i need to put together a home surveillance system for my grandmothers house. she is having dopers use her yard as a highway at night. i'm considering a costco system but everyone dumps on them, what other options do i have for around $1000 to 1400. i was hoping for a 3 to 4 camera system. is QSEE w/ sony cameras w/420 lines better than LOREX w/450 lines.

Find a dealer in your area that carrys the MaxPro DVR, or the AVC 760A.

Have them do a site survey to see which would be the best products for your budget.

We use a QSEE DVR card at work. I would say stay away from it.

I suggest an AVerMedia AVerDigi EB1304 NET DVR myself. For the price, they are great. Plus it has the remote control, which is a nice feature.

The first thing I would do in that case though is install nice bright motion lights if not already.

I totally agree about the motion lights.

"Those in Darkness hate the light", true both spiritually and in security situations.

Also, I invite you to consider your goal with your system. Are you going to be turning evidence over to police to contribute to prosecutions? Do you want Grandma subjected to court supena's and being forced to show up in court to testify?

My number one rule of thumb in security: DETER. "lock won't stop a thief, but it will keep an honest man honest"

You may be able to meet your goals and save alot of money with some bright lights and fake cams.

...

But if you are looking for the cheapy system that will record time lapse at night, and if you have some technical ability, I would point you towards a PC based DVR system. You can get cards cheep enough if you shop around a bit.

my 2¢

thanks for all the input. i think my granny really has her heart set on a cctv system. i kinda like the avermedia dvr that got suggested. how do u guys feel about digimerge cameras or even some of those qsee cameras look o.k.. i wanna put something together asap. we already tried the flood lights and she is still having problems. thanks again.