At first we would like to thank Synology for offering a sample of their DS416play 4-bay NAS Server for testing and reviewing.

 

About Synology:

"Founded in 2000, Synology is a young and energetic company dedicated to developing high-performance, reliable, versatile, and environmentally-friendly Network Attached Storage (NAS) products. Our goal is to deliver user-friendly solutions and solid customer service to satisfy the needs of businesses, home offices, individual users and families."

4K video transcoding, watch videos on any device

 

DS416play features single channel 4K Ultra HD or triple-channel 1080p full HD video transcoding on the fly, allowing users to effortlessly convert media files to the right formats for playback on different devices. DS416play supports a wider selection of file formats, making it easier for users to stream favorite movies from their NAS to Apple TV, DLNA devices, mobile devices, and computers.

 

Accomplish more with blazing fast performance

 

Powered by a dual-core processor and AES-NI encryption engine, DS416play achieves faster processing performance exceeding 225 MB/s reading and 186 MB/s writing, while delivering an accelerated encrypted performance at 224 MB/s reading and 142 MB/s writing.1 Dual gigabit LAN offers failover support ensuring service continuity during unexpected LAN failure.

 

Safeguard your precious moments with massive storage capacity

 

The high capacity DS416play, supporting up to 40TB raw capacity, is the perfect destination for backing up huge collections of high resolution photos and videos –preserve all your irreplaceable memories in one safe place.

 

Award winning OS - DiskStation Manager

 

Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) is a sleek, browser-based operating system running on every DiskStation and RackStation, which makes managing your Synology NAS a breeze. Featuring an intuitive user interface, DSM makes accessing and sharing your data smarter and simpler. Synology's Package Center lets you download and install useful add-on packages designed specifically for individual or business needs, meaning you can enjoy more entertainment in your life or better productivity at work.

 

Ultimate file center

 

File Station is a fast and secure feature for sharing and managing your files stored on DS416play. Just drag-n-drop and upload data from Mac or PC. Advanced filters make it easy to search for documents, photos, or videos. With built-in FTP or email clients, DS416play lets you organize and share files through an advanced web application effortlessly. You can even share files and folders with others by simply sending a link. Files can be reached on mobile devices via the companion mobile app DS file. HTTPS, SSL/TLS encryption, and link expiry dates also ensure file sharing over the Internet is highly secure.

 

Your files anywhere with cloud service

 

DS416play brings you comprehensive cloud service. Cloud Station lets you sync files among DiskStations and multiple devices, including Windows PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, as well as Windows mobile devices, whereas 2-way sync allows file synchronization among different DiskStations. With Cloud Sync, you can even sync your DiskStation with Amazon Cloud Drive, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Baidu Cloud, and many more — establish your hybrid cloud to enjoy more storage flexibility and prevent data loss.

 

Stream content to your TV

 

DS416play is highly compatible with other devices, letting you manage and enjoy digital content with the devices you already have: computers, mobile devices, TVs, DLNA devices, and stereos. Synology offers the latest support for TV streaming, including Samsung TV, Roku players, Apple TV, and Google Chromecast, meaning you can stream digital content stored on DS416play to your widescreen TV effortlessly.

 

Enjoy multimedia library

 

DS416play provides you a central platform to organize, backup, and share photos, music, and video collections. Featuring a streamlined and sleek interface, Synology packages — Photo Station, Audio Station and Video Station — let you build a seamless entertainment hub effortlessly. Since everything is saved on DS416play, you can enjoy more customizable content arrangement, and no worries about extra monthly fees for storage capacity. Better yet, your digital collections can be shared with others via a simple link.

 

Get mobility with our apps

 

Synology develops versatile mobile apps — DS note, DS audio, DS video, DS photo, DS cloud, DS file, DS get and DS cam — allowing you to access and manage the contents of your DS416play with smartphones and tablets. QuickConnect brings an easier network experience as it eliminates complicated router configuration or port forwarding. With Synology mobile apps, your multimedia collection and work files are always on the go.

 

Connect your data quickly and easily

 

Synology aims to provide you the most convenient way to enjoy all services on DS416play. With Synology QuickConnect, you don't have to deal with difficult DDNS setup. QuickConnect frees you from complicated router configuration and port-forwarding, so your entertainment and work files can be accessed on any computer, laptop, or mobile devices instantly without extra charge.

 

Eco-friendly NAS server

 

All Synology NAS is designed with energy efficiency in mind. DS416play only consumes 12.5W in HDD Hibernation and 29W in access. The support of Wake on LAN/WAN and scheduled power on and off can further reduce power consumption and operation cost. Synology acknowledges the responsibility as a global citizen, so all Synology products are produced with RoHS compliant parts and packed with recyclable packing materials.

 

We were happy to receive in our labs one of the last Synology NASes designed for multimedia content, which is able to transcode 4K video up to 1080p content for playback on different devices like PC, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Android and more. This is also possible thanks to the included Intel Celeron N3060 64-bit processor which is a dual-core component at 1.6GHz, with burst up to 2.48GHz. The product arrives in a medium-sized cardboard box, with the Synology signature, a plastic carry handle but also a sticker which integrates this model into the Value series of Synology NASes:

 

 

 

On the frontal area, the same sticker shows us a photo of the product in operation, along with a small product description and also some of the product highlights:

 

 

 

A list of product functionality modes is also available on the opposite sides:

 

 

 

 

If these details are still not enough for us, we can always check out the secondary sticker, which does show the main product interfaces, but also some hardware specifications along with a list of package contents:

 

 

 

After removing the top cover, Synology is providing us with links to additional resources concerning the NAS product:

 

 

As we have been used to before, the product bundle is carefully organized in separate cardboard enclosures:

 

 

While the power lead is placed separately, the rest of the accessories do reside in a different box:

 

 

Here we will receive one power adapter, two LAN cables but also screws for 2.5’’ drive installation:

 

 

The power adapter was manufactured by PGB and is rated on the output 12V at 7.5A:

 

 

 

This one comes with the circular and sturdy connector, which we have seen with Synology NASes many times before:

 

 

 

The Quick Installation Guide gives us some instructions on how to perform the initial installation procedure:

 

 

 

For the DS416play we are seeing again their proven plastic chassis with internal metallic components; it is quite light, has a well-thought ventilation system and is excellent for up to four bay units:

 

 

 

The drive bays are not directly visible; these are hidden by a black shiny plastic cover, while on the right we do have some additional interfaces:

 

 

 

On the top right, we do have the Status LED, but also an individual LED for each of the drive bays:

 

 

 

A single USB 3.0 port is available further down, along with the Power button, which is also provided with a LED of its own:

 

 

 

The bottom left area is showing us the product logo:

 

 

 

Both lateral sides of the DS416play do have the Synology logo present, which also doubles up as a ventilation grill:

 

 

 

 

In the back, the manufacturer has placed two 92mm silent fans, each with its own plastic grill:

 

 

 

In the bottom left corner we have additional interfaces available for us: a Reset button, two LAN ports, one Kensington lock port, the DC-IN port but also two USB 3.0:

 

 

 

On the bottom, the chassis is provided with four small rubber feet but also some additional ventilation holes, which do also cover the motherboard area:

 

 

 

If we do remove the frontal cover, we will expose the drive bays; each of the trays do present the Synology signature and are easy to remove:

 

 

 

The top area comes with small white dots, representing the order DS416play should be populated:

 

 

 

The drive trays are entirely made of plastic and do come with a design we have seen many times before:

 

 

 

3.5’’ drives can be installed in a snap thanks to the provided screwless system:

 

 

 

 

We can still opt-in to use screws if needed, if we do remove these plastic adapters:

 

 

 

Additional holes are drilled on the bottom of the trays in order to accommodate 2.5’’ form factors:

 

 

 

After the removal of all trays, we will get to see the daughter-board with the SATA Data/Power connectors:

 

 

In order to find the server easy on the network, we can always use the Synology Assistant application from the manufacturers’ website:

 

 

 

The rest of the configuration steps (which do imply the use of the wizard) will take place in a browser window:

 

 

 

The wizard will first prompt us to install the latest DSM manually or automatically on the NAS:

 

 

 

During this process, we will also be warned that the current data residing on the drives will be erased:

 

 

 

A progress circle will show us the current status of the system while modifications are applied:

 

 

 

We will be next asked to define the server name, user/password name for the administrator account, but also share the location of our DiskStation with Synology in order to reach it with ease on the local network:

 

 

 

 

The next configuration step is then ready to begin!

 

 

 

DSM Updates can be scheduled on our preferences and we can also choose to run S.M.A.R.T. tests periodically:

 

 

 

QuickConnect can be set up in order to access our server from outside our local network:

 

 

 

Synology also facilitates the installation of the usual DSM applications during wizard setup:

 

 

 

This is about it!

 

 

 

Before testing we will also check if the volume has been created correctly, along with the shared folder; one element of novelty represents the fact that we can create volumes on Btrfs besides Ext4, which is most common during NASes of this kind:

 

 

 

 

 

After connecting to the server, we will be first asked for the credentials, on a customizable introductory page:

 

 

 

Right after logging in, we will be welcomed by the DSM interface, and DSM Help will pop up in order to offer assistance:

 

 

 

The top bar offers the necessary notifications for the currently logged user:

 

 

 

Also here we can perform different power management related actions or log out the current user:

 

 

 

A quick search option is there for us in order to go straight to the menu or application we are interested in:

 

 

 

Widgets are also configurable on the main desktop and we can choose to show the necessary details:

 

 

 

From the top left button, we will get to see a list of currently installed applications, which can be also brought up to the main desktop as shortcuts:

 

 

 

The Synology Package Center does allow us to install quite a bit of application modules, in order to enhance the product functionality; the applications are also sorted in different categories placed in the left side menu:

 

 

 

 

We have spotted though some application modules which are not free to use:

 

 

 

Control Panel is the place to go when customizing the system settings:

 

 

 

The Shared Folder section allows the user to work with the default shared folders but also define new ones:

 

 

 

Next we do have File Services for different file systems, but can also work with FTP, TFTP or rsync:

 

 

 

Users/Group configuration is next:

 

 

 

 

The DS416play NAS can be joined to a domain, we can work with LDAP protocol or use SSO:

 

 

 

QuickConnect can be further configured via the Control Panel menu:

 

 

 

External Access options are also available separately:

 

 

 

The Network options can be configured in more detail via the respective section:

 

 

 

 

DHCP server options are available too for each LAN interface:

 

 

 

If we do have connected a suitable Wi-Fi dongle to the system, we can configure it in the dedicated section:

 

 

 

A Security section is available for us which contains Firewall settings, Auto Block options and many more:

 

 

 

Info Center tab comes with several sub-sections regarding the General system status details, Network connection details, Storage and so on:

 

 

 

We can customize the style of the login screen and overall layout from the Theme area:

 

 

 

Regional Options are next:

 

 

 

We can also work with the Indexing Service and specify different folders to look for multimedia content:

 

 

 

System notifications can be made available via Email, SMS or Push Services:

 

 

 

Different tasks are available for us to create in the next area, which is named Task Scheduler:

 

 

 

Hardware & Power options are next involving certain system alarms which can be triggered, power recovery situations, memory compression, Power Schedule, HDD Hibernation and so on:

 

 

 

If we have connected external storage devices or printers to the NAS, they will show in the next area for configuration:

 

 

 

Updates can be performed both automatically and manually; the same section allows us to backup current DSM configuration, but also reset the server to its factory settings:

 

 

 

Installed application privileges are available next:

 

 

 

Application Portal settings can be configured from the respective sub-section:

 

 

 

Shared folders can be synced with another server, via rsync protocol:

 

 

 

Terminal and SNMP services are available in the last menu:

 

 

 

File Station is the regular file and directory browser inside the DSM, which can help a lot when organizing data:

 

 

 

Depending on the file, different actions will be displayed when right-clicking on a specific file:

 

 

 

Resource Monitor is the place to go when we would like to see how the system resources are being consumed. Here we will also learn of the running processes, connected users, speed limits and more:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storage Manager is in charge of creating new volumes, disk groups, can allow us define hot spares, work with iSCSI LUN/iSCSI Target but also show different information regarding the connected drives and RAID type:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Log Center is displaying in more detail what is happening “under the hood”, and here we will get to see multiple tabs with information and configuration options:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Security Advisor is another wizard which will scan the system for issues and display solutions of the current problems (if necessary); before using it we need to mention if the NAS will be used at home or at work:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Support Center is a separate module which allows us to contact Synology support directly in case we are encountering issues:

 

 

 

 

Hyper Backup application module can be installed for performing different backups online or locally; it also provides a lot of configuration steps for ease of use:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio Station is the well-known audio media player application from Synology, which is able to sort and playback the indexed content; it is also able to play online radio content via SHOUTcast:

 

 

 

 

 

CloudStation application is allowing the users to sync data between the DS416play and different other mobile devices, as having our private cloud drive:

 

 

 

Download Station comes in very handy when we would like to download torrents of the web; a BT Search function is also available, which will search content indexed on different portals:

 

 

 

Media Server allows the indexed media content on the server to be available throughout the local network:

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Station 6 will index and show the photos located in the “photo” shared folder on the NAS; we can create new albums, modify the application theme, create slideshows, view detailed information about the content and more:

 

 

Video Station application has been continuously updated and now we can say that it is much more stable and a contender for PLEX:

 

 

Antivirus Essential is an antivirus module offered for free which will scan the NAS internally depending on our settings:

 

 

 

MariaDB is a database module which is used by many other applications:

 

 

 

DS416play can also act as a mail server thanks to the installable modules:

 

 

 

A simple application which can allow us to write notes is named Note Station:

 

 

 

 

PrestaShop is one of the well-known CMSes for building online shops and it can run flawlessly on the server:

 

 

 

 

We can say the same thing about Wordpress:

 

 

 

One new application from Synology is SpreadSheet, which has a similar functionality to Excel:

 

 

 

 

ITunes Server is also available for us to use easily:

 

 

 

 

A simpler Text Editor is also available for us to use right away:

 

 

 

PLEX application module can be also installed for immediate usage:

 

 

 

 

 

Test Setup

 

CPU : Intel I5 4690K Retail

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14

Motherboard : BIOSTAR GAMING Z97X

RAM : GeIL EVO CORSA 16GB 2400MHz C11

(2GB Exceleram DDR1333 for NASPT compatibility)

Video : HIS 280X

Power Supply : Cooler Master 850W

SSD : OCZ Vertex 4 256GB

Case: Cooler Master ATCS840

 

To test the NAS performances, the DS416play NAS was populated with one OCZ Vertex 4 SSD along with one KingFast SLC E-Drive in RAID 0, formatted with a single volume and the NAS was connected directly to the computer, to avoid any limitations by implying additional hardware like a router. The first simple test was performed by loading the test file onto a RAM drive and then it was copied to the NAS, on its shared folder. The speed was recorded with Total Commander:

 

 

The second test was to copy the same file back to the computer; for eliminating any HDD speed limitations, the file was copied back to the RAM drive:

 

 

For performing a more advanced test, the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit was used, for performing 5 different test runs. Here are the results:

 

 

As extras, we have also included ATTO Disk Benchmark and Anvil:

 

ATTO Disk Benchmark

 

 

Anvil

We have performed the same benchmarks but this time with an encrypted folder:

 

Total Commander Copy Performance

 

 

Total Commander Read Performance

 

 

Intel NAS Performance Toolkit

 

ATTO Disk Benchmark

 

Anvil Utilities

 

DS416play 4-bay NAS from Synology is another multimedia-oriented model, which is able to transcode 4K videos in order to play them back on many other portable devices linked to the network and this is possible thanks to the hardware transcoding engine present within the included Intel Celeron N3060 dual-core CPU. This one is paired with 1GB of DDR3 memory, which should be enough for a home server and the four bays do support HDDs with capacities up to 10TB (for a maximum of 40TB): that is a lot of storage for many 4K videos and other stuff!

 

With this unit we are seeing again the same chassis model, but since it has been proven as successful for so many years, we do not see a reason why it should really change…. except the fact that a multimedia-oriented NAS could also have HDMI-out for using it without a PC.

 

The powerful DSM OS is running with the latest updates on the DS416play and is enhancing the functionality of the product quite a bit; also, it is really intuitive and for people which are making their first contact with a device of this kind, Synology are providing a fully-fledged Help section inside the interface. What we did also like is the addition of Btrfs file system support for the internal drives, while external drives connected to the DS416play can be Btrfs formatted, but also supports EXT4, EXT3, FAT, NTFS, HFS+ or exFAT drives.

 

The DS416play NAS is available online for about 415 Euros, which we consider to be quite affordable for a 4-bay unit and its offered features.

 

Synology DS416play 4-bay NAS is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Synology for making this review possible!