Upgrading an old analog camera system: what stays, what changes?

How do you know it's time to upgrade?

An analog camera system installed ten years ago usually still gives an image. The question is whether that image is useful. If, when you look at a recording after an incident, you cannot make out a person's face or a vehicle's license plate, the system is working but not doing its job.

The other signs are familiar too: the DVR often freezes or restarts, the phone viewing app is no longer updated and won't open, a failed camera cannot be replaced with the same type, and recordings only go back a few days. If any of these signs apply, it is time to plan an upgrade.

• Faces and license plates cannot be made out in recordings.
• The recorder often freezes or restarts by itself.
• The phone viewing app doesn't work.
• No replacement can be found for a failed camera.
• The night image is very dark or grainy.

What can be kept?

Upgrading doesn't mean tearing everything out and starting over. Some parts of the old system, if they are in good condition, still serve in the new system.

Coaxial cables are the most valuable part, because running cable is the most labor-intensive part of an upgrade and the one that requires breaking walls or opening ceilings. The camera connection points, wall and pole mounts, the cabinet where the recorder sits and the monitor are also usually kept. UPS unit can be kept if it is still usable; replacing its batteries may be enough.

In analog systems, cameras are usually powered by a separate power cable or from a single central adapter. The condition of these power lines should also be checked; old adapters may not meet the needs of new cameras.

When keeping parts such as the monitor and cabinet, look at the connection types. If the old monitor accepts only analog input, it may not match the output of the new recorder. Also check whether the cabinet has room and ventilation for the new switch, recorder and UPS; in the Şanlıurfa summer, devices squeezed into a narrow, closed cabinet overheat and disk life gets shorter.

Expert note: Before upgrading, have each camera's cable tested individually. In the same building, one cable may test perfectly while another has cracked in the sun or been spliced. The decision is made cable by cable.

Option one: upgrading with HD analog

There are analog camera technologies that carry high-resolution video over coaxial cable. A camera of this kind replaces the old camera, and a new recorder that supports these cameras replaces the old DVR. The cable stays in place.

The advantage of this option is speed. Since no cable is run, installation is quick and no construction work is needed in the building. Image quality improves noticeably over the old system, and phone viewing works again with the new recorder.

It has limits too. Features such as in-camera video analytics, license plate recognition and face recognition and the like come with a wider range of options on IP cameras. The cable's quality and length can limit the highest image quality you can get.

Option two: moving to IP cameras

IP cameras carry video over a network cable, and most of them, with PoE , draw power from the same cable. The cameras connect to a switch, and the switch connects to the recorder. When you want to expand the system, adding a new camera to the switch is enough.

This move usually involves running new network cable. If the existing coaxial cable ducts and conduits are clear, the old cable can be pulled out and a new one pulled through in its place; this is the easiest way to replace cabling without opening walls. In some cases, converters that carry a network connection over coaxial cable can be used, but this solution is not suitable for every installation and gets more complicated as the number of cameras grows.

An IP system gives you more flexible infrastructure in the long run. The choice of cameras is wider, there are many recorder and software options, and the system can be planned together with the building's network infrastructure.

Phased transition: hybrid recorder

If the budget or building conditions don't allow replacing the whole system at once, a hybrid recorder that accepts both analog and IP cameras is an interim solution. The cameras that matter most, for example the entrance and cash register cameras, are upgraded first. The other cameras keep working on their old cables and are replaced over time.

With this approach, the points to watch are the recorder's channel count and which camera types it supports. Also, the disk capacity must be recalculated for recordings from the new, higher-resolution cameras; the old system's disk holds recordings for a much shorter time with the new cameras.

Common mistakes when upgrading

The most common mistake is putting new cameras in the same spots as the old system. The old camera locations were chosen based on the needs of that time and how easy it was to run cable. The layout of the business may have changed, a new door may have been opened, or the cash register may have moved. An upgrade is a good opportunity to rethink camera locations.

The second mistake is not accounting for the larger recordings the new cameras will produce. The third is losing the recordings left from the old system. If there are important recordings on the old DVR, export them before the system is removed, or keep the old device for a while. Finally, change the new recorder's administrator password on installation day and take it over yourself.

What is checked during an on-site inspection?

Which option is right cannot be said without seeing the building. During the on-site inspection, a list of the existing cameras is made first: how many cameras there are, where each one points, where its cable runs and how many meters it is to the recorder. Then the end of each cable is tested and the image quality is measured.

The condition of the cable ducts is the second important topic. If a duct or conduit is clear, running new cable is easy and moving to IP costs less. If the cables are buried in plaster and there is no duct, keeping the coaxial becomes much more attractive.

Finally, today's needs and those of the next few years are discussed. If a new warehouse or floor will be added, or license plate recognition or access control is being considered, the upgrade is done according to these plans. A solution that looks cheap today can lead to a second upgrade two years later.

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