Synology

Using a dedicated device like a Synology NAS drive to host your Plex media library offers a variety of advantages over using a Mac. In addition to being able to configure a large amount of storage at a low cost and freeing up your desktop or notebook from the workload, a Plex setup with a NAS drive offers features like 4K video transcoding, the ability to record TV shows for free, and much more. Read along with our detailed guide on how to set up Plex on a Synology NAS drive.

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A couple of years ago I replaced my Apple AirPort Extreme router with Synology’s RT2600ac. I made this move partly because of the rumors about Apple exiting the router business — which it eventually did — and partly because I desired a more robust feature set.

This was around the same time that consumer mesh networks were really beginning to gain in popularity, but unfortunately, Synology didn’t offer a mesh networking solution at the time. The good news is that Synology now has a mesh router in its repertoire in the MR2200ac. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for more details.
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Yesterday in New York City, Synology took the wraps off its latest consumer product, the MR2200ac mesh router. Like other popular mesh router systems, Synology’s MR2200ac allows users to fill their home with Wi-Fi in an effort to eliminate the so-called dead zones in coverage.

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Synology just launched its newest prosumer NAS box, the DS1618+. This 6-bay machine comes with a quad-core 2.1GHz CPU, and 4GB of DDR4 non-ECC memory that can be upgraded to 32GB of ECC RAM.

What makes the DS1618+ particularly special is its expandability — and not just eSATA storage expandability that we usually associate with Synology products. The DS1618+ features a PCIe 3.0 x8 expansion slot that can accommodate either an M.2 card for cache, or a 10GbE NIC for significantly faster throughput. Such an addition makes the DS1618+ ideal for connecting to machines with 10 Gigabit Ethernet, such as the iMac Pro.

There are many reasons why individuals and companies employ the use of NAS boxes. In household environments, they can act like a media server, storing high quality video rips for local streaming. Others, perhaps those in corporate environments, like to use NAS setups as a storage solution for video editing.

But there is another key reason why you might want to consider a NAS, especially in light of Apple’s decision to abandon its AirPort and Time Capsule products — Time Machine backups. In this hands-on video, I show you how I use the DS1618+ as a quiet and reliable Time Machine backup solution.

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I’ve used a Synology NAS to store Final Cut Pro X libraries in the past, but the process wasn’t very straightforward at the time, and performance was never good enough to convince me to use it over the long-term. This was especially true as I started to dabble more in 4K workflows.

As we all know, the iMac Pro features built in 10GbE connectivity, which opens up the possibilities when it comes to using a NAS as a Final Cut Pro X storage solution. Final Cut Pro X also received updates in the last year in order to better facilitate working from network attached storage.

Is a 10GbE NAS a viable storage solution for Final Cut Pro X users?

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Since the news broke that Apple is getting out of the router business, I’ve been looking to replace my AirPort Extreme. I wanted something with more power-user features, and the Synology RT2600ac stood out as a likely candidate. The $229.99 RT2600ac, which is the follow-up to last year’s popular RT1900ac, contains a wealth of new additions, and is considerably more power-user friendly than Apple’s AirPort Extreme.

Synology’s routers run the SRM operating system, which makes managing the RT2600ac similar to driving one of the company’s popular NAS boxes. But does this router make a good replacement for the easy-to-use AirPort Extreme? Have a look at our hands-on video walkthrough as I showcase 15 of my favorite RT2600ac features.

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If you’ve ever tried to store a Final Cut Pro X library on an external hard drive connected to your local network, or via an actual NAS from a company like Synology, then you’ve likely been greeted with an unsupported volume type error. This error is there to let you know that you must store a library on a local, SAN, or supported SMB location.

However, it is possible to save a library on a NAS by properly wielding a disk image created via the macOS Disk Utility. Depending on your local setup and network speed, it could make a viable network storage option for your Final Cut Pro X libraries. Have a look at our hands-on video walkthrough to see how it works, and learn about this method’s pluses and minuses.
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I’ve recently been testing the brand new Synology DS-216+ NAS ($299), a network-attached-storage product meant for consumers. Although Synology products include a variety of features, I will be focusing on two primary functions that I consider most essential and most useful to people today: Mac backup and home media management (TV shows and movies).

With Apple no longer shipping optical drives in most of their products, I think now is a great time to convert your home movie collection of DVDs and Blu-rays to digital files, which a NAS is great for storing. The Apple TV 4 was another big factor: with an app, I can now view all the TV shows and movies, stored on my NAS, from my TV.

Before I owned a NAS, I was worried about two things: whether the features would be useful and how much hassle would be necessary to get everything up and running. Hence, my review starts with an explanation of the setup steps involved …

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Update: The DSM 6.0 beta is now available to download. 

Today Synology is announcing a number of updates to its popular network-attached storage products including its first Apple Watch app, a new version of its DiskStation Manager web-based operating system, and new hardware including the company’s first router product. 
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I’ll admit, I’ve never felt the need to purchase network-attached-storage (NAS) hardware for storing and accessing my media or backing up my files. These days most of my content, from photos and movies to back ups of important files for work, are already stored in the cloud. My photos are (supposed to) auto backup to Photostream in iCloud, iTunes has all of my music downloadable from all my devices from the cloud, and any important files and everything else go directly to Dropbox or Google Drive. Around 90% of my content is already stored and accessible from anywhere in the cloud.

That being said, for the last year or so I’ve been hearing more and more about Synology DiskStation products. Coworkers can’t stop talking about them, and the products have received a lot of praise from many other reviewers as well.

I’ve been putting the Synology DiskStation hardware and brand new DiskStation Manager 5.0 software to the test in recent months to see if I could really benefit from a NAS solution despite all my content already being on the cloud and backed up. With today marking the release of 5.0, the company’s biggest software update yet, I thought now would be as good a time as any to share my experience. 
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We’ve already heard from Michael, Zac, and Ben on their last minute gift picks for the holiday season. For my gift guide, I’ve decided to only include products that I’ve personally been using on a daily basis. I review a lot of products in all of these categories, and below you’ll find only the best of the best that have earned a permanent place in my setup for both at home and on the go:
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Anyone that reads 9to5Mac often knows that we are big fans of Synology’s DiskStation network attached server products. On top of making a selection of well priced storage options under its DiskStation brand (a couple of which we’ve reviewed), Synology’s big draw for us has always been its web interface and ecosystem of apps that goes well beyond Time Capsule and your average NAS. Today, things are about to get even better for DiskStation users as the company announces the public beta release of the latest DiskStation Manager operating system, DSM 4.3, alongside revamped iOS apps and tons of new features.
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If you’re fed up with Time Capsule and looking for a reliable, feature-filled NAS solution that also packs in some killer iOS companion apps and AirPlay support, we’re huge fans of Diskstation NAS Enclosures from Synology. We’ve reviewed the Synology NAS experience in the past, such as the two bay SD212 Diskstation, but today the company has announced its latest 8-bay unit with the launch of the new “DS1813+” model.

The new unit is similar to the 5 bay DS1513+ model it launched earlier this month, features the same screwless drive bays supporting 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives, but also includes four GbE ports and speeds up to 350 MBps reads and 200 MBps writes. On top of some nice iOS, web, and Android apps for managing all of your content, Synology also offers apps for printer sharing, VPN server, ERP software, mail server, web server, anti-virus, and network video surveillance built-in. 
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As we approach Christmas and the end of the year, we thought we would throw together some of the more interesting review items we received over the past months.

27-inch AOC LED IPS super slim monitor

First up is the $299 27-inch AOC LED IPS super slim monitor (I2757FH) that has a vague Mac aesthetic with a silver stand and ultra-thin bezel around the edges. This one comes with two HDMI ports, a VGA port, AUX audio ports, and some small speakers. The 27-inch IPS LED display is very nice, but it is obviously not as crisp as a Thunderbolt Display of the same size. And, after some adjustments to the default washed-out look, I was very happy with the color representation. Front capacitive controls are easy to deal with, and overall build quality is very nice, especially for AOC, but the downsides include: the lack of a USB hub, it is not easily wall-mountable, and the super small and poor tiny 4W speakers. You are definitely going to want to have separate speakers.

This AOC display would be best suited in an office/dorm room/bedroom doing double duty as a PC/Mac external display and perhaps display for an Apple TV/Cable box. Recommended at $299, or check out the USB Display link powered 22-inch display

Synology Diskstation NAS…
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