Synology DiskStation DS218play 2-Bay Multimedia NAS Review

Bohs Hansen / 7 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

At the time of writing, Synology’s DiskStation DS218play can be yours for £246.86 through Amazon UK. The device is not listed on Amazon.com at the time of this review.

Final Thoughts

It is no surprise that this NAS comes from the play series. The DS218play is well equipped to handle your media needs in every way. Inside is a 64-bit quad-core processor with transcoding engine as well as DDR4 memory. The combination allows the NAS to serve you with fluent experience all on levels. Whether you’re streaming to your mobile phone during your train ride to work or your TV, console, or media player at home – the result is the same.

Synology’s DSM operating system also features a complete setup of backup options. Turn your NAS into your personal cloud server. The DS218play can synchronise and serve you your data everywhere. The CPU inside the DS218play is also powerful enough to run more advanced and process-hungry apps.

Performance

The hardware encryption engine does an excellent job for the DS218play. We saw results which were identical to non-encrypted results and that’s awesome. When the performance is so close, it actually is a true option to encrypt your data. You won’t have to sacrifice performance for the added layer of security. Generally, the DS218play performs good across the board, but it is best at media tasks. That’s not a surprise when we consider that it does come from the play series.

Conclusion

With the option of up to 24TB capacity, with current 12TB drives, the DS218play offers up a solid home for all your multimedia files. Organise your photos, videos, and music files with the ability to play from the basically any connected system. Mobile phone, media player, TV, console, PC, MacBook, and DLNA-capable devices are just some of your options. Synology offers mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile, allowing everyone to enjoy the NAS while they’re on-the-go.

Pros:

Powerful quad-core CPU and DDR4 memory
Strong encryption performance
Hardware transcoding engine
Proven OS packed with features and apps
Silent and efficient
Easy setup
Full set of Windows Mobile, Android, and iOS apps

Cons:

No front-facing USB connections
No external drive trays

“Synology’s DS218play would make a great addition to any media centre. High capacity option and great media capabilities are just some of its features.”