CCTV operator exam — how much of it is actually analog vs. IP systems?
Taking the Certified CCTV Operator exam in about 6 weeks and I'm trying to figure out where to focus my prep time. I've been working with IP-based systems exclusively for the last 3 years and my analog knowledge is honestly pretty rusty. The practice materials seem to cover both equally but I've heard the actual exam leans more toward IP.
My current practice scores are around 71–74%, and passing is 70%, so I'm close but I don't want to walk in with that thin a margin. I'm putting in about an hour a day and considering bumping to 90 minutes for the final 4 weeks to tighten things up.
The sections I'm most solid on are camera placement principles, field of view calculations, and basic surveillance law. Where I keep dropping points is on compression formats, storage calculations, and network infrastructure stuff like PoE specifications and bandwidth math for different resolution streams.
Anyone who's sat for this recently — is the storage calculation piece as math-heavy as it looks in the study materials? I'm fine with the concepts but formulas with multiple variables under time pressure make me nervous.
Your margin is thin. If you're at 71–74% on practice, bump your daily time now rather than waiting 4 weeks. The network fundamentals section took me way longer to internalize than I expected and rushing it in the final stretch is stressful.
Surveillance law and privacy requirements varied more by jurisdiction than I expected from the practice materials. Know the general standards rather than assuming your local rules apply everywhere — the exam tests the broader framework.
The storage calculation questions are definitely on there and they require actual math. Drill those formulas until you can do them quickly without second-guessing the unit conversions. GB vs. TB mistakes under time pressure are easy to make and I missed 2 questions from exactly that on my first attempt.
I sat for the CCTV cert about 8 months ago. The split felt roughly 60% IP and 40% analog to me, though the analog questions were more conceptual than technical — signal degradation and coax cable run limits rather than wiring schematics.