Genetec Security Center is an enterprise video management platform. CCTVplanner is a free, browser-based CCTV design tool focused on camera placement, FOV visualization, and professional proposals. Different tools for different jobs — here's how they compare.
| Feature | CCTVplanner | Genetec |
|---|---|---|
| Data Residency | EU (AWS eu-west, Ireland) | Canadian HQ, US/CA cloud regions |
| Price | Free plan available | Enterprise pricing (quote-based) |
| Scope | CCTV design & planning | Unified VMS (Omnicast) + access control (Synergis) + ALPR (AutoVu) |
| Platform | Browser-based (any device) | Windows server + client |
| Camera Placement | Drag & drop on satellite/floor plans | Map-based device positioning |
| Field of View | Real-time FOV cones with distance markers | No FOV visualization |
| Floor Plans | Upload & scale PDF/images | Import floor plans into maps |
| Satellite Maps | Yes, built-in | GIS map integration |
| PDF Export | Professional proposal PDFs | Reports & dashboards |
| Storage Calculator | Built-in for any camera | Archiver-based storage management |
| Setup Time | Instant — open browser and start | Hours/days of server configuration |
| Learning Curve | Minimal — intuitive UI | Steep — certification recommended |
| Target User | Installers, integrators, consultants | Large enterprises, security operations |
No software to install. Open your browser, design your CCTV layout, and share proposals with clients — from any device, anywhere.
CCTVplanner is built specifically for camera placement and system design. FOV visualization, storage calculators, and professional PDFs — all in one tool.
Save projects to the cloud, share with team members, and access your designs from any computer. No server infrastructure needed.
Generate branded PDF proposals with camera layouts, equipment lists, and cost estimates. Win more projects with professional documentation.
Everything below is in the product today, on the free tier, and none of it needs an install. Open it in a browser and check it against Genetec on a job you already know.
No install and no workstation. Walk the site from any camera point of view, with DORI silhouettes standing at the Detect, Observe, Recognize and Identify distances so the customer sees what the camera sees. Sun and shadow study for the time of day that matters, and one-click 3D PDF export for the people who will never open a design tool.
Every cone is computed from the sensor, resolution and focal length at the mounting height (1 to 20 m) and tilt you set, then clipped by buildings, fences and real ground elevation on satellite imagery. On a flat indoor floor a 2D tool agrees with us. On a sloped yard or a sunken loading dock it does not, and that gap is exactly where the blind spots are.
Racking, containers, concrete blocks, scaffolding, solar panels, trees, and the machinery a live construction site actually parks in the shot: excavators, cranes, concrete mixers, bulldozers, vans and pickups. Each one carries real dimensions and a vertical range, and the field of view clips against it with the shadow drawn on the plan.
Stack ground floor, mezzanine, plant room and roof as separate levels. Draw walls, close rooms and read the floor area back in square metres. Cabling routes between levels, the topology graph carries across them, and each floor exports as its own DXF sheet and PDF page.
Predictive coverage for access points using ITU-R P.2040 wall transmission and a P.1238 margin, drawn as a heatmap over the same plan the cameras sit on. Point-to-point links are checked for line of sight against the buildings and terrain, so the wireless leg of the design fails on screen rather than on site.
51 specified cable types with PoE budget from loop resistance, DC voltage drop, fibre loss budget with splice and connector allowances, coax attenuation per format, speaker line loading and conduit fill. Route length is measured on the drawn route and carries straight into the bill of materials, the cable schedule and the customer offer.
The plan is validated while you draw it: DORI shortfall, blind spots, perimeter gaps, PoE budget and class escalation, cable length and category headroom, conduit bundling, fibre loss, thermal lens and pairing, EMC and environmental class, lightning protection zones, ONVIF profile mixing, NDAA compliance, bandwidth headroom and switch port capacity.
CAD-grade DXF (AutoCAD R2018 / AC1021) on named layers with BLOCK, INSERT, SPLINE, ELLIPSE, HATCH and DIMENSION preserved, inside an ISO 5457 sheet frame with an ISO 7200 title block. Multi-page PDF with bill of materials, cable schedule, equipment list, elevation views, coverage analysis, acceptance test protocol, maintenance schedule and the GDPR Article 35 DPIA worksheet.
No. Genetec Security Center is a full video management system (VMS) for live monitoring, recording, and access control. CCTVplanner is a design tool for planning camera layouts before installation. They serve different stages of a CCTV project.
Absolutely. CCTVplanner is vendor-neutral — you can design layouts for any VMS platform, including Genetec Security Center, Milestone XProtect, or any other system.
Yes. CCTVplanner offers a free plan that includes camera placement, FOV visualization, and PDF exports. Paid plans add features like team collaboration and unlimited projects.
No. CCTVplanner runs entirely in your browser. No downloads, no installations, no server setup. Just open the website and start designing.
Design your CCTV system in minutes. Free browser-based tool with FOV visualization, satellite maps, and professional PDF exports.
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