IP or HD Analog CCTV (TVI/CVI/AHD): Which Makes More Sense for Your Building?

Two systems, both still on sale

HD analog cameras (HD-TVI, HD-CVI, AHD) send video over RG59 coax to a DVR or XVR. It's traditional CCTV, upgraded to give a sharper picture.

IP cameras compress video inside the camera and send it as network data over Cat6 to an NVR or VMS software. Most are powered over the same cable with PoE.

Plenty of older buildings in Vientiane already have coax in the walls. So the real question is often "rip it out, or reuse it?"

Side by side

A quick decision table

Before you reuse old coax, test it

Coax that has been in the wall for ten years may or may not carry an 8 MP signal. A short check saves arguments later:

1. Read the cable jacket. RG59 with a solid copper core is what you want. Thin "RG59" with a copper-clad steel or aluminium core usually reaches a shorter distance at HD resolutions and is a poor choice if you plan to send power over the coax.
2. Find the longest run and test a new camera there, at full resolution, at night with IR on. Night is when power and signal problems show up.
3. Look at every BNC connector. Green corrosion, loose crimp connectors or twist-on BNCs cause rolling lines and dropouts. Replace them with compression connectors.
4. Check the power cable separately. Many old installs run thin 2-core cable from a central 12 V supply, and that is where most night-time reboots come from.

Here is why. Copper of 0.5 mm² has about 0.034 Ω per metre. A camera 80 m away has 160 m of conductor in the loop, about 5.5 Ω. When the IR switches on and the camera draws 0.5 A, the cable drops about 2.75 V, so the camera sees roughly 9.3 V instead of 12 V. It works in daylight and resets at dusk. The fix is thicker cable, a local supply near the camera, or a system that sends power over the coax (PoC). IP cameras avoid most of this because PoE runs at around 48–57 V, so the current, and the drop, is far smaller.

When analog still makes sense

If the coax in the building is in good shape and you just want a sharper picture, swapping cameras and the DVR without touching the cable is usually far cheaper than re-cabling. That's especially true in rented buildings where the landlord won't allow drilling or opening ceilings. A small shop or store with 4–8 cameras and no interest in AI can do fine on analog. And for a point 200–300 m out, a coax run can be easier than putting a switch halfway with its own power and a weatherproof box.

When to go IP

For a new system with 16 or more cameras, or several sites, we recommend IP almost every time. Same if you want AI: people counting, intrusion detection, plate reading, or searching for "person in a red shirt". Central monitoring or integration with access control? IP. And factories or mines that already run a fibre backbone have no reason to stay analog.

Example: a 24-camera warehouse

• 4MP IP cameras, H.265, about 6–8 W of PoE each (strong-IR and PTZ cameras draw a lot more)
• 24-port PoE switch: ≥ 24 × 8 W = 192 W plus 20–30% headroom → choose a switch with at least 250 W PoE budget
• Uplink to the NVR: 24 × 4 Mbps = 96 Mbps, comfortable on gigabit
• Cameras beyond 100 m: an industrial PoE switch with a fibre uplink and surge protection

Check the PoE numbers in detail with our PoE budget calculator.

The middle road: hybrid

Many XVRs and hybrid DVRs accept analog and IP cameras at the same time. That lets you migrate in stages: keep the old cameras that still work, and move the critical points, like entrances and the cash room, to IP first.

Mixing brands: check the ONVIF profile

ONVIF lets a camera from one brand record on another brand's NVR or VMS, but only for the features both sides support. For years the baseline was Profile S. ONVIF has now announced the end of Profile S because its login method no longer meets current security practice, and recommends Profile T, which adds H.265 and stronger authentication. Existing Profile S equipment keeps working. For new purchases, ask for Profile T on both the cameras and the recorder, and Profile M if you want analytics events from the camera to reach the VMS. Even then, expect smart features such as line crossing or face search to work best within one brand.

Count the whole cost

Comparing camera prices one against one usually leads to the wrong call. Compare what actually costs money: cabling and labour (reusing coax can save a lot, though in a new building a single Cat6 with PoE goes in faster), network gear (PoE switches and a UPS), VMS licences that some brands charge per camera, and lifespan. IP systems take firmware updates and new AI features later. Most analog systems don't.

What we find on site

1. Cheap CCA (copper-clad aluminium) LAN cable with PoE: voltage drops along the run, and cameras reboot at night when the IR kicks in.
2. IP cameras on the same network as office PCs, no separate VLAN.
3. Default passwords never changed, firmware never updated.
4. Router ports opened for phone viewing instead of using a VPN.

What changes on Lao sites

• Lightning and long outdoor runs. Coax and LAN cables strung between buildings or along a fence pick up surges in the storm season. Fit surge protectors at both ends of every outdoor run and bond them to a real earth. Over about 100 m between buildings, use fibre: it carries no surge at all.
• Humidity in connectors. Outdoor BNC and RJ45 joints left in the open corrode within one rainy season. Put them in a sealed junction box, and wrap any exposed joint in self-amalgamating tape.
• Power at dusk. Voltage often sags in the early evening, right when IR comes on and cameras draw the most. Put the DVR or NVR and the PoE switch on a UPS, and for analog systems put the central 12 V supply on it too.
• Heat in guard houses. A recorder in a closed metal box under a tin roof runs hot, and hard drives fail early. Give it ventilation or a cooler spot, and use surveillance-rated drives.

Our take

New system: IP. Existing system with good coax: hybrid, to get full value from what you've already paid for. Either way, keep CCTV on its own VLAN, allow remote viewing only over VPN, and fit surge protection to every coax and LAN run that leaves the building.

Not sure if your old cable is usable? Send us a photo of the DVR and the cable labels behind it. We can usually tell you whether new cameras will do, or whether it's time to plan new cabling.