AOV in Security Cameras: What Always-On Video Means and How to Evaluate It Before You Import

AOV stands for "Always-On Video": continuous recording on low standby power

AOV is short for Always-On Video. It describes a camera that records continuously, around the clock, instead of waking up only when a passive infrared (PIR) sensor registers a change in temperature. It is an industry-generic term — not a trademark, and not one factory's proprietary technology. You will find it on spec sheets from several Chinese manufacturers and in distribution catalogues across Latin America and Southeast Asia. What makes it workable on a solar camera with no grid power is the pairing of a very low standby-draw chipset with AI scene analysis: the image sensor keeps running permanently at low power, and the expensive energy — full-quality recording, 4G LTE upload, illumination — is held back for the moments when something relevant actually happens in frame.

That is the short answer. The answer a wholesale buyer needs is a different one: AOV is not a marketing label interchangeable with "smart detection." It changes how the unit behaves in the field, it changes how battery and panel are sized, and it changes the list price. If you are quoting solar cameras for resale, telling a genuine AOV camera apart from a PIR unit running aggressive firmware is the difference between a customer who reorders and a customer who sends the batch back.

What a PIR camera lets through, and what AOV recovers

A PIR sensor does not see images. It detects moving thermal contrast inside a relatively narrow cone. That is where its structural limits come from, and no sensitivity setting removes them completely:

• Slow movement. Someone walking slowly, parallel to the sensor, may never generate the thermal contrast needed to trigger it. In a warehouse yard or a loading area, that is exactly how a person moves when they do not want to be seen.
• Events outside the zone. Anything happening to the side of the detection cone simply does not exist as far as the camera is concerned.
• The first few seconds. There is a start-up delay between the PIR trigger and the first recorded frame. What matters usually happens inside that gap: the face before the hood goes up, the plate before the vehicle turns.
• Hot weather. As ambient temperature approaches body temperature, thermal contrast drops. In Southeast Asia and across much of Central America, that is not an edge case — that is midday, every day.
• Objects with no heat signature. A door swinging open, a pallet disappearing off a stack, water starting to pool: none of it emits moving heat.

That last row is honest, and you should pass it to your customer exactly as it stands: AOV costs more and draws more. What the difference buys is a timeline with no holes in it. For a farm with a cattle-theft problem, a warehouse with internal shrinkage, or a construction site where liability for an accident is going to be argued over, that continuity is the product.

The energy cost, and how it gets sized in practice

Recording all the time with no mains power means battery and panel have to be sized correctly. In our AOV line the figures are specific and bounded: batteries from 8000 mAh to 20000 mAh, and solar panels of 8 W or 15 W. Nothing larger exists in the catalogue — and be sceptical of any spec sheet promising numbers far above that range without a weight and a housing size to back them up. It is the most common lie in this segment, and it blows up at installation, not at the quotation stage.

The selection rule is straightforward:

• 8000 mAh with an 8 W panel covers sites with good direct sun for most of the day: clear rooftops, poles in open country, perimeters with no tree shade.
• 20000 mAh with a 15 W panel is for partial shade, long rainy seasons, heavy night-time traffic (more full-quality recording, more illumination, more data over 4G), or customers who will not tolerate a single outage.

Local storage is microSD up to 128 GB as standard, with larger capacities available only on custom orders. On an AOV camera, card management matters more than it does on a PIR unit: continuous video is written in a loop while AI-detected events are tagged and indexed separately, so the operator never has to scrub through hours of nothing. Build that distinction into your proposal — a customer who believes they are going to watch "everything" manually abandons the system inside two weeks.

Weather protection is IP66 on every outdoor model, and standard resolution is 1080p to 2K; 4K exists only as a custom OEM build. Installation takes 5 to 10 minutes per camera: no electrical cabling and no WiFi, so it is mount the bracket, aim the panel, insert the SIM.

The 49 AOV models in the catalogue

Out of a total catalogue of 150 SKUs, 49 are AOV models, across four series, with wholesale prices quoted per order:

Three models worth building a first three-tier proposal around: SG-C41G-10T66-V1 as the AOV entry point; SG-D42G-10F66-V1, whose dual lens covers wide view and detail from a single pole; and SG-D42G-15F66-V1, with 20000 mAh and a 15 W panel, for sites where runtime is not negotiable. Full variant-by-variant detail is in the catalogue.

Why dual and triple lens show up specifically on AOV

It is not a coincidence. With continuous recording, a single lens forces a choice between wide coverage and recognisable detail. Dual- and triple-lens models settle that in hardware: one channel holds the full scene while another keeps the focal length that lets you identify a person or read a plate. It is also the easiest argument to demonstrate in front of a sceptical customer — show the two views side by side and the conversation about price is over.

How to evaluate an AOV supplier

If you are comparing factories, these are the questions that separate a serious offer from a copied spec sheet:

1. Is the AOV continuous, or is it a few seconds of pre-recording? Plenty of units advertised as AOV only keep a buffer from just before the PIR trigger. That is a genuine improvement, but it is not continuous video, and your customer will notice.
2. What exactly does the AI do? Person and vehicle detection is the floor. Ask what is processed on the device and what needs a connection, because 4G coverage on a rural site is not always stable.
3. What certifications back the product? Our manufacturer, Shenzhen Leksell, has been operating since 2012 and holds TÜV Rheinland certification, plus CE, FCC and RoHS. For customs clearance in several markets, that paperwork is not decoration.
4. Do the spec-sheet numbers match the weight of the unit? A battery or panel that is physically impossible at the declared size means the sheet is inflated.
5. Is OEM/private label available on the model you actually want, or only on the cheap ones? In our case, OEM and private label are available on every model, including all 49 AOV units.

Commercial terms for importers

For a distributor, four numbers define the business: MOQ, margin, lead time and after-sales support.

• MOQ: 10 units for a trial order; 100 units for OEM/ODM projects under your own brand.
• Distribution margin: 20% from around 10 units and 30% from around 50.
• Lead times: samples in 7 to 10 days by air; volume in 25 to 40 days by sea; dispatch within Vietnam in 7 to 10 business days from our Ho Chi Minh City office.
• Customisation: higher resolution, a different battery or panel capacity, more storage and your own packaging are all quoted on request. Quantity, price and lead time on a custom build are always confirmed by a person, never by a web page.

The practical way into this category is a mixed trial order: some units from the 8000 mAh series for good-sun installations, and some 20000 mAh units with the 15 W panel for the difficult sites. With that comparison in hand, your sales pitch stops being a spec sheet and becomes a demonstration. Full volume terms are in the wholesale terms, and territory and support arrangements are in the dealer program.

To request samples, the full variant list by series, or a quotation under your own brand, email info@solaguard.net with your estimated volume and the type of installation. With those two details, the series recommendation comes back in the first reply.