BiloxiGeek

Two that I've looked at are Swann SWHDK-882004 and Lorex LNR300 series. Both are 8 channel 1080P. The Swann kits comes with 4 cameras. My intent is to set up video surveillance with 3 maybe 4 cameras to start, I want 1080p video and the cameras should have IR for night time. I want the DVR/NVR to be capable of handling 8 cameras for future camera additions. I do not want to be restricted to using ActiveX for viewing feeds either locally or remotely. I'm predominantly a Linux user and being locked into viewing only from ActiveX is kind of a deal breaker. Ideally I want to be able to get into the Linux OS on the DVR/NVR and add scripts, set up cron jobs, do typical system admin work in the embedded OS. If I could find a capture card that would handle 8 channels of 1080P video and is zoneminder compatible I'd just go the DIY route and build the system myself. But so far I haven't found a card that meets those specs.

I'm researching the purchase of a DVR for a basic home surveillance set up. I'd like to find one that has 8 channels, IP cameras with nighttime LED's, POE ports so I don't have to mess with power adapters and cables, 1080 video would be nice, but I could probably live with less. Initially I'll probably have 3 or 4 cameras, but I'd like the extra channels in case I decide to expand later on. I've found a few models out there that have all that but there's one thing I'm having difficulty figuring out. I'm a SysAdmin by trade with quite a few years of Linux experience. I'd really like to find a surveillance DVR setup that I can get root access via ssh into the thing. I don't mind opening it up and poking around a bit. Hopefully someone around these forums can give a tip on which DVR's can be tweaked to allow access into the OS. So far the Lorex and Swann DVR's seem to fit my requirements but I can't tell if shell access is gonna be doable on them.