Can my existing CCTV cables be reused?

Often, yes, and it is where most of the saving in an upgrade comes from. Coaxial cable from an older analogue system can frequently carry a modern IP system with the right conversion at each end, and structured cable may be directly reusable. We test the runs rather than assuming, because condition varies and cable that has sat in a damp external duct for years is a different proposition to cable in a dry loft.

Why is upgrading cheaper than a new system?

Because on a solid-wall property the cable is the expensive part of the original job, not the cameras. Getting a run from the recorder up through a loft and down through a wall with no cavity is the slow, skilled work. If a previous installer already solved that, the solution retains its value even when everything attached to it is obsolete, and the walls stay shut.

Do I need new cameras or just a new recorder?

It depends on the complaint. If it is about storage, playback speed, remote access or channel count, replacing the recorder alone often fixes it for a fraction of a full system. If the picture is acceptable in daylight and useless after dark, that is usually a camera-end problem, since infrared illuminators degrade and housings and domes cloud with age. We establish which at the survey.

My landlord fitted CCTV at my rental. Is it compliant?

Budget systems fitted to rental property commonly fail on the same points: cameras mounted low enough to reach, the recorder sitting in a communal space where anyone can access footage, no retention period set, and no signage or tenant documentation. Recording in shared spaces without those things does not meet the obligations that come with it, so it is a compliance issue as much as a security one.

Can you get me off a monthly subscription?

Yes, that is a common reason for an upgrade. A hardwired system records to a recorder in the building, so there is no cloud plan to renew and no features sitting behind a higher tier. Remote viewing runs over your own broadband. Before comparing against a low upfront subscription price, work the monthly figure out across the years you expect to keep the system.

What will the picture actually look like afterwards?

That depends on lens and distance more than on the headline resolution figure. We specify each camera for what it needs to prove at its actual distance, whether that is identifying a face at a doorway or reading a plate at a gate, and tell you at the proposal stage what each position will deliver rather than quoting a resolution number and leaving you to hope.

CCTV Upgrades in Nottingham

Upgrading an existing Nottingham system is often much cheaper than a fresh install, because the expensive part of the original job was getting cable through the building and that work does not need doing twice. We survey what you have before quoting to replace any of it.

By the Doberman install team · CCTV system designers & installers, Leicester · Last reviewed August 2026

By the Doberman install team

CCTV system designers & installers, Leicester

Last reviewed August 2026

What you get

Survey of the existing system
We test what is actually there: cable type and condition, recorder capability, camera specification, and whether the existing runs can carry a modern system.
A reuse-first proposal
Where existing cable is sound we reuse it. Where it genuinely cannot carry what you need we say so and price the replacement run separately, so you can see what you are paying for.
Staged or full replacement
Cameras, recorder, or both. A recorder-only upgrade is sometimes the whole fix, and we will tell you when that is the case rather than selling a full system.
Commissioning and handover
Night testing, app reconfiguration, retention settings, and a walkthrough of what has changed.

How it works

Survey

We test the existing installation rather than looking at it. From Leicester that is three quarters of an hour to fifty minutes, depending which side of Nottingham you are on.

Proposal

What can be reused, what needs replacing, what it will cost, and what the picture will actually look like afterwards. Fixed price.

Upgrade

Swap-out, recabling only where necessary, recorder setup, network configuration and night commissioning.

Why reusing cable matters more in Nottingham than most places

On a solid-wall property the cable is the job, and that describes most of the older stock through Sneinton, Radford, Lenton and Sherwood, along with the converted nineteenth-century buildings around the Lace Market and Hockley. Getting a run from a recorder position up through a loft and back down through the fabric of a building with no cavity is the slow, skilled part of the work; hanging a camera on the end of it is quick. That is why a fresh install in a Radford terrace costs more than the same cameras on a Clifton or Bilborough semi, and it is also why upgrading an existing system in one is disproportionately good value.

If a previous installer already solved the routing problem, that solution has value even if everything attached to it is obsolete. Coaxial cable run for an older analogue system can often carry a modern IP system with the right conversion at each end, and where the original installer used structured cable it may be directly reusable. Either way the walls stay shut. We test the runs rather than assuming, because condition varies and a cable that has been sitting in a damp external duct for fifteen years is a different proposition to one in a dry loft.

The honest exception is when reuse is a false economy. If the existing run is undersized, damaged, or routed somewhere that made sense for a camera position you no longer want, replacing it is the right answer and we will say so. What we will not do is quietly quote a full recable because it is simpler to price.

The two systems we are usually asked to replace here

The first is ageing analogue in older commercial premises, and in this city that means the converted industrial buildings around the Lace Market and Hockley, the independent retail along Beeston High Road, Arnold Front Street and Bulwell Market Place, and the units out towards Colwick and Blenheim. A system installed in the 2000s to a standard that was reasonable then now produces footage that will show an incident occurred and nothing more. The typical complaint is that a face is unrecognisable and a number plate unreadable at any useful distance, which is a resolution and lens problem rather than a fault. Nothing is broken; the system is doing what it was specified to do, at a standard that is no longer enough to be evidence.

The second is budget equipment fitted to rental property, which is concentrated in the NG7 student belt through Lenton, Dunkirk and Radford, and across the wider let market in Beeston. These installs are often technically working and poorly specified: cameras mounted low enough to be reached, a recorder in a communal hallway where any tenant can access the footage, no retention period set, and no signage or tenant documentation. For a landlord that combination is a compliance problem as much as a security one, because recording in shared spaces without those things in place does not meet the obligations that come with it.

There is a third, smaller category worth naming because it is specific to the housing here. On the original Clifton estate, which is largely rendered concrete, and on the newer estate housing around Hucknall and the city fringe built in lightweight block, we are sometimes asked to upgrade a system whose real problem is that the brackets were never fixed into anything structural. The cameras have drifted off aim rather than failed. Replacing them without correcting the fixing simply buys the same problem again in newer housings.

In each case the useful first question is what the system needs to prove, not what it currently records. If the answer is identification at a doorway or a plate at a gate, that sets the specification, and it is usually achievable on the existing cable.

When a recorder swap is the entire fix

Not every upgrade needs new cameras. If the cameras are reasonably modern and the complaint is about storage, playback speed, remote access or the number of channels, replacing the recorder alone can resolve it for a fraction of a full system cost. More storage means a longer retention window, which matters because the most common reason footage is unavailable when it is needed is that it had already been overwritten, not that no camera was pointing at the incident.

The reverse also happens: good recorder, cameras past their useful life. Infrared illuminators degrade, housings admit moisture, and lens coatings and domes cloud with age, all of which show up first at night. If your system looks acceptable in daylight and useless after dark, that is a camera-end problem and the recorder is probably fine.

Our specs cheat sheet explains what the resolution and lens numbers mean at real distances, which is the quickest way to work out whether what you have can be made to do what you want, or whether it never could.

Upgrading away from a subscription

A common reason people call about an upgrade is not picture quality at all. It is that the system they have depends on a cloud service with a monthly charge, and either the price has risen or the features they were paying for have moved behind a higher tier. Cameras that stop being useful when a subscription lapses are a recurring cost dressed up as equipment.

A hardwired system recording to a local recorder has no equivalent. Footage stays in the building, there is nothing to renew, and remote viewing runs over your own broadband. If you are weighing that against a low upfront price on a subscription system, work the monthly figure out across the years you expect to keep it. Our PoE guide covers the wider hardwired versus wireless comparison.

Pricing

Upgrades are priced after the survey, because the cost turns almost entirely on how much existing cable can be reused. A recorder-only upgrade is a fraction of a full system. Where existing runs are sound, a camera swap avoids the most expensive part of the original installation. No monthly fees.

Why Doberman

Cable tested, not assumed
We test the existing runs before quoting. On solid-wall Nottingham stock the cable is the expensive part, and reusing sound cable is where the saving is.
We will tell you a recorder swap is enough
Where storage, playback or channel count is the actual complaint, replacing the recorder alone can fix it. That is a smaller job and we will say so.
Compliance gaps flagged on rental property
Low-mounted cameras, an accessible recorder, no retention period and no tenant documentation are the standard faults on landlord-fitted systems.
No subscription, ever
Local recording to hardware you own. Upgrading away from a cloud plan removes the recurring cost entirely.

About Doberman

We are a Leicester CCTV installer working on hardwired PoE systems. Nottingham sits inside our area because the drive is short enough to make return visits practical.

We do not have a Nottingham office and will not imply one, and we hold neither NSI nor SSAIB accreditation. Where an insurer or a tender requires an accredited installer, use one. What we offer is our own team on every job, equipment you own outright, no ongoing contract, and a fixed price agreed after the survey.

For the city overview see CCTV installation in Nottingham, and areas we cover for our wider patch.

Areas we cover

We upgrade systems across Nottingham including the city centre, the Lace Market and Hockley, the NG7 belt through Lenton, Dunkirk and Radford, and out into West Bridgford, Beeston, Arnold, Carlton, Bulwell, Clifton, Hucknall and Wollaton. If you are not listed, ask.

Frequently asked questions

Can my existing CCTV cables be reused?: Often, yes, and it is where most of the saving in an upgrade comes from. Coaxial cable from an older analogue system can frequently carry a modern IP system with the right conversion at each end, and structured cable may be directly reusable. We test the runs rather than assuming, because condition varies and cable that has sat in a damp external duct for years is a different proposition to cable in a dry loft.
Why is upgrading cheaper than a new system?: Because on a solid-wall property the cable is the expensive part of the original job, not the cameras. Getting a run from the recorder up through a loft and down through a wall with no cavity is the slow, skilled work. If a previous installer already solved that, the solution retains its value even when everything attached to it is obsolete, and the walls stay shut.
Do I need new cameras or just a new recorder?: It depends on the complaint. If it is about storage, playback speed, remote access or channel count, replacing the recorder alone often fixes it for a fraction of a full system. If the picture is acceptable in daylight and useless after dark, that is usually a camera-end problem, since infrared illuminators degrade and housings and domes cloud with age. We establish which at the survey.
My landlord fitted CCTV at my rental. Is it compliant?: Budget systems fitted to rental property commonly fail on the same points: cameras mounted low enough to reach, the recorder sitting in a communal space where anyone can access footage, no retention period set, and no signage or tenant documentation. Recording in shared spaces without those things does not meet the obligations that come with it, so it is a compliance issue as much as a security one.
Can you get me off a monthly subscription?: Yes, that is a common reason for an upgrade. A hardwired system records to a recorder in the building, so there is no cloud plan to renew and no features sitting behind a higher tier. Remote viewing runs over your own broadband. Before comparing against a low upfront subscription price, work the monthly figure out across the years you expect to keep the system.
What will the picture actually look like afterwards?: That depends on lens and distance more than on the headline resolution figure. We specify each camera for what it needs to prove at its actual distance, whether that is identifying a face at a doorway or reading a plate at a gate, and tell you at the proposal stage what each position will deliver rather than quoting a resolution number and leaving you to hope.

Ready to get started?

We visit, map the blind spots, and quote one fixed price on the spot.