Let us start with cameras first. Work out the places where you want to put up cameras in your property (Office, Home, Factory, Warehouse). Put them in to scaled drawings. If cameras are within the range of 200 feet from each other then they will require one DVR to record and process the signals from different cameras and for cameras placed in different building and distance between them is more than 300 foots then we will require two or more DVRs depending upon the distance between them. These DVRs are networked together with your computer using network port. Cameras should be placed at entrance and at places which don’t have easy visibility. Cameras should overlook places which are having valuables. One stand alone DVR can control signals from 32 cameras.
Many people determine after buying a system that they need more cameras. A good rule to use when buying DVR is that is you are only using 75% of its capacity. Buy a 4 channel DVR if you need three cameras or a 8 channel DVR if you are going to use 6 cameras. Under normal circumstances a wired DVR and camera system should stay within 150 to 300 feet of each other, meaning with two cameras in different directions you can cover 300 to 600 feet. A low power wireless system works very well up to 1500 feet, while a high power transmitter will comfortably work at 3000 to 6000 feet from the DVR. If you are using different building with walls and distance being a factor with the wiring or reception, consider two DVRs and they can be connect to any computer port in your network. Another factor is the power supplying the DVR. Having a 2nd DVR on a different circuit or electrical grid can increase security in the event that wires are cut or power turned off by the burglar. If your situation calls for more spacing between cameras and the DVR, talk to your supplier and there are things like changing the wire and cable that can increase distance. Even though most systems advertise longer distance, I am being conservative as type of cable and composition of walls make a big difference in wired or wireless camera reception range.