Security camera recommendations

(Sorry for the cross-post.. I realized it probably fits better here than A/V distribution..)

I'm looking for advice in my first foray into security cameras and DVRs. Here are my requirements:
- Two baby monitors (separate rooms, close range, night vision required, color is a plus but not absolutely required.. or is this standard nowadays?)
- Two outside cameras.. range needed from 5 ft - 50 ft, w/night vision.. not extremely picky on the quality here, either.. basically best value (cost/performance)
- If it's wireless, I want it to be secure.. not like those stupid baby monitors that have two unsecured wireless channels. I have absolutely no problem running wires if necessary, especially Cat-5, since I'm running all of that through the house anyway. I generally prefer wired over wireless for almost everything.
- Definitely want a DVR, and ideally something that will plug into my PC (e.g. PCI card) that can make use of my existing CPU and hard drives, of which I have plenty. If it makes much more sense to get a device that's standalone and interfaces with a PC (or via IP), so be it.. but would really like the storage to be on the PC (cost/security/manageability). Ideally runs on Win7 x64, but if I need to run a little box for this, I've got the hardware, etc.
- Viewable via the Internet, but that's a given for all of them since they need to be stored on a hard drive (I can RDP to my home machine worst case)
- Cost is a factor, but will pay more if there's a significant benefit

Now my questions:
- Has anyone tried Monoprice's line of security cameras? They look like good specs for the buck (as with almost anything from them). Something like this one. It's not even obvious to me the connector it uses.. I'm guessing BNC off the back. Speaking of..
- Is it worth it to get coax anymore, or just use IP-based? Do the IP based cameras only do JPEG captures and you have to run it through a program to generate video?
- Are there cheap PCI solutions available to solve the DVR requirement? Has anyone used something like this? It's possible to mix and match CCTV cameras with DVRs that talk on coax (not IP), right?

Thanks much for any enlightenment on this.. I've tried to find some basic recommendations on the current state of security camera tech but haven't really.. it's mostly people just reselling of equipment.

Thanks for the response, Thomas. Yikes! That's some serious cash for a "nice to have" component.. I'm not trying to secure my business, or even my house.. just have basic day/night vision capability with reasonable resolution like a $30 webcam on your laptop does (other than the night part). If it dumps frames to a computer, that's fine - I can process them later with open source apps.

I'll look into the Costco bundles.. I hope they have some kind of PC-connectivity. Thanks again for the help.. that forum is crazy in-depth with some good commercial gear.

Great info, thanks BB! I hope it's not too much to ask, but do you happen to have night/day screenshots of the camera? Which DVR did you get, and can it save to an MPEG file?

I'd really like to have remote view on my phone if possible, which seems to be a reasonable expectation with something like the free TinyDVR Android app (though perhaps need to all be IP cameras?)

Thanks again for your feedback.. I wish there were more reviews on those Monoprice cameras on their site..

Very cool.. do you know if you can transfer the video off of the drive somehow, or is it purely accessed via the web page? I'm not sure of your technical knowledge, but do you know if you can login to the embedded linux OS and make any changes to provide connectivity? The more options in this regard, the more likely it is I can get it working to the phone (as well as other things like offsite backup).

I was thinking perhaps the video quality would be able to be seen via the web server from your computer, which you could screenshot. I'm a bit concerned with the review I just saw on the 6655 DVR that says the picture quality is poor when going through the DVR as opposed to directly connecting the camera.. did you experience this as well?

Again, thanks for your insight!

So I've found another decent PCI (express in this case) option: Q-See QSDT4PCRC 4 Channel H.264 PCI DVR Card

$80 for a 4-port H.264 card you can throw in your computer sounds like a great deal.. there's an 8-port option for $130 as well.

As for the single cable, I've seen (non-IP) cameras that have a single cable that just contain both power and RG-59, and you just hook the power up at the DVR-side. Not as ideal as PoE, for sure, but much cheaper. There are (of course) others that have the power as a separate AC adapter which would be good for my baby monitor situation where I'm going to have coax run to the room along with UTP (standard low voltage runs to each room), and don't need special two-wire cables for those.

So now I've found some components in my price range.. the Costco idea sparked some good ideas into researching the components used in the packages. I now need to decide between the PCI card in a separate computer, our existing desktop (that stays on all the time), or the standalone DVR. There are pros/cons with each option, of course. I'll probably go the cheapo route and get the above 4-port card (you can combine 1,2, or 4 of those cards in one PC) in our current desktop and separate it out to a different computer if necessary some day.

Then I need to find cameras that work for the special purposes I'll use them for.

Lee, from what I've seen in my research, the bundled ones don't have very good cameras - so I'm planning on adding cameras that I select after deciding on standalone DVR or PCI card. Another reason to buy separately is that most of us probably have different requirements for each camera location (lens sizes, night/day, resolution, etc).

bb, that sounds like some decent basic functionality.. have you tried renaming to mpg, etc? Or just opening straight in WMP and seeing if it finds anything? I found this basic information on H.264.

Awesome, thanks BB! Any chance you could back it up to a night shot to show NV capabilities? Thanks again!

Thanks for that - I wonder what would be the best for an indoor baby cam with minimal light..? Does anyone have any cheap CATV cams that are decent for that?

chitoko, the cables are generally called an "RG-59 with 18/2 siamese cable", and I've seen them for around $100 for 500 ft online.

You might consider rejecting any bills over $50 at your business and/or record their driver's license #, etc, in order to use it. I'd consider that reasonable if I were at a small business.

Let me extend a blanket request for everyone who ends up getting any of these Monoprice security cameras..

Please post screenshots of daytime and night vision use, and which Monoprice ID# it's from! (Like BB already has)

That should help in our decision making.. thanks everyone!

Thanks for the link! Do you know if all of these power plugs are the same? That would be slick if all of these are plug 'n play..