Sam228

Thinking on it a little more, I wouldn't even know what direction to point you in. If there's $15k in tools lying around that they can steal, surely one of those tools will help them get into any box you end up with. Cutting the power cable might be the least of your worries if they can pick the box up and walk away with it, or if they can use items found around the job site to just break into it. This is generally why I advocate hiding the recording device instead of trying to build a mote around it, but my own experience has shown me that the setting and situation ultimately decides for you in most cases.

You've got enough to think about already so I'll just say this since no one else addressed it. You mentioned that the recording device and UPS would be a in locked metal box. Make sure that thing intended for the job, otherwise you seriously risk overheating that equipment by constantly recycling that hot air inside the box. As a computer person, I think you've probably already considered this, but otherwise it'd be like making sure all the openings on your computer intended for air to exit have been sealed up.

You should really just have to find the section within the DVRs user interface that relates to storage. You can have multiple sections related to this, but one of them will specifically contain the "Format" button.

There are way too many confusing elements in this post to be able to answer it constructively. It's horribly confusing when you use a statement like, "I want to be able to view the cameras remotely on the network." From an industry standpoint, it's contradicting and can't be addressed without clarification of what you mean. You need to be more "plain" in your explanation and push the technical terms to the side. Use hypothetical scenarios if you're having hard time trying to verbalize what your needs are.

You absolutely can with the use of transmitters and receivers. That being said, prepare yourself for a whole bunch of wireless hate at every turn you take. I think the vast majority is going to tell you that wireless is a mistake and should only be considered if you have no other option.

Information on those drive are usually (or maybe always) proprietary. In other words, you very likely need the DVR in order to pull anything from that drive.