What are your thoughts on this update? Do you care that the app/codecs were removed? I realize this video probably sounds fairly pessimistic towards Synology, but it's still my favorite pre-built NAS and for the bulk of people, buying a Synology is the right move. I don't think other apps will necessarily be removed, but abandoned from a development perspective would have probably been the better word. Keep in mind, I don't think anyone knows for certain that codec fees were the reason for these changes, but it seems likely from rumors. On the bright side, the reason anyone is complaining in the first place is because of how good DSM has been for most users, so I guess there's always two ways to look at everything!
Since this update, I am seriously thinking about moving from Synology to a DIY NAS or something like ASUSTOR, which catches my attention. But I see that Synology is abandoning home users, which is a shame.
Synology sells at a premium. Its point of difference is now gone, and consumer confidence has been destroyed regardless of the current features and new workarounds.
@@someguy0523 I think they might, but my fear is that if they do, it'll be cost-based. At least in terms of the codecs, which would solve 95% of the problem. Video Station was great but I imagine a very, very small percent of users actually downloaded it which played into them getting rid of it. The codecs would be a huge win though.
Removing Video Station/DS Video was a really bad move! And it was disrespectful to us, clients, that spend so much on DSM (since hw certainly is not their strongest point) + HDD's + (supposedly...) their (rebranded) RAM modules, for Synology not even having the consideration to warn us. Who know if the same won't happen to Audio Station/DS Audio someday... Ok, Video Station/DS Video (Audio Station/DS Audio; mainly the apps) needed improvements but at least we could use it. What Synology wanted with the removal of the codecs, was just to increase their profit by not paying licenses fees! "The higher you are, the bigger the fall is". Let's see if Ugreen will not start to bet heavily on their NAS. Thanks (read: f. You), Synology!
I work for a company that got hit with a license violation for those same CODECs. I suspect the rights holders are going to get tough with all parties that use them, not just Synology.
Completely agree. It feels like Synology is slapping us in the face. The only two functions I really bought my first and also (years later) my second NAS, where the backup function (synology drive) and the media servers (audio and video). Which when I bough it were advertised as built in functionality. They even had + models or something that was supposedly more tuned to doing video decoding. (Meaning they KNEW their end-users wanted their devices for that reason) This is the second time Synology removed significant functionality by "upgrading" the software.
It's still a great choice for most people, so I don't mean to sway you away from them. But either way, yes, I always think everyone should shop around and if Synology ends up being the best option, that's great!
@WunderTechTutorials I think the last 4 years told us loud and clear. The competition caught up as they squeezed us to go after enterprise. Not a particularly good company, it is abusive and many dumped them. There isn't a silver lining possible anymore..
I haven't used QTS in a while so it might have gotten better, but I always ran into a lot more problem with it in the past than DSM, and that's ignoring all of their security issues. That's what always made it so difficult, but hopefully they improved it so consumers have more choices.
@WunderTechTutorials it is very secure now. It had a ton of updates and deploys more like dsm these days. They even added bit defender right into the OS so it is very secure now. That was a brilliant move and gave me confidence to use them. It is faster, they enhanced smb, decreased boot and shut down times, and have more options than dsm for about everything. The qtier providing cache and pool in one solution is nice. QNAP just seems smarter now to me. I feel like synology is abusing me, dsm is slick but qts really has been worked on and dsm has been going backwards. I hate buying their stuff to get basic functionality. To me their dead.
I moved from Synology, last year. I don't regret it, but going DIY is not for everyone. You might need to learn quite a bit, and deal with the... issue of those OSs'. You go to an off-the-shelf solution, for simplicity. I like to get my hands dirty, use more "advanced" features and learn, you might not. If you want an off-the-shelf solution, both QNAP and Asustor are good options.
@@eojeda1375 QNAP were slowly catching up to Synology, with 1st party alternatives to most of Synologys solutions. So yes, they do have their own Video Station. As for ASUSTOR, sadly they rely more on 3rd party software. They have a nice catalogue, but nothing 1st party comes to mind mind. It wouldn't suprise me if the community has built something for it, but can't be certain.
I’ve invested a lot in my DS920+, including expensive, high-capacity disks, a RAM upgrade, and SSD cache, all to create a multimedia server and cloud storage for my family’s Apple devices. But with just one update, Synology has broken everything, and now I can’t use it as planned. I’m beyond frustrated. The DS920+ was specifically designed for these kinds of tasks. It’s not a commercial unit-it’s meant for users like me. This update feels like a slap in the face to all of us. I’m sure there are many other users who are just as upset.
So Synology always had outdated hardware and high prices. But people always said: But the software. If they will take this way, they need to give the NAS at a reasonable price. Look at all the N100 boxes. Will this be happening? Doubt it, in particular as for an 720+ you have to pay way more, likely things you will never be using. So I think they will charge similar amounts and also charge recurring- and that’s where I say: Check OMV, TrueNAS etc…. I mean the software, look at Synology Photos, it doesn’t even support offline sync… Synology Drive led to loss of data… and I mean isn’t it ironic, they take away Video Station and Plex breaks? I see parallels to Nokia here
The brand is dead, plain and simple. 4 years of this taught most that. They took all the money they squeezed from us to target Dell enterprise? Good luck their gonna need it as the cow has no more milk for that...
They are opening Pandora's box. I paid through the nose to buy a DS1821+ when I could have just as easily built a half decent PC for the same price. And I did consider using an existing PC. I ultimately went with the Synology for the simplicity and the apps. Start removing the apps or worse start charging on going fees to use them, and then the decision to go PC becomes very simple. As you say it is very overpriced hardware for what you get. They are risking loosing their customer base, those that will pay more for convenience.
Unhappy client here. Synology is getting greedy e will not buy anymore NAS from them. I payed more for the hardware because of the software capabilities. Not anymore.
The only reason why I ever chose for Synology was the software. hardware is always some years behind and compatibility is getting really annoying. Cost going up, service decreasing. Well this was my last Synology
I completely agree with your take on Surveillance Station. Before purchasing my licenses, I made sure all my cameras were compatible and I made my storage calculations based on using h265/h265+ understanding those would be supported. Now after a few months I will no longer be able to use motion detection through Surveillance Station (which in my testing works better) and I will have to manage each camera individually rather than through one app (or record in h264 which is an overall downgrade, especially since I record on SSDs and lose storage capacity). It really feels like they are trying to force you to buy their own cameras (which I'm not even opposed to buying apart from the fact that they are never in stock) or their DVAs. I don't buy their claim about system resources, on my 1821+ Surveillance Station uses 1.5% CPU and 200mb ram. I'm going to try and get a refund for my licenses from Amazon and will look at moving to another surveillance system. Really disappointed in Synology, no longer interested in their products.
Removing significant functionality sucks. If you bought a product because it supported a feature, and that feature is removed, I'd argue that you should get your money back. I have been running diskstations for 15+ years. This is making me reconsider using them, along with stupids like trying to get us to buy overpriced drives that are just re-labels of other brands.
I'm definitely not going to pay for a subscription. If I wanted to pay, I would have just stuck with my cloud service. This is really disappointing. On top of the outdated hardware, they're now taking away the only thing that was keeping people- the software. Honestly, once my hardware gets too old, I'll start looking elsewhere.
Yep, I'm going to give jellyfin a go, but if my experience with emby is any indication, my NAS won't handle it. Which is kind of a problem given that the only thing I use my NAS for is streaming video to my TV, and the default videostation was the only thing that actually worked.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade As long as you have at least a 220+ or something you use hardware transcoding on then you shouldn't have a problem. I think WunderTech has good write-ups on how to setup JF and hardware transcoding for it.
@@Steve_Just_Steve I've got a 220j and it's so underpowered that it has been a struggle just to log in with 2FA enabled as by the time it actually responds the token has already expired. I realize that it's intended to be cheap, but there's no good reason why it shouldn't be able to run software that runs just fine on a Pi if I'm not doing anything else with it at the time. EDIT: And Jellyfin is listed in the package center, it just refuses to actually install or even give an error.
Just bought some surveillance station licenses and set up motion detection through the NAS with is far superior to the cameras capabilities. My cameras are actually h.265. I purchased these licenses with the knowledge that it supported these cameras. Very disappointed about this. I'm going to hold off on updating as long as I can.
I really hope they add H.265 back for SS because this is the exact scenario that's a worst case scenario for some users. Recent purchases based on specific features that were removed with no notice.
I think it’s probably just going to be best to build a small pc and truenas or unraid. It isn’t good to be at the mercy of these companies. Using Synology is just a little bit better than using Google or Dropbox
@@angryox3102I would not go as af as comparing Synology to Google and Dropbox (they stated to suck big time btw) but you are right the dependency on them having control over what is installed is very concerning.
@@angryox3102 Just a couple of years ago Synology was perfect for replacing clouds. But with modern approach ... New golden times for another company(ies) to take over home prosumers NAS market, I think.
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Time to update Synology by throwing it out of the window....hope they will feel our pain soon on financial results.
Synology inc won’t feel anything of that, since you already paid them for the hardware you’re about to toss out of the window. You’d be wiser to sell or keep using your Synology till it fails.
Way to late for that... we complained 4 years ago and we were ignored and that point was well taken. Hope they enjoy competing against Dell in enterprise, Dell will eat their lunch.
I’ve been using DSM since 2012, around the same time I switched from Mac to Windows. In the past 2 years I’ve been using Linux. What I’ve discovered with DSM is that most of their apps are adaptations of open-source Linux apps. To name a couple, Synology Drive is Sharefile, Synology Proxy is NGINX Proxy Manager, File Station is File Browser. As I’ve been transitioning away from Windows I’ve done the same for Synology, at a faster pace. Now I mostly use my Synology NAS for storage. Docker is key in being able to transition from one OS to another. I’ve enjoyed DSM in the past, but don’t see it in my future.
So now we're simply overpaying for shitty hardware when the justification of paying more for less spec'd hardware was "but you're paying for the software with Synology"...
Why a rumor, take look to Winows 10/11 os: you have no h265/HEIC photo support unless you would buy a codec in Microsoft App Store. Why not to implement the same in Synology is a big mystery. Just let people buy it for whom it makes sense.
11:00 The entire reason for running your own NAS is to avoid subscriptions. The average user may not know HEIC and HEVC, but I bet the average homelabber does. Congrats Synology! You've taken away even more features that I paid for... oh stealing, I'm sure it's covered in your ToS, but you sold a feature. My DS1821+ is the final Synology product I will ever buy. I guess it taking something I bought isn't stealing, then piracy isn't stealing? Oh, you see how that works? No one likes their stuff taken. Give it back. TrueNAS is nowhere near as hard as hard to install and setup as this video makes it sound It is NOT a SMALL update if HEVC files are no longer supported.
It might not be hard to install, but for a regular user, buying hardware, configuring the USB drive, figuring out how to configure it, etc, is a lot more involved than just buying a Synology, putting hard drives in it, and following the setup guide that DSM provides. I agree, it's not rocket science, but it's not as simple as Synology provides.
Thanks for advising me to turn off automatic updates last week or so. I just ordered an additional cam and was gonna use it for surveillance station as the ubiquity cams are overpriced for what they are. Thanks again
I wish they would have separated the security updates from the removal of Video Station & codecs. That way the users could have updated to the latest security features and then known that any further updates would have reduced the functionality of the NAS. Synology have done a Google here. I won't be updating nor will I be buying another Synology NAS to add to, or replace my existing 3 units.
What's most likely is that they just don't profit much from their consumer division. They'll probably milk it for what they can and if it ends up going away altogether then so be it. The writing is on the wall (and in the upgrade notes). I was seriously looking at buying an 8 bay synology but not now.
UGreen is immediately what popped into my mind. They had some startup issues, but lately have been smoothing things out. If they are smart, they will exploit this to the max.
Thanks for your honest assessment. This "update" is going to give Synology's reputation a BIG BLACK EYE. A reputation that relied on great software, simple to use out of the box. Starting to think I should have looked into a DIY "Box" solution BEFORE I spent over $2500 on the SINOLOGY DS NAS. One the reasons for the purchase was it's Video Station and of course EASE OF USE. It's not so easy if SINOLOGY starts removing the apps that people use and are comfortable with the User Interface. Would gladly pay for a subscription for what Synology pays for it licenses. Well, being now forced to learn how to add 3rd party software will help me with the learning curve when my next NAS WILL be my own build since I've heard it can be way less expensive (than Synology) and WAY more powerful and WAY more capable even if there's a bit of learning curve.
Thanks for the video. Space Rex got me into Synology and as a storage for a medium business with lots of big data it has been wonderful. Surveillance station was a feature for keeping certain cameras and recordings out of the hands of anyone but me. Now they are taking it away this will be a big hit as I need to upgrade due to the amount of storage we require. I will be checking out your recommendations for moving forward and other tuber videos to watch. Keep up the good work!
I agree that the way Synology is handling this is really bad. If there is a cost associated with this, let us know. I’d be happy to pay. For the most part my NAS is just that, a NAS, but I did like Video Station because of its plain interface. Overall bummed and not happy with Synology removing features. This is what Google does, and it isn’t ok.
I would say they did that over the last 4 years. This is just the latest step. They banked on their consultants to keep turning the other cheek. Many didn't and dumped them. They saved their competition the trouble and shot both their feet...
Interesting strategy Synology takes, it is concerning as a user when your apps are removed. It does give fuel for thoughts and perhaps also change strategy as a user. Consumer loyalty is a tricky topic, when there no monopoly.
You’re killing me, Smalls! It was a crime to remove PhotoStation. I had 10’s of thousands of family photos well organized and many comments were made on those photos by relatives that I expected to always be there for my kids to read even after the relatives passed on. Synology just said screw your memories and provided no way to transfer those comments over to the new photos app and added features I didn’t need. I also have thousands of video clips taken as my kids grew up well organized under VideoStation. I can’t count on Synology any longer as an option for preserving our memories for future generations. I feel like the people that make these decisions don’t really use their own products. The work this all this is causing me and the disruption to non-tech savvy relatives is enormous.
Can we use specific version and not update, so we have apps not removed from synology NAS apps? If yes - what is downside in not upgrading? Asking because was going to get synology NAS exactly for family photo and videos storage
Gating security updates and bug fixes with removed functionality is diabolical. Time to liquidate my synology hardware and move to a DIY nas. 45Drives, here I come!
I went through a lot of trouble enabling remote access for friends and family. Plex was the first I tried but used remotely it transcodes. Videostation doesn't do this, since it plays directly from the server. So now I am basically forced to not update my synology server to keep using it the way I like.
@@RobbieKiama You can but it pushes the transcoding to external devices, can all your devices transcode on the fly? My TV is not that old but feels more sluggish with every update. All they seem to add at each update is more unwanted bloatware and page after page of new terms and conditions to steal my data.
I was about to purchase a 923+... was looking forward to using the Surveillance station for cameras around the house and some nice backup for my iphone and all my family phones. The huge issue is that I don't even think there is any real alternative for random people like me who don't want to spend hours tinkering every other week on a custom home made solution. The principle of buying those Synology NAS or else is that it's all in a box, right there with all the security and services we need. QNAP? Shit security and software as it seems. People keep on saying that Asustor? No idea what's going on there, it seems below in terms of software too compared to DSM. So.. what's left really... I'm sad because I trusted Synology :(
@oulanos1 QNAP is a totally different company now, they busted their backside in the last 4 years to fix all the issues. It is a great solution with bit defender built into th os. A lot of things are just as easy or easier than dsm. Some are not but the app set and selection are twice the size of dsm. I have been happy with them. Asustor is nice, they just don't do as much in smb and aren't as slick as QNAP as of today... once you deploy the qnap it runs and you never think about it...
If we cannot trust Synology will support the specific applications we use (whichever ones they, are the chain of trust is broken now) we can just as well buy (way better) off the shelf hardware and put one of the alternative NAS OS'es on there instead of buying something that locks in hardware and software and basically turn it into a paperweight if the vendor decides to break support. I think Synology might have just convinced me to jump ship to Ugreen: way better hardware and you can always switch to another operating system if you need to. thus avoiding having to set things up with off the shelf hardware.
From what I understand. If our photos in Synology photos come from our pho ne, they should be ok. All the rest from scanners, cameras, "dslr," are history which is not right. They sold us the product and they should support it or at least give us the option to buy the codec. Imagine converting hundreds of thousands of photos through a phone.
Not necessarily. Depending on the camera, yes, it's possible, and in that case, you'd have to convert the media using Synology's Assistant to a format supported, but it will only be impacted if it's in one of the codec formats removed.
@@WunderTechTutorialswe lose server side transcoding to smaller optimised versions of videos. No more processing after upload to folder. It’s all forced to device side. Also, it means streaming huge video files to device, since it’s not making the “speed” versions anymore for the uploaded files. Fun having to stream a full 4K file over mobile. Even local I prefer the speed version for faster start and seeking.
@@Steve_Just_Steve Exactly, Android users here but some of the family are Apple users so I may not be able to see their content they send me. Seems like it's worth risking getting hacked to avoid the update.
Thanks for your update, I totally missed this topic. Was happy anytime to get my new Synology because I knower I payed for the apps also, but after this there is no reason anymore to pay Synology. Than you can grab a ugreen or similar device and put truenas on it.
I think you nailed towards the end of the video and this is exactly how i feel...for the first in years i am a little worried in the direction Synology is heading. its a bit concerning.
Excellent video Frank. Even with the recent changes, I still prefer Synology Photos over having my photos in iCloud. Maybe with enough push back from existing Synology users, Synology will reinstate certain functionality. Love “the other guy” reference. Haha, that made me chuckle. Have a great day!
Thanks, Tony! Totally agree - I won't stop using Photos as it's still great for my personal usage. The Surveillance Station changes upset me more I think, but again, since I don't use it, I'm mainly sympathizing with people who have been using H.265 and might have to deal with the repercussions of this change. I just know I'd be upset if my NVR removed that type of support. And hahaha! I had to throw that in there because him and I were talking earlier in the day about the Photos changes.
@@WunderTechTutorials I’m running Synology Photos on a DS216+II, which is still running DSM 7.1.1 which won’t upgrade beyond that, so I’m not affected. However, because of the age of the 216, I’ve been thinking of moving everything over to a newer NAS. I do use Surveillance Station on the DS1621+, but haven’t yet upgraded to 7.2.
@@QuikTechSolutions That's the thing, Synology devices are so reliable that people have them running for 5-10+ years without a problem. I hope this is just a small bump in the road because I've been looking forward to whatever the next iteration of the 18 series is for years!
I’m not sure how it’s related or if it’s related at all and perhaps just a coincidence but I noticed my 1513+ will not support the 7.2 update. This is by no means a complaint because I’ve had this NAS for many years and I’ve been extremely happy with it, but I’m just trying to think if it going into being not supported as somehow related to the other changes, they are making in 7.2. Thank you so much for the video man.
I still have a 1515+ limping along with a new power supply and externally powered fans and I dread the day it dies. Be happy that you can’t upgrade DSM as my 1621+ cannot be used to show the Photo comments that have been accumulated over the years to relatives. I know there is an option to run PhotoStation in Docker but I feel like they could wipe out all the configuration that takes with any update at any time. So disappointed in all this and the amount of work it is causing me is unforgivable.
I am really concerned about note station. Is there a way to back up then ores and export in something free/open source that can be installed on a Synology NAS?
I get EOL apps but makes no sense removing functionality across the system like this. what a terrible move. they could have made it an option to disable these features to improve performance
Thanks for the useful warning. I use video station as it’s simple and works well enough for my needs to stream to mobile devices and Apple TVs. This news is pretty frustrating as it isn’t the first time they gradually remove features so I’ll try to hold off on updating, and am less inclined to stick with Synology in the future since the value proposition is dropping and it’s also not clear whether things will work as they do in the future.
@@clausmller Yup. Superior software experience is synology's main selling point. Now there isn't much reason to stay. I'll have to go back and do a lot more research for my next nas brand.
@@thaitichi Superior software experience is not so much down to DS Video. No matter what packages they chose to get rid of, DSM will continue to be DSM with everything like security and stability. That won't change. If security, stability and reliability is your main concerns, then you won't find anything better or equal to Synology.
@AndreasC81 simply not true anymore. Synology hasn't invested anything in dsm for home and smb in forever. The competition now is drastically different. QNAP, for example, made their os more like dsm to deploy and by adding bit defender (a move that all Nas brands should do) they are actually more secure than Synology now. DSM is stale and the abuse we have had with hardware has done it's damage and they still think they can squeeze us as they target Dell in enterprise is a bad joke just like releasing the 423 that I really thought was a gag initially. The diy and qnap experience targeted them since they have been so stupid... I can tell you QNAP did an awesome job and deserve my business.
not saying its a good or a bad thing, but I guess another factor you didn't take into account, they just didn't want to maintain video station anymore. not only saves money on licensing, but also development. look at the release notes of video station, pretty much only fixes for the last years. same with audio station, wouldn't be surprised if audio station is the next to go.
I bought a Synology NAS mostly thinking of it as a file server. I use the apps to backup my files from one Synology NAS to the other. I run a container for the Unifi Controller and I run Plex on the NAS. I run Blue Iris on an always on Windows machine for my security cameras. I always looked the first party apps from Synology provides as a bit less than what you can get otherwise. For me things like Video Station, or related apps, plus any of the office stuff if they get rid of that it won't impact me. They mess with Docker or mess up Plex I will migrate these apps to my always on WIndows machine and keep going. If they mess with the ability to serve files or provide a means to run backups then I will have to cut Synology loose. I mean if they cannot get that done what is the point.
Regarding audio station, I use it for more than 10 years for the sole reason it comes with a mobile application. Any suggestion for an alternative that would allow streaming music over the wire ?( webdav?)
Plex is great as their PlexAmp app is pretty awesome, but another option to look at would be something like Navidrome as there are tons of different apps that support it.
@@WunderTechTutorials thanks ! My main concern is mostly the Android client that could connect whatever the underlying protocol is. I'll check navidrome. Thanks for your answer
I'm genuinely curious if Windows would work as home NAS system, I mean, there's all functionality included and performance overhead isn't that bad on optimized install
Tbh, they already axed so much functionality going from DSM 6 to 7. This is just another nail in the coffin. I used to like their vastly overpriced products because the features made it worth the expense in the end. The way things are going, this will no longer be the case. Yes, companies need revenue. But skipping on licenses that can be had for pennies on the dollar per device sold and giving such misleading reasons is a different story altogether. I also get that they'd like to entice bigger customers with their offerings. But they have no way to compete with current enterprise offerings and senselessly drive away their small / private customers at the same time. I guess the CEO will get a nice bonus for driving a well-known, successful business into the ground.
Synology is making so silly decisions lately, starting with the lack of updates of their hardware for years...people are looking to other solutions already. Including myself. My next NAS might not be a Synology anymore, and I need to buy one.
Synology was great introduction for home server/lab and NAS world for me. It serves/served me well last 5 years but my next upgrade will be custom build and open source software as my uses cases grow more complex. Docker situation in synology is crazy. It used to be somewhat up to date but it went downhill in recent years.
Still hoping its a "microsoft-ish" problem and the next itteration will be decent again ;-) I suffered from their Docker policies a few years ago, when they just removed Docker options for my hardware after a DSM upgrade.
So I was going to buy a NAS and one of the features I was looking forward to was Synology photos. I have an iPhone which saves photos as .heic. I guess I'm out of luck on that one, yes?
I currently own and manage 3 Syno devices, 2 of those are running SurveilenceStation.. with how this is going.. I'm not sure I'll be getting any more in the future, already testing out Frigate as an NVR.. Immich was on my radar as an alternative for a while, will give it serious look sometime soon.. Drive can be raplaced easily.. as for Active backup, I don't think that will get removed, but better be prepared and find alternative NOW, while I still have time Paying subscription for my NAS is a big NO NO.. I paid premium price for subpar hardware with great SW attached to it
Same here, bought the DS920+ after a terrible ordeal with a DLINK NAS. Synology hardware was not brilliant compared to other manufacturers but so many said the ease of use and the app support was worth it.
Thanks Frank for a great video. Love your clear and straight forward content. I now need to start looking for alternatives to some of the packages i have been using for a long time. I moved away fromVideo Station a long while ago and I am happy with Plex. I use surveillance station but need to add cameras to my system and dont want to purchase more licenses. So looking at other packages… got several identified to be tested. I also use heavily Audio Station quite heavily and DS Audio on all my devices. It supports CarPlay so use it heavily while driving. I also stream music through out the house on my yamaha receivers, phone, ipad, etc… I dont know of any suitable replacement for Audio Station. Plex music is not suitable for me with my very large music library. Do you know of any other music server that could run on my synology DS920+?
Thank you!! Plex is actually a pretty great audio server, so I'd start there, but I know a bunch of people who use Navidrome as well as it allows you to stream audio from various different apps. I'll add this to my list as a possible future video!
Thanks Frank for the reply. Plexamp is not free and quite expensive… I will look at it since i already use Plex for videos and find it quite good for that. I tried jellyfin. It works fine and has mobile apps. However, i find the search tools a bit confusing and limited. All my music is properly tagged and arranged in folders by Genre, Artist, Albums, etc… I like search by Genre/artist and jellyfin only allows you to search by, Artist, Genre, Album and the all the music inside these themes are sorted by album name, not arranged by artist. Quite awkward to scroll through the long list of albums this way. Again my music library is huge, thousands of albums. For me AudioStation and DS Audio are wonderful and the search tools match perfectly how I go through my library and create on the fly music lists to fit my listening mood of the moment. Jellyfin is good but does not meet my needs.
Okay, I'm relatively tech-ignorant (learning), but this sounds like a jump ship moment, initially. Was considering Synology but may just go a different route now.
Is it still possible to watch h.265 video's directly from the NAS using an external player like VLC-player OR do you first need to copy files to the PC to watch anything?
I sure as hope they don't go down the subs route, that would be the killer for me. I suspect this is a consequence of a strategic move away from prosumer/enthusiast market targeted devices. They probably looked at their data, saw VS was only used by a certain percentage of users, all within the sector they are moving away from and started trimming the tree. If that is the case, then undoubtedly NS and AS will be next for the chop!
I don't think that ALL apps will be under a subscription, but I'm starting to get worried about their more "premium" options. Again though, pure speculation, I have zero info.
@@WunderTechTutorials I agree and me neither, regarding any inside info. I could see features of Hyper having paid "Premium" levels for sure, just for a start. If they do it with Drive, CM, Quick Connect, etc. I'll certainly be looking at BYO options. Damned shame the general direction they seem to be going to be honest. I've said to many that the Synology NAS I've had over the years has been the best spent money I've ever put into buying tech gear.
How does an average user even know if their files will be affected? Is there a way to search photos for what codec it needs? Are all MP4 files just not going to work?
MP4 will be fine. It's HEVC for videos, HEIC (for images), H.264 (AVC), and VC-1 which is generally from Blu-rays/DVDs. Outside of looking at your types of media, I don't think there's really any other way to do it.
Oh this is very disheartening. The only reason I bought a Synology NAS was to be able to back up my photos and documents because my iPhone was full. If I can’t view my iPhone photos anymore then the NAS is becoming redundant. This makes me feel like I just need to go back to an external USB hard drive; cheap, easy to use, no external access sadly, but affordable and no subscription fees.
@@WunderTechTutorials tbh if this is the path synology is going, I feel they will push themselves out of the market. They are increasing the reasons not ro go with synology and like yourself I am all synology, but they seem to be pushing their clients away... Shame
My NAS still weren't showing this update was available for download (I guess because of delayed rollouts from Synology) so I downloaded and applied it manually to get all the CVE fixes because some of them were pretty nasty vulnerabilities and I didn't want to wait. I wish they would split their Security updates from the feature updates (unless it's needed together) because of things like what happened in this update.
Pretty sure the damage is not reverse able now.. too much time has past and to many I know in the industry dumped them and will not return. I can only take abuse for soo long and then I'm done... see yah
Ha, well, I have 2 and after testing and experiencing their solution, I did like it right away for the great GUI, Backup app, surveillance app and other. BUT! I don't use them and will be selling them. Why? Cause it was obvious to me that I would be at the mercy of whatever they did, as we can clearly see now. "I don't see the future. I just pay attention to the present".
As if their J models weren't effective enough at that. The one I got barely handles copying files to it and streaming them to my Roku. They aren't even high def files, they're mostly just standard 720p images coming off of DVDs.
I'm 💯 qnap now and they are really great now. They actually listened to the users and market and worked hard over the last 4 years, even put bit defender in the os, a masterstroke.
Thank you very much. Too many things are going to subscriptions. I'm not happy about it. I will probably be willing to pay a recurring fee to keep my Synology running. But when it comes time to replace it, there is a good chance I will build or buy a TrueNAS system. But just think, TrueNAS might go to subscriptions, too!
The problem with a subscription model, particularly with respect to surveillance station, is their model has been to charge one time, expensive license fee per camera. Anyone who already spent that money is getting screwed.
I work for a semi big company. The owner came at me on Friday and is ready to dump all of our synology units. Something is going on my own synology is starting to fail at home. I guess I'll be looking for a new server for my home as well..
I use Plex mainly but I do use video station to give family members access to a video file without having to give them access to Plex and them trawling through lots of files. But it's the other stuff like pushing decoding to client devices, what if the other person's device cannot decode the content I save for them? If the apps are not there what is the point in buying a Synology? Certainly not the hardware.
Question is - are there alternative apps, that could be used on Synology, that would replace those first party apps? I don't want to change hardware (I invested too much in it - RAM, 10Gb network, SSD cache) and I would like to keep the functionality.. somehow
What are your thoughts on this update? Do you care that the app/codecs were removed? I realize this video probably sounds fairly pessimistic towards Synology, but it's still my favorite pre-built NAS and for the bulk of people, buying a Synology is the right move. I don't think other apps will necessarily be removed, but abandoned from a development perspective would have probably been the better word.
Keep in mind, I don't think anyone knows for certain that codec fees were the reason for these changes, but it seems likely from rumors. On the bright side, the reason anyone is complaining in the first place is because of how good DSM has been for most users, so I guess there's always two ways to look at everything!
This is troubling to hear, do you think if there is negative response to this they might reinstate this support?
Since this update, I am seriously thinking about moving from Synology to a DIY NAS or something like ASUSTOR, which catches my attention. But I see that Synology is abandoning home users, which is a shame.
They are a terrible company with mediocre products that are stale...
Synology sells at a premium. Its point of difference is now gone, and consumer confidence has been destroyed regardless of the current features and new workarounds.
@@someguy0523 I think they might, but my fear is that if they do, it'll be cost-based. At least in terms of the codecs, which would solve 95% of the problem. Video Station was great but I imagine a very, very small percent of users actually downloaded it which played into them getting rid of it. The codecs would be a huge win though.
Removing Video Station/DS Video was a really bad move! And it was disrespectful to us, clients, that spend so much on DSM (since hw certainly is not their strongest point) + HDD's + (supposedly...) their (rebranded) RAM modules, for Synology not even having the consideration to warn us.
Who know if the same won't happen to Audio Station/DS Audio someday...
Ok, Video Station/DS Video (Audio Station/DS Audio; mainly the apps) needed improvements but at least we could use it.
What Synology wanted with the removal of the codecs, was just to increase their profit by not paying licenses fees!
"The higher you are, the bigger the fall is".
Let's see if Ugreen will not start to bet heavily on their NAS.
Thanks (read: f. You), Synology!
I work for a company that got hit with a license violation for those same CODECs. I suspect the rights holders are going to get tough with all parties that use them, not just Synology.
Completely agree. It feels like Synology is slapping us in the face.
The only two functions I really bought my first and also (years later) my second NAS, where the backup function (synology drive) and the media servers (audio and video).
Which when I bough it were advertised as built in functionality.
They even had + models or something that was supposedly more tuned to doing video decoding. (Meaning they KNEW their end-users wanted their devices for that reason)
This is the second time Synology removed significant functionality by "upgrading" the software.
low creativity company tbh
As someone about to buy a new Synology NAS, I’ll postpone this decision and take a look at other brands. Thank you Frank.
Buy QNAP, they are awesome now. They replace Synology in smb and home.
It's still a great choice for most people, so I don't mean to sway you away from them. But either way, yes, I always think everyone should shop around and if Synology ends up being the best option, that's great!
@WunderTechTutorials I think the last 4 years told us loud and clear. The competition caught up as they squeezed us to go after enterprise. Not a particularly good company, it is abusive and many dumped them. There isn't a silver lining possible anymore..
I haven't used QTS in a while so it might have gotten better, but I always ran into a lot more problem with it in the past than DSM, and that's ignoring all of their security issues. That's what always made it so difficult, but hopefully they improved it so consumers have more choices.
@WunderTechTutorials it is very secure now. It had a ton of updates and deploys more like dsm these days. They even added bit defender right into the OS so it is very secure now. That was a brilliant move and gave me confidence to use them. It is faster, they enhanced smb, decreased boot and shut down times, and have more options than dsm for about everything. The qtier providing cache and pool in one solution is nice. QNAP just seems smarter now to me. I feel like synology is abusing me, dsm is slick but qts really has been worked on and dsm has been going backwards. I hate buying their stuff to get basic functionality. To me their dead.
I was waiting for synology 1825+ but now I’m thinking better off building my own nas.
You are
I moved from Synology, last year. I don't regret it, but going DIY is not for everyone. You might need to learn quite a bit, and deal with the... issue of those OSs'. You go to an off-the-shelf solution, for simplicity. I like to get my hands dirty, use more "advanced" features and learn, you might not. If you want an off-the-shelf solution, both QNAP and Asustor are good options.
@@madness1931 Thank you. Do you know if QNAP and Asustor have a "video station" like application?
@@eojeda1375 QNAP were slowly catching up to Synology, with 1st party alternatives to most of Synologys solutions. So yes, they do have their own Video Station.
As for ASUSTOR, sadly they rely more on 3rd party software. They have a nice catalogue, but nothing 1st party comes to mind mind. It wouldn't suprise me if the community has built something for it, but can't be certain.
Oh dude its not that simple , nothing compare to the ease of DSM probably Unraid
The entire reason I got a synology was to stop paying for subscription services. Hopefully that won't be a thing in the future.
Sadly it will.
"We've removed all this functionality so your device can do nothing, faster"
Very well said, lol.
I’ve invested a lot in my DS920+, including expensive, high-capacity disks, a RAM upgrade, and SSD cache, all to create a multimedia server and cloud storage for my family’s Apple devices. But with just one update, Synology has broken everything, and now I can’t use it as planned. I’m beyond frustrated.
The DS920+ was specifically designed for these kinds of tasks. It’s not a commercial unit-it’s meant for users like me. This update feels like a slap in the face to all of us. I’m sure there are many other users who are just as upset.
So Synology always had outdated hardware and high prices. But people always said: But the software. If they will take this way, they need to give the NAS at a reasonable price. Look at all the N100 boxes. Will this be happening? Doubt it, in particular as for an 720+ you have to pay way more, likely things you will never be using. So I think they will charge similar amounts and also charge recurring- and that’s where I say: Check OMV, TrueNAS etc…. I mean the software, look at Synology Photos, it doesn’t even support offline sync… Synology Drive led to loss of data… and I mean isn’t it ironic, they take away Video Station and Plex breaks? I see parallels to Nokia here
The brand is dead, plain and simple. 4 years of this taught most that. They took all the money they squeezed from us to target Dell enterprise? Good luck their gonna need it as the cow has no more milk for that...
They are opening Pandora's box. I paid through the nose to buy a DS1821+ when I could have just as easily built a half decent PC for the same price. And I did consider using an existing PC. I ultimately went with the Synology for the simplicity and the apps. Start removing the apps or worse start charging on going fees to use them, and then the decision to go PC becomes very simple. As you say it is very overpriced hardware for what you get. They are risking loosing their customer base, those that will pay more for convenience.
Unhappy client here. Synology is getting greedy e will not buy anymore NAS from them. I payed more for the hardware because of the software capabilities. Not anymore.
And you god how many 3-5 in a lifetime
The only reason why I ever chose for Synology was the software. hardware is always some years behind and compatibility is getting really annoying.
Cost going up, service decreasing. Well this was my last Synology
I suspect these features will be returned with a subscription priced software or requirement of newer hardware, which is pretty scummy if I am right.
I completely agree with your take on Surveillance Station. Before purchasing my licenses, I made sure all my cameras were compatible and I made my storage calculations based on using h265/h265+ understanding those would be supported. Now after a few months I will no longer be able to use motion detection through Surveillance Station (which in my testing works better) and I will have to manage each camera individually rather than through one app (or record in h264 which is an overall downgrade, especially since I record on SSDs and lose storage capacity). It really feels like they are trying to force you to buy their own cameras (which I'm not even opposed to buying apart from the fact that they are never in stock) or their DVAs. I don't buy their claim about system resources, on my 1821+ Surveillance Station uses 1.5% CPU and 200mb ram. I'm going to try and get a refund for my licenses from Amazon and will look at moving to another surveillance system. Really disappointed in Synology, no longer interested in their products.
Have any recommendations for an alternate surveillance station?
you can re-add the codecs with dave007's script
Removing significant functionality sucks. If you bought a product because it supported a feature, and that feature is removed, I'd argue that you should get your money back.
I have been running diskstations for 15+ years. This is making me reconsider using them, along with stupids like trying to get us to buy overpriced drives that are just re-labels of other brands.
I'm definitely not going to pay for a subscription. If I wanted to pay, I would have just stuck with my cloud service.
This is really disappointing. On top of the outdated hardware, they're now taking away the only thing that was keeping people- the software. Honestly, once my hardware gets too old, I'll start looking elsewhere.
Wouldn't want to "bog down" my Synology with the main tasks I bought and use it for or anything....
Yep, I'm going to give jellyfin a go, but if my experience with emby is any indication, my NAS won't handle it. Which is kind of a problem given that the only thing I use my NAS for is streaming video to my TV, and the default videostation was the only thing that actually worked.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade As long as you have at least a 220+ or something you use hardware transcoding on then you shouldn't have a problem. I think WunderTech has good write-ups on how to setup JF and hardware transcoding for it.
@@Steve_Just_Steve I've got a 220j and it's so underpowered that it has been a struggle just to log in with 2FA enabled as by the time it actually responds the token has already expired. I realize that it's intended to be cheap, but there's no good reason why it shouldn't be able to run software that runs just fine on a Pi if I'm not doing anything else with it at the time.
EDIT: And Jellyfin is listed in the package center, it just refuses to actually install or even give an error.
Just bought some surveillance station licenses and set up motion detection through the NAS with is far superior to the cameras capabilities. My cameras are actually h.265. I purchased these licenses with the knowledge that it supported these cameras. Very disappointed about this. I'm going to hold off on updating as long as I can.
I really hope they add H.265 back for SS because this is the exact scenario that's a worst case scenario for some users. Recent purchases based on specific features that were removed with no notice.
same here..bought several surveillance licenses
I am in the process of of moving everything from cloud services to my own cloud on the Synology NAS. These changes are very concerning
I think it’s probably just going to be best to build a small pc and truenas or unraid. It isn’t good to be at the mercy of these companies. Using Synology is just a little bit better than using Google or Dropbox
@@angryox3102I would not go as af as comparing Synology to Google and Dropbox (they stated to suck big time btw) but you are right the dependency on them having control over what is installed is very concerning.
@@angryox3102 Just a couple of years ago Synology was perfect for replacing clouds. But with modern approach ... New golden times for another company(ies) to take over home prosumers NAS market, I think.
Time to update Synology by throwing it out of the window....hope they will feel our pain soon on financial results.
Synology inc won’t feel anything of that, since you already paid them for the hardware you’re about to toss out of the window.
You’d be wiser to sell or keep using your Synology till it fails.
Haven't updated yet to `7.2.2` yet but switched from `Video Station` to `Emby` today. Thanks for the vid, it was very helpful!
Synology has disappointed us all. I hope with all this noise, they rectify the issue.
Way to late for that... we complained 4 years ago and we were ignored and that point was well taken. Hope they enjoy competing against Dell in enterprise, Dell will eat their lunch.
I’ve been using DSM since 2012, around the same time I switched from Mac to Windows. In the past 2 years I’ve been using Linux. What I’ve discovered with DSM is that most of their apps are adaptations of open-source Linux apps. To name a couple, Synology Drive is Sharefile, Synology Proxy is NGINX Proxy Manager, File Station is File Browser. As I’ve been transitioning away from Windows I’ve done the same for Synology, at a faster pace. Now I mostly use my Synology NAS for storage. Docker is key in being able to transition from one OS to another. I’ve enjoyed DSM in the past, but don’t see it in my future.
So now we're simply overpaying for shitty hardware when the justification of paying more for less spec'd hardware was "but you're paying for the software with Synology"...
4:00 Correct me if I am wrong, but Synology wants us to "upgrade" to a codec. with LESS compression. Is this to save money on HEVC licensing?
That is the rumor, unfortunately.
Why a rumor, take look to Winows 10/11 os: you have no h265/HEIC photo support unless you would buy a codec in Microsoft App Store. Why not to implement the same in Synology is a big mystery. Just let people buy it for whom it makes sense.
I'd bet money on it.
11:00 The entire reason for running your own NAS is to avoid subscriptions. The average user may not know HEIC and HEVC, but I bet the average homelabber does.
Congrats Synology! You've taken away even more features that I paid for... oh stealing, I'm sure it's covered in your ToS, but you sold a feature. My DS1821+ is the final Synology product I will ever buy. I guess it taking something I bought isn't stealing, then piracy isn't stealing? Oh, you see how that works? No one likes their stuff taken. Give it back.
TrueNAS is nowhere near as hard as hard to install and setup as this video makes it sound
It is NOT a SMALL update if HEVC files are no longer supported.
It might not be hard to install, but for a regular user, buying hardware, configuring the USB drive, figuring out how to configure it, etc, is a lot more involved than just buying a Synology, putting hard drives in it, and following the setup guide that DSM provides. I agree, it's not rocket science, but it's not as simple as Synology provides.
Thanks for advising me to turn off automatic updates last week or so. I just ordered an additional cam and was gonna use it for surveillance station as the ubiquity cams are overpriced for what they are.
Thanks again
Unifi are releasing a motion detection device for 3rd party cams.
@@dfgdfg_ there’s definitely not enough leaks from todays event. Too many people don’t wanna talk
I wish they would have separated the security updates from the removal of Video Station & codecs. That way the users could have updated to the latest security features and then known that any further updates would have reduced the functionality of the NAS. Synology have done a Google here. I won't be updating nor will I be buying another Synology NAS to add to, or replace my existing 3 units.
Wow, the main reasons why I owned a Synology for the last 10+ years are gone!
corporate greed Synology NOT OK
This is a deal breaker to me… and I had same experience with WD mycloud home. I was considering an upgrade. But seems diy is the way to go after all.
What's most likely is that they just don't profit much from their consumer division. They'll probably milk it for what they can and if it ends up going away altogether then so be it. The writing is on the wall (and in the upgrade notes). I was seriously looking at buying an 8 bay synology but not now.
sad times, can't trust anyone these days.
Do yourself a huge favor and buy the QNAP 878 it is just epic 😎.
@kjohn0347 get yourself a QNAP 874 It's simply awesome. Best smb Nas in the market.
dsm is hardware agnostic. its the same on rackstations etc.
Same here. 8 bay - can wait, until I find a better Nas provider
UGreen looking more and more appealing, Synology are heading in the wrong direction.
UGreen is immediately what popped into my mind. They had some startup issues, but lately have been smoothing things out. If they are smart, they will exploit this to the max.
Thanks for your honest assessment. This "update" is going to give Synology's reputation a BIG BLACK EYE. A reputation that relied on great software, simple to use out of the box. Starting to think I should have looked into a DIY "Box" solution BEFORE I spent over $2500 on the SINOLOGY DS NAS. One the reasons for the purchase was it's Video Station and of course EASE OF USE. It's not so easy if SINOLOGY starts removing the apps that people use and are comfortable with the User Interface. Would gladly pay for a subscription for what Synology pays for it licenses.
Well, being now forced to learn how to add 3rd party software will help me with the learning curve when my next NAS WILL be my own build since I've heard it can be way less expensive (than Synology) and WAY more powerful and WAY more capable even if there's a bit of learning curve.
Thanks for the video. Space Rex got me into Synology and as a storage for a medium business with lots of big data it has been wonderful. Surveillance station was a feature for keeping certain cameras and recordings out of the hands of anyone but me. Now they are taking it away this will be a big hit as I need to upgrade due to the amount of storage we require. I will be checking out your recommendations for moving forward and other tuber videos to watch. Keep up the good work!
I agree that the way Synology is handling this is really bad. If there is a cost associated with this, let us know. I’d be happy to pay. For the most part my NAS is just that, a NAS, but I did like Video Station because of its plain interface. Overall bummed and not happy with Synology removing features. This is what Google does, and it isn’t ok.
Just disabled auto updates. What on earth is Synology doing? They are going to destroy themselves with these cheap ass penny pinching moves.
I would say they did that over the last 4 years. This is just the latest step. They banked on their consultants to keep turning the other cheek. Many didn't and dumped them. They saved their competition the trouble and shot both their feet...
Interesting strategy Synology takes, it is concerning as a user when your apps are removed.
It does give fuel for thoughts and perhaps also change strategy as a user. Consumer loyalty is a tricky topic, when there no monopoly.
You’re killing me, Smalls! It was a crime to remove PhotoStation. I had 10’s of thousands of family photos well organized and many comments were made on those photos by relatives that I expected to always be there for my kids to read even after the relatives passed on. Synology just said screw your memories and provided no way to transfer those comments over to the new photos app and added features I didn’t need. I also have thousands of video clips taken as my kids grew up well organized under VideoStation. I can’t count on Synology any longer as an option for preserving our memories for future generations. I feel like the people that make these decisions don’t really use their own products. The work this all this is causing me and the disruption to non-tech savvy relatives is enormous.
Can we use specific version and not update, so we have apps not removed from synology NAS apps? If yes - what is downside in not upgrading? Asking because was going to get synology NAS exactly for family photo and videos storage
Gating security updates and bug fixes with removed functionality is diabolical. Time to liquidate my synology hardware and move to a DIY nas. 45Drives, here I come!
I went through a lot of trouble enabling remote access for friends and family. Plex was the first I tried but used remotely it transcodes. Videostation doesn't do this, since it plays directly from the server. So now I am basically forced to not update my synology server to keep using it the way I like.
You can continue using plex even if you upgrade (or am I getting this wrong?)
@@RobbieKiama You can but it pushes the transcoding to external devices, can all your devices transcode on the fly? My TV is not that old but feels more sluggish with every update. All they seem to add at each update is more unwanted bloatware and page after page of new terms and conditions to steal my data.
I was about to purchase a 923+... was looking forward to using the Surveillance station for cameras around the house and some nice backup for my iphone and all my family phones. The huge issue is that I don't even think there is any real alternative for random people like me who don't want to spend hours tinkering every other week on a custom home made solution. The principle of buying those Synology NAS or else is that it's all in a box, right there with all the security and services we need.
QNAP? Shit security and software as it seems. People keep on saying that
Asustor? No idea what's going on there, it seems below in terms of software too compared to DSM.
So.. what's left really... I'm sad because I trusted Synology :(
@oulanos1 QNAP is a totally different company now, they busted their backside in the last 4 years to fix all the issues. It is a great solution with bit defender built into th os. A lot of things are just as easy or easier than dsm. Some are not but the app set and selection are twice the size of dsm. I have been happy with them. Asustor is nice, they just don't do as much in smb and aren't as slick as QNAP as of today... once you deploy the qnap it runs and you never think about it...
If we cannot trust Synology will support the specific applications we use (whichever ones they, are the chain of trust is broken now) we can just as well buy (way better) off the shelf hardware and put one of the alternative NAS OS'es on there instead of buying something that locks in hardware and software and basically turn it into a paperweight if the vendor decides to break support.
I think Synology might have just convinced me to jump ship to Ugreen: way better hardware and you can always switch to another operating system if you need to. thus avoiding having to set things up with off the shelf hardware.
From what I understand. If our photos in Synology photos come from our pho ne, they should be ok. All the rest from scanners, cameras, "dslr," are history which is not right. They sold us the product and they should support it or at least give us the option to buy the codec. Imagine converting hundreds of thousands of photos through a phone.
Not necessarily. Depending on the camera, yes, it's possible, and in that case, you'd have to convert the media using Synology's Assistant to a format supported, but it will only be impacted if it's in one of the codec formats removed.
What about sharing photos with others though?
@@WunderTechTutorialswe lose server side transcoding to smaller optimised versions of videos. No more processing after upload to folder. It’s all forced to device side. Also, it means streaming huge video files to device, since it’s not making the “speed” versions anymore for the uploaded files. Fun having to stream a full 4K file over mobile. Even local I prefer the speed version for faster start and seeking.
@@timkoster694 i would assume there will be something for transcoding sometime soon in docker form.
@@Steve_Just_Steve Exactly, Android users here but some of the family are Apple users so I may not be able to see their content they send me. Seems like it's worth risking getting hacked to avoid the update.
Thanks for your update, I totally missed this topic. Was happy anytime to get my new Synology because I knower I payed for the apps also, but after this there is no reason anymore to pay Synology. Than you can grab a ugreen or similar device and put truenas on it.
Interesting, especially when they just launched their own branded cameras this year.
Glad I didn't dive into that, I considered it for a long time. Vendor agnostic is the way.
I think you nailed towards the end of the video and this is exactly how i feel...for the first in years i am a little worried in the direction Synology is heading. its a bit concerning.
@TechMeOut5 3 years ago it was concerning, now it's done. Too much time has past for me and many that will never buy them again...
Thanks, Avi. Hopefully they update it to add back codec support, even if there's a fee. Thanks for watching!
I don't think we like the other guy & thank you for the exceptional content you provide 🎉
Excellent video Frank. Even with the recent changes, I still prefer Synology Photos over having my photos in iCloud. Maybe with enough push back from existing Synology users, Synology will reinstate certain functionality. Love “the other guy” reference. Haha, that made me chuckle. Have a great day!
Thanks, Tony! Totally agree - I won't stop using Photos as it's still great for my personal usage. The Surveillance Station changes upset me more I think, but again, since I don't use it, I'm mainly sympathizing with people who have been using H.265 and might have to deal with the repercussions of this change. I just know I'd be upset if my NVR removed that type of support.
And hahaha! I had to throw that in there because him and I were talking earlier in the day about the Photos changes.
@@WunderTechTutorials I’m running Synology Photos on a DS216+II, which is still running DSM 7.1.1 which won’t upgrade beyond that, so I’m not affected. However, because of the age of the 216, I’ve been thinking of moving everything over to a newer NAS. I do use Surveillance Station on the DS1621+, but haven’t yet upgraded to 7.2.
@@QuikTechSolutions That's the thing, Synology devices are so reliable that people have them running for 5-10+ years without a problem. I hope this is just a small bump in the road because I've been looking forward to whatever the next iteration of the 18 series is for years!
I'm very glad I noticed the warning signs 2-3 years ago and ended up ditching synology for a DIY solution.
Next NAS will be QNAP, it has Video Station as you know it from Synology. Bye Synology!!
I did, never looking back. They are really nice now...
Removal of the codecs for the processing of media files is real bummer! WTF!!!! 😡
If at all possible, I install docker and use docker images of well-known software solutions. That way I can control what's running.
I’m not sure how it’s related or if it’s related at all and perhaps just a coincidence but I noticed my 1513+ will not support the 7.2 update. This is by no means a complaint because I’ve had this NAS for many years and I’ve been extremely happy with it, but I’m just trying to think if it going into being not supported as somehow related to the other changes, they are making in 7.2. Thank you so much for the video man.
In that case, it's most likely that the device is end of life, but if it's still running, that's great!
I still have a 1515+ limping along with a new power supply and externally powered fans and I dread the day it dies. Be happy that you can’t upgrade DSM as my 1621+ cannot be used to show the Photo comments that have been accumulated over the years to relatives. I know there is an option to run PhotoStation in Docker but I feel like they could wipe out all the configuration that takes with any update at any time. So disappointed in all this and the amount of work it is causing me is unforgivable.
I am really concerned about note station. Is there a way to back up then ores and export in something free/open source that can be installed on a Synology NAS?
I get EOL apps but makes no sense removing functionality across the system like this. what a terrible move. they could have made it an option to disable these features to improve performance
My issue with this is video station was needed to see video thumbnails when using ds file.
can we still use DS video on IOS if we update to 7.2.2 ???
Thanks for the useful warning. I use video station as it’s simple and works well enough for my needs to stream to mobile devices and Apple TVs. This news is pretty frustrating as it isn’t the first time they gradually remove features so I’ll try to hold off on updating, and am less inclined to stick with Synology in the future since the value proposition is dropping and it’s also not clear whether things will work as they do in the future.
After this update I will never buy another Synonogy after this
@@clausmller Yup. Superior software experience is synology's main selling point. Now there isn't much reason to stay. I'll have to go back and do a lot more research for my next nas brand.
@@thaitichi Superior software experience is not so much down to DS Video. No matter what packages they chose to get rid of, DSM will continue to be DSM with everything like security and stability. That won't change.
If security, stability and reliability is your main concerns, then you won't find anything better or equal to Synology.
What's wrong with those codex. Not sure what Synology are doing. You're right not to buy another because software was ther unique selling point.
@AndreasC81 simply not true anymore. Synology hasn't invested anything in dsm for home and smb in forever. The competition now is drastically different. QNAP, for example, made their os more like dsm to deploy and by adding bit defender (a move that all Nas brands should do) they are actually more secure than Synology now. DSM is stale and the abuse we have had with hardware has done it's damage and they still think they can squeeze us as they target Dell in enterprise is a bad joke just like releasing the 423 that I really thought was a gag initially. The diy and qnap experience targeted them since they have been so stupid... I can tell you QNAP did an awesome job and deserve my business.
@@thaitichiAgree. Incredible how plain administrator can kill an company.
Summer guess this is might last synology
not saying its a good or a bad thing, but I guess another factor you didn't take into account, they just didn't want to maintain video station anymore. not only saves money on licensing, but also development.
look at the release notes of video station, pretty much only fixes for the last years. same with audio station, wouldn't be surprised if audio station is the next to go.
Absolutely - definitely a chance it's purely financial.
Can we use it without installing the latest update?
I bought a Synology NAS mostly thinking of it as a file server. I use the apps to backup my files from one Synology NAS to the other. I run a container for the Unifi Controller and I run Plex on the NAS. I run Blue Iris on an always on Windows machine for my security cameras. I always looked the first party apps from Synology provides as a bit less than what you can get otherwise. For me things like Video Station, or related apps, plus any of the office stuff if they get rid of that it won't impact me. They mess with Docker or mess up Plex I will migrate these apps to my always on WIndows machine and keep going. If they mess with the ability to serve files or provide a means to run backups then I will have to cut Synology loose. I mean if they cannot get that done what is the point.
Yikes. I'm even happier now that I decided to roll my own with UnRaid, Immich, Next Cloud, Blue Iris, etc...
Regarding audio station, I use it for more than 10 years for the sole reason it comes with a mobile application. Any suggestion for an alternative that would allow streaming music over the wire ?( webdav?)
Plex is great as their PlexAmp app is pretty awesome, but another option to look at would be something like Navidrome as there are tons of different apps that support it.
@@WunderTechTutorials thanks ! My main concern is mostly the Android client that could connect whatever the underlying protocol is. I'll check navidrome. Thanks for your answer
This is why my Synology is now a simple backup destination for my homelab server. :)
I'm genuinely curious if Windows would work as home NAS system, I mean, there's all functionality included and performance overhead isn't that bad on optimized install
Thanks for update good stuff!
And .... can you tell us what replaces DS Video if you go Plex? In other words, how we play Plex media from the NAS over the Internet?
I mentioned that in a future video but you basically have to use a VPN - the QuickConnect feature that worked with Video Station isn't an option.
Tbh, they already axed so much functionality going from DSM 6 to 7. This is just another nail in the coffin. I used to like their vastly overpriced products because the features made it worth the expense in the end. The way things are going, this will no longer be the case. Yes, companies need revenue. But skipping on licenses that can be had for pennies on the dollar per device sold and giving such misleading reasons is a different story altogether.
I also get that they'd like to entice bigger customers with their offerings. But they have no way to compete with current enterprise offerings and senselessly drive away their small / private customers at the same time. I guess the CEO will get a nice bonus for driving a well-known, successful business into the ground.
Synology is making so silly decisions lately, starting with the lack of updates of their hardware for years...people are looking to other solutions already. Including myself. My next NAS might not be a Synology anymore, and I need to buy one.
Synology was great introduction for home server/lab and NAS world for me. It serves/served me well last 5 years but my next upgrade will be custom build and open source software as my uses cases grow more complex. Docker situation in synology is crazy. It used to be somewhat up to date but it went downhill in recent years.
Still hoping its a "microsoft-ish" problem and the next itteration will be decent again ;-)
I suffered from their Docker policies a few years ago, when they just removed Docker options for my hardware after a DSM upgrade.
What a thoughtful review...ty.
So I was going to buy a NAS and one of the features I was looking forward to was Synology photos. I have an iPhone which saves photos as .heic. I guess I'm out of luck on that one, yes?
I currently own and manage 3 Syno devices, 2 of those are running SurveilenceStation.. with how this is going.. I'm not sure I'll be getting any more in the future, already testing out Frigate as an NVR.. Immich was on my radar as an alternative for a while, will give it serious look sometime soon.. Drive can be raplaced easily.. as for Active backup, I don't think that will get removed, but better be prepared and find alternative NOW, while I still have time
Paying subscription for my NAS is a big NO NO.. I paid premium price for subpar hardware with great SW attached to it
Same here, bought the DS920+ after a terrible ordeal with a DLINK NAS. Synology hardware was not brilliant compared to other manufacturers but so many said the ease of use and the app support was worth it.
What about Beestation ? It’s a spinoff of Dsm and there’s a strip down Synology Photos app too. Are they impacted too ?
Good question. I'll turn mine on tomorrow and see if there are any updates for it.
Thank you for the information. I was wondering why the drive app was terrible.
Thanks Frank for a great video. Love your clear and straight forward content.
I now need to start looking for alternatives to some of the packages i have been using for a long time.
I moved away fromVideo Station a long while ago and I am happy with Plex.
I use surveillance station but need to add cameras to my system and dont want to purchase more licenses. So looking at other packages… got several identified to be tested.
I also use heavily Audio Station quite heavily and DS Audio on all my devices. It supports CarPlay so use it heavily while driving.
I also stream music through out the house on my yamaha receivers, phone, ipad, etc…
I dont know of any suitable replacement for Audio Station. Plex music is not suitable for me with my very large music library.
Do you know of any other music server that could run on my synology DS920+?
Thank you!! Plex is actually a pretty great audio server, so I'd start there, but I know a bunch of people who use Navidrome as well as it allows you to stream audio from various different apps. I'll add this to my list as a possible future video!
Thanks Frank for the reply.
Plexamp is not free and quite expensive… I will look at it since i already use Plex for videos and find it quite good for that.
I tried jellyfin. It works fine and has mobile apps. However, i find the search tools a bit confusing and limited. All my music is properly tagged and arranged in folders by Genre, Artist, Albums, etc… I like search by Genre/artist and jellyfin only allows you to search by, Artist, Genre, Album and the all the music inside these themes are sorted by album name, not arranged by artist. Quite awkward to scroll through the long list of albums this way. Again my music library is huge, thousands of albums.
For me AudioStation and DS Audio are wonderful and the search tools match perfectly how I go through my library and create on the fly music lists to fit my listening mood of the moment. Jellyfin is good but does not meet my needs.
Okay, I'm relatively tech-ignorant (learning), but this sounds like a jump ship moment, initially. Was considering Synology but may just go a different route now.
DS920+ 4 bay unit and I was looking for an 8bay+ but that has now been put on hold until they backtrack or I find another manufacturer's 8 bay+
Is it still possible to watch h.265 video's directly from the NAS using an external player like VLC-player OR do you first need to copy files to the PC to watch anything?
Yes, VLC should be fine streaming the media.
I sure as hope they don't go down the subs route, that would be the killer for me. I suspect this is a consequence of a strategic move away from prosumer/enthusiast market targeted devices. They probably looked at their data, saw VS was only used by a certain percentage of users, all within the sector they are moving away from and started trimming the tree. If that is the case, then undoubtedly NS and AS will be next for the chop!
I don't think that ALL apps will be under a subscription, but I'm starting to get worried about their more "premium" options. Again though, pure speculation, I have zero info.
@@WunderTechTutorials I agree and me neither, regarding any inside info. I could see features of Hyper having paid "Premium" levels for sure, just for a start. If they do it with Drive, CM, Quick Connect, etc. I'll certainly be looking at BYO options. Damned shame the general direction they seem to be going to be honest. I've said to many that the Synology NAS I've had over the years has been the best spent money I've ever put into buying tech gear.
How does an average user even know if their files will be affected? Is there a way to search photos for what codec it needs? Are all MP4 files just not going to work?
MP4 will be fine. It's HEVC for videos, HEIC (for images), H.264 (AVC), and VC-1 which is generally from Blu-rays/DVDs. Outside of looking at your types of media, I don't think there's really any other way to do it.
Oh this is very disheartening. The only reason I bought a Synology NAS was to be able to back up my photos and documents because my iPhone was full. If I can’t view my iPhone photos anymore then the NAS is becoming redundant.
This makes me feel like I just need to go back to an external USB hard drive; cheap, easy to use, no external access sadly, but affordable and no subscription fees.
It'll still work well in that scenario, just with the understanding that some things are different than they always were.
@@WunderTechTutorialsFor now.
How does this effect people whom have purchased camera licences, maybe Louis Ross an needs to be contacted.
That's the biggest hit to me. Surveillance Station users have the most unfair impact out of all the actual changes IMO.
@@WunderTechTutorials tbh if this is the path synology is going, I feel they will push themselves out of the market. They are increasing the reasons not ro go with synology and like yourself I am all synology, but they seem to be pushing their clients away... Shame
My NAS still weren't showing this update was available for download (I guess because of delayed rollouts from Synology) so I downloaded and applied it manually to get all the CVE fixes because some of them were pretty nasty vulnerabilities and I didn't want to wait. I wish they would split their Security updates from the feature updates (unless it's needed together) because of things like what happened in this update.
No way im paying subscription!
Just bought a synology NAS, but now I really doubt the choice of the brand 😳
This is some STUPID exec at the top that made this decision without knowhing who they are affecting.
Synology needs to pay for this.
Pretty sure the damage is not reverse able now.. too much time has past and to many I know in the industry dumped them and will not return. I can only take abuse for soo long and then I'm done... see yah
Ha, well, I have 2 and after testing and experiencing their solution, I did like it right away for the great GUI, Backup app, surveillance app and other.
BUT! I don't use them and will be selling them.
Why?
Cause it was obvious to me that I would be at the mercy of whatever they did, as we can clearly see now.
"I don't see the future.
I just pay attention to the present".
Full throttle on disenfranchising the home user. A shame for sure but bottom line will always be the motivation.
As if their J models weren't effective enough at that. The one I got barely handles copying files to it and streaming them to my Roku. They aren't even high def files, they're mostly just standard 720p images coming off of DVDs.
Smells that qnap would rise xd
I'm 💯 qnap now and they are really great now. They actually listened to the users and market and worked hard over the last 4 years, even put bit defender in the os, a masterstroke.
Thank you very much. Too many things are going to subscriptions. I'm not happy about it. I will probably be willing to pay a recurring fee to keep my Synology running. But when it comes time to replace it, there is a good chance I will build or buy a TrueNAS system. But just think, TrueNAS might go to subscriptions, too!
The problem with a subscription model, particularly with respect to surveillance station, is their model has been to charge one time, expensive license fee per camera. Anyone who already spent that money is getting screwed.
I work for a semi big company. The owner came at me on Friday and is ready to dump all of our synology units. Something is going on my own synology is starting to fail at home. I guess I'll be looking for a new server for my home as well..
So I have to pay for surveillance station and h264/265 codec ?
the H.265 codec is dead as of right now, but H.264 is still supported for free with Surveillance Station.
This is why I went with custom built NAS with Unraid for my storage. Synology is not only far more expensive, but apparently also has crappy software.
I use Plex mainly but I do use video station to give family members access to a video file without having to give them access to Plex and them trawling through lots of files.
But it's the other stuff like pushing decoding to client devices, what if the other person's device cannot decode the content I save for them?
If the apps are not there what is the point in buying a Synology? Certainly not the hardware.
Question is - are there alternative apps, that could be used on Synology, that would replace those first party apps? I don't want to change hardware (I invested too much in it - RAM, 10Gb network, SSD cache) and I would like to keep the functionality.. somehow
Yes, but the implementation isn't nearly as straightforward. You'd have to use docker for almost everything.
@@WunderTechTutorials I spoiled my family with functionality of those applications, so I may not have any other choice, but to migrate.
One of the reasons I want a home NAS is not to be dependant on big tech descitions over the technoogy an dhow hte can affect my rig and workflow.
The only reason people buy Synology is software. At this point just use TrueNAS with custom hardware
i got myself a zimaboard for jellyfin, transcoding, and the arr suite