CCTV camera setup: connect the cameras, recorder, screen and phone

A CCTV system has four parts. The cameras send pictures to a recorder, which is the box with the hard disk in it. A screen plugged into the recorder shows live video and the menu. The recorder is connected to your router, and that is how the phone app reaches it.

The cable depends on the kind of cameras. Analog cameras use thin coaxial cable and a recorder called a DVR. IP cameras use network cable and a recorder called an NVR. Some recorders take both. Our DVR vs NVR guide shows how to tell which one you have from the sockets on the back.

• The recorder and its power adapter.
• A hard disk made for CCTV. Many recorders are sold without one. CP Plus, for example, lists DVR models as without HDD. Our CCTV hard disk guide shows how many days of video a disk holds.
• The cameras, and the cable for them. Analog cameras use coaxial cable with BNC connectors, and they also need power. IP cameras use network cable. On a PoE recorder or behind a PoE switch, the network cable also carries the power. Our PoE security cameras guide explains it.
• A monitor or TV with an HDMI or VGA input, and a USB mouse. You work the recorder's menu with the mouse.
• A router with a free network port, and one network cable to join it to the recorder.
• A small screwdriver for the disk cover.
• A UPS, if power cuts are common where you are. CP Plus's NVR manual says to always use a stable current and calls a UPS the best alternative measure.

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Do this first, with the power off. CP Plus's quick start guide for its DVRs says not to apply power before the installation is complete, to use the hard disk the maker recommends, and to shut the recorder down and unplug it before you open the cover. These are its steps for fitting the disk.

• 1. Take out the screws and lift off the cover.
• 2. Fix the screws into the disk, but do not tighten them yet.
• 3. Put the disk onto the recorder, then turn the recorder over so you can see its underside.
• 4. Line the screws up with the holes on the underside and tighten them.
• 5. Connect the disk's data cable and power cable to the mainboard.
• 6. Put the cover back and fasten its screws.
• 7. A new disk also has to be set up before the recorder can save video on it. Hikvision's manual calls this initialising and says a newly installed disk must be initialised. On its recorders it is under Configuration, Record, Storage: select the disk and click Init. Check your own recorder's manual for the same step.

• Analog cameras: run the coaxial cable from each camera to a VIDEO IN socket on the back of the recorder. CP Plus's guide describes VIDEO IN as the socket for an analog camera. Each camera also needs its own power. Note which camera goes to which socket, because the socket number usually becomes the channel number on the screen.
• IP cameras on a PoE recorder: run a network cable from each camera to one of the recorder's PoE sockets. The recorder powers the camera through the same cable. CP Plus's NVR manual says that when you connect a camera through a PoE port, the NVR initialises the camera by itself and the camera takes the NVR's current password.
• How far a PoE cable can go: Hikvision's NVR manual treats under 100 metres as the normal range for its PoE ports. For 100 to 300 metres it has a long-distance mode, which limits each camera to 6 Mbps. It says to use CAT5e or CAT6 cable from 100 to 250 metres, and CAT6 from 250 to 300 metres.
• IP cameras that are not PoE: they need their own power adapter, or a PoE switch between the camera and the recorder. Hikvision's manual says an inactive camera on the same network is activated with the password you set for the recorder when you add it.
• Wi-Fi cameras that you set up in a phone app work differently. This guide is for cameras that connect to a recorder.

• 1. Plug the monitor into the recorder's HDMI or VGA output. CP Plus's guide says HDMI carries high-definition video and sound, and that VGA also connects to a monitor.
• 2. Plug the mouse into a USB socket on the recorder.
• 3. Plug one end of a network cable into the recorder's network socket and the other into a free port on your router.
• 4. Connect the power adapter to the recorder first, then plug it into the wall. CP Plus's NVR manual gives this order.
• 5. Press the power button. CP Plus says the power light comes on and the live view appears on the screen.
• When you need to switch it off later, use the Shutdown option in the menu. CP Plus's guide lists Logout, Reboot and Shutdown there.

The first time you switch on a current recorder, it asks you to set a password. Recent recorders have no fixed factory password. Set one yourself, keep it somewhere safe, and do not use it anywhere else. If your installer did the setup, ask them for it. Each maker words the screens a little differently.

• Hikvision: you activate the recorder by setting an admin password, and its manual says no operation is allowed before activation. It recommends at least 8 characters with at least three of capital letters, small letters, numbers and special characters. It says you have to set up at least one way to reset the password: a reset email, Hik-Connect or security questions. A wizard then walks you through the basic settings, including network, storage and adding cameras.
• CP Plus: a Device Initialization screen asks for the admin password. It must be 8 to 32 characters, with at least two of numbers, letters and special characters, and none of the characters ' " ; : and &. You can add an email address or security questions for a reset. CP Plus says you can set that up later under Main Menu, Account, User. A startup wizard follows.
• Dahua: the start-up wizard on Dahua recorders asks for a region and time zone, then the admin password, then an email address and security questions. Dahua's wiki says the email and questions are the only way to reset the password on its XVRs and NVRs, so set them now.
• If you have an older recorder that still uses a default password, change it today. Our CP Plus default password guide shows how.

• Open live view and check that each camera shows a picture of the right view. If one is black, check its cable and its power first.
• Check the date and time on the screen. Video with the wrong time is hard to use.
• Check the recording schedule. CP Plus says its default is 24-hour recording on all channels, under Main Menu, Storage, Schedule, Record. Recording only on motion uses less disk. Our CCTV hard disk guide shows how the settings change the number of days you get.
• Check the lights. On the CP Plus DVR panels in its guide, the disk light turns red when the disk is abnormal and the network light turns red when the network connection is abnormal.
• After an hour, play back a clip to prove it is recording. On CP Plus recorders, Main Menu, then Video opens the search and playback screen.

The phone apps reach your recorder through the internet, so the recorder must be connected to the router and online. Most recorders take their address from the router. Dahua's wiki says to choose DHCP on the wizard's network page so the recorder receives an IP address automatically from the router. Then switch on the maker's cloud connection and check that it says Online.

• Hikvision: Hik-Connect has to be switched on in the recorder, under Platform Access in the network settings.
• CP Plus: open Main Menu, Network, InstaOn. Tick the box to enable it, press Apply, and the status should say Online.
• Dahua: open Network, P2P. Make sure it is enabled and the status says Online.
• If it stays offline, check the network cable and the lights on the router first. If other devices on the same router have no internet either, the router or the internet line is the problem, not the recorder.

Install the app from your recorder's brand and add the recorder with the QR code on its sticker or its screen. Use the recorder's own username and password, not your app account. Our CCTV on mobile guide shows how to find the right app and add the recorder. These guides cover the apps and PC software by brand.

• Hikvision: our Hik-Connect guide for the phone and our iVMS-4200 guide for a Windows PC.
• CP Plus: our gCMOB login guide for the phone and our KVMS Pro guide for a Windows PC.
• Dahua: our DMSS guide for the phone and our SmartPSS Lite guide for a Windows PC.
• XMEye recorders: our XMEye guide.
• To find a recorder's address on your network: our CP Plus IP Finder guide or our Hikvision SADP tool guide.
• To see the cameras on a TV: our guide to watching CCTV on a TV.

• One camera is black: check its power and cable, and try the cable in another socket. On a PoE recorder, check that the camera shows as added and online.
• The screen says no signal: check the cable to the monitor, check the monitor is on the right input, and try the recorder's other output, HDMI or VGA.
• The recorder is not recording: check that it detects the disk and that the disk has been initialised.
• The app says offline: go back to step 6.
• You forgot the password: use the maker's official reset. Our Hikvision SADP tool guide and our CP Plus default password guide cover Hikvision and CP Plus.
• You would rather not do it yourself: an installer can do all of this in one visit. Our CCTV installation cost guide shows what drives the price, and our guide to CCTV AMC contracts explains service contracts.