Reference13 min read
CCTV Camera Terminology: A Plain-English Guide to 60+ Terms
Every CCTV spec sheet, tender document, and product datasheet is loaded with acronyms — NVR, DORI, ONVIF, IK10, PoE++, WDR, ANPR. This guide defines 60+ of the terms you will actually encounter, grouped by where they appear in a real project, with links to the calculators that make each number concrete. For an A-Z lookup, see the glossary.
Why CCTV terminology matters
CCTV terminology is not vocabulary trivia — every term on a spec sheet is a contractual claim. A camera labelled IK10 / IP67 / ONVIF Profile T / PoE+ / 4 MP / DORI Identify 22 m is making seven separate promises about impact resistance, water ingress, interoperability, power consumption, sensor resolution, and effective identification range. Read one of those wrong in a tender and you either overspend by thousands or fail compliance.
Public-sector and infrastructure tenders increasingly reference EN 62676-4 (operational requirements for video surveillance), NDAA §889 (banned vendors in US federal projects), and GDPR (data protection in the EU). Each of those documents uses precise terminology — DORI levels, FIPS 140-2 cryptography, retention periods — that only makes sense if you know what each acronym maps to in a physical camera. This guide gives you the working vocabulary; the linked calculators turn the vocabulary into numbers.
Camera body terms
The body form factor determines where the camera can be mounted, how vandal-resistant it is, and how it handles infrared at night. Browse all body types in the camera catalog.
Bullet camera. Cylindrical body with an integrated sunshield, usually wall-mounted and pointed in one fixed direction. Best for perimeters, car parks, and long corridors where the deterrent effect of a visible camera is wanted.
Dome camera. Half-sphere housing where the lens is hidden behind a tinted bubble. Discreet, suitable for ceilings, but has an inherent blind cone directly underneath the dome.
Turret camera (also called eyeball or flat-face). Ball-and-socket design with the lens exposed on a flat face. Eliminates IR bounce-back that domes suffer from at night and is easier to aim than a dome.
PTZ camera (Pan-Tilt-Zoom). Motorised camera that rotates 360°, tilts up to 90°, and zooms optically. Used for active monitoring and large open areas; requires PoE+ or PoE++ for the motors and heaters.
Fisheye camera. Single-sensor camera with a 180° or 360° lens, mounted on a ceiling to cover a whole room from one point. Image is dewarped in the NVR or VMS into virtual PTZ views.
Box camera. Rectangular body with no integrated lens — the installer chooses and mounts a separate CS-mount or M12 lens. Used in broadcast, specialist long-range applications, and where the exact focal length must be fine-tuned on site.
Multi-sensor / panoramic camera. Two to four imagers in one housing, each with its own lens, stitched into a wide panoramic image. Single network drop covers what previously needed three or four bullets.
Optics terms
Optics determine the geometry of the image: how wide the view is, how much detail lands on each metre of the scene, and how the camera handles changing light. The FOV calculator turns these numbers into actual coverage on a floor plan.
Focal length. The distance in millimetres between the lens and the sensor when focused at infinity. Short focal length (2.8 mm) = wide angle; long focal length (12 mm and up) = telephoto. Covered in depth in
field of view explained.
FOV (Field of View). The angle, in degrees, that the camera can see horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Depends on focal length and sensor size.
Varifocal lens. A lens with a manually adjustable focal length (e.g. 2.8–12 mm). Lets the installer tune FOV on site without swapping hardware.
Motorised zoom. Varifocal lens with a motor, adjustable remotely from the NVR or web interface. No ladder required to re-aim.
Iris. The aperture inside the lens that controls how much light reaches the sensor. Smaller f-number = larger opening = brighter image.
F-stop (f-number). Ratio of focal length to aperture diameter (e.g. f/1.4, f/2.0). A camera with f/1.0 lets in roughly twice the light of one with f/1.4 — important for low-light performance.
Lens mount. Mechanical interface between lens and camera body. CS-mount (12.5 mm flange) is standard on box cameras; M12 (also called S-mount or board lens) is used on small bullets and domes.
Auto-iris. Iris that opens and closes automatically based on scene brightness. Driven by a DC or video signal from the camera.
P-iris (Precise iris). Software-controlled iris that holds the optimum aperture for sharpness across the full depth of field. Reduces over-exposure in bright scenes and is preferred for licence-plate capture.
Sensor & image terms
The sensor decides how many pixels you have to work with and how well the camera copes with low light and high contrast. These terms drive low-light and backlit-scene performance.
CMOS sensor. Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor image sensor — the type used in all modern IP cameras. Replaced CCD sensors a decade ago.
Sensor size. Physical diagonal of the imaging chip, expressed as a fraction of an inch (1/3", 1/2.8", 1/2", 1/1.8"). Larger sensors collect more light per pixel and perform better at night.
Megapixel (MP). Total number of sensor pixels in millions. 2 MP = 1080p, 4 MP = 2K, 8 MP = 4K, 12 MP = 4000p.
Lux. Unit of illuminance. 0.1 lux = full moonlight, 1 lux = dim corridor, 100 lux = office, 10 000 lux = overcast day. A camera spec lists minimum lux for colour and for B/W.
WDR (Wide Dynamic Range). Technique that combines multiple exposures so both the bright sky and the dark interior of an entrance are usable in one image. Specified in dB — 120 dB or higher is considered "true WDR".
BLC (Backlight Compensation). Older, simpler trick than WDR. Boosts the darker foreground at the expense of blowing out the background.
HLC (Highlight Compensation). Masks bright spots (e.g. car headlights) so the rest of the scene remains visible. Common on number-plate cameras.
IR cut filter. Mechanical filter that blocks infrared during the day (so colours render correctly) and slides out at night so the IR LEDs can illuminate the scene.
Day/Night mode. The transition between colour daytime imaging and monochrome IR-illuminated night imaging, triggered by the IR-cut filter.
Starlight. Marketing term for sensors that produce usable colour images down to roughly 0.005 lux — moonless night conditions.
ColorVu / DarkFighter / WizColor. Vendor-specific (Hikvision, Dahua, Hikvision-OEM) low-light technologies that combine large-aperture lenses, large pixels, and supplementary white-light LEDs to keep colour at night instead of switching to B/W.
Resolution & video terms
Resolution and codec choices drive bandwidth, storage, and image clarity. Use the bandwidth calculator to convert these into Mbit/s.
1080p (Full HD). 1920 × 1080 pixels, roughly 2 megapixels. Still the most common resolution for general surveillance.
4K (UHD). 3840 × 2160 pixels, roughly 8 megapixels. Four times the pixel count of 1080p and the practical maximum before bandwidth becomes painful.
8K. 7680 × 4320 pixels, 32 megapixels. Used in stadiums and large transport hubs; almost always paired with smart codec to keep storage realistic.
H.264 (AVC). The dominant video codec since 2010. Good compression, universal support, large bitrates.
H.265 (HEVC). Successor to H.264 — roughly 50% smaller files at the same quality. Standard on new IP cameras.
H.265+ / H.264+ / Smart codec. Vendor extensions that dynamically reduce bitrate on static regions (empty corridors, sky) while keeping detail on moving objects. Typical savings of 60–80% on idle scenes.
Bitrate. Data rate of the video stream, in kilobits or megabits per second. Direct multiplier for storage and bandwidth.
CBR (Constant Bitrate). Fixed data rate regardless of scene complexity. Predictable storage but wastes bits on empty scenes.
VBR (Variable Bitrate). Data rate floats with scene activity. Better quality-per-byte but harder to size storage exactly.
fps (frames per second). How many images per second the camera produces. 12–15 fps is the typical sweet spot for general surveillance; 25–30 fps is reserved for fast-moving subjects (gaming floors, sports, traffic).
Network & power terms
Modern CCTV is IP-based, runs over the same cabling as the rest of the network, and is powered through that same cable. These terms appear on every datasheet and tender.
IP camera. Camera that outputs a digital stream over an Ethernet network instead of analog coax. The default for all new installations.
ONVIF. Open Network Video Interface Forum — the interoperability standard. Profile S = streaming, Profile G = recording, Profile T = advanced streaming and analytics, Profile M = metadata for AI.
RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol). Standard control protocol for live video streams. The URL string an NVR uses to pull video from a camera.
RTMP. Real-Time Messaging Protocol — older streaming protocol, mostly used for re-streaming to social platforms and live broadcast.
PoE (802.3af). Power over Ethernet — up to 15.4 W per port, delivers both power and data over a single Cat5e/Cat6 cable. Powers most fixed cameras.
PoE+ (802.3at). Up to 30 W per port. Powers small PTZ cameras, cameras with heaters, and IR-equipped bullets.
PoE++ (802.3bt). Up to 60 W (Type 3) or 90 W (Type 4) per port. Used for high-power PTZ, multi-sensor panoramic, and edge-AI cameras.
NDAA. US National Defense Authorization Act §889 bans federal use of cameras from listed Chinese vendors. See the
NDAA compliance guide.
FCC Covered List. Federal Communications Commission list of equipment deemed a national security risk. Overlaps heavily with NDAA §889 vendors.
802.1X. Port-based network authentication. Cameras must present credentials before the switch grants them a network connection — required on enterprise networks.
TLS (Transport Layer Security). Encrypts the management connection between camera, NVR, and VMS. Replaces older SSL.
SRTP (Secure RTP). Encrypted version of the RTP video stream. Prevents man-in-the-middle interception of live footage.
Storage terms
Where the footage lives, how long it lives, and how resilient that storage is. Size your needs with the storage calculator.
NVR (Network Video Recorder). Records IP camera streams over the LAN, usually with built-in PoE switch ports.
DVR (Digital Video Recorder). Records analog or HD-over-coax cameras connected by coaxial cable. Legacy or coax-retrofit only.
HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Spinning magnetic storage. Surveillance-rated HDDs (WD Purple, Seagate SkyHawk) are tuned for 24/7 write loads.
SSD (Solid State Drive). Flash storage. Fast, silent, and shock-resistant — used for cache, OS, and short-retention high-fps recording.
NAS (Network Attached Storage). Dedicated storage appliance on the network. Lets multiple NVRs and VMS servers share a common storage pool.
RAID 1. Two drives mirrored. Half the usable capacity, survives one drive failure.
RAID 5. Three or more drives with one parity drive. Survives one drive failure.
RAID 6. Four or more drives with two parity drives. Survives two simultaneous drive failures — recommended for surveillance where rebuild times are long.
Retention period. How long footage is kept before being overwritten. Typical values: 14 days (retail), 30 days (commercial), 90 days (critical infrastructure). Often legally mandated.
Edge storage. Recording onto an SD card inside the camera itself. Provides redundancy if the NVR or network fails.
Cloud storage. Footage uploaded to a remote service. Eliminates on-site recorders but multiplies bandwidth costs.
Standards & ratings
The certifications and standards listed on a datasheet are what tender evaluators check first. Use the EN 62676-4 calculator to verify a design against the European operational standard.
IP66. Ingress Protection rating — totally dust-tight and protected against powerful water jets. Standard for outdoor cameras.
IP67. Dust-tight and protected against temporary immersion in water up to 1 m. Required for cameras in genuinely wet environments.
IK08. Impact resistance — survives a 5 J impact (1.7 kg dropped from 30 cm). Suitable for most commercial environments.
IK10. The top impact rating — survives 20 J (5 kg dropped from 40 cm). Specified for schools, prisons, and public transport.
EN 62676-4. European standard defining operational requirements for video surveillance: image quality, DORI levels, retention, and chain of custody.
DORI. Detect (25 PPM), Observe (62 PPM), Recognize (125 PPM), Identify (250 PPM). Defined in EN 62676-4. Deep dive in
DORI in CCTV; live numbers in the
DORI calculator.
OODPCVS. Operational Output for Different Purposes of CCTV Video Surveillance — the Russian/CIS equivalent of DORI. Compute it in the
OODPCVS calculator.
NDAA §889. Section 889 of the US National Defense Authorization Act — bans federal contractors from using cameras from listed Chinese vendors. See the
NDAA compliance guide.
FIPS 140-2. US cryptographic module standard. Required on cameras and recorders in federal and DoD networks.
GDPR. EU General Data Protection Regulation. Drives retention limits, signage requirements, masking of private areas, and subject access rights.
Design & analytics terms
Modern cameras do more than record — they extract structured events from the video. These terms drive the analytics column on a tender response.
Pixel density (PPM / PPF). Pixels per metre or pixels per foot of the scene. The single most important number for predicting whether a camera will detect, recognize, or identify a person. Run live values in the
pixel density calculator.
Line crossing detection. Analytic that triggers when a person or vehicle crosses a virtual line in the scene. Used for perimeter alarming and counting directional flow.
Region / zone detection. Trigger when an object enters, leaves, or remains in a polygon. Used for intrusion zones, loading bays, and prohibited areas.
AI person / vehicle detection. Deep-learning filter that classifies the moving object as a person or a vehicle, eliminating the false alarms from foliage, shadows, and animals that plagued older motion detection.
ANPR / LPR. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (UK) / Licence Plate Recognition (US). Extracts the plate string from the image — requires roughly 100 PPM on the plate and an HLC-capable sensor.
Heatmap. Visualisation that aggregates motion over time and colours the scene by activity intensity. Used in retail to study dwell zones.
People counting. Analytic that counts entries and exits across a virtual line, usually with separate in/out totals. Often integrated with retail and capacity-control systems.
Loitering detection. Triggers when a person remains in a zone for longer than a configured threshold. Used in ATMs, building lobbies, and high-value retail.
Where each term applies in a real project
Terms only matter when they map to a decision. Here is where each group of terminology becomes a concrete choice in a CCTV project — and the calculator that turns it into a number.
Body and optics are decided first — bullet for perimeter, dome or turret for ceilings, PTZ for active monitoring, fisheye for whole-room single-point coverage. Once the body is chosen, the lens (focal length, varifocal range, iris type) decides the field of view. Convert focal length to coverage with the FOV calculator, and read more in field of view explained.
Sensor and image terms drive how the camera performs at night and against backlight. Match starlight, ColorVu, or WDR specs to the actual lux conditions at each camera position — an entrance gets WDR, a dark loading bay gets starlight, a covered car park gets IR illumination.
Resolution, codec, and fps together determine bandwidth and storage. The bandwidth calculator converts H.265 vs H.264 at a given resolution and frame rate into Mbit/s, and the storage calculator turns that into TB for your retention period.
Network and power terms apply at the switch and wiring level. Total up the PoE budget across all cameras — a PTZ on PoE+ plus an edge-AI multi-sensor on PoE++ can saturate a small switch faster than expected. NDAA, FCC Covered List, 802.1X, and TLS are tender-stage filters that exclude or qualify entire product families before pricing is even compared.
Standards and ratings are pass/fail items. An outdoor camera that is only IP65 fails a perimeter tender that specifies IP66. A camera in a school corridor that is only IK08 fails an IK10 spec. EN 62676-4 compliance is verified end-to-end in the EN 62676-4 calculator, and DORI-specific values in the DORI calculator.
Analytics terms become a checklist on the camera license sheet. Line crossing and AI person/vehicle detection are now standard on most mid-range IP cameras; ANPR/LPR usually needs a dedicated camera with HLC and a specific frame rate. Pixel density on the analytic target governs whether it will actually work — use the pixel density calculator to verify each analytic zone before specifying it.
Bring every one of these decisions onto a single floor plan with the CCTV design tool. Camera bodies are picked from the catalog, focal length sets the FOV cone live, DORI bands draw automatically, bandwidth and storage update as you place each camera, and the tender-relevant ratings (IP, IK, NDAA, ONVIF profile) appear in the bill of materials.
