Hikvision Supplier in Birmingham
Hikvision is what most installers walk in asking for, so it is the brand we know best and the one we argue about most. A working handful sits on the shelf at Camp Hill. We do not hold the whole catalogue in depth and would rather tell you that than have you drive over on spec. What is not here we can usually get in for the next working day, provided the order lands before noon. You are buying it over a counter you can walk into, not off a distributor’s shelf two counties away, and the demonstration showroom next door has the cameras switched on and recording.
CCTV101 is the trading name of Cerrado Ltd, company number 06685310. We have been selling and supporting this kit since 2008, and Hikvision has been the backbone of it for most of that. Around 890 lines run through the business, covering CCTV, intruder and networking.
ColorVu
ColorVu pairs a wide-aperture lens and a bigger sensor with a warm white LED that sits on at low level, so the camera keeps recording in colour after dark instead of dropping to grey infrared. Colour is identifying information. An infrared frame tells you a man in a dark jacket came over the fence at 2am. A ColorVu frame tells you the jacket was red.
Think about siting first. A white LED burning all night over a shared driveway or somebody’s bedroom window will earn you a phone call from the neighbour, so front elevations and open yards suit it better than a tight terraced boundary. Weighing it up against the Dahua equivalent? We wrote the differences out in our ColorVu against Dahua Full-colour comparison.
Smart Hybrid Light
Hybrid Light is for the customer who wants colour evidence without a floodlight burning all night. Left alone, the camera runs on infrared and nobody notices it. When the analytics pick up a person or a vehicle, the white light fires and the footage switches to colour for as long as the event lasts. Nothing moving, no light. It has become our usual answer on domestic jobs, where the customer liked the sound of ColorVu right up until they pictured a lit-up garden at 3am.
AcuSense
AcuSense is classification done on the camera itself. Instead of reacting to any change of pixels, it works out whether the moving object is a person or a vehicle, and ignores whatever is neither. Cats, rain, headlight sweep across a wall, a branch going in the wind, all filtered out. Two things follow. False alerts drop far enough that people stop muting the app, and playback gets quicker, because you can filter a whole night down to human events rather than scrubbing hours of nothing happening. Several AcuSense models carry a strobe and a spoken warning on the same trigger, which earns its keep on a yard gate or a side alley.
It turns up on the recorder side as well. An AcuSense NVR can apply the same classification to connected cameras that do not have it themselves, which is worth knowing if you are upgrading a site in stages rather than all at once.
HiLook by Hikvision
HiLook is the value line. Same firmware lineage, same phone app, fewer features and a lower price. You give up analytics depth and a bit of build specification. You keep the reliability people buy Hikvision for in the first place. On a two-bed rental or a small shop, where the budget is fixed and four working cameras beat two excellent ones, it is the right call. We sell HiLook turrets, bullets, DVRs and NVRs alongside the parent range. What we will not do is sell you HiLook for a yard that plainly needs ColorVu, so bring the job details to the counter and we will tell you which side of the line it falls.
Turbo HD or IP
This is the question we field most at the counter. Turbo HD is Hikvision’s HD-over-coax platform, recording to a DVR. IP cameras run over network cable to an NVR with PoE ports built in. Neither one is obsolete. Neither one is automatically better.
| Feature | Turbo HD (DVR) | IP (NVR) |
|---|---|---|
| Cabling | Coax, including existing RG59 already in the building | Cat5e or Cat6, one cable carries video and power |
| Cable runs | Long runs without extra hardware | 100m limit per run before a switch or extender |
| Resolution | Up to 8MP on current models | Up to 4K and beyond, plus multi-sensor options |
| Analytics | ColorVu and AcuSense available on current models | Fullest feature set, including ANPR and people counting |
| Best for | Analogue replacements, awkward long runs, buildings with coax already in, tight budgets | New installs, plus anything that will expand later or needs detail at distance |
Straight swap of a tired analogue system in a pub or a takeaway, coax already pulled? Turbo HD, every time. New build, or a warehouse you know you will want to add cameras to later? Go IP. The cameras and the DVRs and NVRs are listed separately, and there are boxed kits if you would rather have it matched up for you. Put the cable and any switches or injectors on the same order and save yourself a second trip. If you are unsure about channel count, read what size NVR do I need first.
Who buys Hikvision from us
- Installers and electricians across Birmingham and the Black Country, collecting for a same-day job rather than waiting on a next-day pallet.
- Landlords and letting agents covering HMOs around Sparkbrook, Small Heath, Moseley and Selly Oak, usually on HiLook or mid-range AcuSense.
- Takeaways, barbers, corner shops and pubs that need footage standing up as evidence and a recorder somebody on shift can actually operate.
- Warehouses and trade units out at Tyseley, and up through Nechells and Aston, where ColorVu on the yard and an AcuSense camera with audio warning on the gate does the heavy lifting.
- Homeowners who have read enough forum threads to know what they want, and would rather buy locally from someone who picks the phone up afterwards.
The Camp Hill trade counter
Unit 60, Camp Hill Industrial Estate, John Kempe Way, Birmingham, B12 0HU. Open Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 17:00, and closed on public holidays. Ring 0121 655 0146 before you set off if you want something put to one side, and we will tell you there and then whether it is here to reserve.
Coming off the M6, leave at Junction 6 and take the A38(M) Aston Expressway into the city, then pick up the A4540 Middleway and follow it round to Camp Hill. From the south, the A441 Pershore Road or the A34 Stratford Road will both bring you up to the same stretch of Middleway. We sit just off it, along John Kempe Way.
Worth knowing if you drive a van. Our premises sit outside the Birmingham Clean Air Zone, which covers the area inside the A4540 Middleway ring road, and B12 0HU falls just outside that boundary, so collecting from us does not in itself mean a daily charge. Some approach routes do cross into the zone. Check your route and your vehicle on the council’s zone checker before you travel.
The demonstration cameras in the showroom are live, which is the quickest way to settle a ColorVu argument. There is more on parking and the counter itself on the trade counter page, and the security camera shop page covers what we have set up in the showroom. Trade accounts are available, and trade pricing needs one. Apply through contact, or read the background on the about page first.
Delivery across Birmingham and the UK
Can’t get over to Camp Hill? Express delivery runs 1 to 2 working days and standard runs 3 to 5. Orders over £750 go free to the UK mainland. Full terms sit on the delivery policy page. If you want the other brands we carry rather than Hikvision on its own, the main Birmingham supplier page runs through them.
Frequently asked questions
Can I collect Hikvision from you the same day in Birmingham?
Often, yes. Ring 0121 655 0146 with the model number and we will go and physically look before you drive over. If it is not here, we can usually have it in for the next working day when the order lands before noon, and you will get a real date rather than a guess.
What is the difference between Hikvision Turbo HD and Hikvision IP?
Turbo HD sends high definition video down coax to a DVR, so it works with cable already in the building. IP cameras send video over network cable to an NVR that powers them down that same cable. Turbo HD copes with long runs without extra hardware and suits an analogue replacement. IP gives you the higher resolutions and the deeper analytics, and it expands more easily later on. We will spec either one at the counter.
Is your Birmingham premises inside the Clean Air Zone?
No. The Clean Air Zone covers the area inside the A4540 Middleway ring road, and B12 0HU sits just outside that boundary. Your route might still clip it, depending on which direction you come in from, so check the route and your vehicle on the council’s zone checker before you travel.
Do I need a trade account to buy Hikvision here?
Most of it is open to anyone, over the counter or online, at list price. A handful of lines are trade only and show “Login for Price” until an account is approved. Trade pricing is a separate matter and does need an account. If you install for a living, ask us about setting one up.