How many cameras do you need?
CCTV Installation South Africa runs on the same cabling as the network. IP cameras take their picture and their power down one cable to a recorder in the cabinet, and you watch it from a phone. Describe the property and compare quotes.
Describe the property and get CCTV quotes.
Get the Best QuoteWhat a System Is Made Of
- Cameras. Fixed, turret or a motorised dome, rated for outdoors where needed.
- Cabling. One Cat6 run per camera, carrying picture and power together.
- A recorder. A network video recorder with disks sized for the retention you want.
- A PoE switch. What actually powers the cameras, often built into the recorder.
- Storage. Days of footage, which is a disk size decision, not a camera one.
- Remote viewing. An app on a phone, set up without exposing the recorder to the internet.
Where Cameras Usually Go
- Entrances. The gate, the front door and the staff entrance.
- The perimeter. Along a boundary wall, looking in rather than out.
- Parking. Wide view for movement, plus a tighter one for plates.
- Stock and tills. Storerooms, yards and the point of sale.
- Blind corners. The side of a building nobody overlooks.
CCTV Installation Prices
Ballpark CCTV figures so you can check a quotation.
| Item | Ballpark price |
|---|---|
| 4MP IP camera, supplied and installed | R3,500 - R7,500 each |
| 8MP or motorised dome camera, installed | R7,500 - R18,000 |
| Cat6 cable run to a camera | R650 - R1,800 |
| 4 channel NVR with 2TB, supplied and installed | R6,500 - R16,000 |
| 8 camera system, installed, home or small business | R32,000 - R75,000 |
| Additional storage, per 4TB disk | R2,200 - R5,500 |
| Remote viewing setup and handover | R850 - R2,500 |
Prices JUST UPDATED. Ballpark figures, rounded, excluding VAT. They reflect typical South African network cabling and IT infrastructure rates. They are not our prices or quotations, and no provider is bound by them. Confirm what each quotation includes, such as travel, cable and trunking, testing and certification, and minimum callout fees.
Get a camera price for your own property rather than a range.
Get the Best QuoteWhat Affects the Price
- Camera count. The main driver, cameras and cable runs together.
- Resolution. Higher resolution needs more storage as well as a better camera.
- Cable distance. Runs over a hundred metres need a switch or fibre in between.
- Mounting height. Anything needing a ladder beyond three storeys adds access cost.
- Retention. Thirty days of eight cameras is several times the disk of seven days.
- Night performance. Colour at night costs more than infrared black and white.
What to Include in Your Request
- Property type and size. House, complex, office, warehouse or yard.
- How many cameras. And what each one should be watching.
- Indoor or outdoor. And whether there is cover from rain and sun.
- How long to keep footage. Seven, fourteen or thirty days.
- Where the recorder goes. A cupboard, a cabinet or a locked room.
- Power and network. Whether there is a cabinet, a plug and an internet line nearby.
Before the Installer Quotes
- Decide what each camera must prove. Recognising a face needs a tighter view than seeing movement.
- Size the storage first. Retention is the setting people regret afterwards.
- Put the recorder on backup power. Cameras are useless during the exact hour the power is out.
- Mind the privacy line. Cameras pointed at a neighbour's property cause trouble.
- Ask about the app. Remote viewing should not mean opening a port to the internet.
CCTV Installation FAQs
IP or analogue cameras?
IP for almost all new systems. They run on normal network cable, take power down the same cable and give far more detail. Analogue only makes sense when reusing existing coaxial cable.
How many days of footage should I keep?
Fourteen to thirty days suits most homes and businesses. The practical question is how long before someone notices something and goes looking.
Can cameras work during load shedding?
Only on backup power. The recorder, the switch and the router all need to be on a UPS or an inverter, or the system records nothing during the outage.
Do I need a separate network for cameras?
On a business network, usually yes, or at least a separate segment. It keeps camera traffic off the office network and keeps the cameras out of reach from it.
CCTV is one of the jobs providers on Network Cabling South Africa quote for, alongside access control and cabling.
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