Commercial Security
Camera Buyer's Guide

The Most Important Decision: Proprietary vs. Open Systems

Before any other spec matters, you need to decide between a proprietary system and an open, non-proprietary system. This decision affects everything downstream — hardware choices, monthly costs, future flexibility, and who controls your security infrastructure.

For most commercial properties, open systems are significantly more cost-effective over a 3–5 year horizon. The upfront hardware cost is often similar, but the absence of monthly monitoring fees — typically $30–$150/month for proprietary systems — results in substantial savings. Thor Secure installs open systems exclusively.

Camera Types Explained

Bullet Cameras

Cylindrical, fixed-direction cameras. Best for covering a specific area with high visibility — entry points, parking lots, loading docks. Their visible profile deters behavior. Not ideal for wide-angle coverage or areas where aesthetics matter.

Dome Cameras

Ceiling-mounted with a 360° vandal-resistant housing. Best for indoor retail, lobbies, and areas requiring discreet coverage. The dome housing makes the camera direction less obvious to those being observed.

PTZ Cameras (Pan-Tilt-Zoom)

Motorized cameras capable of remote-controlled panning, tilting, and optical zoom. Best for large open areas — warehouses, parking facilities, event spaces — where an operator may need to track activity. Higher cost; requires management to be useful.

License Plate Recognition (LPR) Cameras

Specialized cameras optimized for reading license plates at vehicle entry/exit points. Require specific placement and lighting configuration. Standard cameras will not reliably capture license plates — if plate capture is a requirement, purpose-built LPR cameras are necessary.

Fisheye / 360° Cameras

Wide-angle cameras covering a full 360° view from a single mounting point. Best for open interior spaces where a single camera can cover an entire room. Image quality at the edges is lower than directional cameras.

Resolution

Resolution	Best For	Storage Impact
1080p HD	General coverage, interiors, small areas	Moderate
4MP / 5MP	Detail-critical areas, larger spaces	Higher
4K (8MP)	Wide areas requiring digital zoom, license plates	High — requires larger storage

Higher resolution is not always better. More cameras covering an area properly outperform fewer high-resolution cameras with coverage gaps. Resolution also significantly increases storage requirements and NVR processing load.

NVR vs. DVR

DVR (Digital Video Recorder) systems use analog cameras connected via coaxial cable. Still appropriate if your building has existing coaxial infrastructure that would be expensive to replace.

NVR (Network Video Recorder) systems use IP cameras over ethernet or Wi-Fi. Support higher resolutions, easier scalability, remote access, and more flexible camera placement. For new installations, NVR is almost always the better choice.

Storage and Retention

Storage requirements depend on the number of cameras, resolution, frame rate, and whether you're using continuous recording or motion-triggered recording. General guidelines:

• A 1080p camera recording continuously at 15fps requires approximately 15–20 GB per day
• A 4K camera recording continuously requires 60–80 GB per day
• Motion-triggered recording can reduce storage use by 60–80% in lower-traffic environments
• Most insurers require a minimum of 30 days retention; many commercial policies specify 60–90 days

We size storage during the assessment based on your camera count, resolution configuration, retention requirements, and insurance compliance needs.

Total Cost of Ownership: 5-Year Comparison

Cost Category	Proprietary System	Open System (Thor Secure)
Hardware & Installation	$1,500–$4,000	$1,500–$4,000
Monthly Monitoring (60mo)	$2,400–$9,000	$0
Service Calls	Often contract-required	As needed, no contract
Camera Expansion	Vendor-only hardware	Any compatible brand
5-Year Total (estimate)	$4,000–$13,000+	$1,500–$4,500

Questions to Ask Any Installer

• Is this hardware proprietary to your monitoring service?
• If I cancel service, does my system continue to function?
• Can I add cameras from a different manufacturer?
• Who owns the footage — me or you?
• Is there a monitoring contract required?
• What storage capacity is included and what is the retention period?
• Do you provide a written system specification before installation?
• What happens to my system if your company is acquired or closes?

Getting a Site Assessment

Every commercial camera installation we do begins with a free on-site assessment. We walk your property, identify coverage gaps, and design a system to your specific requirements with a transparent, itemized quote. No obligation to proceed. Contact us to schedule.