Since you seem able to whip up you own cables you might look into using a Raspberry Pi-2. There are plenty of tried and tested user solutions to HD vid recording. Base Raspberry Pi-2 <$50 plus hd plug in camcorder plus power supply 5v IIRC and IR is possible.
The tiny boards can be stacked, so you might have 4 boards stacked in a cracker box pointed NESW giving 360 view.
One big advantage is that the whole board fits in an Altoid tin size enclosure so you can make your own enclosure to suit job requirements. Storage can be on micro sd cards, forgot max capacity. A cell phone type adapter for 12v can provide power or a battery pack. Wide latitude
But chances are more than a few people in the Raspberry Pi community have done all or part of what you need.
That’s an interesting idea.
I hadn’t really thought of starting that fundamental. I was hoping to find a DVR that would work...something that I could hang the required cameras, etc. off of.
However, you’ve got me thinking differently now. How involved/technical would a project like the one you generally suggested be?
I can figure out the cables, but starting all the way from scratch would be new to me.
Easy enough to figure out and/or Google the skills/specs required? For an amateur?
Thanks!
C