Can I Use CCTV Security Cameras with Different TVL Resolutions with my DVR?

Can I use security cameras with different TVL resolutions with my existing surveillance DVR?

This is a question that I received recently from a customer. This is the response that I documented.

Yes, it is possible to use CCTV cameras with different television lines of resolution (TVL) resolution on the same DVR as long as the video format of all of the cameras is supported by your DVR.

When TVL is used to describe the video resolution of security cameras, most of the time people are referring to analog CCTV cameras. HD security camera resolutions, on the other hand, are more commonly referred to as 720p, 1080p, 2 megapixel, 3 megapixel, 5 megapixel, etc.

If you have an analog CCTV DVR, you can use analog cameras of any resolution with the DVR. The most common analog resolutions are D1 (704 x 480 pixels) and 960H (960 x 480). These camera resolutions may also be references as 700 TVL, 800 TVL, or 1000 TVL.

For your information, there are now hybrid DVRs that support the older analog CCTV cameras and the latest HD over coax type cameras. This allows users to use their existing analog cameras and upgrade to HD cameras over time without needing to replace their DVR. You can learn more about hybrid CCTV / HD security camera DVRs here.