CCTV recorders..... any recommendations without breaking the bank?

HI I am in the market for a 8 or 9 channel CCTV DVR (digital video recorder.)

I have 700 TVL cameras so they require a recording resolution of D1 or

4CIF (both are very similar if not identical)

The attributes that the DVR *MUST* have is a full recording capability of 25 fps at full D1/4CIF on *ALL* its channels simultaneously.

so thats a global recording resource of 200 fps at D1/4CIF for a 8 ch unit and 225 fps at full D1/4CIF for a 9 channel unit.

It is required to work with android smartphones, iphones and ipads so that also means the DVR must be connectable to the internet.

I do no need PTZ controls.

Support for HDMI output.

I do need Motion detection.

Support for a DVD burnerwould be nice as well as USB and internal hard drives would be nice

Pentaplex support is also required, that is, live, record, playback, backup & stream simultaneously.

video loop through is also desired so I can feed the cameras into a bank of RF modulators so that the live pictures can then be viewed on all TV sets in the house.

Any recommendations for a bullet proof & robust make and model of DVR that does not break the bank.

I've looked at the Swann 4200. That seems OK at the price point but has no DVD burner or video loop through.

This is potentially not a deal breaker as I probably can take the 75 ohm resistors out of the RF modulators.

So some recommendations on RF modulators that have switchable or removable 75 ohm input impedance termination would be useful.

Whats peoples opinion of QVIS, Hikvision and Dahua?

I've had a look at Distributed Micros. Wading through their website makes it hard to identify which specific model can support FULL D1/4CIF recording across *ALL* channels simultaneously. They are expensive brand new so second hand off ebay or Amazon seems to the only option if I want a Distributed Micros DVR.

[snip]

Why don't you use a PC with software like Blue Iris, assuming it could work with your cameras? It can handle up to 64 cameras IIRC and costs around $50. Seems to do most of what you want.

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PLenty of advice available there with links to sample video. You will need a pretty powerful processor to be able to record all you want at the framerate you want.

The other thing is what are you trying to get from the cameras? You need good, high resolution from them to have any hope of facial recognition from just a few yards away.

IP camera solutions using Power over Ethernet (PoE) are getting better all the time and save costs. TP-Link do 8 port switches for around £50 with 4 of the ports having PoE. So you need just one cable to the camera.

And of course if your cameras are visible, you really need off-site back-up in case the recording gear gets nicked.

Regards.