Ubiquiti Networks Protect Network Video Recorder

Was on Unifi Video for a long time and like everyone else, had to make the jump to Unifi Protect when Ubiquiti decommissioned Unifi Video. I needed the HDD redundancy which the Cloud Key Gen 2 Plus didn’t have as I was running Unifi Video off a NAS. It’s well worth it as compared to upgrading the HDD on a CKG2. Very stable but it does get a little noisy with the fans going especially with 4 x HDDs loaded. It’s been running for over a week with no issues. Fully recommend it if you need the extra storage which allows for a longer period to retain your recordings.

Easy to use, works great

The short and sweet review is that this device is simple and works great. If you're already familiar with Ubiquiti and Unifi, you'll love it. If you're not, it's a quick learn.I switched from running Unifi Protect on a UDM-P to the UNVR for the extra storage and redundancy. I currently have 2x G4-Pros, 3x G4-Bullets, 1x G3-Flex, 3x G3-Instants, and a G4-Doorbell.The system runs fast and scrubs quickly, particularly after the 1.19 update. Ubiquiti seems to be releasing updates at a steady pace and this is nice to see as well.

Excellent performance and features for the money

I've run/tested many different NVR setups from free cheap Trendnet/Hikvision type of software solutions to open source projects like Zoneminder and Shinobi, but the Ubiquiti offering definitely give them a run for their money and then some by reducing the complexity. The smart detection system that uses a bit of AI for the detection of persons/vehicles is very good considering the price point and hardware specs. The system is very reliable with a battery backup in place. The only downside with the NVR is the loading of the playback of old events can take some time. The NVR does seem to prioritize/cache newer events over older ones so at least those playback much more quickly (instantly to almost instantly). I've tested drives up to 14 TB with WD Ultrastar and WD ... MoreI've run/tested many different NVR setups from free cheap Trendnet/Hikvision type of software solutions to open source projects like Zoneminder and Shinobi, but the Ubiquiti offering definitely give them a run for their money and then some by reducing the complexity. The smart detection system that uses a bit of AI for the detection of persons/vehicles is very good considering the price point and hardware specs. The system is very reliable with a battery backup in place. The only downside with the NVR is the loading of the playback of old events can take some time. The NVR does seem to prioritize/cache newer events over older ones so at least those playback much more quickly (instantly to almost instantly). I've tested drives up to 14 TB with WD Ultrastar and WD Reds/Purples with no problems.

Great Video Recorder

The UNVR is surprisingly fast at loading up videos, scrolling through video, etc. Even with 8 G4 cameras (5 G4 Pros, 3 G4 Bullets). Setup was a breeze.The thing I don't like about this is the Protect mobile app can't discover it if it's on its own VLAN. I don't think a camera network -- particularly exterior cameras -- should be on a native network. I have it set so that only certain MAC addresses are authenticated on my camera VLAN (the cameras, UNVR, some Android tablets that I use as mobile camera viewers, and my Viewports). Our iPhones/iPads have to connect remotely since you can't specify an IP address (it relies 100% on discovery). Since UI doesn't implement mDNS reflection on all VLAN's correctly, it won't be discoverable. I'm thinking of using the RJ45 ... MoreThe UNVR is surprisingly fast at loading up videos, scrolling through video, etc. Even with 8 G4 cameras (5 G4 Pros, 3 G4 Bullets). Setup was a breeze.The thing I don't like about this is the Protect mobile app can't discover it if it's on its own VLAN. I don't think a camera network -- particularly exterior cameras -- should be on a native network. I have it set so that only certain MAC addresses are authenticated on my camera VLAN (the cameras, UNVR, some Android tablets that I use as mobile camera viewers, and my Viewports). Our iPhones/iPads have to connect remotely since you can't specify an IP address (it relies 100% on discovery). Since UI doesn't implement mDNS reflection on all VLAN's correctly, it won't be discoverable. I'm thinking of using the RJ45 connection to my main LAN while the SFP+ is on my camera VLAN.There has been some discussion about failures due to a generic USB flash drive that was utilized for OS storage. The UNVR-Pro has eMMC flash memory instead of a USB flash drive. I can confirm that with newer versions (board revision 38 for me), the generic USB flash drive is gone. I'm guessing it's an eMMC memory module that's in its place.

Great for UniFi cameras

This only records UniFi cameras. As of now, there are no plans to support 3rd part cameras. While the price is a bit higher than other options, YOU store your own data, which means you're not depending on someone else to not sell your video and if the OEM went bust, your equipment would still work. Oh, and there's NO SUBSCRIPTION! Finally someone on the side of the customer!I'm currently running a RAID-5 array on one of these UNVR boxes at home and MAN is it responsive! I can scroll back in time and I don't have to wait for it to buffer the stream or pause for several seconds as it seeks back. IT JUST WORKS. To be clear, one of the drives I'm using is a 5+ year old WD green, its astonishingly responsive even ignoring that.The interface is pretty useful, showing ... MoreThis only records UniFi cameras. As of now, there are no plans to support 3rd part cameras. While the price is a bit higher than other options, YOU store your own data, which means you're not depending on someone else to not sell your video and if the OEM went bust, your equipment would still work. Oh, and there's NO SUBSCRIPTION! Finally someone on the side of the customer!I'm currently running a RAID-5 array on one of these UNVR boxes at home and MAN is it responsive! I can scroll back in time and I don't have to wait for it to buffer the stream or pause for several seconds as it seeks back. IT JUST WORKS. To be clear, one of the drives I'm using is a 5+ year old WD green, its astonishingly responsive even ignoring that.The interface is pretty useful, showing thumbnails of motion events with the image zoomed on the motion-trigger is really helpful. You can also apply a "Person" filter so that you can just look at motion events triggered by a person instead of a car. I'm adding a couple screenshots, adding blur to faces and identifying features.

KNOWN ISSUE WITH USB, no support

After being forced to switch to Unifi Protect from Unifi Video I thought this was a slick NVR. How wrong I was! After 14 months (which is 2 months out of warranty if you buy from B&H, buy direct from Unifi store and it is 24 months) the device failed, flashing white light and wouldn't connect. One google search later i realized that it was not rare and I was in good company. Search UNVR Fail USB and you'll see what I mean. Bottom line is that every single one of these units is going to fail, most conveniently just out of warranty. The issue seems to stem from a USB mounted on the motherboard that fails with to many read write operations. You can replace it simply, but who wants to do this every year? No faith in Unifi, they screwed me on the AP - EDU's as well.

Perfect

Picked this up after some back and fourth between this and the Cloud key. For the extra $100 You get more drives and raid support which made it worth it. Quiet and you don't hear it running. Room for expansion without the performance hit. Currently its setup with a 2x 2TB drives in Raid 1 and its been great.

Requires Ubiquiti Account to use App

While storage might be local, Ubiquiti has complete control over the unit. If you want to use the iPhone/iPad apps you are stuck allowing remote access. Had it not been for Ubiquiti's major breach of systems back in January this might not be that bad... but many of us want to make sure surveilance equipment is in a dedicated VLAN with tightly controlled (eg VPN) access to the outside world. For that, this is a complete failure.

Surprising value for the money

Bought this to upgrade an existing UNIFI video on the discontinued linux platform. Ubiquiti really did a spectacular job at ensuring that the old configuration backup could be read by the new system. Cutover was very smooth, and only took about 20 minutes. It's been running for about a month now, and I've not had any problems whatsoever.If you've got the old Unifi NVR, or a linux build, I highly recommend this product.The only downside is that there is no easy path to move the footage to the new appliance. This was not a design requirement in my case, but if you must retain the footage, you won't be able to use your existing drives in your old linux box until the footage has expired as per your SLA.

Works as advertised

Product requires almost not set up. Make internet connection, add the drives, download the UniFi app and that pretty much it! Enough storage for my needs and requirements. Strong housing.