re: General security camera discussion (was "Unifi Protect security cameras")

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maybe/hopefully upgrading to a 2.5 or 10gbit port and the UNVR would make a great NAS.

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I saw some filings for it to be named the “pro,”‘so presumably a 7-bay NAS. They already have an SFP port capable of 10gbit- they’d probably rather sell their dongles and direct-attach cables than upgrade the Ethernet port. And in this particular case (where 5m ago a Reddit post walked idiots how to do it on existing hardware and Ubiquiti responded with something to the effect of, “wait, you guys would want this?,” it’s hard to blame them.

A $300 4-bay NAS (an ‘converted’ NVR) isn’t bad (unless the glued-on USB drive melts away again). But it’s still a very manual process, and it’s a pretty dedicated single-use box (or maybe dual-use if you’re brave enough to run protect and SMB shares, though it seems that protect likes to overwrite in its own directory, not from the new directory created)


Granted, when deals like this come around, you may argue better value is in the cast-offs. If only there were a way to silence and throttle the 230w of cpus on that monster.

So yeah a typical Protect setup will have either a cloud key or NVR to record, a standalone PoE switch, and of course your cameras. You are correct in that the UDMSE has built in PoE ports to power 8 cameras, a hard drive bay to store video, and it does indeed run Protect, so it will function as you are asking. However IMO that's quite pricey as a drop-in replacement for your existing system. The UDMSE is also a router, though, so it will replace that as well. If you were starting your whole network over from scratch and also wanted cameras, it might be cost-effective. But if you just want to replace the camera system you have I would probably recommend something else.

If UI/UX is important to you then I would still recommend Protect, but for smaller systems with existing router I would probably go with the cloud key and a cheap PoE switch (it doesn't have to be Ubiquiti). I like that the cloud key itself can also be powered via PoE so it plugs into a port just like the cameras.

Or if you want something with more camera options then Reolink is good on the budget end, and I like Uniview for a bit more quality. Assuming your existing system is ONVIF compatible you could swap out for a Uniview NVR and a camera or two and continue using your other existing cameras, and then swap them out as budget allows.

What do you have now?

Ah, so Uniview (like Dahua and Hikvision) sell their products with their own brand but also whitelabel and many companies rebrand their gear. It looks like LTS actually rebrands Uniview for their "Pro-VS" line of products.

I don't know how old your stuff is or what models, but if you've been satisfied with the quality then you will be more than satisfied with the updated Uniview (UNV) cameras. I will say though that even though the video quality is great, I don't much care for the mobile app (it's very similar to NVMS7000). Ubiquiti is still far ahead of everyone as far as the app goes, at least for home use.

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The app is my main way of viewing the cameras, so that's pretty important to me.

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If you're just viewing, whether live or playback, then any of the apps/systems are fine. If you want to review hours of video quickly, or like nice thumbnails of what happened on a particular day, or like timely and rich notifications with a thumbnail when something happens, then I'd go Ubiquiti.

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Looking at Ubiquiti- what would a setup look like?
Just poking around their site and it looks like I would need:
Cloud Key Gen2 Plus
Gateway Console
Unify NVR

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You only need 1 of those 3 to record video. Ubiquiti calls their routers "gateways", so if you already have a router then you don't need one of their gateways (unless you want it). Their Protect NVR software can run on their gateways as an easy "in" to their security camera line, but if you get the NVR or the CK2+ then Protect will run on that and you don't need a gateway.

The UNVR is a "serious" NVR that will take up to 4 hard drives, but will work with only 1. You will have to buy that separately. You will also need a separate PoE switch to power the cameras. I recommend getting the hard drive and switch from amazon.

The cheapest route will be to get the CK2+ which comes with a 1TB hard drive already, a PoE switch from Amazon for <$100 (make sure it has enough PoE ports for your cameras plus 1 to power the CK2+ if you want to do that rather than use the wall adapter), and then 4 or 6 or however many G5 Bullet cameras. With 4 cameras, CK2+, and switch, you'll be looking at about $800 total plus tax and maybe $15 shipping from ubiquiti.

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ETA: I didnt realize the Cloud Key includes storage. So I could be good to go with a CK and a PoE switch correct? And of course cameras

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Exactly. The included 1TB is good for maybe a few days to a week of 24/7 recording of 4 cameras, or much longer if you only record motion events on all/some of the cameras. That drive is also very easy to pop out and replace with a higher capacity 2.5" drive if desired.

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The cheapest route will be to get the CK2+ which comes with a 1TB hard drive already, a PoE switch from Amazon for <$100 (make sure it has enough PoE ports for your cameras plus 1 to power the CK2+ if you want to do that rather than use the wall adapter), and then 4 or 6 or however many G5 Bullet cameras. With 4 cameras, CK2+, and switch, you'll be looking at about $800 total plus tax and maybe $15 shipping from ubiquiti.

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Awesome, I appreciate your help

Question- It looks like the CK2+ has one network port- to connect to the PoE switch. How would I connect the CK2+ to my home internet? Would I just need to have a cable from my router to the PoE switch? I have room on my main switch to add this if needed.

The main purpose of the Cloud Key is to host the UniFi controller. The UniFi controller is how you manage & monitor your UniFi devices. However, the controller doesn't have to be running 24/7. That's only needed if you want monitoring, statistics etc.

The Cloud Key 2+ is a combo device that adds NVR capability. They used to sell a Cloud Key 2 w/o NVR support.

I have a gen 1 Cloud Key. I used to have it running 24/7 but now only power it up when I need to make a change, upgrade firmware etc. Though the Cloud Key gen 1 is now osbolsete and no longers gets controller updates. So I'm going to migrate my controller either to my PC or Synology.

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I believe it also needs to be running for wireless uplink (mesh) to work for some reason. Unless that has changed recently

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Did not know that. I run the controller on an old MacBook that’ll crash from time to time.

Just had to replace an 8 port UniFi POE switch with a new lite version of it. Lasted about two years in the attic before giving me issues. We’ll see how the newer plastic one does.

Good to know. I had read where people were struggling to get wireless meshing to work without a controller always on performing uplink monitoring. Maybe there was an additional configuration step at one time. Whatever the case, it looks like it does indeed work without a controller (or "Network Application" as they call it now).

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Is this correct?

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Yes, that is correct.

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Will I need to do anything to configure my AT&T modem to work with the Dream Machine Gateway?

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You want to configure the Arris BGW-210 for IP Passthrough. You can Google instructions for doing this.

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Essentially the Gateway will become my router correct?

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Yes, that is correct.

You might consider using the Dream Machine Special Edition instead of the Dream Machine Pro and PoE Switch. The Dream Machine Special Edition has a built in 8-port PoE switch.