Hear me out... drop the pitch-fork! 
For people like me that don't have the time to fiddle with things and need them to work for years on end and with remote management and remote firmware updates that work out of the box... it seems like UNIFI protect is the way to go. Yes, my Dahua Turret (Dahua-5231ZE) has a handsome look and I like the large glass on the front and this looks better to me than the UNIFI cams, I hate the G6 Turret (Eye Ball Look). But I like the software end ecosystem and that they are rapidly improving. I bought a Dahua NVR and was not impressed with anything about it. It was seemingly like something out the early 90s... The hardware was super basic and rudimentary and the software was worse, there was nothing polished or impressive about it.
So, my use-case is that I have a rental home that is 350 miles from me and I want something that works and that would be rock-solid and that could be remotely administered and that would be feature rich.
Issues with other systems:
-Most people here are afraid to update the firmware on their Dahua cams... they can be bricked.
-Windows based NVR is less reliable than an purpose built appliance
-Dahua based systems at our level are not innovating. As an example, we are encouraged to not update our firmware.... Why is this accepted, because almost certainly, there is no new feature for you to enjoy anyway... no progress.
-You have to be more technical and enjoy tinkering to have a reliable system.
-The cams we want are not sold and supported in the US.... most of us are dependent on one guy....
-We have to go through one guy to get firmware so that we will not brick our cams and even then we are encouraged not to do so unless you really have to.
-We are shopping on Ebay for the right computer.... I'm not a a Windoze guy...
I do like the picture quality and the look of the hardware for Dahua 5231 and newer cams... but the price was not cheap.more than
EmpireTech 4K 8MP 1/1.8" Turret Smart AI IP Camera, IPC-T58IR-ZE S3 sells for $240 on Amazon.
UNIFI 4K 8MPa 1/1.8" Turret Smart AI (Multi-TOPS AI Engine) Camera, UVC-G6-Turret-W sells for $199
store.ui.com
So the G6 camera is $41 cheaper and has: Face Recognition, License Plate Recognition, Smart Detections (People, Vehicles, Animals). Has Quad-core Arm® Cortex®-A53 based chip that does the AI on the camera. And, the software (UNIFI Protect) seems much more powerful and polished and user-friendly and where the product line is constantly improving.
Am I missing something? It seems like UNIFI is on fire right now and the value is undeniable even with a technical user like myself with a career in software development. Sometimes you want things to just work.
I invite your replay and welcome any insight you have. I'm about to go hog-wild in to the UNIFI Protect world, I already have extensive experience with their routers, switches and access points.
Thanks,
Rob
For people like me that don't have the time to fiddle with things and need them to work for years on end and with remote management and remote firmware updates that work out of the box... it seems like UNIFI protect is the way to go. Yes, my Dahua Turret (Dahua-5231ZE) has a handsome look and I like the large glass on the front and this looks better to me than the UNIFI cams, I hate the G6 Turret (Eye Ball Look). But I like the software end ecosystem and that they are rapidly improving. I bought a Dahua NVR and was not impressed with anything about it. It was seemingly like something out the early 90s... The hardware was super basic and rudimentary and the software was worse, there was nothing polished or impressive about it.
So, my use-case is that I have a rental home that is 350 miles from me and I want something that works and that would be rock-solid and that could be remotely administered and that would be feature rich.
Issues with other systems:
-Most people here are afraid to update the firmware on their Dahua cams... they can be bricked.
-Windows based NVR is less reliable than an purpose built appliance
-Dahua based systems at our level are not innovating. As an example, we are encouraged to not update our firmware.... Why is this accepted, because almost certainly, there is no new feature for you to enjoy anyway... no progress.
-You have to be more technical and enjoy tinkering to have a reliable system.
-The cams we want are not sold and supported in the US.... most of us are dependent on one guy....
-We have to go through one guy to get firmware so that we will not brick our cams and even then we are encouraged not to do so unless you really have to.
-We are shopping on Ebay for the right computer.... I'm not a a Windoze guy...
I do like the picture quality and the look of the hardware for Dahua 5231 and newer cams... but the price was not cheap.more than
EmpireTech 4K 8MP 1/1.8" Turret Smart AI IP Camera, IPC-T58IR-ZE S3 sells for $240 on Amazon.
UNIFI 4K 8MPa 1/1.8" Turret Smart AI (Multi-TOPS AI Engine) Camera, UVC-G6-Turret-W sells for $199
Camera G6 Turret - Ubiquiti Store
All-weather, tamper-resistant 4K PoE camera with a 1/1.8" 8MP image sensor, Multi-TOPS AI Engine, and 3-axis manual adjustment for flexible installation.
store.ui.com
So the G6 camera is $41 cheaper and has: Face Recognition, License Plate Recognition, Smart Detections (People, Vehicles, Animals). Has Quad-core Arm® Cortex®-A53 based chip that does the AI on the camera. And, the software (UNIFI Protect) seems much more powerful and polished and user-friendly and where the product line is constantly improving.
Am I missing something? It seems like UNIFI is on fire right now and the value is undeniable even with a technical user like myself with a career in software development. Sometimes you want things to just work.
I invite your replay and welcome any insight you have. I'm about to go hog-wild in to the UNIFI Protect world, I already have extensive experience with their routers, switches and access points.
Thanks,
Rob
