Experience with Unifi Protect and UNVR Pro

[MTL4]

Its been a while since I last posted on here but since getting Blue Iris up and running the way I wanted was giving me fits I had decided to try Unifi Protect since it recently allowed 3rd party camera adoption. The result just blew me away. I ended up purchasing a Cloud Key Gen 2 Plus (controller) and a UNVR Pro (loaded with 3 WD Purple Pro 18TB drives configured in Raid 5) and once it was set up I've been super impressed with how it all works. Now there's no AI or ONVIF triggering at all on the cameras (hopefully they will in a future Protect update). Currently I have it recording my (9) T54IR-ZE-S3 cams, my B52IR-Z12E LPR cam, my (2) Reolink POE Doorbell Cams and a Ubiquiti G6 Instant continuously (13 cams total). I run the Reolink doorbell app on my phone separately as well so I can use the 2-way capability to talk with someone that's at the door. The doorbell cams are a bit more sluggish to load than the Dahua cams but we are talking like a second or two delay when first opening the app on your phone otherwise everything is realtime. With the amount of drive space I have in there now I'd say I have a solid 2-3 months of footage before the UNVR Pro begins to overwrite anything. Scrolling back and forth on your saved footage is super easy (mobile app, apple TV, browser, etc) and you can obviously screenshot whatever you need and download, save or archive clips as well. You can also backup your footage to the cloud (it's a bit taxing on your internet connection with continuous recording so that needs to be a consideration). You do have control of the PTZ portion of the 3rd party camera right in the app so that's a great feature if you need to adjust anything on the fly. Camera details are all available in the app as well (IP address, Bitrate, Mac address, FPS, etc). The mobile app blows the doors off anything I've used before with viewing cameras. I'd call it the Apple of the security software world due to it's ease of configuration and use. It's so easy my wife can use it if she wants to watch the dogs around the property or check for skunks/bears/etc before going outside. She loves it and that's saying alot because shes not the least bit tech savvy. Now while Protect may not be as granular as Blue Iris I have to say the the usability of it (especially on mobile devices) is WAY more pleasant than dealing with Blue Iris. It also requires alot less technical skill to setup and use so this was a real game changer for me (I don't want fiddling with security cameras to use up all my free time). Cost is likely higher especially if you need to purchase their AI cams to work with Protect but I've been very happy with what I get from my 3rd party cams given how I use the system.

I'm still waiting to see what Ubiquiti comes up with for AI on 3rd party stuff (not sold on the AI port or AI Key yet, both need more horsepower IMHO). There's also the ability to mix cameras so if I wanted AI in a certain place I can always add a Ubiquiti AI camera for that specific location (yes, the AI cams are crazy expesnive for what you get). I got a G6 instant for indoor use to allow me to play around with the AI and it works extremely well (perhaps too well) so you need to really tune it down so you don't get blasted with alerts everytime it sees anything. I suspect there's alot of development to be done in this area so the updates for this stuff in the next year or two will definitely be fast and furious.

Anwyay just thought I would share in case others were on the fence about it as well.

 

[SIR VEYOR]

What were your Canadian price points and where did you buy the components?

 

[observant1]

I'm not rich enuogh, but sounds great.

 

[MTL4]

What were your Canadian price points and where did you buy the components?

I got almost everything straight from Ubiquiti in Canada (their canadian website ca.store.ui.com ). The hard drives came from B&H photo in the US (cheapest price I could find on them). The 3rd party cameras were from Empiretech on Amazon.com and got the doorbells there too.

 

[MTL4]

I'm not rich enuogh, but sounds great.

Yes it definitely wasn’t cheap to do it all at once but you can start piecing together a system over time and buying used stuff off eBay, FB marketplace, etc. If you want to start playing around with Protect then just get yourself a Cloudkey Gen 2 plus first (you can run 2-3 cameras on that) and then work towards a UNVR or UNVR Pro later as you get more familiar with it. If you need any help on setup just ask.

 

[Arjun]

Ubiquiti is not ready for prime time - they continue to sell cameras with half-baked features; its an overfluffed colorful GUI that prefers form over function. I am not 100% sold yet on UniFi Protect; the fact that their AI Port does not work with ONVIF cameras at night for LPR baffles me.

 

[MTL4]

Ubiquiti is not ready for prime time - they continue to sell cameras with half-baked features; its an overfluffed colorful GUI that prefers form over function. I am not 100% sold yet on UniFi Protect; the fact that their AI Port does not work with ONVIF cameras at night for LPR baffles me.

I totally agree their AI stuff needs work but honestly the way it integrates with 3rd party stuff already is just fantastic, absolutely blew me away how well it performed especially mobile access. You can’t get sound or motion/AI events (incl night LPR) yet but that is definitely coming. Yes their AI Pro cameras are way overpriced for what they do (G6 line is better value now) but you can mix and match with 3rd party until they develop the AI to where it needs to be. I have no regrets at all even with the current Protect limitations. You can always run BI or Milestone at the same time if you need more event driven recording too.

 

[Arjun]

I totally agree their AI stuff needs work but honestly the way it integrates with 3rd party stuff already is just fantastic, absolutely blew me away how well it performed especially mobile access. You can’t get sound or motion/AI events (incl night LPR) yet but that is definitely coming. Yes their AI Pro cameras are way overpriced for what they do (G6 line is better value now) but you can mix and match with 3rd party until they develop the AI to where it needs to be. I have no regrets at all even with the current Protect limitations. You can always run BI or Milestone at the same time if you need more event driven recording too.

Interestingly, I am able to get sound / motion AI events by pairing events with my Ubiquiti Doorbell Chimes in Event Manager; it is a step in the right direction, but I still need to rely on Rekor Scout and/or forcing color mode on my LPR camera as I have enough ambient light outside 24/7

 

[MTL4]

Interestingly, I am able to get sound / motion AI events by pairing events with my Ubiquiti Doorbell Chimes in Event Manager; it is a step in the right direction, but I still need to rely on Rekor Scout and/or forcing color mode on my LPR camera as I have enough ambient light outside 24/7

I have a bar owner I’m helping to set up a full Protect system (full rack Enterprise NVR) and I haven’t really played much with their higher end AI Pro cameras. He wants all the facial recognition stuff as well as the ability for nighttime LPR so we may try the AI Pro, AI LPR and the DSLR Pro to see how well they perform. I’ll post up more as get to test them out.

 

[Arjun]

I have a bar owner I’m helping to set up a full Protect system (full rack Enterprise NVR) and I haven’t really played much with their higher end AI Pro cameras. He wants all the facial recognition stuff as well as the ability for nighttime LPR so we may try the AI Pro, AI LPR and the DSLR Pro to see how well they perform. I’ll post up more as get to test them out.

I look forward to your testing; the AI LPR only goes up to 3x Optical Zoom (12mm) whereas my Dahua LPR Camera from Andy goes up to 64mm (15x Optical Zoom); its quite the difference in zoom

 

[MTL4]

I look forward to your testing; the AI LPR only goes up to 3x Optical Zoom (12mm) whereas my Dahua LPR Camera from Andy goes up to 64mm (15x Optical Zoom); its quite the difference in zoom

Yeah 3x isn’t great for an LPR but the AI DSLR has a 45mm fixed focal length so I’ll be curious to see what that looks like at distance. I know it doesn’t have true IR night vision but it’s supposed to have exceptional low light performance so a well lit parking lot should be a good test for it.

 

[Arjun]

Yeah 3x isn’t great for an LPR but the AI DSLR has a 45mm fixed focal length so I’ll be curious to see what that looks like at distance. I know it doesn’t have true IR night vision but it’s supposed to have exceptional low light performance so a well lit parking lot should be a good test for it.

My only gripe with the AI DSLR is cost and that due to lack of IR license plates tend to be very reflective while capturing them at night; you can have an ultra low-light performing camera, but it will still struggle from ambient light and light from headlights; YMMV may vary with 3rd-party external IR lights

 

[observant1]

I'm glad you posted even though some of us are not enamored with all the ubuquiti stuff. I only use ubiquiti Access points and stations. They work and work. Never have a problem with them.

I helped do some cam's at a ladys home that wouldnt pay for some of the ubiquiti stuff when she purchased the home...can't remember it very well. Wasn't cameras. Some kind of server (she didn't buy) but had Dream router, Mesh AP's but without (maybe the server) her light switches didn't work corectly......they did need poe to them.....anyway, I love the ubiquiti ptp and ptmtp radios.

 

[MTL4]

My only gripe with the AI DSLR is cost and that due to lack of IR license plates tend to be very reflective while capturing them at night; you can have an ultra low-light performing camera, but it will still struggle from ambient light and light from headlights; YMMV may vary with 3rd-party external IR lights

Can’t disagree with any of that, I’ll just have to see how it actually does under normal operating conditions. I suspect that improvements to AI and integration with 3rd party ONVIF cameras will bridge much of this in the not too distant future.

 

[Arjun]

I'm glad you posted even though some of us are not enamored with all the ubuquiti stuff. I only use ubiquiti Access points and stations. They work and work. Never have a problem with them.

I helped do some cam's at a ladys home that wouldnt pay for some of the ubiquiti stuff when she purchased the home...can't remember it very well. Wasn't cameras. Some kind of server (she didn't buy) but had Dream router, Mesh AP's but without (maybe the server) her light switches didn't work corectly......they did need poe to them.....anyway, I love the ubiquiti ptp and ptmtp radios.

I always knew Ubiquiti for its prosumer network devices; the cameras were just a niche for me; Blue Iris is my primary driver along with Dahua cameras. Ubiquiti still has a long way to go.

 

[Arjun]

Can’t disagree with any of that, I’ll just have to see how it actually does under normal operating conditions. I suspect that improvements to AI and integration with 3rd party ONVIF cameras will bridge much of this in the not too distant future.

I hope Ubiquiti releases a fix soon.

 

[MTL4]

I'm glad you posted even though some of us are not enamored with all the ubuquiti stuff. I only use ubiquiti Access points and stations. They work and work. Never have a problem with them.

I helped do some cam's at a ladys home that wouldnt pay for some of the ubiquiti stuff when she purchased the home...can't remember it very well. Wasn't cameras. Some kind of server (she didn't buy) but had Dream router, Mesh AP's but without (maybe the server) her light switches didn't work corectly......they did need poe to them.....anyway, I love the ubiquiti ptp and ptmtp radios.

I’ve been using their networking equipment for a long time (mainly switches, APs) because you’re right, the stuff just works and you don’t need any crazy licensing like Meraki. I prefer using PFsense or OPNsense on the front end unless it’s a very small install or it’s for someone that just loves the Unifi ecosystem. I later started using Protect because BI just wasn’t cutting it for what I needed. There’s some definite room for improvement but the usability of the system is very high especially for folks that aren’t tech savvy (it’s like the Apple of security systems).

Not sure what was going on with that lady’s setup but are you talking about the etherlighting? That should have worked if she had a UDM cloud gateway VLANs set up correctly. Ubiquiti doesn’t really make servers but maybe did you mean the UNVR? Maybe the AI Key?

 

[observant1]

Not sure what was going on with that lady’s setup but are you talking about the etherlighting? That should have worked if she had a UDM cloud gateway VLANs set up correctly. Ubiquiti doesn’t really make servers but maybe did you mean the UNVR? Maybe the AI Key?

If i knew more about her issues and / or was trained.. i might could make a coherrent response. We just added some dahua cameras and NVR. I do know she had the ubiquity Router and said she wasn't gonna pay for the total package...and I don't know what all that was. I think she had some "cloud keys?" in her closet unused.

 

[MTL4]

If i knew more about her issues and / or was trained.. i might could make a coherrent response. We just added some dahua cameras and NVR. I do know she had the ubiquity Router and said she wasn't gonna pay for the total package...and I don't know what all that was. I think she had some "cloud keys?" in her closet unused.

Yeah it’s expensive to go all in on the Ubiquiti ecosystem, especially for a homeowner. The Cloud Keys are just a fancy term for Ubiquiti’s controller. That Dream Machine she had should also have a controller too. Sounds like she had several generations of equipment in there.

 

[observant1]

Glad my job was to just install a few cameras and an xvr. She even questioned the cost of the xvr. Said she'd seen them for less than 100 dollars.

Some people dont' understand you get what you pay for......but i was just doing grunt work for the guy that sold her a dsc alm and dahua xvr cam sys.