Since the debut of 4K CC cameras, there have been arguments on “Are 4K Cameras Worth The Money?”. They certainly have a greater resolution, but is this resolution enough to warrant the extra cost? Let’s review some of the positives and downsides of employing 4K CCTV cameras.
What Does 4K Mean?
Image resolution is measured in pixels. Pixels are simply small blocks that make up a picture. The more pixels that an image contains, the more detailed and clear it will seem. Fewer pixels will lead each pixel to be blown out larger in order to cover the span of the image. This will make photos look fairly blocky, like something out of Minecraft. To determine the total quantity of pixels, you would multiply the number of pixels on the height by the number of pixels on the width. 4K
CCTV cameras will record pictures that contain 8 million pixels, or 8 megapixels (MP). The phrases 4K and 8MP are used interchangeably. Since the 8MP will refer to the overall pixel quantity while 4K refers to the image having 4,000 pixels horizontally.
Are 4K CCTV Cameras Better?
4K CCTV cameras garner a lot of attention since they provide greater resolutions. For security cameras, having a decent resolution is vitally crucial for catching occurrences. If someone had burglarized your house, you would want to have a complete record of events. And a clear image of the offender to help the investigation. If the film is too fuzzy to see anything. Then it’ll be worthless and your investment in the security system will have gone to waste.
4K CCTV cameras will still have clear pictures when they have been zoomed in. The issue with lesser resolution cameras is that the photos will seem increasingly fuzzy the more times you zoom in. 4K cameras are so detailed that applying 2x digital zoom will create photos that are still 2x more clear than 2MP cameras. They will also not have some great
coverage with the CCTV Cameras.
Extra Benefits Of 4K CC Cameras
Another benefit of choosing 4K CCTV cameras is that they will often have a broader field of vision which means that you will be able to see more of an area with a single camera. So although a single camera will cost you more than a lesser quality camera, you may wind up saving money by not having to buy as many of them.
A typical issue that gets brought up anytime the topic of 4K CCTV cameras is mentioned is that they would demand more storage and bandwidth. As we discussed previously, higher resolutions will have a bigger number of pixels which translates into containing more data. 4K cameras demand more storage and bandwidth compared to lower resolution cameras since there’s more data that has to be saved and transferred.
If It’s Really Worth The Money
You may still be thinking about the answer to the question “Are 4K Cameras Worth The Money?”. However, these concerns can be avoided by utilizing H.265. H.265 is a CCTV codec that works to compress video file sizes to lower the necessary storage and bandwidth. H.265 is now the most sophisticated codec on the market and many 4K cameras employ it to minimize the load on bandwidth and conserve storage capacity. Storage and bandwidth are obviously issues that you should take into account when picking a security camera, however, most 4K CCTV cameras will not entirely drain your system like how they’re assumed to do.
