scarrz

I currently have a cheap 4 port analog card and run Zoneminder with all 4 ports full along with 4 IP cameras (trendnet). The system works well but I recently created a large HyperV server (Xeon Quad core, 12gb ram, 9TB's disk) and would like to combine all my systems into this one meaning move the stand alone DVR box into the new system. The issue is that my new system requires PCI-E cards which my cheapo 4 port is not. So what better time than ever to upgrade. I also have been wanting to move to a windows based DVR system and thought this would be a great time. Although the nice thing with zoneminder is that you can use as many IP cameras as your system can support without having to purchase an Hybrid DVR card. I'm currently leaning towards the Avermedia NV6480EXP which supports analog and IP cameras. I like this card because it would allow for future expansion and seems to carry a nice warranty and has good reviews. Although the price is somewhat steep for my budget but I know you get what you pay for. My only concern with this card is will my Trendnet IP cameras work with it since I have 4 of them? They all work fine with Zoneminder but I do not see them on the officially supported list. My question is are there any other hybrid PCI-E dvr cards that would provide me with 12-16 channels and very stable/robust windows surveillance software included? I know geovision has some cards but in order to use third party cameras you have to purchase the USB dongle which is more expense. I'd like to keep the price around $500-$600 but my main concern is ease of use and stability. Like I mentioned Zoneminder has served my needs well but it can be cumbersome and runs on Linux which I'm not nearly as comfortable as I am with windows. Any suggestions on what PCI-E DVR card would serve my needs for both IP and Analog? If not would you recommend a card and possibly third party software that might work? Thanks in advance.

Well, the major manufacturers (ie- Avermedia and Geovision) all market them as "hybrid" dvr cards. I was simply stating that so folks would have some idea. My requirement as I stated would be to find a windows based software either bundled with a pci-e card for my analog cameras or a third party software that will also support ip cameras (trendnet). Do you have any recommendations?