1. A security system comprising: a network video recorder including a first processor; a set of security devices connected to the network video recorder by a first IP network; an IP client station including a second processor, a display, a memory and a storage device; the IP client station connected to the network video recorder by a second IP network; an update server connected to the IP client station by a third IP network; the network video recorder further including: a mass storage device in communication with the first processor, on which a first set of program instructions are stored; a flash memory device for storing a boot program; the first set of program instructions, when executed by the first processor, perform the steps of: creating and operating a relational database on the mass storage device; storing and characterizing security devices, a set of events, a set of alarms and a set of video metadata in the relational database; creating and operating a media database on the mass storage device; storing a first set of streaming video sessions from the set of security devices to the mass storage device, as a set of stored video sessions, using the media database; accessing the set of stored video sessions on the mass storage device by accessing the media database; creating and operating a web server further programmed to communicate with the IP client station via the second IP network; creating and operating a database groomer service for the relational database and the media database, the database groomer service further programmed to create a set of XML metadata files for the set of events and for the set of stored video sessions, and to relate the set of events to the set of stored video sessions in the relational database and media database; creating and operating a scheduler service; creating and operating an IP network discovery service further programmed to perform the steps of: automatically detecting the set of security devices; logging the detected set of security devices into the relational database; and, loading a set of default configurations from the relational database to the set of security devices; creating and operating a media recorder to communicate with the first and second IP networks; coordinating the media recorder with the database groomer, the media database, the scheduler service, and the set of security devices; the media recorder recording the first set of streaming video sessions to the media database based on the scheduler service; creating and operating an event manager service which is further programmed to perform the steps of: detecting the set of events; logging the set of events into the relational database; when a pre-defined event trigger matches to one event of the set of events, alerting the scheduler service to schedule, with the media recorder, a video recording of a video stream from a security device; creating and operating an alarm delivery service in communications with the event manager service and programmed with the step of delivering alarm messages to a group of system users; transmitting a second set of streaming video sessions from the set of security devices to the IP client station via the first and third IP networks. transmitting the stored set of video sessions from the media database to the IP client station using the media recorder; a second set of program instructions stored in the memory of the second processor that, when executed by the second processor, performs the steps of: creating and operating a hybrid web browser means for communicating with the network video recorder, configuring and controlling the transmission of the set of events and the first set of streaming video sessions from the security system devices to the network video recorder; and, configuring and controlling the transmission of the second set of streaming video sessions from the security system devices to the IP client station.