Plan your camera coverage
Find your property on the satellite map (or upload a floor plan), then drop AI cameras on and aim them. We'll recommend the right recorder and storage automatically.
Cameras that talk to your alarm
Our AI cameras are built around the Ajax security ecosystem, so your CCTV and your alarm work as one verified system rather than two apps that never speak to each other.
One app for cameras and alarm
Your AI cameras and Ajax intruder, fire, leak and panic devices all live in a single app. Arm or disarm, view any camera live and replay clips from one place — at home or anywhere in the world.
Photo & video-verified alarms
When an Ajax detector trips, the camera covering that zone attaches a short verified clip to the alarm. You — and our 24/7 ARC — see exactly what caused it, so real threats get a fast response and false alarms are filtered out.
Cameras linked to detectors
Each camera is mapped to the alarm zones it overlooks, so a motion or door event instantly pulls up the right footage. On-device AI tells people apart from vehicles and animals to cut nuisance alerts.
Always-on recording, dual-path signalling
Add an AI NVR for continuous 24/7 recording alongside event clips. The Ajax hub signals over both broadband and 4G, so verification keeps flowing even if a line is cut.
Best practice for positions on the map
Drop a camera on the plan, then drag the cone to set which way it faces — the planner shows its field of view and range so you can see exactly what it covers. These tips help you get the most from every camera.
Cover entry points and their approach
Put a camera on every door, ground-floor window and gate — and angle it to catch the approach, not just the doorway. Seeing someone arrive matters as much as the entry itself.
Overlap the coverage cones
Position cameras so each one can see the next. Overlapping fields of view remove blind spots and mean one camera records anyone tampering with another.
Mount about 2.5–3 m high
High enough to be out of reach, low enough to capture clear faces and number plates. Tilt slightly down — too steep and you only see the tops of heads.
One camera on the main approach
Cover the driveway or main path for early warning, and use an ANPR-friendly angle (straight down the drive) where you want to read vehicle plates.
Keep the sun and bright lights behind
Avoid aiming straight at the sun, security lights or a white wall — backlight and glare wash out faces. Where you can, face cameras north.
Stay inside the night range
Keep the detail you care about within the camera's effective IR / white-light range at night — the coverage cone on the planner shows how far each model reaches after dark.
Respect privacy and GDPR
Keep coverage on your own property and aim away from neighbours' windows, gardens and the public footpath beyond what you reasonably need. We advise on signage and data handling at survey.
Not sure where a camera should go?
Add your design to a quote and a Homeview engineer will confirm the best positions on a free survey.
What a professionally installed camera system actually gives you
The planner above is a great way to sketch your system — but a camera system is a design job, not a shopping basket. Here's what we actually install, how the process works from survey to handover, and honest answers to the questions we're asked every week.
Cameras that watch for people, not pixels
The heart of a modern system is AI detection: the camera analyses what it sees and only raises an alert for a person or vehicle, not a fox, a bin bag or rain across the lens. That single difference is why our customers actually keep notifications switched on. Add colour night vision — full-colour footage after dark instead of grainy grey — and the footage is finally good enough to identify clothing, vehicles and faces when it matters.
Designed around your property, not a kit box
Off-the-shelf kits fail because every property is different: sun glare on a west-facing drive, a side alley the four-camera box can't reach, Wi-Fi that dies at the garage. We survey first, then position cameras to cover the ways in — doors, drives, boundaries — with the right lens for each distance. Cable routes are planned to stay tidy: clipped externally where sensible, hidden in lofts and voids where we can.
Recording you can rely on, viewing from anywhere
Footage records locally to a recorder in your property — no cloud subscription needed to keep your evidence — sized so you keep weeks of recordings, not days. The app gives you live view, playback and clip export from your phone wherever you are, and we set every channel, notification and user up before we leave. If you want eyes on it around the clock, the system can link to our 24/7 monitoring centre.
Legal, neighbourly and insurance-friendly
Domestic CCTV is entirely legal when it's done thoughtfully: we angle cameras to cover your property rather than the neighbour's garden, fit signage where appropriate and show you how privacy masking blanks out anything a camera shouldn't record. As SSAIB-approved installers established in 1997, our installation certificates are the kind of paperwork insurers like to see.
From first call to watching your first clip
Free survey
A local engineer walks the property with you, finds the risks and blind spots, and listens to what's prompted the call.
Design & quote
You get a clear written quotation for a system designed for your building — no pressure, and finance available if you want to spread the cost.
Installation
Most homes are done in a day, larger sites in two to three. We treat cable routes and decoration with respect and tidy up behind ourselves.
Setup & handover
Cameras aimed and focused with you watching, recorder configured, app on your phones, and a walkthrough until you're confident.
Aftercare
Support from our Clacton-on-Sea office when you need it, and an annual service plan if you want the system kept at its best.
The things everyone asks about CCTV
How long does installation take?
A typical four-to-six camera home is one day. Larger houses and commercial sites usually run two to three days. We confirm the schedule on your quote so there are no surprises.
Will there be mess or redecorating?
Cabling is the craft of this trade. We plan routes at survey, use lofts, voids and external runs sensibly, lift and refit what we must, and leave rooms as we found them. You won't be repainting after us.
Do I need internet for it to work?
No — recording is local, so the system records with or without broadband. Internet is only needed for remote viewing and notifications on your phone; if your connection drops, footage keeps recording.
What happens in a power cut?
Recording pauses with the power and resumes automatically the moment it returns — no settings lost. For sites that can't afford gaps we can include battery backup as part of the design.
Can you use or extend my existing cameras?
Often, yes. We take over and repair all the major brands — Hikvision, Dahua, Swann and others — even if another company installed them. A survey tells us what's worth keeping and what's holding the system back.
How long is footage kept?
That's a design choice, not luck: we size the recorder's storage to hold the number of weeks you want, and verify the real retention on handover rather than quoting a brochure figure.
Is my footage private?
Footage lives on your recorder in your property, protected by accounts we set up with you. There's no obligatory cloud service, and remote access uses the manufacturer's secured platform — no ports left open to the internet.
Can the police actually use the footage?
Good footage convicts: 4K resolution, colour night vision and accurate time-stamps (we set and check them) are exactly what investigators ask for. We can also show you how to export clips correctly so nothing is lost.
What does it cost?
The planner above gives an honest guide price, and the survey turns that into a fixed written quotation. No callout fee, no obligation, and finance available — most customers are surprised it costs less than they feared.
Not sure what your property needs?
Book the free survey — twenty minutes with an engineer answers more than an hour of reading, and the quote is yours to think about.
Frequently asked questions
Every installation starts with a free, no-obligation site survey to plan camera positions around your property's entry points, blind spots and boundaries. The system uses 4K AI turret cameras with built-in person and vehicle detection, colour night vision and full configuration so you can view live and recorded footage remotely through one app. Cabling, mounting, recorder setup and a handover walkthrough are all part of the job.
Standard motion sensors trigger on anything that moves, including rain, foliage and passing cats, which leads to constant nuisance alerts. AI cameras analyse the image to confirm a genuine person or vehicle before notifying you, so you only get alerts that matter. This makes reviewing footage far quicker and is especially useful for driveways and front entrances across Essex and Suffolk properties.
Yes. The 4K AI turret cameras feature colour night vision, so instead of the grainy black-and-white images of older systems they capture footage in full colour even in low light. This makes it far easier to identify clothing, vehicle colours and number plates after dark, which is valuable evidence if you ever need it.
Homeview Surveillance has been established since 1997 and is both SSAIB and BAFE approved, so installations are carried out to recognised UK industry standards. For added protection your system can be linked to our 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) with police response, and our team handles ongoing support and maintenance. We also serve commercial contracts nationwide alongside domestic work in Essex and Suffolk.
Call the team on 01255 436150 or request a free, no-obligation site survey, and an engineer from our Clacton-on-Sea head office will assess your home and recommend a tailored camera layout. You'll receive a clear quote with no pressure to proceed, and finance options are available to help spread the cost. Homes throughout Essex and Suffolk, including Colchester and the surrounding areas, are covered.