Synology DiskStation DS218play 2-bay NAS review

1. Introduction2. Synology DiskStation DS218Play / Packaging & Bundle3. Synology DiskStation DS218Play / Design4. DSM 6.1.45. Usability6. Testing Methodology7. CrystalDiskMark8. ATTO Disk Benchmark9. Intel NASPT10. Backup / Restore11. Encryption Performance12. Real Life File Testing13. Power Consumption14. Closing Thoughts15. View All Pages

Synology's DiskStation play NAS sit under the company's Value Series product line of high performance units designed for data intensive tasks e.g. on the fly encryption. The latest 2-bay NAS to join the line-up is the DiskStation DS218play powered by a Realtek RTD1296 64-bit quad-core 1.4 GHz and backed by 1GB of DDR4 memory. It supports real-time transcoding of 10-bit 4K Ultra HD content.

 

Synology's DSM (DiskStation Manager) OS is powerful and feature rich but most importantly it's quick and easy to set up. From plugging in the DS218Play for the first time to being able to use it takes around 20 minutes at the most and brings with it a whole host of features and apps.

The DS218play has been designed around multimedia use first and foremost so the Video Station, Photo Station and Audio Station packages come into their own. Video Station is where you manage TV content, movies and home videos. It also allows the streaming of content to other PCs, media players and smartphones (Android, iOS and Windows Phone are all supported).

Photo Station is where you organise photos and albums as well as setting up shares over the internet. Audio Station supports DLNA-certified Digital Media Servers and Internet Radio. All three of these package have corresponding mobile apps to allow access via a smart phone; DS video, DS photo and DS audio.

The 92mm cooling fan that the DS218play uses can be adjusted in the DSM for either quiet operation (Quiet Mode), and when its in this mode it's practically silent or if you need a little more cooling rather than quietness there is Cool Mode. Should the NAS be getting a bit too warm for comfort, the fan can be set to Full Speed mode.

We found the Synology DiskStation DS218play on Overclockers UK for £229.99 HERE

Pros

• DSM OS
• Overall Performance
• Encryption performance
• Practically silent in operation.

Cons

• No HDMI port for direct output of 4K content.

Kitguru says: A powerful 2-bay multimedia NAS with real-time 4K Ultra HD transcoding support that would make a good central hub for streaming content around the home.

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