H.264 on analog camera
Here is a good guide to help you understand the compression.

Go Digital, scrap analog. You won't need a computer to handle the cameras or a video encoder.

Buy a cheap Axis camera and download Axis Companion software, then the camera just needs access to the internet and you can view it from anywhere in your smartphone.

You could also buy any other IP camera and get their dedicated software.

I work at Axis, so I do recommend our product line for stability, availability and quality.