QNAP TS-464 or the Synology DS423+ NAS Drive – Which Should You Buy?

Choosing Between the Synology DS423+ and QNAP TS-464 NAS is more than just about how you are spending your money at checkout! Making a move away from 3rd public cloud storage can be a big, BIG decision for some users. The ‘freemium’ and low cost monthly subscription to the likes of Google Drive and DropBox seems like a drop in the ocean, right up until you realise that over the years you have spent hundreds of pounds and you face the fact that you are going to need to consider moving that data onto something more long term and ‘in house’. For many users, this is their first encounter with two of the bigger brands in the world of NAS, Synology and QNAP and although at a glance they seem to provide the same kind of solution, even a brief second glance reveals that these two brands have very, very different ideas of where you should be spending your money. Synology is the sleek, apple-esc presented solution that promises a smooth and uncomplex experience, with an arguably more rigid and fixed architecture. Whereas QNAP is the more customizable and flexible in its hardware and software, but has a slightly higher learning curve and requires more time to configure perfectly. Both brands provide an excellent range of NAS solutions with each of the solutions in today’s comparison being quite similar in price, but what you are getting for your money, the range of software included, the scope of hardware that is available and how they translate to upgradable and scalability is incredibly different! So, today we are going to compare the Synology DS423+ NAS released in March 2023 (HEAVILY comparable to the 2020 gen DS920+) against the spring 2022 released QNAP TS-464 NAS.

Synology DS423+ vs QNAP TS-464 NAS – Design

The design of the QNAP TS-464 and Synology DS423+ are both very uniform to the brands, utilizing existing designs in their respective Home/Prosumer/SMB ranges. Both are 4-Bay desktop solutions that are designed to be deployed easily and pretty much anywhere. They are largely the same in physical volume, with the Synology DS423+ arriving the tiniest pinch larger, but both systems provide a similar level of storage on their four SATA and 2x NVMe M.2 SSD bays. The Synology has the more traditional shape of the lockable storage media bays being immediately visible, but finish this with an incredibly modernistic shape and matt surface design. The front of the system features a single USB backup port, as well as 5 LEDs for system/drive activity and those two M.2 SSD bays are located on the base of the system. The QNAP TS-464 NAS uses a more glossy and slightly coloured design by comparison (featuring a copper side panel), with the 4 drive bays of the system being covered by a slidable and lockable semi-translucent panel. The QNAP also featured the same LED/USB present, but there are more LEDs on the QNAP and the USB here is both a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Port (10Gb/s) and is accompanied by a one-touch copy button. This is one of the early examples of how things in the NAS market have moved forward in hardware but Synology has instead doubled down on their focus of it’s DSM software platform above all else. The QNAP TS-464 is certainly the more expensive NAS of the two, with the DS423+, despite being newer and having a different position in the brand’s portfolio (see the DS923+ to learn more), but the hardware you are getting for that price tag is notably different and will become a clear divide between these two. Because of the compact design, both systems need to factor in intelligent cooling, as they will likely be in operation 24×7. This is another clear area where the brands have gone in different directions here.

QNAP TS-464 NAS 168mm × 170mm × 226 mm	Synology DS423+ NAS 166 mm x 199 mm x 223 mm

The ventilation on the Synology DS423+ is certainly more visible but in a much more ‘branded’ and slick way. The QNAP TS-464 features no front-facing ventilation, instead using two small areas of ventilation on the sides of the chassis and the base of the TS-464 featuring further ventilation under each of the storage bays. The Synology on the other hand has much more passive airflow, with each of the individual storage bays being surrounded by a slit of ventilation and the side panel of the DS423+ having the Synology logo featured as further ventilation. Higher-end Synology desktop models feature metal mesh panels inside these logos to capture dust, but this is less of a concern in the more compact and discreet DS423+. Overall, I would certainly say that the Synology DS423+ have more visible efforts to maintain system temperature than the QNAP TS-464 (which is a real surprise when you see how the hardware these two systems are sporting compares) but both maintain a good operation temperature.

QNAP TS-464 NAS	Synology DS423+ NAS

When you look at the rear of the TS-464 and DS423+ NAS, you see another big difference in how each system maintains their respective internal temperatures, with the QNAP featuring a single 120mm fan that covers the bulk of the internal hardware airflow path and the Synology featuring two 92mm fans that cover around 70% of the rear of the chassis. Of the two, I would say the QNAP TS-464 is the noisier in operation of the two (when populated with 4x 4TB WD Red HDDs) by the tiniest of margins, but it isn’t really till you entertain the idea of enterprise HDDs or drives larger than 10TB that you need to worry about ambient sound around these two systems. Both the DS423+ and TS-464 can have the rotations per minute (RPM) of their fans changed manually or left on automatic as the system changes the internal cooling to ensure maximum efficiency.

QNAP TS-464 NAS	Synology DS423+ NAS

Overall, the design of the Synology DS423+ is still the better-looking system of the two and although I personally really like the copper and glossy look of the QNAP TS-464 NAS, I know that the bulk of users will want to ‘set up and forget’ their NAS, so these aesthetic design choices are less important to them. Equally, although the QNAP fan has the potential to cool its respective system much more, I think the Synology features a better balance of active airflow and passive ventilation overall. The QNAP still wins pretty big on its inclusion of a USB 3.2 Gen 2 One Touch Copy button enabled port for faster and more manual backup options (as well as still allow automated and connection-triggered backups as the Synology), but overall on points, this round belongs to the Synology DS423+ NAS.

QNAP TS-464 versus Synology DS423+ NAS – Internal Hardware

This is an area where you really see how both brands focus their priorities on the solutions they offer, as well as how the components common to NAS have evolved in the 2 years between their respective releases. The Synology DS423+ arrives with a familiar architecture to it’s predecessor (the DS420+) and is a fairly tried and tested formula by the brand. Synology was the first company to introduce NVMe SSD storage bays into desktop NAS systems around 5 years ago (something that QNAP has only really been catching up on in the last 2 YEARS). Likewise, Synology has made a few very brand-specific decisions in their system architecture that this rather more proprietary brand is often keen to implement. For example, the default DDR4 memory inside (2666Mhz SODIMM) is actually soldered to the main internal board (4x 256MB Modules), with an additional empty memory slot to allow an additional 4GB Synology-branded memory module. As the DS423+ has a CPU that has a maximum 8GB of memory, this is an oddly artificial limitation that results in the DS420+ only allowing 6GB of max memory, an odd move that is perhaps done out of system PCI/Bandwidth, rather than any kind of manufacturer restriction. The QNAP features a newer gen CPU (as you would expect after the later release) and this CPU allows up to 16GB of memory (4GB in the default model) across two upgradable slots. Likewise, returning to those M.2 NVMe slots, both system feature 2 bays that can be used for SSD storage upgrades, although both the DS423+ and TS-464 support SSD caching (when a pool of SSDs is used to speed up data write/read in conjunction with the larger HDD RAID array), Synology ONLY RECENTLY allowed NVMe Storage Pools on their platform, whereas QNAP  has allowed NVMes as standalone storage pools, for app booting, running the OS from and even their own special internal tiering system known as QTier. This is the first of several key differences between the QNAP TS-464 and Synology DS423+ NAS that show the divide in hardware between these units.

Model	QNAP TS-464	Synology DS423+
Price	£559               $650              €675	£508               $549              €569
Storage Media Support	4x SATA, 2x m.2 NVMe 3×1 for Cache/Pools/QTier	4x SATA, 2x NVMe SSD Cache/Pool Bays
CPU Model	Intel N5105/N5095	Intel J4125
CPU Frequency & Cores	Quad-Core 2.0-2.9Ghz	Quad-Core 2.0-2.7Ghz
CPU Benchmark Score	CPU benchmark 4161	CPU benchmark 3006
Memory Default/Max	4-16GB SODIMM DDR4	2-6GB SODIMM DDR4 (4GB onboard)
PSU Power & Design	90W External PSU	100W External PSU
Physical Fans	1x 120m FAN	2x 92m FAN

Of course, the clearest difference that most PC builder-minded people are going to notice is the CPU. NAS systems are designed to be operational for days, weeks, months and even years at a time. Therefore, in order to maintain optimal performance, as well as lower power consumption and lessen the damage that long-term operation can inflict on a processor, the CPUs used in NAS are a great deal more modest. In the case of the Synology DS423+ and QNAP TS-464 NAS, they feature Intel Celeron processors, each featuring an embedded graphics component (allowing graphical operations, multimedia handling and visual data to be handled by a specialized area of the processor), quad-core architecture and a base level clock speed of 2.0Ghz that can be burst (turbo/increased when needed). However, the newer generation N5105/N5095 CPU in the QNAP is able to reach a higher overall clock speed and also is more efficient (i.e uses a little less hardware resources to get a task done than it would take on the J4125 typically, so, therefore, can do more tasks overall when the full CPU power is utilized). Indeed, CPUBenchmark rated the newer CPU 30%+ higher in it’s scoring than the J4125 (again, as you would expect for a CPU released more than a year later by Intel), so this processor means that more can be done on the QNAP (in like for like tasks) and also this CPU allows a greater range of hardware to be built into the system. CPUs are one of the largest quantifying factors of how a NAS is built and this is because they can only handle a certain amount of connected hardware (storage bays, ports, expansion slots, etc) when connected to a larger controller/motherboard. This is commonly referred to as the # of PCI lanes and the chipset used in the build of the system. Because this newer Intel N5105 / N5095 CPU has more lanes to use at once than the J4125, it allows the newer NAS drive to have more hardware.

QNAP TS-464 NAS – Intel N5105/N5095 CPU

Synology DS423+ NAS – Intel J4125 CPU

These additional CPU resources, as well as the increased maximum memory and flexibility of how the M.2 NVMe SSD slots can be used ultimately mean that in terms of internal hardware, the newer released QNAP TS-464 wins over the Synology DS423+ NAS. It is worth remembering that the M.2 NVMe SSD slots on the QNAP TS-464 are PCIe Gen 3 x1 (down to the Celeron CPU still not having anywhere near the scope in it’s flexibility that the likes of an Intel Core, Ryzen or Xeon might have) and will bottleneck at 1,000MB/s, but this is still better than nothing and there is still the lingering question of the Gen 2 slots on the DS423+ being 2×2 or 2×4 – which will potentially limit the M.2 NVMes on the DS423+ further still. So the QNAP still seems to have a better balance of NVMe SSD support in its architecture overall.

Synology DS423+ or QNAP TS-464 NAS – Ports & Connections

Now ports and connections on the Synology DS423+ and QNAP TS-464 NAS is an area that is INCREDIBLY diverse in it’s approach by either brand. Once again, the reasons clearly to do with the CPU choice and position on their respective brand portfolios, but also the brand’s own decisions in build architecture/priorities still massively continue to be a contributing factor here. The Synology DS423+ NAS certainly comes across as the weaker of the two here in its connectivity and although a lot of the QNAP’s advancements in connectivity could be described as ‘future upgrades and simply facilitating extras or addons’, it still manages to provide a greater deal of connectivity to the day 1 user than the Synology system here. The port(s) that almost certainly will be the one that jumps out immediately on each system is the network connections. The DS423+ NAS arrives with 2x 1GbE ports which, although allowing link aggregation to create 2GbE with a smart switch, was still a little underwhelming in 2023 when released and looking increasingly out of step with modern network tech in 2024 (as we had already started seeing 2.5GbE arriving at the same price as 1GbE with a number of client hardware devices in 2020). The newer QNAP TS-464 features 2x 2.5GbE (so 5GbE via link aggregation and a supported switch) which now that some ISPs and budget switch manufacturers are providing affordable 2.5GbE solutions, will be incredibly useful. Then the is the additional PCIe upgrade slot on the QNAP NAS that allows upgrades towards 10GbE, dual-port 10GbE cards and even combo cards to add 10G and further M.2  NVMe bays via a single card. Again, there ARE upgrades and not something in the baseline model, but you can not argue with the future-proofing available here. Additionally, the DS923+ NAS released in December 2022 had the option to upgrade to 10GbE – something hugely absent here in the eyes of many on this 4xSATA and 2xNVMe DS423+ NAS. There is simply no avoiding that the 2023 released DS423+ looks a little dated in 2024, in large part to those 1GbE ports are something of a limiting factor.

Model	QNAP TS-464	Synology DS423+
Network Ports	2x 2.5GbE	2x 1GbE
USB 3.2 Ports	2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb)	2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gb)
USB 2.0 Ports	2x USB 2.0	0
HDMI Ports	1x HDMI 2.0 4K 60FPS	n/a
PCIe Upgrade Slots	PCIe Gen 3×2 Slot (2Gb/s)	n/a

After the network and PCIe differences that favour the TS-464, the distance between the 2023 and 2022 NAS hardware architecture here is further extended. The Synology DS423+ features a further USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gb/s) port, but LACKS the option to upgrade it’s storage down the line with an expansion (such as with the eSATA port on the DS920+ and DS923+ NAS supporting the DX517 official expansion). QNAP counters this on the TS-464 with the inclusion of another USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) port, as well as some (obviously less useful) USB 2.0 ports. These USB 2.0 Ports are primarily designed to be used in conjunction with the optional visual output (HDMI 2.0 4k 60FPS) on the QNAP as a KVM (Keyboard, video and mouse) setup with the included parallel HD Station application and its tool. The HDMI and direct interface of the QNAP is still pretty niche as a service on this system, but it has a number of useful multimedia, surveillance and VM utilities that can be quite impressive. Expansions on the TS-464 are more diverse than the 5-Bay DX517 on the DS423+ (which again, is NOT supported anyway), with QNAP offering 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12-Bay expansion chassis (arriving in JBOD or hardware RAID enabled) that connect over USB or an inclusive PCIe card. Overall, it comes as no surprise that in terms of hardware, the QNAP TS-464 still takes the first place, as the Synology DS423+ (like most of the brand’s solutions) is prioritizes the DSM platform and it’s tools/services over the hardware. Let’s discuss the software on each of these brands.

QNAP TS-464 or the Synology DS423+ NAS – Software

When you are choosing to buy a Synology or QNAP NAS, it is always worth bearing in mind that you are not just buying a bunch of hardware, but you are actually getting a fully-featured software solution. Both the Synology DS423+ and QNAP TS-464 arrive with each brand’s premium NAS software and services platform, DSM and QTS respectively. Both of these platforms include a traditional operating system level of accessibility and control, that can be accessed via pretty much any web browser or desktop OS, as well as numerous tailored mobile client applications. The Synology DSM platform is a lot more comparable in design and control with Mac OSX and is by far the more user-friendly option of the two. The QNAP QTS platform is a lot more comparable to Android in its initial GUI and then more like Windows in it’s navigation, arriving as the option with a greater deal of configuration and control, but with a steeper learning curve. Another big difference between QTS and DSM is how they present their services, with QNAP providing a larger degree of support of 3rd party applications (both in the app center and in the configuration of their own range of 1st party applications. Synology DSM on the other hand proves a larger and more impressive range of fist party tools that are designed to replace/improve upon the 3rd party tools you might be using, with many of it’s applications being comparable to top tier 3rd party paid tools in the market (the Synology collaboration suite, the Surveillance Station application and pretty much everything in Synology Drive, just as a start). The QNAP platform also, in it’s efforts to be as widely compatible and configurable as possible, occasionally stems into over-complexity and risks the user tripping over itself as it tries to manage the larger scale of configuration Whereas, although the Synology DSM platform may seem a pinch more closed and fixed, it manages to prevent the users from accidentally ruining their own storage system. Here is a full breakdown of the key applications that are included with the QNAP TS-464 and Synology DS423+, broken down into categories:

	QNAP TS-464	Synology DS423+
Browser Support	Supports all Browsers	Supports all Browsers
	Browser File Management	Browser File Management
	Photo/Music/Video Tools	Photo/Music/Video Tools
	Multimedia Console	Synology Drive
	AI Photo Recognition	AI Photo Recognition
	Edge m.2 Coral TPU Support
Storage Services
	SED Drive Support	SED Drive Support
	QTier	Synology Hybrid RAID
	Hybrid Mount	Hybrid Share
	ISCSI Target/LUN	ISCSI Target/LUN
	vJBOD
	Snapshots	Snapshots
	SSD Cache (Read/Write/Both)	SSD Cache (Read/Write/Both)
	Cloud Sync / QSync	Cloud Sync
	Ex-FAT is Free	Fast RAID Rebuild
	RAID Resync control	RAID Resync control
	Secure Erase	Acrtive Backup Suite
	Lots of Expansions (TR/TL)	Hyper Backup
	HBS 3	Synology CMS
	Qfiling and Qsirch
Business Applications
	QVR Pro – 8 Camera Licenses (+USB Camera Support)	Surveillance Station – 2 Camera Licenses
	Virtualization Station	Virtual Machine Manager
	Ubuntu Linux Station 18/20	Docker Support
	Container Station	Active Backup 365 & Workspace
	Hypervisor Protector	Synology Office, Chat, Calendar
	QMailAgent	Synology Mail / MailPlus
	HD Station	Synology C2 and Services
	BoXafe
	Security Councillor	Security Councillor
	Malware Remover	Synology VPN Plus
	McAfee Anti-Virus Scanning	Log and Notification Center
	QVPN	Auto Blocking on SSH, Telnet etc
	Log and Notification Center	256 bit Encryption
	Auto Blocking on SSH, Telnet etc	2 Step Authentication
	256 bit Encryption	Firewall App
	2 Step Authentication	Access Protection and Allow/Deny list
	Firewall App	Synology Secure SignIn
	Access Protection and Allow/Deny list	Synology C2 Password

As you can see, both NAS brands provide similar levels of software, services and features, but they are presented in very different ways. Once again, I cannot emphasise enough how much more the QNAP platform is configurable but ALSO how it can often give you too much configuration and risk overwhelming less experienced users. The Synology DSM platform, for all its comparative rigidicy, is still overall the better software experience and you definitely see that Software over hardware priority from the brand clearly here. I have made long, LONG reviews on each of the NAS brand’s and their software platforms, which you can watch below for much, much more information on their respective strengths and weaknesses.

QNAP QTS 5.0 Review	Synology DSM 7 Review

Ultimately, it will come as no surprise that Synology come out on top in terms of software compared with the QNAP. That is not to say that the QNAP QTS platform is not good, it really, really is and some of the applications that are included for home and business users are often genuinely impressive, unique and provide facilities to the end-user that are wholly unavailable on any other NAS platform (eg Multimedia Console as a single portal media manager, the 2-3 Click VM storages and repository that are available in Virtualization Station, Linux Station and Container Staton or the QuMagie AI-powered tool that is able to cover a greater range of subjects and categories that any other NAS photo tool out there). However, the QNAP QTS platform is not quite as polished, as user-friendly and as responsive as the Synology DSM platform overall. If you want a better idea how these two NAS software platforms compare directly (i.e face to face), then you can check out my DSM vs QTS video below:

Alternatively, if you are NOT interested in using the software included with your NAS, there is always the option to install TrueNAS – Something that is surprisingly easy on the QNAP NAS (see video below):

QNAP TS-464 or the Synology DS423+ NAS – Conclusion

Ultimately, choosing between the Synology DS423+ and QNAP TS-464 largely comes down to a question of hardware vs software. The QNAP TS-464 is by a long distance the more advanced in hardware in practically every way (thanks of course to the brand’s focus in this direction) which leads to that system having a tremendously large scope in terms of what you can do with it, how far the storage can be expanded and how upgradable the system can be. The QNAP is the better future-proof hardware choice and despite the Synology NAS platform having a stronger software platform, it still has a vast array of software and services available in QTS nonetheless. For those that are hardware-focused or want a NAS to support their existing 3rd party client tools and apps, the QNAP TS-464 is by and larger the better choice. The Synology DS423+ NAS on the other hand, despite its 2-3 year older hardware (already premiered in the 2020 released DS920+) and arguably safer/sensible stance on hardware in general, is still a great NAS that will likely becoming more popular and palatable in the 4-Bay NAS market as the pricing becomes a bit more flexible (as many will still weigh the DS423+ with the older DS920+ that still has stock floating around and opt for the latter). Add to that the core strength and first-party focus of DSM leading to this hardware+software solution providing you with a huge array of polished and premium feeling tools at your disposal. As long as you are happy to do things ‘Synology’s way’ and are looking for an easy to use system that will not tax the end-users brain, you will find Synology the better software choice overall.

QNAP TS-464 NAS – Spring/Summer 2022		Synology DS423+ NAS – Spring 2023
Reasons to Buy it? Better Hardware inside and out More Expansion/Upgrade Options Able to run more simultaneous apps/clients at once Faster USB Ports (10Gb/s) Larger bandwidth PCIe upgrade slot (PCIe 3×2 vs 2×2/2×4) Higher CPU Frequency, Efficiency & Proficiency M.2 SSD Useable Tiered Storage Option		Reasons to Buy it? Much more user-friendly Synology Hybrid RAID for flexibility Overall Better 1st Party Software Better Surveillance Access/Streaming Lower Price Point as it in the SOHO part of Syn’s Portfolio Quieter Operation First Party Accessories (HDD, SSD, Memory, etc) Available
Buy on Amazon	Where to Buy	Buy on Amazon	Where to Buy

 

Plex Media Server Vs Synology Video Station on a NAS

One of the most popular reasons that users choose to buy a network-attached storage (NAS) device is for use as a media server. The appeal is pretty clear. With most users now owning decades of media (either in digital form or ripped from optical media at home), the ability to enjoy these box sets and Movies on the latest devices can be complicated. Despite this, streaming all of your multimedia from a NAS to all of your TVs, phones, tablets and other devices are growing increasingly popular and a lot of this is thanks to the increasing affordability of NAS from brands like Synology and QNAP and free software from companies like Plex and Emby. The most popular NAS for home media tends to be Synology, with its support of numerous media server applications and its own premium video service app too. This combined with the oversaturation of third-party online streaming services that ask you to pay a subscription (such as Netflix) with little control or right to ownership of the media you watch means that many users just want to enjoy their own unique media collections. So now that a lot of users are choosing to switch from the likes of Netflix and Prime Video towards an in-house media server, the next question is which piece of software they should choose.

The most popular private media server app right now worldwide to counter the likes of Netflix is Plex Media Server, software available in host and client form that allows you to transform your media collection into a glossy, slick and informative UI that genuinely rivals big online streaming platforms. Synology on the other hand would likely prefer users to stick with their own fully-featured media server application, Synology Video Station, which they have invested well in and developed to an impressive standard that easily rivals that of Plex. So today I want to compare these two media server choices and help you decide which one is the ideal media server choice for you.

Important – ‘Free’ Vs Paid Media Server Services on a NAS

Before going any further, it is worth addressing the elephant in the room, namely that a number of key media server services that are included with Plex Media Server are locked behind a paid subscription service known as Plex Pass. Whereas Synology Video Station is an application that is included with your NAS on Day 1 at no additional cost. All that said, neither service can technically be called free, as both still require you to purchase a Synology NAS. Additionally, it is still worth highlighting that some more recent Innovations in Plex online services and utilisation of hardware transcoding (the ability to use the CPU’s embedded graphics or an available graphics card to adapt files on the fly to make them better suited to a client) is not available on the free tier of Plex, but ARE available by default in the Synology Video Station application. You can still utilise software transcoding on Plex for free and this will deal with a large degree of transcoding requirements, but the fact that you have to pay extra within the Plex app to utilise the hardware already available on your NAS is something a number of users find difficult to accept. Throughout this article, any feature that is only available as a paid Plex Pass feature will be highlighted as such.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Installation and First Time Setup

Installation of either the Synology Video Station or Plex Media Server application is near enough identical. Both are readily available in the Synology app centre and can be installed within two clicks. Both media server applications do not require your multimedia files to be stored in a pre-designated/directory location and the sources for TV shows, Movies and more can be scanned and indexed by each media server application after they are installed. In fact, the initial installation on both is incredibly straightforward and there is really only one main difference between them. That difference is that whereas the Synology Media application uses your original NAS login credentials, Plex will require you to set up an account with them online in order to use the software, even if you only intend to use your Plex Media Server on the local network/DLNA. As Plex is a third-party application, this is a little understandable if a tiny bit annoying for some. 

It is also worth highlighting that both media server applications will receive regular updates during their lifespan and this is treated slightly differently too. As Synology Video Station is a first-party app, as soon as an update is available, you will be notified immediately in the app centre and even have the opportunity to apply these firmware updates automatically. Plex updates on the other hand will almost always need to be installed manually, as the available default Plex application on the Synology app centre is updated considerably less frequently and as soon as you setup Plex for the first time, it will ALWAYS inform you that there is a new update available straight away. The Plex Media Server application itself will tell you when an update is available regularly at the top right and in the settings menu, but requires you to download the latest Plex server update to a connected computer and then you need to upload this update directly to the Synology NAS app centre manually. It is only a small inconvenience really, but does mean that regular updates on your media server of choice are handled more easily and with likely more frequency on Synology Video Station rather than Plex.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – GUI, Media Support and Browsing

The user interface of Synology Video Station and Plex Media Server are quite similar when viewed on a client device, such as a console, TV and Amazon Fire TV stick. With all of your available Movies and Boxsets clearly shown and the metadata collected by each media server application creating a great user interface for your connected users. 

However the back end/server view of each media server application is considerably different and where the Synology Video Station application is designed exclusively around video media options and configuration (as Synology have a wide range of applications for different Media types and general NAS server maintenance already available), Plex, on the other hand, is a far better equipped tool for a complete server, with the bulk of server maintenance and customisation options built into the single Plex GUI. If you are something of an IT novice, the wide range of options that Plex Media Server throws at you for system maintenance can be a touch intimidating and because Plex is designed around many different kinds of media support (something we will touch on later) it’s configuration needs to be noticeably broader than the video-centric options in the Synology official video application. These additional options, if you take the time to go through them, will definitely lead to a better media server user experience and a far better multimedia streaming system overall, it’s just a question of how bespoke and how elaborate you want your media server to be.

As mentioned, there is a clear difference in the multimedia types supported in Plex Media Server or Synology Video Station. In terms of handling of video Media, they are near enough identical with some exceptions with regard to specialist audio handling for certain dense Media. However, much like the back-end server control mentioned earlier, Synology Video Station only handles video media and relies on alternative applications such as Synology moments, photo station, Synology photos, audio station and download station to play and obtain other kinds of multimedia. Plex Media Server is a much more diverse multimedia tool with support of your photo collections (AI-assisted too), album collections, podcast streaming and several online video streaming services included. In both cases, it makes a lot of sense why they are designed this way, but some users may prefer their media server to be more of a Swiss army knife and others may want their video streaming, music streaming and photo streaming to be different services for different devices and clients. Neither Plex or Synology Video Station really gain any advantage here but simply show how they are different in their architecture. If you want simplicity in the user interface, go with Synology Video Station. If you want simplicity in your media server as a whole, go with Plex Media Server.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Meta Data Scraping

The scraping of metadata in a media server is precisely what separates a bog-standard selection of files and folders on your screen from a slick graphical user interface that is engaging, informative and a joy to use. When we talk about metadata, we are talking about thumbnails, box art, media descriptions, cast listings, review scores, trailers and more. When we say scraping, that is the process of the software accessing numerous online databases to retrieve and store this information locally to the NAS. The result is your years of TV and movie collection being transformed into something near identical to Netflix and Amazon Prime video in presentation. Metadata ultimately benefits connected users and their client hardware devices, with both Plex and Video Station being very similar in how they look to a client device, albeit with a few branded differences in colour and config.

However, on the server-side, both Synology Video Station and Plex have gone a different way with metadata scraping at a setup level. Of the two, Synology Video Station is definitely the less option-heavy and although this is thanks in many ways to a lot of key options being found in the general server GUI outside of the app, it is still pretty thin on the ground for configuration of your video media server. This is not an enormous surprise given how Synology have generally erred towards keeping things as user-friendly as possible and this is often done by simplifying configurations and sitting numerous settings to system default. The options for scraping metadata on the Synology are surprisingly thin on the ground and some more advanced options require you to sign up to some resource database websites to obtain a two-way key. Despite this, Synology still manages to scrape a tremendous amount of metadata without this key and resource linking. Indeed, although the number of supported databases for metadata listed on the Synology Video Station app is few and far between, it was still able to find the same level of metadata found on the Plex Media Server application and displayed all of the test media perfectly. 

Plex Media Server has access to significantly more online databases and although the system will generally ask you to select which one individually you wish to scrape for metadata in each library, it does do it with a high degree of accuracy. It also manages to scrape this metadata for more than just your Movies and applies this also to your music collection and podcast collection too within the app. Metadata scraping via Plex Media Server also does not require any kind of log-in to these individual databases and is largely automated off the bat, with users being able to switch designated databases for each Media type and folder on the fly. Of course, this all doesn’t guarantee accuracy and will still always be based on the format and layout of your Media in many cases (tv shows listed as S01E01 for season 1, episode 1, etc), but nevertheless, it has to be said that with more available resources and less configuration required for each of them, that Plex Media Server has the broader and more likely to succeed position on metadata scraping.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Playback and Transcoding

This is one of the most important parts of any media server in the grand scheme of things – multimedia playback and transcoding. This is typically the action of changing a media file into a version that is more acceptable to the client device that you are enjoying it on (TV, Phone, Console, etc). This extends to but is not limited to, changing the resolution, changing the bitrate, changing the file format and ultimately compressing a file into a smaller version in most cases. Because Plex and Synology Video Station are available on the same NAS system, it means that media variations with regard to codecs, compressions and file types will be equally supported at the default level. If a file can be played back in its original version on Plex, it can be played back on Synology Video Station. However, it is when these files need to be adapted with transcoding that we see clear distinctions between each of them. Transcoding is something that remote accessing client users will likely use without even realising it, as they might well be on a limited data connection (speed or coverage at the time) or using a smaller device (such as a phone) to playback a monster 4K 60FPS movie that is overkill on that hardware. So, transcoding is at its best when you do not notice it is being done OR it is adaptable in as many ways as possible to cover all your likely scenarios.

When the NAS needs to perform a transcode on a file on the fly (eg, so you need to convert a video file into a better-suited version for the client watching device upon request and without delay) it will typically do it with software transcoding or hardware transcoding. Software transcoding is when the system uses the raw resources of the CPU and memory inside the NAS to convert the file. Hardware transcoding is when the NAS system features a graphical component (such as embedded graphics featured on a CPU) or an available graphics card that is installed – as these are designed for handling video files and/or graphical manipulation tasks, and will therefore utilise considerably fewer resources. Plex Media Server only provides hardware transcoding in the paid subscription service Plex Pass and then needs to be enabled in the encoding section by selecting the option ‘make my CPU hurt’. Software transcoding is available for the free version of Plex Media Server but is far less efficient and will result in much higher-end Media in 4K and 1080p playback consuming the majority of hardware resources to transcode or will simply not play at all. 

Synology Video Station on the other hand, because it is a native first-party app, has full access to the hardware transcoding element of the NAS and therefore allows users to take advantage of it easily and immediately, and at no additional cost. This has been one of the driving forces behind the popularity of Synology Video Station application, as although the majority of NAS brands have their own video player, Synology is the only one that manages to merge the slick meta-data supported graphical user interface found in Plex but still manages to provide the free and unlimited limited access to the hardware resources you would expect after spending several $100s on a NAS. That said, the way that Synology handles the subject of transcoding in its user interface is a little peculiar, especially for users who are trying to balance the best possible playback vs the most appropriate transcoding level on the fly/manually. 

When you wish for the NAS system to transcode a file in the Video Station user interface, you are presented with the options for adjusting the picture quality to high, medium, low, very low, etc. This is exactly what one might expect from a brand that wants to consistently keep things as simple as possible, however, for those who want to select a specific quality level to playback the file or want a better idea of the best quality level in future should be for other files, this will be extraordinarily limiting. Plex Media Server on the other hand allows you to switch between an automatic transcode option that changes the file to the recommended quality level for the client and connection, or you can specifically switch one of numerous video quality levels that break down into both resolution and bitrate in several places. Overall, the ability for Video Station to be able to take advantage of hardware transcoding at no additional cost and with little or no intervention from the end-user is still ultimately the best thing here. I just wish they gave uses a better degree of control and choice as found in Plex Media Server.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Client Support

Having a slick and well-performing media server is always good, but if you cannot watch the media inside it on the devices you regularly use, then it’s all a bit pointless. Most people are already well aware that the multimedia collections they have on a NAS can easily be streamed over the local area network via popular methods such as DLNA and UPnP (digital living network alliance and universal plug and play). However, they are much more file and folder, breadcrumb level streaming and in order to enjoy the pretty GUI of Plex and Synology Video Station, an official client app needs to be available on the respective app centre or made unofficially and manually installed. This is an area where Plex Media Server almost completely wins over Synology Video Station, as it simply cannot compete with the variety and accessibility of the Plex client availability in popular app centres. 

Full credit to Plex, they have really taken the time to make sure their platform is available on pretty much any modern device, in what multiple client or media server application forms. They also take the time after an official update of services and then push these updates across each available downloadable client. This is largely impossible for Synology to compete with and they instead opt for a much more targeted client support regime, supporting all modern mobile phone OS’, desktop operating systems and some of the major sofa accessible app centres on TVs and streamers like Amazon fire TV. In  8 out of 10 cases, your device will support both Plex and Synology Video Station, but this is by no means total and sometimes a hardware client (such as an off-brand Android phone, tablet or media box) that you hope to support Video Station will sadly not. 

It is once again worth mentioning that Synology separates different multimedia types towards their own individual client apps, for example, DS Audio or Audio Station for music and DS Photo for photography. Indeed, some of these apps are quite advanced with practically unique connectivity to the likes of Amazon Alexa (something currently impossible on any other NAS platform without a 3rd party application like ‘my-media’ Alexa skill. But this, unfortunately, does not make up for being truly overshadowed by the wider degree of support available on Plex across numerous clients and smart Home devices – though the latter does require a Plex Pass. For sheer volume of connectivity on the clients, Plex wins by an absolute landslide.

Plex VS Synology Video Station – Conclusion

Throughout this comparison of Plex Media Server and Synology Video Station, it has become abundantly clear that one tool is designed around being a Swiss army knife of features and functions, whilst the other performs a smaller but key range of services exceptionally well. Those who have been using Plex Media Server for a number of years are highly unlikely to make the jump to Synology Video Station, as it may feel less feature-rich and perhaps a tad bare-bones. However, those users who are new to the idea of private NAS based multimedia streaming would do very well to try out Synology Video Station first, as I genuinely believe when it comes to concentrating on video streaming services, it is genuinely one of the best platforms out there – albeit clearly restricted to just Synology NAS devices. Plex Media Server attempts to do many things in its pursuit of being the go-to media server of choice for those jumping ship from Netflix and succeeds in most cases, it is just worth remembering that in recent years the platform has perhaps tried to diversify a tad too much. 

PLEX MEDIA SERVER	Synology Video Station
Best for Mixed Media Best for Ease of Access on Client Hardware Best for Transcoding Control Best for Add On Services Best for Metadata Sources	Best for Price Best Performance for Transcoding Best for Ease of Use Best for Ease Setup Best for Updates & Firmware Revs

Thanks for reading and I hope this guide helps you choose the perfect multimedia server for streaming with your friends, family and colleagues. If you are still lost on the right NAS, multimedia software or ideal backup system for your needs, then take advantage of the free advice section below. This is a completely free and unbias service to help work out their ideal data storage solution for you. It is manned by my myself and EddieTheWebGuy, so although replies may take an extra day or so, we will answer your email and have your best interests in mind! Have a great week.

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