Thanks for the input man. I'm slowly trying to get everything figured out. Devils in the details as always.
Ok, so for the DVR I think I am looking at these ones. And like I said before, looks like the budget limit is going to be a bit forgiving.
So I was looking at these 4 and the Avermedia already recommended so 5 in total. Bolide SVR9000S/T4, Lorex LH314321, Swann SWA41-D1, AverMedia EB1304NET SATA+ DVR, and EverFocus ECOR4D/250.
Trying to get the most features for the cheapest price but yet maintain quality control with the product and not chop my own head off by buying too low end and getting disappointed with my investment.
I've looked over them with the tid bit of knowledge I have and want to lean towards the Lorex with the H.264 encoding and 320GB hd. But I also really like the ability the EverFocus gives me with the built-in DVD-RW, but it is Mpeg4 for compression and only a 250GB hd.
Just curious if anyone has some opinions or actual experiences with any of these that could help inform my decision. I really appreciate your guys's help on this.