There are a few ways to record Video from your Camera:
Home VCR
You can record the Video on you home VCR; however, you are limited to eight hours of record time. Then you need to switch tapes. The other issue is that a VCR records constantly regardless of whether the room you are viewing is empty or full of action. The means you may have to sit and watch 4 hours of an empty room to see three minutes of who walked in and stole your money. (Average cost: $100)
Time Lapse VCR
There are special VCRs with time lapse capability that can record for a very long time. (some record 24-48 hours of video on to a single tape); however, they do this with a sacrifice; to fit more content on a tape, they record at a slower speed and lower quality. Time Lapse Video Recorders do not solve the problem of running out of tape, they just delay the inevitable; nor do they avoid recording empty rooms. (Average cost: $400)
Dedicated Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
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Dedicated Digital Video Recorder (DVR) is a more advanced surveillance system with two main advantages: By recording digitally to a hard drive, or memory card, there is no need to ever change tapes. The more memory your DVR has, the longer it can record before it beings to automatically write over the oldest recordings. The biggest advantage to DVRs is their ability to use "motion detection" to trigger recording. This means that a DVR will never waste space recording an empty room. When the DVR sees that the signal from the camera has changed, it begins to record, and stops when the motion has ceased. This means when you're viewing, you only watch the action.
DVRs come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from small, personal DVRs that support a single camera and record to a memory card all the way up to 16 channel, Unix-Powered DVRs that record onto a massive hard drive. Some people even turn their personal computer into a DVR.
Some DVRs can even be connected to a computer network for remote viewing. For information about
remote viewing over the Internet. (Average cost from $1,000 - $5,000, depending on number of cameras supported channels and the size of the hard drive).
Memory Card Recorder
The most popular way to record a single camera is with a
Memory Card Recorder. These devices record your video from any camera directly on to a
Memory Card, just like the one a regular Digital Camera would use.
The system has all of the advantages of a Digital Video Recorder, such as: Motion Detection, additionally, there are no tapes to manage or change; however, the typical Memory Card Video Recording System is much less expensive than a hard drive-based multi-channel DVR.
Some cameras that have built-in Memory Card Video Recorders. The advantage to these is a simple, single unit system that does not require any additional wires or wireless transmitters to connect to the recorder. However, having the Video Recorder built into the camera does have some limitations: There is not a very large selection of cameras with built-in Digital Video Recorders. Most of them are not traditional, Covert, Hidden Cameras, but rather resemble Motion Detectors, or simply look like Cameras. If you like the form factor that these products are offered in, they can be a great solution. If you're looking for something more unique, we recommend selecting your favorite Covert, Hidden Camera and matching it up with a stand-alone Memory Card Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In most cases, this will actually be less expensive. (Average cost: $200 - $600 plus
memory cards) for the amount of storage you require.
Portable Media Player (PMP)
The newest and most exciting way to record video on to a
Portable Media Player (PMP) that resembles an iPod with a large, LCD Screen, allowing you to view the video. Portable Media Players run on batteries and fit in your pocket, making them perfect for recording from a Body-Worn Camera. The only disadvantage to the Portable Media Player is the lack of motion detection and the price. However, most people who get a PMP find that they use it every day to record television shows and movies and watch them wherever they are. This versatile device does much more than just record security cameras. (Average cost: $600 - $1,000) | 
