I want to monitor my business from home via internet. I would like to
know what epuipment and software i need and their sourse. At present i
have 4 cameras which record everything on a 24 hour taperecorder. it
is to time consuming to watch it. i have contacted few security and
monitoring companies and the range of prices offedered are from $100
to $4000. i dont know what is the best way to go.
my main interest is to watch the employees do the work as assigned.

Here is an answer to the question you haven't asked. Fire them and
hire them back as self-employed contractors. Don't pay them an hourly
wage. Define a set of objectives, have them bid for what the work they
want, and pay them according to the objectives they met. With a little
bit of forethought and creativity, you can strip down your business to
the basics, and you can manage your employees through incentives --
not cameras.

There are digital recorders that will capture and transmit via
internet  digital, real-time and stored data.  A box that will control
4 cameras and allow storage for up to 3 month's worth of data will
cost you ~$5,000.  It can also be viewed by 3 people at once, so you
and someone else can monitor it at the same time.  You can access the
archives and instantly go to any date and time of your choosing.  Look
at www.remoteeyes.com.  There are others as well, I suggest contacting
a local CCTV/Security firm, and they will be happy to demo and suggest
possible solutions.
Hope this helps, good luck.

I have set many of these types of systems up for small and medium
sized businesses.  DVR, digital video recorders, with builtin internet
access point can be had for as low as $800, as well as 10x that price.
 There are many good products on the market, and I would expect to
spend in the $2,000 range for an installed system (assuming that the
existing cameras are okay as is).  One system I have had good luck
with is the Digital Sprite 2 by dedicated micros,
http://www.dedicatedmicro.com/ .  BTW, don't buy a "high end" DVR, if
you have "low end" cameras.

You can find more info about this at www.vieweye.com or send the guy
an email he knows everything about this industry is has fare prices

If you still did not purchase a system you might look into Lorex
Security systems. www.avdeals.com is one of the dealers. If you have
found some thing better and more advanced I will appreciate if you put
a little note(info) here. I still did not purchase one.
Best deal I found so far is for $1859.99 :LOREX sg21cd7484uqa80 21
inch 8 Channel Color Quad System with 80GB DVR
FEATURES - Lorex sg-21cd7484uqa80 21 inch 8 Channel Color Quad System
with 80GB DVR:
Built-in DVR with 2250 hours recording / 100 hours real time
High quality recording with modified MJPEG compression (5-20kbyte/frame)
Video: 720 x 576 and 640 x 272 recording resolution
8 camera inputs (8 DIN, 8 BNC and 8 audio RCA)
Slave HDD and RS232C inputs and alarm terminal block
Built-in multiplexer function and password security protected
Features video capture card and USB output provides internet remote
security monitoring
Dual motion sensing alarm feature and main panel operation
Includes remote monitoring software, 4 color PIR motion sensor cameras
with 63 ft cables, cameras stand and remote control
Manufacturer Homepage: www.strategicvista.com 

Good Luck