signals, some are better than others and sometimes also more expensive, so we have to know the options available and what are the advantages and prices of each solution.

When it is necessary to transmit IP CCTV cameras signals at long distances you can use different solutions such as fiber optics or wireless.

But it is also possible to send IP data through coax cables, the same cables that we use for analog CCTV systems.

So we can now overcome certain limitations, such as the maximum distance of UTP cables for data transmission.

By using transceivers it is possible to use coaxial cables to overcome the 100m limitation of the UTP cables.

A video surveillance system allows you to achieve high resolutions and good video quality, but with more quality comes more device CPU processing, transmission bandwidth and storage space.

First thing you have to do is the calculations of how much bandwidth each camera will use for transmission and also how much bandwidth will be necessary for storage. It all depends on how the cameras will be used and the higher the resolution, frame rate per second and image quality more resources will be necessary for the CCTV systems..

UTP Cable: This is the most common way of transmission. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable is used for computer networks around the world, and an IP CCTV systems use the same type of cables. The UTP cable is used to transmit data from the camera to the network video recorder.

RJ45 connectors are used at the ends of cables according to the universal standard, the same cable that is used for computers and laptops is also used for IP CCTV systems.

For an IP camera installation there is a 100m limitation between the camera and the switch, if you need to transmit at a greater distance, you can use more switches to amplify the network signals, but there is a  limit of a maximum 3 switches. meaning a total of 400m of end-to-end cable.

The diagram shows the use of UTP cables to connect the IP camera.

You must follow the rules for maximum distance between the IP camera, switch and computer used in the CCTV systems.

Another interesting solution is to use an "Ethernet over coax" system that allows to transmit the data of the IP cameras by coaxial cables. It is necessary to have a UTP to coax transceiver close to the IP cameras, so the signals are converted to be transmitted over coaxial cables and at the other end the opposite conversion is done from coaxial to UTP. Is also possible to send PoE power by using this method.