CCTV · Video surveillance · EN 62676
Video surveillance designed around what each camera has to see. And what it must not record.
A CCTV system fails when cameras are chosen from a catalogue: plenty is recorded and little is identified. S3 designs the system from the task of each camera, with recording, privacy and the network in the same document. The licensed security company you choose installs and connects it.
What we decide in the design
Every decision goes into the technical report and the specification, with a criterion that can be checked on site.
What each camera has to achieve
For each camera we set the operator task, the distance at which it must be met and the pixel density per metre it requires on the target. The 2015 edition of EN 62676-4 uses levels such as detect (25 px/m), observe (62.5), recognise (125) and identify (250). The 2025 edition replaces them with seven levels, from 20 to 1,500 px/m. The design states which edition applies and puts the required density for each camera in writing.
Lens, resolution and mounting height
Resolution follows from the required density and the scene width to be covered, not from the catalogue. The lens sets that width at the working distance. Height and angle decide whether you see a face or just a cap: a high camera covers more but identifies worse. Where a single camera cannot do both jobs, the design splits them into an overview and a detail view.
Light: illumination, infrared and dynamic range
Each camera is checked in its worst lighting conditions, not those on the datasheet. The infrared range on the datasheet shows how far the light reaches, not that the task is met at that distance; if colour is needed at night, white light is designed in. At backlit entrances we specify wide dynamic range and correct the position. To compare datasheets, we ask for performance measured to EN IEC 62676-5.
Recording, storage and retention
We decide where footage is recorded (NVR or VMS platform), with which stream, at how many frames per second and for how long. Capacity is calculated. For example, a camera streaming at 4 Mbit/s and recording continuously uses about 43 GB a day and around 1.3 TB a month. Disk redundancy and growth margin are added. The specification requires automatic deletion at the agreed period and a log of every playback or export.
Privacy by design
Every field of view is justified by its purpose. Public roads are captured only as far as strictly necessary (LOPDGDD, art. 22), and what must not be seen is masked in the camera itself. The drawings place information signs in a visible position at the entrances to the recorded area. In workplaces there are no cameras in changing rooms, toilets or canteens (art. 89). The legal side belongs to the data controller; the design gives them the technical data.
Network, PoE and video cyber security
Cameras and recording sit on a separate video network. PoE is calculated for the worst case, with infrared, heaters and motorised domes running, and the UPS for a defined runtime. The specification requires firmware with a declared support period, operation without the manufacturer's servers, P2P disabled, no ports open to the internet, named accounts, synchronised time and authenticated exports. Several brands can meet it, and it is checked at acceptance.
Video analytics and integration with intrusion
Video analytics is specified as a measurable capability: what it detects, in which scene, at what distance and what false alarm rate is accepted in testing. Facial recognition processes biometric data (GDPR, art. 9) and is not specified unless the data controller demonstrates a legal basis. If intrusion alarms are verified by video, each detector is paired with a camera whose coverage is equal to or greater than its own (Order INT/316/2011, art. 8). Verification is carried out by the ARC of the licensed security company you contract.
Typical failures we design out
- Typical failure
- Cameras chosen by megapixels: the recording shows someone coming in, but their face covers only a few pixels.
- In the design
- Required density in writing for every camera, checked on site against the real image with a person at the working distance.
- Typical failure
- Backlit glazed entrance: in daylight, whoever comes in appears as a silhouette.
- In the design
- Camera positioned out of the backlight, specified dynamic range and acceptance test by day and by night.
- Typical failure
- Privacy mask applied only in the viewer: the area is hidden on screen but still on the recorder.
- In the design
- Mask applied in the camera, before recording, and documented on the drawings with its justification.
- Typical failure
- Recorder that overwrites when the disk is full: some weeks it keeps too much, others too little.
- In the design
- Capacity calculated for the agreed period and automatic deletion at that period, never beyond the one month set by law unless there is an incident.
- Typical failure
- Cameras that open a connection to the manufacturer's cloud without anyone having decided so.
- In the design
- P2P and UPnP disabled, permitted flows listed in the network matrix and remote access over VPN only.
What you receive
- Technical report with the task and required density for each camera
- Drawings with location, field of view and masked areas
- Storage, retention and PoE calculations
- Specification with verifiable cyber security requirements
- Location of information signs
- Day and night test protocol
- Designs S3
- Installs, connects and certifies the licensed security company you choose
- Operates your team
Reference standards
- EN IEC 62676-4:2025 Application guidelines: operator tasks and pixel density. Supersedes the 2015 edition, which remains valid during the transition period.
- EN 62676-1-1 Video system requirements and four security grades, applied to its functions.
- EN IEC 62676-5 How camera image performance is measured and declared.
- Order INT/316/2011 Component requirements under the EN standards (art. 3) and alarm verification by video (art. 8).
- Private Security Act (Law 5/2014) Reserves installing systems connected to ARCs to licensed companies (art. 5.1.f) and leaves consultancy outside (art. 6.1.d).
- LOPDGDD, arts. 22 and 89 Spanish data protection law on video surveillance: public roads, retention, information and the workplace.
- AEPD video surveillance guide The Spanish Data Protection Agency's criteria and model information sign.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 Cyber Resilience Act: security requirements, vulnerability handling and support period for manufacturers of products with digital elements.
Questions
Do you install the cameras or connect them to an ARC?
No. S3 designs, specifies and supervises. Installation is carried out by the company you choose. If the system is to be connected to an alarm receiving centre (ARC) or a video surveillance centre, it must be a licensed security company: this is an activity reserved by Law 5/2014 (art. 5.1.f).
Is there a Grade 3 for video surveillance?
Yes. EN 62676-1-1 defines four security grades for video systems, chosen from the risk analysis. The grade does not measure image quality: it sets the robustness of functions such as tamper detection, storage, logs, access levels and authentication of exported footage. The grades apply to the system's functions, not to individual cameras.
How long can recordings be kept?
One month at most from capture, unless they must be kept to prove an act against people, property or facilities. In that case they must be made available to the authorities within 72 hours of the recording becoming known (LOPDGDD, art. 22.3). The design sizes storage for the period the data controller decides and specifies automatic deletion.
Can you review a CCTV system that is already installed?
Yes. The audit compares each camera with the task it should fulfil and reviews recording, retention, privacy and exposure to the internet. The result is a prioritised list of corrections, carried out by the company you choose.
Before choosing cameras, define what they have to see.
Tell us which installation you need designed or reviewed. The first conversation lasts 30 minutes, is with an engineer and is free of charge.