IP vs Analog CCTV Cameras: Which to Choose | Falcon Security Systems

The honest comparison: where each one wins

The IP-versus-analog argument is usually presented as old technology against new. In practice it is a trade-off between picture quality and how much rewiring you are willing to pay for, and for many Egyptian sites the analog answer is still the right one.

Modern analog (AHD/TVI) runs at 2MP and 5MP over ordinary coaxial cable, powered from a central power supply. If a building already has coax from an older system, upgrading the cameras and the DVR costs a fraction of a full IP installation and gives you a genuinely sharp picture. That is the single biggest reason analog is still specified in Egypt.

IP wins when you need resolution above 5MP, when you want each camera to be an addressable device on the network, or when you want to use one network cable to carry both data and power. It also wins on long runs, because network cable with a switch in between will go further than coax without signal loss. The price is a proper network, a switch that can supply power, and someone who understands both.

A practical middle path we use often: keep an existing analog system for general coverage and add two or three IP cameras at the points where identification really matters — the main gate, the cash desk, the server room.

Choose analog if

• The building already has coaxial cabling you can reuse
• 5MP is enough for what you need to see
• You want the simplest possible system for someone else to maintain
• Budget is the binding constraint