 So this is the unify cloud key running unify protect and We've been testing it for a little while I don't I haven't had time to put a full review together yet Chris from crosstalk solutions a great review if you want to dive right into it and it's a pretty solid system in terms of functionality for an nvr in comparing to as well the unify video platform we're testing it with a 4k which oh by the way their 4k cameras the way it does a little spinny thing Definitely really cool. So we're kind of doing some testing with both of these devices And it's been kind of interesting because the question has been coming up not just for people asking me but asking myself What platform should we go with when we're building out some of these systems? So this is where there's kind of a split in a way unify is handling unify video and unify protect So to distinguish the differences unify video was very innovative when it came out because one Most of your video platforms for nvr and recording are hideous They're not well polish or not well put together the ui is kind of painful many of them are And i'm referring especially into lower cost markets. Many of them are these unusual I need a flash plugin to run Type of systems that are really aggravating that used to only work with internet explore So there wasn't a lot of good systems out there Here comes unify with a really nice ui a nice interface really simple connections and A nice app to go along with it so you can view the cameras and you could host it on your own hardware, which was Really cool. There's not a lot of companies out there that offer Being able to set up on your own hardware and this is something that really brought them to market Their cameras not being the cheapest, but they were within reason and the purpose was their software would only run under hardware So it did promote a lot of hardware sales Then I know there was a lot of problems with it now a lot of the problems had to do with And we get this call still to this day people with I have a old system I thought would run this unify video software and it's crashing all the time or having this problem It's busy under spec the system for the volume of cameras when you start recording 1080 cameras Which the unify base models they make a 720 a 1080 I think the 720 ones are probably all those continued that was the first line that came out with But you have to process all that video and even though the streaming and some of the compression is done within the camera before it's streamed Down the wire that does take some processing power to handle Therefore a lot of the problems were undoubtedly Related to hardware that people had being inadequate to run the number of cameras Obviously this creates a problem for unify. They want good reviews under products But they know that a lot of you know end users consumers less of the Professionals would be installing this and complaining about the product and I feel that's why they decided to go towards the unify protect route Now the unify protect system runs currently as of april 1st here. No, it's not an april fool's joke But as of april 2019 here the Unify protect system only runs on the cloud key gen 2, but it appears as they plan to Eventually port it to other devices. Maybe a more Robust and higher end system with better specs in this cloud key gen 2 has But gen 2 plus. I'm sorry. So specifically cloud key gen 2 plus, but At the moment it only runs on this which really curtailes the number of cameras You can have the amount of storage you can have because this will only hold a single hard drive I think you can put some usb's in there, but this is not robust enough to handle a larger system We have currently deployed unify video systems That are larger than the cloud key can handle. So there's not an easy migration path The good news is unify has stayed with their commitment to Keep pushing updates for the unify video platform But here comes the question. What do you do right now if you're in the market to buy something? Which one should you buy should you go with one of these cloud key protects? Or should you go with the unify video? Well, the good news is They because of the support and because they seem to have laid out a roadmap that they're going to be into the cloud key You can kind of base your Decision on that. So if you want it is still supported. It is still free to download You can download the unify video software the unify video software the previous version is you're running your hardware You can still run it on your own hardware run it in vm. Run it however you want They plan to continue to have updates for it in terms of bugs But they're not going to do any more features to it and because it doesn't call out to any type of licensing server It can sit there and run pretty much indefinitely without a problem My you know barring any bugs or any problems like that So that is not necessarily a bad solution and later if you decide you want to go to the protect and you're already using the unify cameras You still can because you can just remove that controller Unmanage the cameras and bring them all over to a unify protect device Now the downside is will they ever release protect to run on your own builds and our own hardware? It doesn't seem likely. I that's my feeling. I have no inside information on this But I think unify is trying to keep the protect line on high quality hardware And then it makes it easier to sell and I gotta admit this is challenging because when you are start asking questions of I want to run a 30 camera system exactly what hardware should I run when you're Handpicking your hardware. Okay. We start with amd. We start with intel We start with how much memory you need you can see this can become a little bit more convoluted versus This device here says runs up to 20 cameras. I will admit once you put even one 4k camera on there It is a little bit sluggish and I'm going to be covering that in my when I get to reviewing this it does Feel a little sluggish with some of the 4k cameras attached to it when you're pulling that video But I probably have a feeling I don't have 20 cameras look up to it But I have a feeling it's going to get a little sluggish based on its specs even with 20 cameras But you can see where unify can like lay out if they have a line of offerings for the unify protect series where they have You know one that supports 20 to 40 cameras one that supports 40 to 50 So on and so forth. It's easier to sell from a product lineup. You figure out how many You plan to grow to you buy an nvr recorder for that size and you buy the unify cameras To go on the system with your plans to expand later So I don't think the unify protect is at all a bad product I still think it's a good purchase But if you have some of those needs you can at the moment go to unify video and later with plans going to unify protect Unify protect they have said is their way forward is how they're going forward in terms of New features and new add-ons We've updated this several times since we've had it because that's one of the things I wanted to review Is leaving it on record the little pile of wires back there We've just had it recording stuff in the office and we pull back through the videos randomly making sure it works And then whenever there's an update I said yes and all the updates have gone perfectly smooth so they do seem to have a lot of Issues figured out because the updates have gone A little bit more manual a little bit less smooth than some of the unify video products Some of those problems related to mongo db But I've been able to resolve them just by downloading a backup reloading a software pushing the backup back to it And it worked perfectly fine and re-imported the videos. So there's methods around it It's just not a one-click update didn't work every single time on unify video And these are some of those challenges I think they have that's why they my my guess is behind the scenes There's a lot of code refactoring that went on in the unify protect series To make it more stable make it more user-friendly because well We want to be able to just put these in at you know a small place and Click update it updates and we don't have any headaches and when you buy the unify Video devices that they sold for the unify video the previous ones that were dedicated mvrs Those always went really smooth It's all the custom build ones because there's a lot of factors that go into it And I think that's probably just something internally that happened in unify they go Wow supporting the wide range of hardware can be quite a bit of a challenge And it is and it's also why most nvr companies don't do that. They sell you the box complete You know you contact hick vision access The majority of these companies want to sell you a box that runs everything as opposed to you Oh, just find your own hardware and build it out So as of right now, I don't think unifies a bad purchase. I think they're so good I think you can still go with the unify video even here in april of 2019 and later migrate here So if you have going, hey, I want to I like the unify video. I want to go with it You still could Um and the migration path is there to unify protect when unify protect has one We have a lot of installations out there right now that are currently running unify video They're working perfectly fine. The clients are really happy. They like the app. They like the way the interface works They're still actively pulling video from it and some of these have 50 cameras So I can't just drop a protect in as an upgrade path later for them Hopefully later though, as I said, I could I believe unify is going to have Full servers that support this and that'll be exciting when they come out. Some of there may be a nice rack mounted You know one to you supporting multiple rate arrays in it nvr, that'd be great Um, I just don't feel they're going to release it to the you know General public like the unify video that you can run it on your own hardware that I don't see that Unless someone can find a link and show me something official from unify To give this to me. Otherwise, but based on your reading I've done I don't really see a path for that right now As far as other video software goes out there people ask me a lot about that We have used some of the commercial products We use them as some of our clients that have like two and three hundred camera installs unify I want to say does not really scale that well, but those products are In every way substantially more expensive just the nvr licensing on some of them sometimes cost about $130 annually per camera you install And some of those other products that there are nice. They do work well But they're not in the category that you would have the unifies in uh, that's a more affordable You know, I'm going to say an example like a small pizza place It says hey, we need five cameras installed grab a unify protect to install them. It's still a great solution So that's my thoughts on these devices. I don't you know, I don't have a A clear map because I wish unify You know would tell us what else protect is going to do and when the release dates are for those But I've been imagining or working them on the back end. I still like their products Uh, I will get around to reviewing this but Thus far the unify protect system other than being a little sluggish on the 4k of the 1080 cameras seem to record perfectly fine with it But I tell you what I wish the cameras all did this because that blue spinny thing is really really cool. All right. Thanks Thanks for watching If you like this video, give it a thumbs up if you want to subscribe to this channel to see more content Hit that subscribe button and the bell icon and maybe youtube will send you a notice when we post If you want to hire us for a project that you've seen or discussed in this video head over to laurance systems.com Where we offer both business it services and consulting services and are excited to help you with whatever project you Want to throw at us? Also, if you want to carry on the discussion further head over to forums.laurance systems.com where we can keep the conversation going And if you want to help the channel out in other ways we offer affiliate links below Which offer discounts for you and a small cut for us that does help fund this channel And once again, thanks again for watching this video and see you next time