questions reg. home security cameras

[alex1138@xxxxxxxxxxx]

I would like to install four security cameras around the outside of my
house, but I have some questions before I start buying equipment...

1) The cameras I looked at, all have 60' cables attached to them. I
would have thought that the camera would have a 'stub' cable of 12
inches or so, and then a 60' extension....that way, if a camera fails,
you can just switch out the camera itself without having to remove the
entire run of cable and the RE-install the cable in addition to
replacing the camera. Is this not how it's done? Are there cameras
available with only a stub of a cable attached?

2) The 'far' end of the cables have two plugs in them: one (a BNC I
think) for signal and the other for DC power supply. I know that all
four of the signal plugs will plug into the DVR card in my computer,
but how do I manage the four power-supply plugs? Is there some way to
power all of the cameras without taking up four spaces in my power
strip? Do some DVR cards have a 12V power jack next to each signal
jack? I'm just trying to keep the cabling clean.

3) When looking at the completely installed camera, should I just see
a cable leading from the camera into a hole in the wall, or does
someone sell a wall-plate with a BNC connector and a DC power-supply
jack, which would be mounted on the wall near the camera, and to which
the camera is connected?

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

--Alex