This is the extensive review of the Uniden 4 camera Security Cloud System. This post covers more things than the video. The video is good for some basic information.

I chose to go with this system because I wanted the reliability of having a hybrid wired camera system with cloud dvr storage. This is a POE, Power Over Ethernet, which means you only need 1 cable per camera. Some systems require 2 or 3 cablers per camera, 1 for video, 1 for sound and 1 to power the camera. This system does not record sound which I am ok with.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• 4 bullet outdoor cameras
• 4 x 100′ ethernet cables
• 1 x 6′ ethernet cable
• 1 5 port ethernet switch
• Power Supply
• Instructions
• Mounting screws
• Drill Template
• L Shaped tool for mounting hardware adjustments
• Plastic weather proof caps. (I was not able to use the caps because I couldn’t thread the cat5 ethernet cable though the cover. Unless I did it wrong I believe the caps are too small.)

SET UP

Set up was easy. Once you mounted and connected the cameras you download the Uniden Cloud app.

 

You tap the + sign and it will ask you to name the camera, scan the QR code that is attached to each camera. It will ask you to create a user name and password (These are IP cameras so make sure you create some difficult credentials and write them down). Then you’re done.

INSTALLATION

The stencil came in very handy. It’s best to pre-drill holes smaller than the screw you’re using to mount your camera. I unrolled the 100′ ethernet cables and connected them to the camera and used coaxial nail clips. The challenge was how to get the cables from the outside, through the attic and into the media closet. My first choice was to drive a hole next to the cameras but getting them from the corners from within the attic was not going to let that happen. So I decided to gather them in the back of the house. Go up to the peak of the roof and lift one of the shingles. I drilled a 3/4″ hole and fed them through to the attic. I caulked the edges and hole to make sure no rain would seep through. From the attic I dropped them down to the media closet.

MOTION DETECTION

You can configure up to 4 zones in each camera and control Sensitivity and Threshold

NOTIFICATIONS

Unless I did missed something, notification are only via EMAIL. No phone notification like a SMS message

FOOTAGE REVIEW

When you look at the LIVE view through your smart device it conveniently shows you if there was an event by way of an orange bar across the screen with any bars spiking up.

On the desktop web browser the orange bar is removed and a timeline bar with hash marks show when an event was triggered

Setting up zones is crucial and you will get false alarms created by wind blowing leaves or bushes and even the change in light when the sun goes behind and out from the clouds.

The first night I was able to capture a homeless guy set up shelter in my back deck. I kindly left him a note and he removed himself the following day. He later approached me to apologize. His name is Gary, seems very nice and down on his luck. I felt terrible for making him move. But I did not want to give him permission for fear it would come back later to cause me problems. Luckily there is a church across the street that he made his temporary home.

The best way to review footage is through your desktop. There are a couple of bugs. First off it records in 2 minute increments and they are not all synced. If an event occurs you can click on the hash mark and it will take you back to that time period but the cameras may be off by 10 secs to a 1minute. Nevertheless you will be able to view the footage and download the clip.

CLOUD SUBSCRIPTION

It came with 30 days of 7 day Cloud Lite service. I opted to go with the 30 day premium.