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anyone try Ubiquity cameras

edited April 2015 in Cameras
Ubiquity networks has some great wireless devices (wifi and bridges). I noticed they have some cameras and their own nvr. We have standardized on SecuritySpy NVR, but the unibiquity cameras look like a nice fit. https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-video-camera/ Has anyone tried these with SecuritySpy yet?
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  • The older Ubiquiti "airCam" range does work with SecuritySpy as they support standard streaming protocols such as RTSP. Unfortunately however, the new "UniFi" range does not. Typically, manufacturers do this in order to create closed systems that require customers to the manufacturer's own NVR hardware, rather than working with third-party NVR software such as SecuritySpy. This is disappointing, as the cameras otherwise appear to be capable devices, and I'm sure that Ubiquiti will be missing out on many camera sales that they would otherwise get, if the cameras were to work with third-party software.

    We were in touch with Ubiquiti a few months ago about this, and they replied that they "cannot comment" about third-party support via RTSP, so we're not hopeful that this will ever be implemented. We recommend any customers interested in this to email Ubiquiti customer support to request that they enable RTSP streaming in their UniFi cameras, so that they can be used with third-party software such as SecuritySpy.
  • edited August 2015
    Sent a request to UBNT, here is the response:

    FAST too! :)

    --------------------------------------

    Allan S. (Ubiquiti Networks)
    Aug 6, 20:28

    Hi Korey,

    Thanks for getting in touch with us!

    Yes, RTSP still works with our cameras, please visit this link:

    https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Video-Frequently-Asked/airVision-How-to-stream-RTSP-feed-directly-from-an-airCam-device/ta-p/467101

    https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Video-Blog/New-Feature-RTSP-Retranslation-of-Video-Channels-via-Controller/ba-p/1041467

    Hope that's helpful. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

    Thanks!

    Allan S.
    Ubiquiti Networks

    Korey Sherwin
    Aug 6, 20:14

    Can you please add RTSP streaming to your unify cameras?

    I have an Edge router a many Unifi access points and would like to utilize your cameras as well, but I already have an significant investment in Security spy with my home automation server Indigo.

    Thank you for your consideration.
  • Hi Korey - thanks for emailing them and posting the response!

    The first link describes how to obtain a RTSP stream from an older airVision camera - this works well and has done since these cameras were released, hence they are on our list of supported cameras.

    However the second link does not describe how to obtain an RTSP stream from a newer uniFi camera, because this is currently not possible (i.e. intentionally disabled by Ubiquiti). Instead, it describes how to use their controller software to output a RTSP stream, which requires you to install their software. So the video would be going from the camera to their software and then to SecuritySpy. While this does work, it's cumbersome and uses extra CPU time on the Mac, so it's not the same as the camera itself supporting RTSP.

    This is why we don't include the uniFi cameras on our list. It would be much better if Ubiquiti were to implement RTSP streaming directly in the camera itself, so that there would be no requirement for "retranslation" of the video stream through their software.
  • Thanks Ben.


    That sucks!
  • The newest firmware for the Unifi cameras does support RSTP, and I've been able to get that working via manual definition.
  • Any chance you could share your manual connection.details. I've tried the rtsp://"camera ip no '':554/s0 command but just can't seem to get it working.
    If you plug that command into a web browser it works fine.
  • Anyone else get this to work? connection details?
  • BenBen
    edited August 2016
    This does look promising, according to that page, the setup in SecuritySpy would be:

    - In the Cameras section of the Preferences window, create a new network device.
    - Under the Device tab, set the device type to "Manual configuration”.
    - Enter the camera's IP address but leave the Port fields empty.
    - Enter the camera’s username and password
    - Select "RTSP TCP” from the Format menu.
    - Enter s0 as the Request

    You'll also have to set it to "standalone" mode, as per the instructions in the link provided by @geekbstrd above, so that you can see the RTSP URL in the camera's interface.

    Does this work?
  • Yes all is good. My Unifi Video camera Pro ( v2 ) is working fine with the instructions Ben gave.
    All we now need is to get the zoom function up and its a goer.
    BTW. the quality of these cameras is very good.
  • @stublight

    How are these cameras working out? I'm thinking of buying a few. I'm really tired of the way my Dahua and Hikvision cameras are not supported well (webui requires Windows IE, no support for SSH keys, no patches for SSL vulnerabilities, etc) and am thinking of switching camera brands.
  • @jms703

    i had 6 of these cameras initially but could never get them working in SS so i sent 5 of them back. The one i did keep (v2 not the new v3 ) works perfectly with instructions given above by Ben. However the model i have has optical zoom for which there is no way of activating it with the PTZ function in SS. ( Ben ??? ) The quality is very very good though and they are built like tanks.
    I also have Dahua and Hikvision cameras. BE VERY VERY CAREFUL you purchased original brand not Chinese knockoff's that are all over the web and in most retail places. The Chinese versions will give you no end of grief, these include but not always - green screens, dropped frames , ghosting & if you upgrade the firmware will almost certainly render them useless.
    If you want real quality and can afford them go Mobotix.
  • I have been running a Ubiquiti Unifi G3 Dome camera along side my old analogue cameras for three months now with no problems. In fact the massively increased resolution and mic have already been useful. I have bought another 15 of these cameras and will gradually replace all my cameras when I get the time.
  • Just a note to say that my new Ubiquiti UVC-G3 works perfectly in Security spy using the instructions in this thread for manual configuration!

    Ben - Perhaps the next version of SS can have a profile for the camera so manual configuration would not be necessary?


  • edited June 2017
    @Korey,

    It looks like SS has a profile for these cameras now!


    @Ben,

    Just wanted to say thank you for adding the Ubiquiti cameras to SecuritySpy. I installed my first one today to replace a Hikvision camera and I'm very pleased with the quality of the UVC-G3 dome. Also, setting it up in SS was simple, now that you've added a Ubiquiti profile.
  • @jms703 - great to hear that! Thanks for reporting back.
  • I just want to add my thanks to Ben for building in the Unifi camera profile and geekbstrd for starting this topic. Before I read to the end of this discussion, I wasn't so sure how hard it was going to be to get the cameras to work. While Unifi provides pretty nice free NVR software that runs on Linux or Windows, Security Spy on a Mac and an AppleTV with a big screen looked like and proved to be a superior system.

    I'm running Security Spy on a 10 Unifi 3G camera system on a iMac i5(2015). While all 4 cores stay pretty busy, there is still enough headroom for me to log in remotely using SpashTop as remote control. The AppleTV is constantly displaying a four camera multiplex view, and remote users occasionally use the Web interface or the IOS Security Spy app. We record around 60GB per day with all cameras on motion capture and seven on 2 frame/sec continuous. I have a 2TB Thunderbolt external drive for most of the recording but also record on the internal drive so not everything is lost if the external drive fails. Unfortunately the site's bandwidth is too low to upload video off site.

    During setup I used the Unifi Controller software to fix the ip addresses of the cameras and then simply added the cameras using the ip address and selecting the Unifi profile in Security Spy preferences. Instant Success!

    Might I suggest that the Unifi Camera's be added to the "recommended" or tested list so it is more obvious they work with SS? They really are great cameras even if they were to cost two or three times the actual price.

    I had used Security Spy on another project over a decade ago and it was good then, but it is really great now. Keep up the good work.
  • Hi I just installed a Unifi G3 camera to test. I have a Unifi network as well so this I thought would be easy/// before I learned that there was no MAC configuration software for the camera.

    So I used the Ubiquiti Unifi profile and had the camera up and running. I setup the server and camera in Indigo along with a motion detection trigger. I noticed it wasnt working and discovered the camera is in "passive" mode in Indigo. Sending a "Make Active" command in Indigo didn't change the mode. In SecuritySpy, I set the schedule to "Armed all the time" and it flipped the mode to "Active".

    Is this functionality working in Indigo for this camera ? Do I need to load the Unifi Configuration software in bootcamp and
  • I ended up using a local browser to hit the camera configuration. I updated the firmware to 3.83, set a static IP address. I configured the camera port in SS to 554. Restarted the Indigo plugin and tried toggling modes from active to passive, etc. Works like a charm. Not sure what fixed it. Thanks
  • My experience with Unifi cameras is, you need to update to the latest firmware otherwise they are problematic.
  • edited May 2018
    Sorry to ressurrect an old thread.

    Just bought a UniFi G3 and installed the UniFi Video software which immediately updated the firmware. Once 'managed' in UniFi Video how do you view the stream in SS? Do I now need to unmanage it from UniFi and use RTSP?

    I would like to use UniFi to manage the camera and update firmware, but use SS for everyday CCTV stuff. Is this possible at the same time?
  • Found my own solution, enabling the 'not very easy to find' setting in UniFi to enable RTSP and stream from the NVR not direct from the camera.
  • edited December 2018
    WOW the Ubiquiti G3 Flex cameras are pretty awesome. And at $79 a pop a pretty good bargain for a brand name indoor/outdoor POE camera with audio. 2.1mp (1920x1080), small footprint (2x2x4.2") and setup is not bad, even without a PC. The default IP is 192.168.1.1 and user/pass is ubnt/ubnt. Just connect a second machine in that IP range along with the camera into your POE switch. From there you can config using a browser window, the one step I initially missed is that you need to change the Mode under Configuration to Standalone. Updating the firmware is a good idea after first login, I just pulled the latest from Ubiquiti and installed from a flash drive. Then you can setup the RTSP authentication, bitrate, FPS, etc. Not a bad idea to also change the admin username and password at that point. As someone noted, changing the Mode may revert or delete username and passwords so keep the default admin in the back of your mind.

    Setup in Security Spy is intuitive as one would expect. I just used the Ubiquiti profile and all is well.
  • edited December 2018
    One more thing I just figured out that may save someone time... LOL. So the time on these devices can only be set via an NTP server. No manual time set, no time set from host, no battery backup. Many Security Spy users with sketchy offshore made cameras (which includes most of us) are blocking cameras from having access to the internet. The solution for me was to temporarily allow the camera to see NTP and then shut it down. As soon as you unplug from POE, it reverts to a second past midnight.

    Also - the RTSP authentication credentials seem to go away as well. : \

    BTW, Happy New Year, y'all!
  • edited January 2019
    This seems to be a good place to ask this question, I have the G3 Flex working, but no audio is coming through. Is there a way to select a different stream than what is available in the Ubiquiti camera preset? How can I otherwise get the audio into SS?

    G3 Flex Features:
    Features:
    Full HD 1080p resolution
    Built-in IR illuminators for night vision
    Powered by 802.3af Power over Ethernet
    High sensitivity microphone
    Wall mount, pole mount, and flat surface mounts included
    Weather resistant for outdoor operation
  • Hello, msknird. I recently set up my first Ubiquiti UniFi G3 Flex and I'm very pleased with the quality. It seems like an excellent value at $79. By the way I am using the standard SS Ubiquiti UniFi Profile and audio from the camera is coming into SecuritySpy just fine. I'm sure you've checked the camera's setup and audio is enabled and turned up?
  • I also wanted to mention I also recently set up a UniFi G3 Micro. It's incredibly compact, flexible, and easy to set up. It's WiFi only and video and audio works great with SecuritySpy. I set it up in moments by joining its default WiFi network with my laptop and iPhone and also used the UBNT discovery plugin for the macOS Chrome web browser.

    A couple caveats, the integrated IR illumination does not seem to extend very far in front of the camera, perhaps 12 to 15 feet. Although the camera is incredibly compact and lends itself to being installed out of sight– although you can't tell by looking at it– but because the camera is only held to its mount by magnetism, the guts of the camera could be stolen in an instant. But all in all, it's a very unusual form factor and I like it.
  • wow. so the integration sequence is
    1) get the G3
    2) connect to it on its private net
    3) update firmware
    4) " set to standalone " somehow
    5) put on your local net
    6) point SSpy at it and prosper!?
  • How do you use the G3 Flex when you are using the Unifi NVR software?
  • I have several Unifi cameras (G3, G3Pro, G3Dome) that I would like to integrate with my current two-site 16-camera SS installation. I'd also like to keep the Unifi cameras "managed" by the Unifi CKD2+ Protect management portal. I've tried to set up one of them using both the controller and camera IP addresses, the "Ubiquiti Unifi" Profile, and the camera password (confirmed by signing directly into the camera). Do I have to take the camera "standalone," off the Unifi Protect portal, in order for SS to access it?
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