Unifi Cameras / Protect Review

Therefore no need to have UniFI NVR? Just Cloud Key for the integration?

Therefore no need to have UniFI NVR? Just Cloud Key for the integration?

Correct - though you don't even need the Cloud Key either if you run the Controller software on your Mac.

Unifi cameras can be set up either in stand-alone mode (for integration with 3rd. party software like Security Spy), or adopted with the UniFI NVR hardware. For stand-alone mode, the Unifi discovery tool plugin for Chrome is about all you'd actually use for setup (the Controller/Cloud key would be relevant if you're also using Unifi for switches/gateway but adds noting special to camera management).

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Still not decided if NVR worth it or do everything with SecuritySpy

Marco I now have the UDM Pro and have moved from SS to Protect. I had to keep SS for indigo integration, and the app is seriously slow to load in comparison, particularly when there’s someone at the front door and you want to see who’s there quickly.

I do prefer the UDM from the perspective that you can configure it all via the iPhone app and tweak it etc, and the UI is great for the always recording and skipping back to review the timeline etc.

I tend to have protect now recording 24/7 and will revert to that when I need to retrieve footage. For live viewing I’m using SS to talk to the protect cameras via RTSP


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Few questions again

- I plan to move to USG and maybe CloudKey Gen 2 Plus
- Why then SS for live viewing? The App on iPhone should be enough, doesn't it?
- If you have 24/7 recording, why do you need triggers in Indigo?


Thanks

Thanks
Few questions again

- I plan to move to USG and maybe CloudKey Gen 2 Plus
- Why then SS for live viewing? The App on iPhone should be enough, doesn't it?
- If you have 24/7 recording, why do you need triggers in Indigo?


Thanks

SS because it’s quicker to open the SS app on my phone and see the feeds instead of launching the Protect app, which has to connect / login each time (very slowly)
I also have it so I can display camera feeds on indigo control pages, which you can’t do direct from Protect, and I also use it to trigger sending an iMessage with a photo of any motion detected so I don’t have to launch my app to see what’s going on when 95% of the time it’s something I’m not fussed over.

We don’t just use CCTV for security, it comes in handy for - oh, the food shop has just arrived etc ...


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- If you have 24/7 recording, why do you need triggers in Indigo?

We don’t just use CCTV for security, it comes in handy for - oh, the food shop has just arrived etc ...

I don't use SS as I find it heavy on resources and historically the video triggers were very unreliable for me. But I also use the video mostly for notifications rather then security. I know when my deliveries come, and who is taking out the garbage. There is no need here, just want. I guess I don't need automation, I can flick a switch to turn the lights on, I just want it. Billions of people live happy lives without it. There are other ways to integrate video in to Indigo besides SS, I use Hikvision NVR, and have live feeds in Indigo and image frames in notification e-mails.

Big ubnt fan here- installed 6 G3 outdoors and UniFi NVR 8/2017 and they are up and running like day1. I have also a dome inside for 18 months. I never mess with them except to check deliveries and such. I wish it had human recognition algo though. I use the UniFi app when onsite but use a third party up cam app to view lower res version when away (for faster video). Set it and forget it has been my experience.


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When you have out door cameras. Make sure you use surge protectors in the Ethernet cables with proper grounding before the cables enter the house.

I lost 3 UniFi switches, one camera, a monitor due to lightning


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I pulled the trigger and bought two US-8-60 switches, 3xG3 Flex cameras and the CloudKey Gen 2 Plus with integrated NVR; setup was wonderful and very fast; of course now cameras are managed by UniFi Protect but I would have somehow integrated in Indigo through SS, but I am not able to get the RTSP stream into SS; must the camera be in Standalone mode to get that?

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Marco

SS because it’s quicker to open the SS app on my phone and see the feeds instead of launching the Protect app, which has to connect / login each time (very slowly)

I don't find this to be the case... just opened mine and it opens in about 4 seconds in my tests just now -- though I only have 4 cameras migrated to Protect yet, so perhaps that makes a difference. This is inline or faster than my old generic NVR's app, though I don't have anything else to compare against.

Adam

I'm using unifi for my wifi and I like it a lot. I don't use the cloud key, as I try to stay away from cloud reliance, but am tempted by a nicely integrated solutions. Can the Unifi NVR be used and accessed without the cloud key? Dos anybody have experience using it with Indigo? If so, this starts looking even better.

Just a note about remote access. It takes the Hikvision iOs app about 2s to show all my cameras, but I use a direct connection not through their cloud service.

The cloud key is not actually a cloud service. It's a small box that connects to your network to run the management software. You can also run the software on a Mac, or (as I do) on a Synology NAS. Or you could run it on a cloud server. A friend of mine does that because he has a business managing small UniFi networks and all of his client's systems are run from the same cloud server.

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UniFi-Cloud-Key-UC-CK

The cloud key is also built into their UDM (UniFi Dream Machine), which is a router, cloud key, and ethernet switch in one box.

I pulled the trigger and bought two US-8-60 switches, 3xG3 Flex cameras and the CloudKey Gen 2 Plus with integrated NVR; setup was wonderful and very fast; of course now cameras are managed by UniFi Protect but I would have somehow integrated in Indigo through SS, but I am not able to get the RTSP stream into SS; must the camera be in Standalone mode to get that?

No, you can access the RSTP feed from any device - for example, I have my 4 recording on the CloudKey Plus but they display (via RSTP) on a Raspberry Pi based "display system" (sends to the TVs in the house).

In the Protect software, on the Cameras tab, select a camera and in the right slide out panel, choose "Manage" tab/icon. Expand the RTSP section and then you have to explicitly enable which quality you want to stream; it will give you the URL to access it right there (it is different for each quality).

Adam

I'm using unifi for my wifi and I like it a lot. I don't use the cloud key, as I try to stay away from cloud reliance, but am tempted by a nicely integrated solutions. Can the Unifi NVR be used and accessed without the cloud key? Dos anybody have experience using it with Indigo? If so, this starts looking even better.

As Joe mentioned, it does not require the cloud... you can have it enable cloud access which is NOT streaming up to the cloud like Nest, but rather just allows accessing the controller via their cloud (think similar to how Indigo's Reflector service works).

In the mobile app, though, you can setup a directly connected/local controller without going through the cloud service. And in the Protect NVR software, it is simply a checkbox to toggle it on and off completely.

It doesn't seem like the most advanced software in the world, but it has been super easy to manage and hassle free for the most part (though I had a hard drive die, I wasn't using a NAS or Security rated HD, so probably my fault). Super easy to upgrade the storage by swapping in and out the HD too.

Adam