The cable is the least glamorous part of a camera system and one of the most important, because it carries the video, and often the power, that make the camera work at all. Choosing the wrong cable, or cutting corners on quality, is a common reason installations degrade, drop signal or fail outright after a season in the sun. Getting it right means understanding a few cable types — coaxial, twisted-pair network cable, and fiber — and how power over Ethernet, distance limits and outdoor conditions affect the choice. This guide explains surveillance cable types and how to choose the right one for a reliable CCTV installation in Egypt, whether you are specifying a new system or fixing a troubled one.
Key takeaways
- The main types are coaxial, twisted-pair network cable and fiber.
- IP cameras usually run on network cable with power over Ethernet on one line.
- Each cable has a distance limit; fiber covers long runs.
- Outdoor and buried runs need proper outdoor-rated, protected cable.
- Cheap or wrong cable is a leading cause of camera failures.
Quality cabling is the quiet hero of a stable camera system
The main cable types
Three families cover almost every installation. Coaxial cable is the traditional choice for older analog and modern HD-over-coax cameras; it is robust and carries video over reasonable distances, usually with a separate power cable run alongside. Twisted-pair network cable — the Cat5e or Cat6 familiar from computer networks — is the standard for IP cameras, carrying digital video and, crucially, the camera's power on the same single cable. Fiber-optic cable carries signals as light and is used for very long runs or where electrical interference is a problem, comfortably reaching distances the others cannot. For most new installations today, network cable is the default because it is flexible, affordable and carries power and data together, with coax remaining common where existing cabling is reused and fiber reserved for the long or demanding runs.
PoE: power and data on one cable
Power over Ethernet, or PoE, is the feature that makes network cabling so convenient for IP cameras. It delivers both the video data and the electrical power a camera needs down the single network cable, so you do not need to run a separate power line or find a mains socket at each camera position. A PoE switch or injector at the recorder end supplies the power, and every camera draws what it needs through its data cable. This dramatically simplifies installation — one cable per camera, routed back to a central point — and it makes adding cameras and using battery backup easy, because all the power comes from one place you can protect with an uninterruptible supply. For almost any modern IP camera system, PoE over good network cable is the standard and the reason network cabling has become the default choice.
Distance limits and when to use fiber
Every copper cable has a distance limit, and ignoring it is a frequent cause of unreliable cameras. Standard network cable carrying data and PoE is specified to about one hundred metres between the camera and the switch; push much beyond that and the signal and power degrade, giving a camera that drops out, reboots or never comes online. Coax has its own distance characteristics depending on the type and signal. When a camera sits farther away than copper can reliably reach — across a large site, between buildings, along a perimeter — the answer is fiber, which carries the signal over hundreds of metres or more without loss, usually with a small converter at each end. Planning cable runs against these limits from the start, and using fiber or a mid-point switch for the long ones, is what separates a system that works everywhere from one with mysterious dropouts at the far cameras.
Outdoor rating, shielding and quality
Where the cable runs matters as much as its type. Cable used outdoors, on a roof, or buried must be outdoor-rated, with UV-resistant jacketing that will not crack in Egyptian sun and, for buried runs, proper direct-burial or conduit protection against moisture and damage. Indoor cable pushed outside is one of the most common installation mistakes, and it fails within a year or two as the jacket degrades. In electrically noisy environments — near heavy machinery, power lines or in an industrial plant — shielded cable resists the interference that would otherwise corrupt the signal. Above all, use genuine, quality cable with full-gauge copper conductors rather than the cheap copper-clad-aluminium cable that is widely sold; the money saved on cheap cable is repaid many times over in dropouts, PoE failures and callbacks. The cable is buried in walls for years, so it is the last place to economise.
Cable types compared
| Cable | Best for | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Network (Cat5e/Cat6) | IP cameras with PoE | Power and data in one, ~100m |
| Coaxial | Analog and HD-over-coax | Often needs separate power |
| Fiber optic | Long runs, between buildings | Very long distance, no interference |
| Outdoor-rated | Any outdoor or buried run | UV and moisture resistant |
Signal quality over distance: quality cable against cheap cable
Frequently asked questions
Should I use coax or network cable for a new system?
For almost all new installations, network cable with PoE is the better choice. It carries both video and power on one cable, supports modern IP cameras with high resolution and analytics, and integrates cleanly with network recorders. Coax remains useful mainly when reusing existing cabling to upgrade older cameras without rewiring. If you are starting fresh, network cabling gives you a more capable, flexible and future-proof system, so it is the default recommendation unless there is a specific reason to reuse coax.
Why do my far cameras keep dropping offline?
The most common cause is a cable run that exceeds the distance limit, typically network cable pushed well beyond about one hundred metres, which weakens both the data signal and the PoE power until the camera drops out or reboots. Poor-quality copper-clad-aluminium cable makes this far worse. The fix is to keep runs within the limit, add a switch at a mid-point for longer distances, or use fiber for the farthest cameras, and to use genuine full-copper cable throughout. A distance or quality problem is usually behind mysterious far-camera dropouts.
Can one cable really power the camera too?
Yes, that is exactly what power over Ethernet does. A single network cable carries both the video data and the electrical power from a PoE switch or injector at the recorder end to the camera, so no separate power cable or nearby socket is needed at the camera. This is one of the biggest reasons IP cameras and network cabling have become standard: it halves the cabling, simplifies installation, and lets you power all your cameras from one protected point that can run on backup during an outage.
Does cable quality really make a difference?
A large one. Cheap cable, especially copper-clad-aluminium sold as a bargain, carries power and data poorly, overheats, and degrades faster, causing dropouts, failed PoE and premature failure that costs far more to fix than genuine cable would have cost upfront. For outdoor runs, a proper UV-resistant jacket is the difference between years of service and cracking within a season. Because cable is hidden in walls and hard to replace, using quality, correctly-rated cable from the start is one of the best-value decisions in the whole installation.
Related guides
- Warehouse cameras: covering large spaces
- Smart building integration for surveillance
- Warehouse surveillance best practices
- Office building camera system design
- Parking and Garage Surveillance
Do not let cheap cable sink a good system
The right cable, correctly rated and installed, is what keeps a camera system reliable for years. FastEgy, Hikvision's authorized distributor in Egypt, supplies genuine cameras, recorders and quality cabling and can plan the runs for your site properly, all with local warranty. Start at the contact page or browse cameras and accessories in the FastEgy store.