UniFi Network Video Recorder (UNVR) - Is It Worth It?

This is my review of the UniFi Network Video Recorder (UNVR).
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#unifiprotect #ubiquiti #ubiquitinetworks

[@kc0eks]

I run dozens of these in the wild. Failure rate is about 50% on the original version with a USB drive inside. Aside from that nightmare these are great. Up to 43 cameras in one and it still runs great.

[@TomasVillegas]

Awesome comment. Thanks for sharing your experience 🤝

[@ecu8r]

I just purchased a UNVR and waiting to arrive this Monday, can't wait to mount it. Even made a spot for it today. I have a total of 15 cameras and as you mentioned it is a little overkill but I do have plans to add more in the future so this will allow me to do it. I can't wait to see the difference switching management from my UDMPro and remote access, I also noticed the lag so that should be a welcomed change. Thanks for your video!

[@TomasVillegas]

With that many cameras you'll definitely notice an access to camera time improvement. Thanks for watching 🤝

[@cyrussvyruss9205]

Its funny you paid for it instead of doing what he did and basically ask for something for free when you can afford it. Isn't that funny how that works.

[@ecu8r]

@@cyrussvyruss9205 I don't think is that easy I don't have a KZbin channel with followers. Imagine if everyone asked for something free? that's not how it works.

[@xisigma]

Why not use synology surveillance system? Better to offload camera processing?

[@Nabrolo]

I have 2 questions. 1: What RAID configuration did you set for your drives (Raid 1 or 5)? 2: How many days do you get with your 8TB total storage with all your cameras?

[@TomasVillegas]

RAID 1 and 5 are categorized by UnifiOS as the same single disk redundancy. That's what I'm running and I get roughly three weeks of history. 👍

[@kc0eks]

You don't get to pick raid level it decides for you based on how many drives you have

[@jamespollock2500]

I have a NVR running 4 4tb drives I use Rack Studs to mount all my equipment in the rack system they make everything so much easier to install.

[@user-vh8gs1sw1j]

I would never buy a UDM. So an upgrade from a UCK-G2-PLUS is worth it. One thing I really don't like about it as a business user is it has two Ethernet ports for some strange reason with different speeds and media types. It would make more sense with two of the same speed and media. and also having support for the bonding driver for LAG or failover.

[@Platoface]

Thank you. I am finally getting an NVR this week and hope the unmanage then re-manage is better. I only have 6 total cameras.

[@dwylhq874]

How did it go for your 6 cameras? How many drives did you install? Thanks.

[@shadow.banned]

What's the name of that electric screw driver?

[@piranha32]

What recording settings do you use that UDMP was usable even with 10 cameras? I have 2 G3 Instant and G4 Doorbell (one Instant recording only events, the other cameras always recording), and Protect is slow as molasses. It worked fine for one camera, adding another one had a very big impact on performance.

[@TomasVillegas]

That's strange. I have all my outdoor cameras recording at the highest quality and my indoor cameras in the middle. It's all really responsive and works well. You may want to contact Unifi support.

[@jbdragon3295]

Have a UNVR at work and use 40 cameras inside and outside. It can be poky at times, Then again with all the cameras and generally around 2-6 people watching the cameras at once, I can understand being a little poky. We aren't using any 4K cameras though, they're all going to be 1080P. We do have a number of cameras in our freezers.

[@TomasVillegas]

I'm really liking the UNVR 👍

[@pharpester]

If you install a NVR, does the UDM pro hard drive no longer work for unify protect. It’s either the UDMP or the NVR, or do they work together?

[@patrickpaganini]

Thanks for the video - after getting a Dream Router I'm falling in to the Unify rabbit hole. If Unify sent it to you for testing and review purposes, does that mean you are posting it back, or does it mean you keep it? Subtle difference of ownership between the two!

[@TomasVillegas]

I get to keep it. I'm grateful for the relationship I have with them and their willingness to work with me.

[@ecu8r]

Welcome to the club my friend, it's a lot of fun.

[@igorpiedade]

Does it needs the cloud key or udm pro? Or I can use the Unifi VM?

[@bothorsen4292]

I was a bit puzzled when you said it's overkill for 10 cameras, because everything else you say in this video clearly says that it's not

[@TomasVillegas]

Oh it's definitely overkill 😅 That's the way I live my tech life though 😉

[@euresko1]

I have the UDMP with a 4Tb drive and want to get the UNVR. Currently using the UDMP to run 6 cams, but want to add more cams. Question about the NVR is can I start with one drive and then add more later, or would it be best to just add all drives I think I need right away during initial setup. I don't think space is really an issue now, but might change my mind with more cameras later on.

[@AMPTechGrade]

Could I ask how you made that SICK Thumbnail? We’re they blue LEDs or blue and purple on the other side??

[@TomasVillegas]

It's the RGB light strip I used. I covered it in my network cabinet setup if you want to check that out 👍 Thanks for watching 🤝

[@MattLutjen]

Pretty sure you can just click on the camera from the UNVR, it'll prompt for the camera password and allow you to transfer the camera over.

[@TomasVillegas]

I tried that. Didn't work unfortunately. Maybe a bug when I was doing the move. 🤷‍♂️

[@cpanic1153]

I’m trying to move a bunch of existing cameras over from a UDMP to an NVR but unmanaging them isn’t working. They still appear in the UDM but not the UNVR. I suspect it has something to do with vlans I was using for the cameras but even with the UNVR on the same vlan, it doesn’t want to work.

[@jesuspadilla6428]

Curious. Why don’t you move your Ethernet connections from the UDP to the switch? From my understanding the UDP has limited bandwidth for those ports. I’m still a novice with Unifi, but I will be upgrading my network with their products end of year. A UDP and enterprise 24 switch with their new enterprise AP, oh and now the NVR too even though I only plan to start with the pro doorbell and 3 g4 pro cameras 😬

[@TomasVillegas]

Those are for my Synology NAS, just a combination of me setting up link aggregation and me being lazy 😅

[@tassoadamacopoulos3679]

I recently got the UNVR as well, I seem to be having poor performance using the 10GIG connection to the UDM pro, using the 1 GIG is ok, have you seen the same?

[@TomasVillegas]

I haven't on my end. That's strange, I'd try different port settings to see if you can resolve it. If not put in a ticket with their support to see of you can get it working. 👍

[@ecu8r]

Hey I meant to ask you, did you have problems with all your cameras losing connection every couple of minutes after switching management from the UDMPro? I did while using the SFP 10G cable. Once I switched to regular 1G ethernet everything ran smoothly. I'd really like to use the 10G SFP cable between the UDMP and NVR.

[@TomasVillegas]

No. That's wasn't a problem I experienced. The SFP connection is running smooth.

[@ecu8r]

​@@TomasVillegas I think what I'll do when I have time is to "forget" one of the cameras and have the new protect app adopt it and see if it works. I have a feeling something didn't go right from the moment I had UDMP un-manage the cameras to move to the NVR.

[@aRndBelgianGuy]

Thanks for the relevant review. Any chance you mesured the power consumption of the UNVR with four HDDs ? Thanks.

[@TomasVillegas]

I haven't unfortunately. I don't have one of those outlet meters. Thanks for the comment 🤝

[@aRndBelgianGuy]

@@TomasVillegas I have ordered a UNVR, let me know if you are interested in this information ;-)

[@DanielLindh1]

@@aRndBelgianGuy Please tell us.

[@aRndBelgianGuy]

@@DanielLindh1 With two 5400rpm HDDs : around 35W. Hope it helps !

[@thegamerfour9508]

I ordered a UNVR today. I'm currently using Protect on a UDM Pro. There are options to export and import the Protect configuration. Has anyone used these settings when migrating? Thoughts, comments?

[@TomasVillegas]

I tried and failed. But maybe they have fixed it since I did this video 🤷‍♂️

[@EsotericArctos]

I like that the NVR and newer switches have the rack ears separatel The USG Pro had the rack ears as part of the entire case, makes it slightly awkward for desktop mounting. I agree, it would have been nice to have the network connections on the front, but to utilise 4 x 3.5" bays in a 1RU format just makes it impossible. I am looking at moving to the UNVR as at this point I am using a CloudKey Gen2+ that just doesn't cut it. Same issues as the UDM Pro, guessing it has similar processing power for Protect. The thing I am not looking forward to is having to re-adopt all my U6-Pro Access Points as Protect links with these for some of the Protect features.... Oh well. It needs to be done.

[@TomasVillegas]

Yeah I'm really happy I made the move. It's been a very much improved experience in access times and camera stream quality. Absolutely worth it. 👍

[@hopkinsjonathanuk]

Please straighten your doorbell otherwise I may not sleep properly

[@TomasVillegas]

Doorbell is level. Camera shot footage handheld.

[@cyrussvyruss9205]

I find it funny you are obviously well off enough to have all this stuff but still had to ask for them to send it out to you. Just saying asking for a hand out when you don't need it really isn't a good look for anyone. Plus its $300 bucks you really needed a freebee instead of just buying one?

[@TomasVillegas]

Interesting feedback. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I’ll continue to run my channel in a sustainable manner considering this is not my job 👍

[@cyrussvyruss9205]

@@TomasVillegas Oh I understand just saying the validity of anything you said is tarnished, by the fact you did not actually have to pay anything for said device.

[@galenbancroft]

Get better audio setup

[@TomasVillegas]

Ok.