By self-hosted, you mean that you don’t want it to upload to the cloud by default like Dropcams, right? Can’t say I blame you — I consider uploading constant footage of where I live or work to the cloud to be a major privacy issue.

Honestly, you can get IP cameras for under $100 a piece if you don’t need pan/tilt ability, and I’d either get a dedicated DVR, or get a reasonably current computer with two 1 TB hard drives (softRAIDed) and install something like ZoneMinder running under Ubuntu. Or, better yet, SecuritySpy on an older Mac Mini!

I’d run over a wired network, ideally with a dedicated switch, not over wireless since you don’t want the cameras to be easily interfered with. Lastly, it would be nice to have the DVR hidden somewhere so that thieves don’t steal it or mess with it to destroy evidence.

If it’s a Mac Mini, it’s small enough to live in an old breaker box mounted in a closet wall that would look like a subsidiary fusebox to the cursory eye.