UniFi-Video Products EOL announcement

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ShinyChrome

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#272658 8-Jul-2020 10:18

Don't know if this has already been discussed, or affects anyone here, but it seems to be causing a bit of a storm in a tea cup.

Phasing out UniFi-Video products

Starting January, 1st 2021 (01/01/2021) all available UniFi-Video resources will focus on UniFi Protect to accelerate its development in terms of features, scalability, security, and continuous efforts to create the best user experience for our video-related products.

This means UniFi-Video products will no longer be offered or supported, beyond 2020. More specifically:

No software or hardware revisions will be released, including for web UI and mobile applications
No customer support will be available
No security updates
All cloud operations will be shut down and video.ui.com will no longer be accessible
The Plan Ahead

You can expect two more UniFi-Video release cycles including beta releases (v3.10.13 and v3.10.14). These will address the most critical issues in terms of security updates and/or regressions, so if you plan on continuing to use UniFi-Video beyond the end of life date, we strongly recommend you upgrade your systems to these latest releases as they become available.

Switching to UniFi-Protect

If you decide to switch over to UniFi-Protect, a “one-click” migration of UniFi-Video managed cameras and some user settings will be available in the next controller release for a seamless transition.

Several options are/will be available in terms of NVRs depending on your cameras and storage needs.

UniFi-Protect currently supports the following camera models:

UVC, UVC-Dome, UVC-Pro
All G2 cameras
UVC-G3, UVC-G3-Flex, UVC-G3-Dome, UVC-G3-Micro, UVC-G3-Pro
UVC-G4-Bullet, UVC-G4-Pro
Existing UniFi-Video Recordings

Recordings will not be migrated over to Protect, but they will remain accessible from UniFi-Video applications as long as you keep the UniFi-Video controller running on your NVR/Server.

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#2519039 8-Jul-2020 10:28

This was definitely coming. Protect is just not a suitable replacement in a lot of cases yet. And as they refuse to let people put it on their own hardware, or even release a sensible redundant storage solution it's just no good for larger installs.

Edit - I just saw the UNVR, that must be pretty new but does look good. Still I don't think there is an easy way to backup offsite?

Recently Ubiquiti seem to be working as hard as humanly possibly to piss off their current customer base. Just can't figure out why. They have so many products that were nearly awesome, but they never fixed the software properly, then ditched to start on the latest thing, which will more than likely go through the same process in a few years.

leaplae

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#2519049 8-Jul-2020 10:42

Slightly annoying... I've got 80 cameras deployed running on custom hardware for months of recordings.

The new NVR really doesn't come close to powerful enough, or have enough storage...

coffeebaron

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#2519071 8-Jul-2020 11:06

I don't have an issue of them coming EOL and no more updates, development etc; but turning of the Cloud access, that is a major! Protect is still fairly new, and so this is short life span for any UniFi NVR's installed in last year or two.

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ShinyChrome

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#2519078 8-Jul-2020 11:19

wratterus:

This was definitely coming. Protect is just not a suitable replacement in a lot of cases yet. And as they refuse to let people put it on their own hardware, or even release a sensible redundant storage solution it's just no good for larger installs.

Edit - I just saw the UNVR, that must be pretty new but does look good. Still I don't think there is an easy way to backup offsite?

Recently Ubiquiti seem to be working as hard as humanly possibly to piss off their current customer base. Just can't figure out why. They have so many products that were nearly awesome, but they never fixed the software properly, then ditched to start on the latest thing, which will more than likely go through the same process in a few years.

Yes, the camps seem to be split between those that say it was a long time coming, and those for whom it's pulled the rug out from under. From what it sounds like, you need the new generation gear (Cloud key gen. 2 or UNVR), plus attached storage? That was only from my brief skim of the comments though.

Yeah, it sounds like they will lose a few SOHO installers after this. But then again, this is the internet, where offense is sometimes made up and the points don't matter haha!

Edit: "how do you turn a phase?"

billgates

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#2519088 8-Jul-2020 11:32

Lack of ONVIF support is why I have always stayed away from installing and recommending Ubiquiti cameras or any other cameras as they are then running mostly proprietary setup which they can pull the plug on anytime like in this instance.

Do whatever you want to do man.

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#2519355 8-Jul-2020 15:07

wratterus:

Recently Ubiquiti seem to be working as hard as humanly possibly to piss off their current customer base. Just can't figure out why. They have so many products that were nearly awesome, but they never fixed the software properly, then ditched to start on the latest thing, which will more than likely go through the same process in a few years.

"Recently"?

This has been the Ubiquiti business model since they started - I've been using their products for about 12 years now and seen this so many times.

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wratterus

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#2519373 8-Jul-2020 15:16

sbiddle:

"Recently"?

This has been the Ubiquiti business model since they started - I've been using their products for about 12 years now and seen this so many times.

Fair call.

chevrolux

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#2519438 8-Jul-2020 17:04

When you can get a 4-channel HiLook NVR and 4 IP cameras, I dont know why anyone bothers with UBNT cams. They were absolute garbage when they were first released (both the hardware and software), and now the cams are OK but pretty expensive for what they are.

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#2519442 8-Jul-2020 17:15

sbiddle:

wratterus:

Recently Ubiquiti seem to be working as hard as humanly possibly to piss off their current customer base. Just can't figure out why. They have so many products that were nearly awesome, but they never fixed the software properly, then ditched to start on the latest thing, which will more than likely go through the same process in a few years.

"Recently"?

This has been the Ubiquiti business model since they started - I've been using their products for about 12 years now and seen this so many times.

Any company including Ubiquiti can take whatever product strategy they want. If you don’t agree with Ubiquiti’s product strategy ... don’t buy their products.

This is the free market, for goodness sake.

ANglEAUT

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#2519704 8-Jul-2020 21:50

BlinkyBill: ... f you don’t agree with Ubiquiti’s product strategy ... don’t buy their products. ...

Ignoring richms' comments about the last 12 years for a moment ...

Your friends / colleagues / IT experts rave about company U & its products
you investigate, see they have been around for a while
you like the products currently on offer
- you decide to purchase said products for your SME, planning on a 3yr, hoping for a 10yr life cycle
  - 18 months after your purchase, Company U changes their product strategy
    - It's too late to not buy their products

As you said, this is the internet / new business model. C'est la vie!

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BlinkyBill

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#2519751 9-Jul-2020 03:57

I work in IT. IT is a constant cycle of upgrades, new, replacement, new direction, new strategies. Annual strategic planning. What UniFi are doing is completely normal in IT. Apple dropped their iPhone port for lightening and will drop lightening for USB-C. Things change.

the old Ubiquiti stuff doesn’t stop working because they have new stuff. Ubiquiti have a migration path to Protect. Users don’t want to pay to choose between Video and Protect, and Ubiquiti see Protect as the future.

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sbiddle

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#2519756 9-Jul-2020 07:24

BlinkyBill:

Any company including Ubiquiti can take whatever product strategy they want. If you don’t agree with Ubiquiti’s product strategy ... don’t buy their products.

This is the free market, for goodness sake.

With the odd exception for some pretty specific use cases I've never ever posted on here recommending Ubiquiti products.

BlinkyBill

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#2519770 9-Jul-2020 08:24

sbiddle:

BlinkyBill:

Any company including Ubiquiti can take whatever product strategy they want. If you don’t agree with Ubiquiti’s product strategy ... don’t buy their products.

This is the free market, for goodness sake.

With the odd exception for some pretty specific use cases I've never ever posted on here recommending Ubiquiti products.

That hasn’t stopped you from posting your support for the suggestion that Ubiquiti’s business model is to “be working as hard as humanly possibly to piss off their current customer base.” Of course, that view is completely inaccurate (unless they are insane) - their business model is to develop product lines that they think will appeal to several distinct customer bases. And further to deprecate products they no longer wish to sustain, should they so choose, just like every other product manufacturer.

Tracer

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#2520317 9-Jul-2020 20:21

They've kinda screwed themselves here because Protect isn't ready, and the short time before the cloud service shuts off really screws MSPs etc. with an installed base to maintain (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRK5EsJ3ypQ).

BlinkyBill:

I work in IT. IT is a constant cycle of upgrades, new, replacement, new direction, new strategies. Annual strategic planning. What UniFi are doing is completely normal in IT. Apple dropped their iPhone port for lightening and will drop lightening for USB-C. Things change.

the old Ubiquiti stuff doesn’t stop working because they have new stuff. Ubiquiti have a migration path to Protect. Users don’t want to pay to choose between Video and Protect, and Ubiquiti see Protect as the future.

The cycle for relatively permanent gear that doesn't really wear out, like cameras, needs to be a lot longer than 2 years. Even iPhones are supported for 5 years+.

ANglEAUT

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#2520445 9-Jul-2020 23:39

BlinkyBill:

I work in IT. IT is a constant cycle of upgrades, new, replacement, new direction, new strategies. Annual strategic planning. What UniFi are doing is completely normal in IT. Apple dropped their iPhone port for lightening and will drop lightening for USB-C. Things change.

the old Ubiquiti stuff doesn’t stop working because they have new stuff. Ubiquiti have a migration path to Protect. Users don’t want to pay to choose between Video and Protect, and Ubiquiti see Protect as the future.

In your reply ...

You don't address the issue about equipment that has already been bought
While the equipment might not stop working, it certainly seems like it will only operate in a degraded state
Ubiquiti have a migration plan that to most users seems like an inferior product
As you say, Ubiquiti sees Protect as the future. Therefore they have removed the choice of the customer to pay for Video or Protect. Going forward, the customer must pay for Protect

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

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