EthanM

Really depends what you're looking for and how much technological knowledge you have, by the sounds of it you could get away with buying a kit, I much prefer having an NVR/DVR separate from any computers or anything in the house both for security reasons and the fact that it's nice not having to worry about leaving a machine running the whole time or having my computer clogged up with extra stuff. I'd personally go for an NVR if given the choice, you can tuck it away somewhere and it's pretty much set and forget. In terms of brand, I like the newer Dahua cameras because they work with modern browsers, I've had bad experiences with outdated Hikvision cameras that can't be used because they require some nasty work-arounds with outdated browsers, however I think you'd be safe with either as long as you buy a modern system and read the small print. Also consider looking at some other brands like Reolink, they have some pretty good reviews.

@Oostin Hopefully this information is still of some use to you. There are lots of self contained IP cameras that record to an SD card, these are relatively self contained and do not require an additional recording device. I would recommend you check out the Reolink RLC-410 for example, this supports both motion detection and continuous recording onto an SD card. It can be set up to be entirely self contained, or you can connect it to your home network via an Ethernet cable for remote viewing. In terms of powering the camera, you can plug a standard 12v power supply into the camera if there is a power source nearby, otherwise you should look into using PoE (Power over Ethernet) which can be done either with a PoE switch or an external PoE adapter. Let me know if you need more help with this!