Connecting CCTV Camera to TV Without DVR
Analog closed-circuit television camera systems come with a DVR (digital video recorder) most of the time. A DVR is a box-shaped device with ports at the back where you can connect all CCTVs you have in a given space and control them centrally.
A DVR is also used to relay camera footage to monitors or display screens; some even have storage so that the footage can be retrieved and reviewed later.
However, what if you only bought a single camera and you don’t have money for a DVR, but you need to watch what your camera is recording?
In such an instance, your best bet is to connect your closed-circuit television camera to your analog or smart TV using whichever cable connects to the camera, whether composite or VGA.
You can also connect a CCTV to a TV using an HDMI cable, albeit you need adapters to establish this connection. Let’s look at three methods showing how to do this.
Connect Using AV Cable
- The first thing you should do is switch off your CCTV security camera. To do this, you need to disconnect it from power completely, yank the cable dangling from the back of the CCTV camera and switch off the socket to which it’s connected.
- Next, switch off your TV and disconnect the socket to which it’s connected.
- The AV method of connecting CCTV security cameras to TV is one of the most basic. All you need is an RCA adapter which you’ll connect to a BNC cable connected to your camera. Then, connect the opposite end of the converter to your TV.
- You can get RCA adapters or connectors in virtually all electronic stores, including online shopping platforms like Amazon. The limitation of using an RCA converter is that you can’t get HD footage, so if you want HD-quality footage, this isn’t the method for you.
- Now reconnect the camera to power and switch on the outlet to which it’s connected. If you see a light blinking at the front of the camera, it’s switched on.
- Then, switch on your TV, press the remote’s input button, and click on the highlighted option. Now, you can watch what is being live-streamed by your CCTV camera.
Unfortunately, when you use this method to connect to a TV, you can only live stream what the camera is recording at that moment; you can’t record anything. To record any footage captured by the camera, you need a DVR or NVR unit.
Connect Using HDMI Cable
- The first thing you should do is switch off your CCTV security camera. To do this, you need to disconnect it from power completely.
- Next, switch off your TV and disconnect the socket to which it’s connected.
- Connect the HDMI on one end to the converter and the other end to your TV. Like RCA adapters, BNC to HDMI converters are available in virtually all electronics stores.
Remember that you can connect a CCTV security camera to a TV using an HDMI to DVI cable. However, you should note that this cable can’t transmit audio, meaning you need to get a DVI to HDMI adapter/converter to hear sound.
Connect Using VGA Cable
The third method to connect a CCTV security camera to a TV is using a VGA cable. However, for this method, you need a camera that supports AV-out or VGA-out as opposed to BNC or DVI.
AV-out or VGA-out is what you’ll find in some cameras, and if you’re unsure of the type of port on your camera, check the owner’s manual or Google it.
Most CCTV security cameras have a BNC video connector and an RCA audio connector.
- To connect, you need an RCA cable for audio (2 RCA male to one RCA male) and a VGA cable (one VGA to one VGA). You’ll connect the VGA cable on one end to the camera and the other to your TV, then connect the single RCA male to the camera and the two RCA males to your TV.
- When you press input on your TV remote, you should see a highlighted option; click that to start watching what your CCTV security camera is recording.
In conclusion, connecting a closed-circuit television camera to a TV is relatively straightforward. You need to know which port is on the camera, composite or RCA, so you can know whether you need to buy adapters to make the connection work.
Otherwise, you should be able to connect to TV and Livestream as the camera records directly.
See Also
Follow us