cos140:First, you can connect the camera directly to the TV,you can contrast the picture quality with that connecting to the DVR cards.so you can find what result in the bad picture,DVR cards or the cameras.according to your description,i think the main reason is the cheap DVR cards.
Second:if you can see the car or other things in the day clear but not in the night by the cameras,it shows the camera you bought can't work in the dark,it's irrelevant with the DVR cards.