Best way IMHO to compare them is by the total size of the camera streams they can handle (you can see there's a big jump between the UNVR instant and the UNVR).
I totally agree. I have all Empire tech Andy cams (13 total) running on Blue Iris. When I started out it was a slight steep learning curve for me to get it all set up and running. Fast forward to earlier this summer. I bought a couple cheap Tapo cameras to watch over our garden. They have been some of the most fun I have ever had with cameras. The phone app is super easy to use and updates appear to work well. The settings are all displayed in easy to get to sections. I too think it's rediculous recommending not to update Dahua firmware because it might break things. Whats even more rediculous is that it's a good recommendation because I have run into issues doing just that.
Honestly I would spend a couple bucks and pick up a UNVR or UNVR Pro if I had that many Empire Tech and Topo cams and wanted to access them on a cell phone. Just add a drive and you can stream all your cams to both Blue Iris and Protect at the same time. I really think you'll be blown away by how functional Protect is on a cell phone. That's really why I use it as well, I don't even have a viewport setup on my system at all. You obviously don't need to use Ubiquiti networking stuff to set this up but I do since it's just so much easier to manage everything that way (once it's setup again I manage it all from my cell phone).
I ran Blue Iris for a bit and it was just way too cluncky and cumbersome for my liking. Yes there's millions of adjustments you can make with it but it reminds me of a Y2K era program with way too many issues and unnecessary complexities. The BI phone app was terrible by comparison and that was really what sealed the deal for me. I haven't used the Dahua NVR or their software at all so I can't really talk to that at all but Protect has been fantastic even considering the current limitations on using 3rd party ONVIIF cameras. BI would need to vastly up their game for me to ever consider switching back again and that's if Unifi didn't improve at all from where it is right now.
You can see in my signature what cams I use (mostly EmpireTech turrets and 1 LPR cam) with it and no, I don't use any AI on Protect except with my G6 Instant and the doorbells (Reolink phone app). I record everything 24/7 anyway so no difference there at all for me. If I did want to do facial recognition or LPR on Protect I would just add a G6 or AI Pro camera for that specifically. The AI port could add AI capabilities to my cameras but I'm waiting for the next version (hopefully a single system that can handle AI for many 3rd party cameras) before I pull the trigger on that. The AI Key is really a waste IMHO unless you have alot of clips to search through regularly since you can't use that without having the AI port or a Unifi AI capable camera. Protect does allow you some basic camera adjustments like PTZ control, taking photos, pulling clips, etc but definitely nothing like what they provide for the Unifi cams. Again besides those limitations I''ve mentioned I haven't had any issues with using my EmpireTech cameras at all however I do use IR illuminators to help with night vision and keep bugs away from the cameras at night.
I agree and I think they are in the process of developing exactly what you're describing right now. The only part missing on 3rd party cameras IMHO is the ability to adjust the images and add AI capability (AI port is just a bit too clunky of a solution for me). The rest of Protect works amazing otherwise.
so only 24/7 recording with the ET cams with ur protect?
The searching "kid with blue backack riding a scooter" is what the AI Key does, you don't need that IMHO. The AI port can do the AI detections you're talking about (facial, LPR, person of interest, etc) but again you'd need one per 3rd party camera you want to add that function or you can just add a Unifi G6 or AI Pro camera to do that as well. Personally I don't need it that badly so I've just been waiting for the 3rd party AI solution to mature a bit more but I do play around with the AI on my G6 Instant.
