Here are your options...

CCTV security video recording has advanced into the digital age. If you are putting together a CCTV security system, you would be hard pressed to find an old analog tape recorder (VCR).  Actually, hope you don't find one because if you do, you'll be sorry you went that route. The way to go with security video recording is a CCTV DVR (Digital Video Recorder). With a digital recorder the video images are recorded to a hard drive; technology pretty much like the TIVO you use to record television programs. No swapping tapes again, ever! Plus you get the ability to search for incidents by day and time and remote viewing from anywhere in the world via the internet. You can look at what's going on in your store anytime, from anywhere. Plus you get a built in multiplexer, no need to purchase a separate piece if equipment.

If you are using a VCR to record your surveillance footage; you are truly not seeing the clearest picture you can get. Although, the cameras you are using are analog, you should be saving your footage to a DVR. You make law enforcements job much easier if you can provide a security incident to them in a format they can actually see clearly. Most Time-lapse VCR images are cloudy and grainy; even the cheapest DVR is superior in quality to the best VCR tape.

Since DVR's record to a huge hard drive you can store days, or even weeks depending on the compression, of video footage before it is overwritten. Most DVR's recycle; this means they record all they can on a hard drive, or series of hard drives, until the drives are full. Then they go the oldest footage and start re-recording over it. That's why you don't have to swap out anything like with a VCR setup. Also to help your system get the most out of recording space, most DVR's can be setup so they only record when the camera "sees" motion in the room. Why record an empty room with no movement in it. These things are excellent security devices, every serious surveillance system should be built around one of these units.

You have a couple options when looking into a DVR security system. You can purchase a DVR Card that you put into an existing PC or you can purchase a Dedicated System that already has the analog to digital decoding card built in.

There are hundreds of DVR Cards and Stand Alone systems on the market. Before spending your money on junk, visit a resource like CCTV Forum for advice from the experts in the field.