Sentry
AI-Powered CCTV With Zero Monthly Fees
Ubiquiti UniFi Protect cameras that distinguish between a person, a vehicle, an animal, and a falling leaf — with crystal-clear footage stored on your own hardware. No cloud subscriptions. No recurring costs
Most Home CCTV Is Either Dumb, Expensive, or Both
Consumer cameras from Ring, Arlo, and Nest have a fundamental business model problem: they need you to pay monthly, forever. Without a subscription, you lose cloud storage, playback history, and often the smart detection features you bought the camera for.
Then there's the alert problem. Consumer cameras trigger on everything — passing cars, swaying trees, cats, shadows, rain. After the fiftieth false alert of the day, you stop checking. The system that's supposed to protect you becomes background noise.
And the privacy problem. Your footage sits on Amazon's, Google's, or Apple's servers. It's accessed through their cloud. It's subject to their terms. Law enforcement can request it without your knowledge in some jurisdictions.
There's a better way
What a Visual Sentry Installation Includes
UniFi Protect AI Cameras
We install Ubiquiti's UniFi Protect camera range — purpose-built for the UniFi ecosystem. Available in bullet, turret, dome, and PTZ form factors for every placement scenario.
The camera lineup includes:
• G5 Pro — 4K resolution, 3x optical zoom, 25m IR night vision, AI detections
• G5 Bullet — 2K HD with wide dynamic range, indoor/outdoor
• G5 Turret Ultra — 2K with 102° ultra-wide angle, 30m IR night vision
• G5 PTZ — remote pan/tilt/zoom for large areas
• G5 Flex — compact, discreet indoor camera
Every camera is PoE-powered (single Ethernet cable for power and data), weatherproof rated, and managed through the UniFi Protect dashboard.
AI Detection — Smart Alerts That Matter
UniFi Protect's AI engine processes footage on-device and locally — not in the cloud. It detects and classifies:
• People — receive alerts only when a person is detected, not when a leaf blows past
• Vehicles — log and alert on cars entering your driveway or property
• Animals — distinguish between your dog and an unknown person
• Facial recognition — identify known household members vs unknown visitors
• License plates — automatic logging of vehicle registrations
You configure exactly what triggers an alert, per camera, per zone. A camera covering your driveway can alert on unknown people but ignore your family. A garden camera can ignore animals but flag vehicles. The system works for you, not against you.
Local Recording — No Subscriptions, Ever
All footage is recorded to your on-premises NVR (Network Video Recorder) — either built into the UDM Pro Max's internal drive bays, or on a dedicated UniFi NVR. Storage is expandable. Footage is yours. There is no monthly fee for recording, playback, smart detection, or any other feature.
Typical retention: 14–30 days of continuous recording across all cameras, depending on resolution settings and storage capacity. We size the storage to your requirements during the audit.
Remote Access
View live feeds, review recordings, and receive push alerts from anywhere via the UniFi Protect app on iOS, Android, or any web browser. This works through your UniFi account — no third-party cloud service, no port forwarding, no exposed IP address
What Changes When Visual Sentry Is Active
✓ Alerts that matter — only notified when a person or vehicle is actually detected
✓ Crystal-clear footage — 2K and 4K resolution, day and night
✓ No monthly bills — all features included, no subscriptions
✓ Private by default — footage stays on your hardware, in your home
✓ Remote viewing — check any camera from your phone, anywhere in the world
✓ Easy playback — scrub through timeline, search by detection type, export clips
✓ Integration — cameras feed into the same dashboard as your entire network
Where Cameras Make the Biggest Difference
During the Digital Fortress Audit, we walk your property and identify the optimal camera positions based on:
• Entry points — front door, back door, side gates, garage
• Driveway and approach — vehicle and person detection zones
• Garden and perimeter — wide-angle coverage of boundaries
• Outbuildings — detached garages, garden offices, sheds
• Internal monitoring — hallways, common areas (optional, based on preference)
We'll map these positions in your audit report so you can see exactly what coverage looks like before committing to installation
How Sentry Connects to Your Digital Fortress
Sentry cameras connect via PoE to your Digital Foundation's wired backbone — no WiFi dependency means no dropout, no bandwidth competition, and no signal issues.
→ Digital Foundation — cameras are powered and connected through PoE switches
→ Digital Vault — footage records to the local NVR/NAS over the wired network
→ Digital Perimeter — cameras sit on their own VLAN, firewalled from guest and IoT traffic
→ Digital Lifeline — cameras continue recording locally during broadband outages; remote access resumes on failover
→ Digital Guardian — we monitor camera system health remotely and alert on hardware issues
Common Questions About Home CCTV Installation
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Most homes use 4–8 cameras covering entry points, the driveway, the garden perimeter, and optionally some internal areas. We recommend specific positions during the free audit based on your property layout and security priorities
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The cameras themselves are straightforward to mount, but the value of a professional installation is in the PoE wiring (no visible cables), the network configuration (dedicated VLAN, firewall rules), and the NVR setup (retention policies, AI detection zones). We handle the full stack — not just putting a camera on a wall
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In most cases, residential CCTV doesn't require planning permission in England, provided cameras only cover your own property. If cameras could capture images beyond your boundary, you may need to consider data protection obligations under UK GDPR. We'll advise on positioning during your audit
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Nothing changes. All footage is recorded locally to your NVR. Internet connectivity is only needed for remote access — recordings continue regardless of broadband status. If you have the Always-On Lifeline, remote access continues via failover
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Yes — most UniFi Protect cameras have built-in microphones for audio recording and some support two-way audio via the Protect app. Audio recording on your own property is generally permissible, but recording conversations without consent has legal implications. We'll discuss this during setup
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UniFi Protect now supports ONVIF-compatible third-party cameras, so it may be possible to integrate existing cameras into the system. We'll assess compatibility during the audit. For the best experience and full AI detection, we recommend UniFi cameras
See Where Cameras Should Go on Your Property
The Digital Fortress Audit includes a full physical security walkthrough of your property — identifying entry points, blind spots, and optimal camera positions. You'll receive a marked-up plan of exactly where cameras should go and why