Is Synology Losing Its Mind? New DSM Version Drops Video Suite and Device-Side HEVC/AVC Decoding Support

Renowned NAS producer Synology has launched an update with DSM 7.2.2-72803 this week, marking the significant update of the DSM system in 2024. Synology has made extensive changes and fixed many known issues with the DSM system.

However, what's striking is the removal of the Video Station video suite starting from this version. Although not highly praised for its functionality, the Video Station had its user base, making Synology's decision to discontinue it quite unexpected.

Moving forward, users wishing to watch video content on their Synology NAS will have to rely on third-party applications or media suites like Emby or Jellyfin. According to the long-term experience of using Synology NAS by Landian.news, the video suite's performance was not just average but extremely poor, lacking significant updates for many years. It's presumed that most users have already turned to third-party suites.

With the video suite gone, there's also no need to keep certain codecs, leading Synology to remove HEVC/H.265, AVC/H.264, and VC-1 codecs. The rationale behind this is to shift decoding capabilities from the server to the client-side, reducing unnecessary system resource consumption and enhancing efficiency.

This shift means that media file decoding needs to be handled by the viewing device, like a smartphone, with Synology streaming the files directly to the device, leaving decoding issues to be managed client-side.

After removing the video suite, users looking to watch videos temporarily can do so via the web version or Synology Drive (Note: Landian.news has encountered multiple issues with Synology Drive recently, including crashes during video playback and file downloads).

Most devices already support these codecs, but if yours doesn't, software decoding will be required, consuming significant device resources and potentially degrading the viewing experience.

Some suites, like the Surveillance Station for streaming surveillance footage, will continue to support AVC/H.264 decoding on Synology NAS, with DAV series models retaining decoding capabilities, unlike other standard models.

Considering Synology's recent actions, it seems the company is de-emphasizing consumer-level NAS functionalities, with many apps like DS File and DS Get lacking updates for a long time and offering poor experiences. Synology now positions NAS as a basic infrastructure, with other functionalities necessitating third-party applications.