TV Lines are a measurement of horizontal resolution in relativity to vertical display. In English: the higher the number, the better the image. As a guide, around 400TVL is about average for an entry level CCTV system.

Infrared LEDs produce light on a wavelength that is invisible to the human eye. Our cameras pick up on this light and use it to capture images in low-light conditions – and that’s how we get night vision! Because infrared is only a part of the light spectrum, night vision is always monochrome, so it’s worth remembering that even colour cameras will be black and white at night. You will generally find that outdoor cameras will have night vision, what you need to work out is how much night vision you need. The more night vision, the more Infrared LED's, the larger the camera and the higher the cost (usually).

There is a new generation of invisible LED's available that use a different light frequency. Unlike their brother, the standard LED, you cannot see the LED's glowing on this model as they use a light frequency of 940mn. These have taken longer to get to market because they are not as powerful and can work out about 20 - 30% more expensive than their more popular counterpart. However they are much better for systems where you need a camera that is totally invisible at night (without the little ring of glowing red LED's).

A wired camera is a camera that powers and sends video using CCTV cables. This is by far the best way to set up a system as it gives you a cleaner, clearer system. For occasions where a wire is not possible because you are trying to go across a yard or road, then wireless is a great solution. We have 2 grades of wireless:

DIY wireless; where the camera is integrated with the transmitter, these are low cost cameras and can transmit 50m in a clear line of sight. They are very popular for our bird box camera systems and low cost Infrared cameras and pinhole cameras.

Professional Transmitter; These are independent units that allow you to transmit any camera up to 300m, although can make a system quite expensive if you need multiple transmitters and receivers.

All of our outdoor cameras are a minimum IP56 rated, which means they are protected from dust and powerful water jets (read as heavy rain), and all of our cables are similarly weatherproof. If you’re not sure which cameras are for outdoor use, give us a call or email us.

The vast majority of our cameras have mounting fittings built into the bracket or stand. In most cases you should be able to tell from the pictures on each product page, but again if you’re not sure, get in touch. Similarly, virtually all our Gamut camera stock comes with brackets that will attach to the ceiling or the wall giving you the ultimate flexibility when mounting them.  We spend a lot of time designing our wired Gamut camera range to ensure they are strong and 'tamper proof'. Generally we have 2 styles of cameras:

1. Wall mounted bullet style cameras - these come with a strong bracket with teeth on the joints that hold the camera steady in high winds and should anyone try and poke it with a stick to change its direction. The flexible bracket means you can point the camera in various directions easily. Some lower cost cameras come with ball joints that, over time, can be blown in high winds or tampered with.

2. Dome cameras also known as eye ball cameras generally come with 3 parts to their shell. The camera; a ball shaped camera is ultimately flexible in how and where it can be pointed to view; The clamp; which allows you to circulate the camera itself to point in any direction, up, down, sideways, forward and The base; a circular mounting bracket which you fix to the wall. Once the base and the clamp are screwed together the camera is set like a limpet to the wall. 90% of dome cameras like this are vandal proof and should fox anyone who tries to change its direction or tamper with it.

Most of the casings are constructed from high quality aluminium alloy, which is rust proof.

We have selected to use high quality grade A SONY chips with our cameras as a minimum standard which give an excellent quality image at all resolutions. Grade A is the best imaging chip you can get and some cheaper models will use a recycled or refurbished chip set to keep their prices low.

We also use Sony SuperHAD Imaging chips in some models. This basically means it uses a SONY chip along with a SONY PCB board. Whilst there are a few imaging chip manufacturers in the industry SONY are arguably the best and also excellent value for money.

Our SpycameraCCTV branded DIY camera range generally use CMOS imaging technology with 380 TVL. These are good but are considerably lower cost and because of this they are very popular. With these you will find that the colours are not as sharp and crystal clear as the SONY chip but again, with our cameras we do our very best to source from the very best manufacturers to give you the best result.

2.4GHz is a very crowded frequency, but with the restrictions on power enforced by OFCOM, it is possible to use this frequency quite successfully 90% of the time. The frequency is a license free band and therefore anything wireless including Wi-Fi internet, cordless DECT phones and other equipment use 2.4GHz. It is true that you sometimes suffer from interference, however most of our products have a channel changer and the problem can easily be overcome with a flick of a switch or a quick change of channel on your Wi-Fi router.

Our wireless cameras broadcast on the 2.4GHz bandwidth and have an operating range of up to 100m, assuming there is a clear line of sight, good weather, and no interference. Because we are now living in a wireless world, we tend to recommend these cameras are best used at 50m range or less, purely due to the amount of interference that can be caused by everyday devices like cordless phones, WIFI routers and so forth.

LUX is the measurement of light spread over a given area. A low LUX rating means the camera in question is able to produce a clear image with less ambient light than a standard camera, meaning they are better for use in darker areas.

UK & EU legislation forbids us from supplying some of our equipment locally because the operating frequencies used by them can cause interference with certain aerospace technologies. Unfortunately we have to supply a lot of documented proof that any of this equipment we sell is not going to be used in banned regions, and we are asked for this proof regularly, so we have to ask that buyers provide us with documentation.

DVR stands for Digital Video Recorder. They take in one or more video signals from cameras, that are connected wirelessly or with a cable, and record the footage onto a storage medium, such as a hard disk or a memory card. DVRs can have long lists of features, including but not limited to, motion detection recording, internet accessibility, and HD recording.

D1 is a standard of high resolution recording typically used in professional systems. On a PAL television it is effectively ‘full’ resolution, whereas something lower interlaces black lines into the image. D1 is 704 x 576 pixels. Conversely, CIF is a lower standard of resolution that is compressed to use less space on the hard drive whilst still providing a reasonable quality image. CIF resolution is 352 x 384.

That depends on how much memory is on the DVR’s hard disk or memory card and the quality of the recording.  As a rule of thumb, one minute of reasonable quality footage takes up about 25MB, or 1.5GB per hour. However, adjusting the recording quality can have a very significant impact on those figures.

Yes of course, our team of consultants can help you decide on the perfect package for you – or you can just tell them what you want! The typical questions they will ask will be:

How many cameras do you need?

Is the camera indoor or outdoor?

Does it need night vision?

If so, how many meters of night vision?

How many meters of cable will you need per camera?

If wireless (and we always recommend not to go wireless where possible), how many meters and how many obstacles including walls, doors, windows, bushes etc. does the unit need to penetrate?

How many days of footage would you like to keep?

Would you like to be able to connect to your cameras via the internet and via your smart phone?

You can either place your order online or over the phone with one of our representatives. If you wish to order online simply:

- Choose your preferred product and select any options you require

- Select 'Add to Basket'

- Once you have selected all the items you require click 'Proceed to checkout'

- Follow the instructions on screen to complete your purchase

- You will then receive a confirmation of order email

Should you encounter any problems with our website when purchasing please contact us, either by email at info@spycameracctv.com or call 0117 325 2470.

Yes, all of our systems enable you to add more cameras in the future.

Yes, for a one time fee of 49.00 +VAT we offer a service where we can configure your Computer, DVR and Router to make your Digital Video Recorder accessible across the Internet. All you have to do is download and run a small program which notifies us you require assistance. Once you are connected, you can leave it all to us and we will automatically disconnect once the job is done and send you and email with any details you may require to access your DVR.

Yes, as every type of VCR is different it's difficult to explain specifically although if you go into the VCR handbook and look for recording from an external source/video camera etc then it should guide you through the process.

Yes, the first thing we would do is look for the right connections, either the yellow Phono connection (commonly known as composite video) you would find on your TV or, if you have one a s-video input. If it's the first instance then just plug the camera/ receiver in and select the correct source on the software you are using. If you have a s-video input then you will need to buy an adapter, they are normally just a couple of pounds. (Please make sure your s-video is an input not just an output) If you have neither then I suggest you buy a DVR card, we sell these in the DVR section of this website. The other option is to buy one of our USB receivers. It's just plug and play so you literally plug it into a spare high speed USB 2.0 port and once the drivers and software which care bundled with it are installed you can use it like you would any wired webcam, record to your hard drive, broadcast over the internet etc.

In our experience the cameras will work through walls, but we have encountered the following problems.

    - Walls containing Iron Ore can weaken/block signals

    - Large metal objects can work as a signal shield (such as radiators, fridges, washing machine etc)

    - Positioning the camera directly next to WIFI modems/routers can cause interference

If you are experiencing some problems then try re-positioning the camera/receiver until you receive a better picture, Will the wireless System interfere with my WIFI network? In most instances they won't interfere unless the camera is placed next to the PC or WIFI router. If you find the wireless CCTV camera interferes with your WIFI network simply go into the settings on the router and select a different Channel (some routers will do this automatically).

Yes, if you are connecting to a PC or a DVR. Motion detection with a Camera System is software not hardware based, what this means is the cameras will run continuously but the PC will sense if there is movement of any sort and the programme will then start recording. As its software based the PC does have to be left on, although it will work in standby mode. Most of our PC Systems can be set up in the same way, with motion detection. You just need a video input on your PC, or a DVR Card.

We normally work on around 20GB per camera, per day (24 hours), this can be reduced by reducing the number of Frames Per Second, the compression format or the quality of the video.

Credit card/Debit Card - We accept all major types of credit and debit cards (apart from Amex) including Mastercard, Visa, Maestro/Solo, Visa Electron and Visa Delta.

Invoice/Cheque - If you are based in the UK and wish to place an order and pay by cheque please call our sales line on 0117 325 2470 and we will provide you with details. Please make sure you include all contact names and numbers, as well as delivery addresses in full when sending a cheque.

Bank Transfer - Please note if you are ordering from outside Europe we only accept a bank transfer as payment.

We have several options for delivery, including next day if ordering before 3pm. Please note that all delivery options are based on working days, although we can arrange a Saturday delivery if necessary.

Yes, we can ship to all European countries and you will find us very competitive. We aim to process and dispatch orders placed within 2-3 days to allow us time to test your system prior to sending it.

If something is wrong with an order you placed with SpyCameraCCTV, we will do everything we can to help. We will pay the return shipping cost if the return is a result of our error. If you received a damaged, defective, or incorrect item, we will arrange the return and replacement of the order.

Yes, all of our equipment comes with a 2 year guarantee– please read our Guarantee terms and conditions. Regrettably, the only product exempt from this are our rechargeable batteries, which have a 1 year guarantee.

We realise as an internet company that it is difficult to make a decision about your CCTV and camera equipment. Our team are here to make sure that you know you are making the best choice and our systems are made to our very highest standards. However if the equipment you receive is not to your satisfaction and not what you were expecting, then you would be able to return the goods for a refund (excluding delivery costs).

In order to allocate your furniture to you full payment will be taken. This is to ensure that the items you have ordered are pre-allocated to you. We often have high demand for some of the pieces and cannot hold pieces without payment.

In the UK we are restricted by the frequencies that we can transmit on and the power that we can use. Whilst there are many different frequencies, many are licensed or restricted and unavailable for use. You will notice some of our products are not available for UK or EU use and that is because they use a restricted frequency in the UK & EU. Anywhere else in the world and it is legal, but not here.

Please see our YouTube channel for all setup and unboxing videos. You can do so by clicking here.

For remote assistance when prompted by a Technical Support Agent, please click here: Remote Support

Yes, for a one time fee of 49.00 +VAT we offer a service where we can configure your Computer, DVR and Router to make your Digital Video Recorder accessible across the Internet. All you have to do is download and run a small program which notifies us you require assistance. Once you are connected, you can leave it all to us and we will automatically disconnect once the job is done and send you and email with any details you may require to access your DVR.