Solution: the solution that we came up with was to use mutiple webcams in each room, with a laptop/computer to support the recording. I manage to source some low cost web cams (microsoft vx-500) in the post christmas sales, then used my rig at home supplemented with a couple of laptops to record everything.
The plan is to have 15 web cams, 4 to stream to the web and 11 to record. Cyberlink powerdirector is going to be used to do the actual recording, in place of ulead video studio. The recordings will encoded into a div x format, since we will be there for about a week a couple of portable 1tb hard drives are taken along as well. USB extension cords will be used to possition the camera and the laptops/computers will be locked away in cupboards.
Ulead video studio will be used later to piece everything together.