Keeping the analog cameras you already have.
An older installation is money already spent, and it usually does not have to be thrown away to get modern recording, motion alerts and plate reading.
VISEC takes analog cameras through a video server (sometimes called a video encoder): a box that accepts the coaxial BNC feeds and publishes them as network streams. From the software's point of view they then behave like IP cameras. Ordinary USB cameras also work directly, alongside 99% of ONVIF IP cameras.
- Recording that is searchableMotion events instead of tapes or a timeline nobody wants to scrub.
- AlertsAn email with a snapshot when something moves, from cameras that never had it.
- One screen for old and newExisting cameras and newly added IP cameras in the same window, so an upgrade can be gradual.
- Remote viewingIncluded in the license, and it applies to the analog cameras too once they are on the network.
A video server cannot add resolution that was never captured. Analog resolution is well below 1080p, which is fine for knowing that somebody walked through a doorway and not enough to read a number plate or identify a face at distance. If plate reading is the goal, that lane needs a modern camera — everything else can stay.
- Keep what still sees what it needs toA corridor camera does not benefit from being replaced.
- Replace the cameras doing identificationEntrances, tills, gates and anywhere a plate or a face matters.
- Add where there was never coverageUsually cheaper and more useful than upgrading a camera that already works.
A 50-storey office building did exactly this: it kept 24 analog cameras and added 12 wireless IP cameras with no drilling at all — the case study.
Quick answers.
Do I need one video server per camera?
No. Video servers come with multiple inputs, so one box typically handles four, eight or sixteen analog cameras.
Will motion detection work on analog cameras?
Yes. VISEC detects motion on the stream, so it does not matter that the camera itself has no such feature.
Can I read number plates from an analog camera?
Realistically no. Plate reading needs the resolution and the lens control that analog does not offer. Put a modern camera on that lane and keep the rest.
Is it worth it, or should I start again?
If the cameras still cover what they need to, reusing them is usually far cheaper. Test it with the free one camera license on a single analog feed first.
Try it on one camera.
The free license is the complete program — recording, alerts, plate recognition, QR reading and access control. It does not expire.