An in-car video system with inputs for one or more analog or digital video cameras, one or more of which may be wireless, and having inputs for one or more microphones, one or more of which may be wireless. The system includes circuitry to digitize the input signals, if necessary, merge the data with system status data and compress the resulting data with any algorithm, preferably MPEG 4. A digital data cassette recorder records the compressed data, and a decompression circuit and active matrix display and audio channel provide monitoring capability of live video and audio. In some embodiments, a hard disk continuously records all data and archives previously recorded data to tape when so ordered to provide after-the-fact recording capability. In some embodiments, anti-tampering circuitry renders the recorded data tamper-proof, and a local playback circuit allows local playback of either live or previously recorded video.