If you prefer the hardware DVR route they sell a box which is just basically an atom pc with a version of linux - but customized to work like an appliance (i.e. headless, hit the web interface). Ref: ...

GeoVision has released a new version 8.5 of GV-DVR/NVR and CMS. This new version 8.5 also supports Windows 7 32-bit/64-bit as in previous versions.