Camera systems with 100% local storage and drop dead simple remote access do exist. For example - Unifi Protect. NVR: https://store.ubnt.com/collections/surve

Camera systems with 100% local storage and drop dead simple remote access do exist. For example - Unifi Protect. NVR: https://store.ubnt.com/collections/surveillance/products/unifi-cloudkey-gen2-plus-1 https://store.ubnt.com/collections/surveillance/products/uni... $200, rated to support 20 cameras - some use more with no problems. Pretty nice box. 8 core ARM, 3GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, POE powered, built in battery backup for clean system shutdown. Well made, metal case feels like a piece of Apple kit. https://store.ubnt.com/collections/surveillance/products/unifi-video-g3-flex-camera-1 https://store.ubnt.com/collections/surveillance/products/uni... $80. They have others in the $150 - $250 range depending on capabilities. They even have a wifi one, but wired is always better. $100 switch gives you four POE ports - the DVR and three cameras: https://store.ubnt.com/collections/routing-switching/products/unifi-switch-8-60w https://store.ubnt.com/collections/routing-switching/product... There are other switches that can provide more POE ports if you need 'em. Pretty decent system. No monthly fees - slightly higher up front cost will pay for itself over time, especially if you have more than one or two cameras. What's really nice about their system? Create a free account with them. Set up the NVR and log it into the free account. Load their app on your phone, log into the account and boom. You have access. Whether you are remote or not. Their cloud service brokers the connection from your device to your phone. No firewall ports to forward or other configurations. NVR connects to cloud, uses that connect your remote access back to the NVR. Slick as snot. Once you connect their cloud is out of the equation. There might be other vendors with solutions as easy to use and set up - I haven't found them. I sure as hell don't need to store my video in the cloud.