Thank fenderman, I'm new to surveillance systems, hopefully it won't take long for me to digest the plethora of information on the forum.
I started off with a Sannce system, then tested out a Z-modo. Clearly, I had the initial intention of being cheap, and quickly realized that that wasn't the key to getting a decent system set up (most of these companies are proud of the closed-system setup, where we can't use multiple brands of cameras on the the same NVR). Some of these companies stick to using remote apps (iOS and Android-based), and refuse to allow their customers to view on a web interface. I'm pleased with
Amcrest's effort to make their web-interface intuitive. I checked out a Swann system in person the other day and was pleased with the picture quality, but when I quickly realized its virtually impossible to gain access to their system through a PC, its led me to reconsider the options.
When I started off with a Sannce last month, I liked the features of CMS 2.0. I could connect a PC to the network, access the cameras and NVR without having to physically check in and access the user interface around the clock.