Newb needs help putting a system together

DPGDirk

n3wb
Apr 3, 2026
1
0
Kansas
Hi everyone.
Total newb here.
I am wanting a new system and have questions. Having a hard time finding answers and I am completely new to this.
It seems like all the packages out there are subscription driven and tied to the internet and wi-fi.
I have no interest in being tied to the cloud or having my system accessible by anyone but myself.
I work from home and primarily want this to monitor in real time.

I am looking to go with an 8 camera High-Def system with 2 monitors (one upstairs and 1 downstairs) and a big hard drive for storage in case I need to review anything.
Ease of function and simplicity would be nice. I mostly don't touch it unless I want to review footage and it would be nice to be able to enlarge any of the 8 screens to full screen for viewing.

I want to hard wire the cameras and not be hooked to wi-fi, unless I can turn that on only occasionally to monitor if I'm away.
Someone in the industry said to stay with American cameras, as chinese stuff might have a back door...?
Just not wanting to "participate" in the coming AI surveillance network if I don't have to.

So, can anyone recommend a package, or what specific pieces I can buy separately for higher (4k?) resolution, with good day and night vision capabilities and distance?
I don't need any pan or zoom functions- just fixed outdoor cameras.

I don't want to pay a fortune, but I don't want junk that isn't reliable, so quality over price.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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