Of course, such serial connections are not required for IP PTZ cameras, as all control signals go through the Ethernet network connection along with the digital video. Some video encoders also had RS232 or RS485 ports for controlling analogue PTZ cameras. All have very similar characteristics: Four BNC connections for the coax cables, a network connection and a power connection. Digitising and networking the video also added some flexibility to the system in terms of how the video data was routed and used, and indeed this is part of the power of IP Video systems.Įxisting video encoders come in many forms, but by far the most common is the stand-alone four-channel encoder, as manufactured by hundreds of different companies around the world. Video encoders were frequently used to get the video onto a network at the most convenient point thus avoiding having to run coax cable very long distances all the way to the equipment room end. This allowed the analogue cameras running over existing coaxial cables to be used with modern network video recorders (NVRs) and to be streamed anywhere on the network (to a video wall, operator screen or display monitor for example). Many CCTV installations made the first step to IP video by using analogue video encoders to digitise their existing analogue cameras and stream IP video onto their network.
The HIGHWIRE Powerstar product family offers reliable power delivery and long-range extension even over low-grade coaxial cable and now enables direct replacement of existing analogue video encoders to allow cost-effective upgrade to IP cameras Gigabit Ethernet network uplink and optional SFP port Simple fast, cost-effective installation, less time on siteĬompatible with HIGHWIRE Powerstar Camera EOC* adaptors
Reliably power new IP cameras with POE over coaxįully automatic installation - no set-up of EOC* adaptor required Replace typical 4-channel video encoders with a full IP system You can’t simply dig it up to put a switch in.Re-use existing coax currently used for analogue cameras A good example is across a car park in a conduit buried for 200 metres. These are useful in applications where adding a switch is not possible due to the cable path. This also means we can reduce the number of home run network cables to the core switch.Īnother way of extending beyond the 100m limit is to use an Ethernet Extender, which is an in-line device that can give significantly more distance. The distance can be extended in several ways and the most common is by installing additional network switches before the 100m limit, which gives us another 100m to play with. This distance restriction is due to the time it takes a packet to travel along a piece of wire, which is something locked down by physics and can’t be changed as detailed in the Ethernet IEEE 802.3 standard (Communications Engineering).Ĭat 6 – 1.2Gbps (1200 Mbps) 100m range How can I go beyond 100m ?įortunately we are not limited to a 100 metre radius from the switch.
Actually it is a 100m rule but most work to the 90m as it allows for patch cables and connectors either end of the run. As most NIC’s are 100BaseT there is a 90 metre rule for Ethernet cables. The short answer is yes but it varies with the network speed you are working to.
Is there a maximum distance you can run a category 5 or 6 cable for IP cameras?
Before you jump into installing an IP CCTV camera system, you need to know about the cable distance restrictions, which are different to those of an analogue camera.