Synology DiskStation DS216+ NAS Review

Final Thoughts
Before I get into the nitty-gritty I wanted to take a second and really commend Synology for making setting up and managing a NAS extremely easy. As I mentioned earlier in this review, in the past it was extremely hard to setup and manage a NAS, you had to be very tech-savvy to do it. With DiskStation Manager 6.0 you really do not have to be tech-savvy at all. You just follow the prompts to get setup and you are good to go. DiskStation Manager acts much like an operating system so it is really easy to find settings etc. Just because it is easy to use does not mean that DiskStation Manager does not offer features and packages for advanced users either. The software is extremely powerful.

While DiskStation Manager really stands out the DS216+ quite the powerful little NAS box as well. The Intel Celeron N3050 SoC is low-power, but offers great performance. Because of this Synology is able to add 4K Ultra HD video transcoding. I had no problem playing 4K video from the Video Station application in my browser or on my phone using the DS Video app. The video playback was smooth and there was no pausing or glitching.

Performance is really good when it comes to file transfers. You should have no problem uploading files and downloading files from the DS216+. Performance is more than adequate for streaming video straight from the file browser.

The DS216+ has pretty much everything you would want or need for personal use up to small business use. Synology DiskStation Manager has so many different packages you can install to add functionality to the DS216+. I think that is what really sets a Synology NAS apart from the others.

The only real thing I see missing from the DS216+ is a HDMI port. This would make it the ultimate media player in addition to being a great NAS.

Right now you can pick up the DS216+ at our favorite online retailer for $379. At that price you are getting a great value for a fully-featured NAS. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Synology DiskStation DS216+ a 9 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award!

rating9 10 small TC award recommended small

Pros:
– DiskStation Manager 6.0
– Easy setup and management
– 4K Ultra HD video transcoding
– Tool-less 3.5-inch hard drive installation
– Good performance

Cons:
– No HDMI port

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