cat6 vs cat6a
Cat6 vs Cat6a: Bandwidth & PoE Guide
Cat6 is the right cable for most single-camera and short-run CCTV drops; Cat6a earns its higher cost on long runs, dense multi-camera bundles, and 4K/PTZ…
7 min read
CCTV Line
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Guides, comparisons and expert answers from the CCTV Line team.
cat5e cable 50m
Cat5e Cable 50m for CCTV: PoE Voltage Drop 2026
A 50m Cat5e run sits well inside the standard's rated distance and will typically carry Gigabit data and PoE without issue for a single fixed camera — the…
11 min read
ethernet cable cat 6a
Cat6a Ethernet Cable for CCTV: 2026 UK Guide
Cat6a is the 500MHz-rated upgrade to Cat6's 250MHz, built to carry full 10GBASE-T across the entire 100m channel.
8 min read
can cctv read number plates
Can CCTV Read Number Plates? 2026
Mostly, no — a standard CCTV camera gives you a crisp, watchable picture of a car but still renders the plate as a grey smear.
9 min read
cat6 ethernet cables
Best Cat6 Ethernet Cable for CCTV 2026
Buy Cat6 by the label and you'll eventually find yourself chasing dropped PoE cameras caused by copper-clad aluminium conductors hiding under a…
13 min read
hikvision nvr anpr
Hikvision NVR ANPR: Which Models Work
Not every Hikvision NVR knows what to do with a plate read once it lands on the network — check the model's AcuSense or ANPR-specific compatibility listing…
8 min read
rj45 connectors
Best RJ45 Connectors for CCTV PoE 2026
Get the connector wrong on a CCTV run and the fault won't show up as a dead camera — it'll show up months later as random dropouts your DVR logs blame on…
7 min read
steel wire armored cable
Steel Wire Armoured Cable for CCTV: 2026 UK Guide
Steel wire armoured cable earns its place when a run is buried, crosses a driveway, or carries mains power to an outdoor PTZ or pole-mounted enclosure.
9 min read
Trade & Wholesale
CCTV Suppliers UK: 2026 Vetting Framework
A good CCTV supplier gets a faulty DVR replaced or credited inside days, keeps firmware current for the model range you're fitting, and answers a pre-sales…
10 min read
Recorders & Storage
Audio Recording on CCTV: UK Legal Guide 2026
Yes, you can legally record audio on UK CCTV — but the bar is higher than for video alone, and most systems that ship with a built-in microphone are switched…
9 min read
Law & Compliance
CCTV Installation UK 2026: Costs & Legal Standards
Three installers can walk round the same building and come back with three wildly different quotes, and the camera hardware is rarely the reason why — cable…
9 min read
Cabling & Connectors
Best Ethernet Cable for CCTV UK 2026
For CCTV runs, Cat5e is the practical minimum, Cat6 is the sensible default, and Cat6a earns its cost only on long PoE+ runs or near EMI sources; always spec…
8 min read