What is the field of view of ACTi A981?

The ACTi A981 has a horizontal field of view of 63° with a 4.5-135mm lens. At 10 meters distance, it covers approximately 12.3 meters width.

What is the IR range of ACTi A981?

The ACTi A981 features 250m infrared illumination range for night vision, making it suitable for long-range outdoor surveillance.

How far can ACTi A981 see clearly?

The recommended effective range of ACTi A981 is approximately 25 meters (DORI Recognize threshold, ≥125 px/m on the target). At this distance the 8.3MP (3840×2160) sensor provides enough pixel density to describe a person's actions and clothing; identify-grade detail requires roughly half this distance.

CCTVPLANNER.IO · CAMERA · ACTI

ACTi A981

PTZ Camera with 8.3MP (3840×2160) resolution, 63° field of view, and 250m IR night vision range.

NO.01

8.3MP

Resolution

NO.02

63°

Horizontal FOV

NO.03

25m

Effective Range

NO.04

250m

IR Range

SPECIFICATIONS · A981

Specifications

Resolution8.3MP (3840×2160)

Focal Length4.5-135mm

Horizontal FOV63°

Effective Range25m

IR Range250m

TypePTZ Camera

Low LightStandard

About the ACTi A981

The ACTi A981 is a pan-tilt-zoom platform giving operators the ability to follow targets, scan large areas on auto-tour, and zoom in for identification. At 8MP the camera covers more area per device while preserving enough pixels-per-meter for legal evidence quality at typical installation distances. An IR reach above 80 m is unusual for the format and is intended for highway monitoring, large industrial sites, and airport perimeters where conventional cameras would simply lose the target after dark. A standard 50–80° horizontal FOV mimics how a person sees a scene and works well for general-purpose monitoring of rooms, parking spaces, and perimeter walls without distortion.

Best use cases for this camera

Outdoor perimeter & fenceline

With 250m IR reach and 8.3MP (3840×2160) resolution, this camera covers fences, yards, and approach roads in complete darkness. Mount on poles or eaves at 4–6 m height angled slightly downward.

Large area patrol & target tracking

PTZ control enables operator-initiated tracking of suspicious activity, scheduled tours of preset positions overnight, and forensic zoom into recorded footage. Best paired with a wide-angle "overview" camera that triggers the PTZ via analytics.

Strengths

•8.3MP sensor preserves detail under digital zoom on recorded footage
•250m IR range eliminates the need for external night-time illuminators
•PTZ control enables operator-driven tracking and pre-set tours

Considerations

•PTZ cameras only see one direction at a time — pair with a fixed overview camera to avoid blind spots
•Higher resolution increases storage and bandwidth requirements proportionally — verify NVR capacity

Coverage at Different Distances

Distance	Coverage Width	Coverage Area	Use Case
5m	6.1m	31 m²	Entrance, corridor
10m	12.3m	123 m²	Room, retail aisle
15m	18.4m	276 m²	Warehouse, parking row
20m	24.5m	490 m²	Parking row, courtyard
30m	36.8m	1103 m²	Parking lot, yard
50m	61.3m	3064 m²	Perimeter, large area

Field of View Visualization

Night Vision Performance

Daytime

Full 8.3MP (3840×2160) resolution at 63° field of view. Effective identification range up to 250m in good lighting conditions.

Nighttime (IR)

Built-in IR LEDs illuminate up to 250m in complete darkness. Switches to B/W mode for clear night footage.

Installation tips for the A981

Mount above 4 m on a rigid pole or wall bracket — PTZ vibrations are amplified at low mounting heights and degrade image quality during pan operations.

Avoid mounting under direct ceiling lights or behind glass — both reflect IR back into the lens and create severe glare in the image.

Plan storage at roughly 33 GB per camera per day for continuous H.265 recording at 15fps — verify NVR has sufficient HDD bay capacity.

Coverage geometry & DORI distances

At a 5-metre standoff the ACTi A981 covers about 6.1 m of scene width; at 10 m that grows to 12.3 m, and at 20 m to 24.5 m. Translating those numbers through EN 62676-4 pixel-density thresholds, the camera can detect a person up to 125 m, observe up to 50 m, recognise up to 25 m, and produce identification-grade detail (the ≥250 px/m bar used by Polish and EU courts as evidentiary) up to 13 m. Effective range above the identify threshold relies on supplementary lighting or a longer-focal-length optic — the geometry above assumes the 4.5-135mm lens declared by the manufacturer.

Detect

125 m

Observe

50 m

Recognise

25 m

Identify

13 m

Power & cabling

The ACTi A981 draws an estimated 60.0 W under typical load (with the IR illuminator engaged where applicable), placing it in the 802.3bt Type 3 (Class 5–6, ≤60 W) budget. A single switch port supplies enough power without an injector. Cabling: stick to Cat6 STP for runs up to 80 m end-to-end — beyond that, add an inline PoE extender or move to fibre with a media converter at the camera end. On outdoor runs, route through ø25 PVC or PE conduit to keep the cable shielded from UV and rodents.

Privacy & legal (GDPR / RODO)

Any camera operating in a publicly accessible area falls under GDPR (RODO in Poland) — Art. 13 obliges the data controller to post an information sign at every entry point with controller name, DPO contact, lawful basis (typically Art. 6(1)(f) legitimate interest for property protection), purpose, and retention period. The ACTi A981's PTZ pan range can sweep into neighbouring properties or public roads; document allowed pan limits in the installation record and configure privacy masks (see ACTi's web-UI under "Privacy Mask") for any window or doorway you cannot legally surveil.

Installer time & cost (rough estimate)

A typical EU installer quotes 5–6 h of labour per ptz camera of this class (approximately €225–€275 excluding hardware), broken down as bracket mounting, cable termination at both ends, on-site commissioning, and a brief operator handover. Allow extra time for high mounts (>4 m), exterior installations requiring scaffolding, or sites where cable routing demands wall penetrations or conduit work.

Indicative EU 2024-2025 pricing — actual quotes vary by region, mounting height, and site conditions. Excludes hardware, transport, permits, and VAT.

Frequently asked questions

Is the ACTi A981 suitable for outdoor installation?

ACTi PTZ models are generally designed for outdoor use with IP66 ingress rating and -30°C to +60°C operating range. Mount on a rigid pole at ≥ 4 m to dampen wind-driven vibration that would degrade the live image during pan operations.

What PoE class powers the ACTi A981?

The camera draws roughly 60.0 W in steady-state operation, requiring a 802.3bt Type 3 (Class 5–6, ≤60 W) switch port. A single Cat6 STP cable carries both data and power up to 80 m — beyond that, add an inline extender or convert to fibre near the camera.

How much storage does the ACTi A981 consume per day?

At 8.3MP (3840×2160) resolution, 15 fps H.265 continuous recording, the A981 produces approximately 33 GB per day — about 990 GB per month. Motion-only or event-triggered recording typically cuts that by 40–70 % depending on scene activity. Plan NVR HDD capacity for the longest retention period required by your privacy policy or insurance contract.

Up to what distance can the ACTi A981 identify a person?

Per EN 62676-4:2025 pixel-density thresholds, this camera identifies (≥ 250 px/m on the target) up to about 13 m, recognises a person up to 25 m, observes general activity up to 50 m, and detects motion up to 125 m. Identification distance assumes daylight or full IR illumination on the target — at the limits of the IR cone the effective identify distance shrinks roughly 30 %.

What network bandwidth does ACTi A981 use?

Typical ingest is 12 Mbps for the main stream (H.265, medium scene complexity, 15 fps) plus ~0.5 Mbps for a low-resolution sub-stream used by mobile clients. For a 16-camera installation of this class, plan a 50–100 Mbps NVR uplink and a dedicated VLAN for camera traffic.