Thanks Soundy and everyone who have contributed to my hunt for the camera system. I will take all the info and do more research. The next biggest challenge is to figure out how to get all the wiring together

Soundy, any basic ideas? Since most cameras would be from the top via attic/soffit where would one locate the DVR, upstairs?

Probably go upstairs with the DVR, yup... run the wiring through the attic and poke it out the soffit. If you can get network to the DVR, you could even tuck it away in the attic or a closet and just access it remotely.