video security system- Should I save to a dedicated PVR or to a PC. What about remote viewing etc.

["David Jensen" <DJNews1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I desire to set up a couple of security cameras at my home and the local
church school principal asked me to make recommendations for a video
security system there.  Can you please give me guidance on any of the
following questions that I have.

For purposes of conversation, I doubt that the school would want to spend
more than $2,000 for the equipment (Recording equipment and three or four
cameras) and they will install it themselves (money is tight in a self
supporting school).  For my home application I do not want to spend more
than $1,000 for the same and it will also be DIY.   A lot less at my home
would be even better, of course!

Which is best for video with minimal to moderate hassle, on the low to
middle of the price spectrum, and bang for the buck (value) perspective?   A
Network/Internet camera (one with a built in web server, not a USB webcam)
or the traditional cameras that are not networked.  My observations are that
the decent network cameras are still quite expensive while you can buy all
sorts of video security cameras on eBay for < $100.  It seems like much of
the time that I try to view a camera on-line it seems to not work at all or
not work well, causing me to question their reliability.  Also, in reading
product reviews on Amazon.com and other sites, I see that a lot of people
seem to have trouble with the initial configuration of such products thru
firewalls and such.  I'm also not sure if the video quality is generally as
good as a traditional camera or not.  Nonetheless, it seems like it would be
nice to not have to route thru a PC and still make yourself directly
available on the net.

What is the best hardware to record the video?  You can buy 4-camera video
capture cards with software on eBay for $20 - 50.  You can buy a dedicated
DVR to do the same for several hundred dollars.  If one has a late model PC
with a large hard drive and fast processor, is there a good reason not to
use it for video surveillance?  Does the software that's out there work good
or is it bug and hassle prone?  What are the pros and cons and issues here.

There is also a $100 device on eBay titled  "IP Network web camera video
server 9100A, DVR, AXIS"  that looks impressive and supposedly turns regular
cameras into a network based system.  It can be viewed at
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48634&item=5763615610&rd=1.
I wonder if that would work well.

Is there something better that is beyond what I've spoken of here?

If anyone could speak to the pros and cons of the various options, including
naming any makes and models of specific products and/or web links, I would
be forever grateful.  Without actually buying and trying all the options,
it's so hard to know what is best.  I hope that some of you on these
newsgroups have gone before me and got it figured out and tested some of
these products.

--
David Jensen
Change the xx in my email address to MJ for my real email address.  Thanks.