A CCTV kit is a recorder, a matched set of cameras and usually a hard drive, boxed together so the parts are guaranteed to work with each other. For most homes and small businesses it is the sensible way to buy: the channel count matches the camera count, the recorder is already licensed for the cameras, and there is nothing left to specify at the last minute.

IP or HD over coax?

This is the first decision and it usually settles itself:

• IP kits (NVR + PoE cameras) — one Cat5e or Cat6 cable per camera carries both power and video. Higher resolutions, better analytics, easier to extend. The default for a new installation. See IP cameras.
• HD over coax kits (DVR + HD-TVI cameras) — reuse existing coax. If a property already has cable from an old analogue system, a TVI kit upgrades the picture to 5MP or 8MP without lifting a single floorboard. Often the cheapest real upgrade available.

How many cameras?

Count the approaches to the building rather than the walls. A typical semi needs three or four: front door, driveway, rear patio and side access. A commercial unit usually wants the entrance, the yard, the loading area and the till or stock area. Buy the recorder one size up from the cameras you are fitting today — an 8-channel NVR with four cameras costs little more than a 4-channel and saves replacing the recorder when you add two more next year.

What to check before ordering

• Storage. Kits may include a drive; check the size against your retention needs. Our surveillance hard drives page has a storage table by resolution and days.
• Night performance. Standard infrared gives a black-and-white image after dark. ColorVu and Smart Hybrid Light models keep full colour — see Hikvision ColorVu and HiLook colour night vision.
• Camera shape. Turret, dome or bullet changes the mounting and the deterrence more than the picture: turret vs bullet vs dome.
• Cable. IP kits rarely include cable. Add a Cat5e or Cat6 reel and any junction boxes from cabling.
• Signage. UK GDPR expects signs where a domestic system captures anything beyond your own boundary.

Kits versus building your own

Kits win on price and certainty for standard jobs. Build your own where the cameras need to be different from each other — a varifocal on a long driveway, a panoramic over a yard, a PTZ on a car park — because a kit will give you four identical fixed cameras. Start from NVRs or DVRs and add cameras to suit. If you want a second opinion before spending, our Wolverhampton showroom has systems running on the wall: CCTV in Wolverhampton.