Author: Mike Haldas

Mike Haldas is the co-founder and managing partner of CCTV Camera Pros. Mike works on product research and development for the company. Before starting CCTV Camera Pros, Mike worked as a software engineer in the web hosting industry. CCTV Camera Pros is a veteran owned business as Mike proudly served in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) from 1993 to 1997. Mike can be contacted for questions about this article and anything related to video surveillance systems at mike@cctvcamerapros.net.

Raspberry Pi PIR Motion Detection Push Notifications

How to Send Raspberry Pi Push Notifications Triggered by PIR Motion Detector

Posted on March 12, 2015September 9, 2019 by Mike Haldas

Here is a simple Raspberry Pi project that uses a burglar alarm PIR motion sensor to trigger a mobile push notifications to iOS or Android apps. I use a mobile push service called Pushover that I found to be very reliable. I also use an LED that lights up when motion is detected.

What is AHD CCTV? Analog 960h vs 720p, 960h vs 1080p HD Cameras

Posted on March 5, 2015November 13, 2023 by Mike Haldas

AHD stands for “analog high definition”, it is a new video standard for CCTV cameras and DVRs. This article compares these analog and AHD surveillance video resolutions: 960H vs 720p, 960H vs 1080p.

Send Security Alarm Push Notifications from any CCTV DVR or IP Camera

Posted on March 4, 2015August 17, 2016 by Mike Haldas

If your CCTV DVR or network IP camera supports email alerts, then you can also send push notification messages to

smoke detector hidden camera installation

How to Install a Hidden Smoke Detector Security Camera

Posted on February 25, 2015February 27, 2015 by Mike Haldas

The HCPRO-SD380 smoke detector security camera works great in hidden video surveillance type installations. CCTV Camera Pros has supplied this camera to businesses and homeowners that require a convert camera to monitor different types of situations. This camera has been successful in monitoring cash registers to track theft, sensitive areas of business operations that contain valuable property, and as a home nanny cam to watch what is going on inside your home while you are away.

how to attach crimp-on f connectors to RG59 coax cable

How to Attach a Crimp-on F Connector to RG59 Coaxial Cable

Posted on January 15, 2015February 21, 2018 by Mike Haldas

Using crimp-on style F connectors with BNC screw on connectors is a popular method or preparing RG59 coax cable for CCTV system installations. This post contains step-by-step instructions, images, and a video that teaches how it is done.

How to Enable Power Over Ethernet on Raspberry Pi

Posted on December 23, 2014September 9, 2019 by Mike Haldas

You can enable Power over Ethernet for Raspberry Pi by using a passive PoE injector / splitter system, and the best news is that they are very inexpensive. CCTV Camera Pros supplies them for $6.99 at the time of this writing.

View Surveillance Cameras with Apple TV or Chromecast

How to use Apple TV or Chromecast to View Surveillance Cameras

Posted on December 17, 2014December 19, 2014 by Mike Haldas

Most surveillance system owners want a convenient way to view the live video from their security cameras on a TV. Apple TV and Google Chromecast provide an convenient wireless alternative to hard wiring a spot monitor output to a television or monitor.

How to setup a Raspberry Pi Video Streaming Server in 5 Minutes

Posted on December 5, 2014June 11, 2019 by Mike Haldas

Here is a super easy way to setup video streaming on Raspberry Pi so that you can access live video from iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac. The best part is that it actually takes less than 5 minutes to setup.

Compare 2 Megapixel vs 5 Megapixel IP Security Camera Resolution

Posted on December 4, 2014September 9, 2019 by Mike Haldas

Want to compare 2 megapixel to 5 megapixel IP security camera resolution? Here is a quick blog post that contains surveillance snapshot images that we captured at CCTV Camera Pros office to show you the difference.

Raspberry Pi Twitter Project: Push Button, Camera Capture, Tweet Photo

Posted on December 3, 2014September 9, 2019 by Mike Haldas

In this project, I program my Raspberry Pi (using Python) to take a picture using a Pi camera, then share the photo via Twitter when a button is pressed. I use the Twython python library to integrate with the Twitter API.

CCTV camera with PIR Motion Sensor Light and Alarm Relay

CCTV Camera with PIR Motion Detector Light and Alarm Relays

Posted on November 24, 2014September 10, 2019 by Mike Haldas

The PIR-BL7 is a CCTV camera with PIR motion detector lights and alarm relay input and outputs. A few months ago, I began testing the PIR-BL7 CCTV camera. I was really excited, as I always get when I am testing out a new product that has some unique feature or ability that make it special. This camera has several features that make it special: built in PIR motion sensor, 30 white LEDs make up a security light, and alarm relay output / alarm inputs.

time lapse video ip security camera free software

Create a Time Lapse Movie with an IP Security Camera and Free Video Software

Posted on November 13, 2014September 9, 2019 by Mike Haldas

This article explains how to use a IP security camera and free open source video editing software to create a

Raspberry Pi Send Photo to Mobile via MMS Message

Send Security Camera Photos from Raspberry Pi via MMS Text Message

Posted on November 4, 2014June 11, 2019 by Mike Haldas

This project demonstrates how to setup Raspberry Pi as a security camera system that can take a photo snapshot send

CCTV DVR Push Notifications using Raspberry Pi

Posted on October 23, 2014June 11, 2019 by Mike Haldas

This goal of this article is to document how to enable mobile push notifications on any CCTV DVR using Raspberry

How to Send Push Notifications from Raspberry Pi

Posted on October 17, 2014June 11, 2019 by Mike Haldas

This project demonstrates how to send push notifications from Raspberry Pi to iOS and Android devices using a free push app. The idea is to trigger the event of sending the push message with a magnetic door sensor. When the door opens, the Raspberry Pi sends the message.

What is the best BNC connector type?

Posted on September 24, 2014August 29, 2019 by Mike Haldas

What is the best BNC connector type? This article will discuss some of the most popular options that are available and present videos on how to connect different types of BNC connectors to RG6 and RG59 coax cable.

The Best iPhone Apps to View CCTV Cameras

Posted on July 28, 2014August 28, 2019 by Mike Haldas

What is the best iPhone app to view CCTV cameras remotely over the Internet? Mike Haldas, co-founder of CCTV Camera Pros, reviews the apps that he most recommends to iOS users that enable remote security camera viewing and video playback.

Android CCTV App with PTZ Camera Controls

Posted on July 22, 2014February 5, 2019 by Mike Haldas

The Android app for iDVR-PRO CCTV DVRs supports pan tilt zoom controls for PTZ cameras. The PTZ controls from the mobile app work over WIFI and cellular connections (3G, 4G, LTE). The app supports all iDVR-PRO model surveillance DVRs, which currently come in 4, 8, and 16 channel models. The app allows users to view the cameras connected to the DVR in single, four, nine, and sixteen camera grid view on one screen. To control a PTZ camera, the user must switch to that camera in single camera mode, then tap on the screen and select the PTZ controls. Once selected, the PTZ controls for up, down, left right, zoom in, and zoom out appear.

iPhone App with PTZ Camera Controls

Posted on July 22, 2014August 30, 2019 by Mike Haldas

The iPhone app that is included with iDVR-PRO surveillance DVRs from CCTV Camera Pros has outstanding support for PTZ cameras. Users can control PTZ cameras from the iOS app, which works with iPhone, iPad, and iTouch devices from Apple. The Android app also supports controlling PTZ cameras. The pan tilt zoom controls work over WIFI and cellular networks (3G, 4G, LTE, etc.), so users can access their camera and control movement on the local network where the camera and DVR is located or from remotely over the Internet.

What is 960H video?

Posted on June 30, 2014May 18, 2015 by Mike Haldas

960H is the latest video resolution used by analog CCTV camera surveillance systems. The “H” in 960H stands for “horizontal” and 960 is the number of horizontal pixels in the video resolution. 960H is 960 x 480 video resolution. Unlike the generation of CCTV cameras and DVRs before 960H became a standard, 960H uses the 16:9 widescreen aspect ration which makes it more suitable for use with modern monitors and HDTV, almost all of which use a 16:9 aspect ratio.

View Security Cameras from Android App

Posted on June 20, 2014August 28, 2019 by Mike Haldas

The iDVR-PRO Viewer App for Android lets uses view all of the security cameras connected to any iDVR-PRO surveillance DVR from any Android mobile or tablet device. Users can view their security cameras in single, four, eight, nine, and sixteen camera grid views. The app works in landscape mode to take advantage of the 960H widescreen CCTV format supported by the latest iDVR-PRO models.

View CCTV Security Cameras from Mac Software with iDVR-PRO

Posted on June 15, 2014June 15, 2014 by Mike Haldas

The Mac software for iDVR-PRO lets users view the CCTV cameras connected to iDVR-PRO surveillance DVRs from any Macintosh computer. All iDVR-PRO model recorders works with this viewer software and users can configure multiple DVR locations to be monitored. If you are a business owners with multiple locations, the iDVR-PRO software lets you view cameras from multiple locations on a single screen.

Remote Digital Input / Output Sensor Controls using iCamViewer Mobile App

Posted on April 8, 2014September 9, 2019 by Mike Haldas

I recently finished a project where I integrated the digital output / sensor controls of Zavio IP cameras with the iCamViewer mobile app for iOS and Android. In the project, I tested turning a light on and off from remotely over the Internet using the app.