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With DSM 7.2.2, Synology is releasing an update that mainly brings disadvantages for users. Owners of DSM NAS devices will notice that compatibility with H.265 is disappearing and
With DSM 7.2.2, Synology is releasing an update that mainly brings disadvantages for users. Owners of DSM NAS devices will notice that compatibility with H.265 is disappearing and the Video Station is also being revised.
Synology is releasing a software update for its NAS devices, DSM 7.2.2-72803, which limits functionality. In terms of the end-user capabilities of the NAS, version 7.2.2 is more of a downgrade.
Synology is reducing compatibility with HEVC (H.265), AVC (H.265-4), and VC-1. The server no longer handles the processing of media files with these codecs. It is now up to the endpoint to swallow the files. Synology argues that the compatibility of codecs on computers, smart TVs, and phones is so comprehensive that the NAS no longer needs to worry about this task.
Support is provided by the Advanced Media Extensions package. If you want to play a file from your NAS that works with one of the above codecs, this is no longer possible unless your endpoint supports the correct codecs. It is possible that you will run into an issue. For example, HVEC support is no longer built into Windows 11 and you will have to install this codec manually.
The limited video compatibility does not come with the integration of the video platform, so Video Station will disappear. Video Station is a media server application that allows users to manage and watch videos. Feel free to compare the app to a Synology version of Plex, for example. If you upgrade your NAS to DSM 7.2.2, Video Station will disappear.
There are exceptions: Synology wants to continue to position itself as a good choice for surveillance cameras and the processing of their images. Synology Surveillance Station therefore continues to support AVC streams. The DVA NAS devices designed for video surveillance continue to support both AVC and HEVC.
Codecs like HVEC are not free. Paying a license fee is the responsibility of the software developer. Synology seems to believe that this cost can be saved because all endpoint software developers make this investment. With this change, the manufacturer no longer owes a license fee per NAS sold, but only per device that has Surveillance Station installed. DSM 7.2.2 is mainly an upgrade for Synology’s accountants.
Not installing the update is not a long-term solution. DSM 7.2.2-72803 also closes several security holes and fixes some bugs.
In practice, the impact of this update is not very large, given the widespread support of HVEC on other devices. Synology is sending a clear signal to the prosumers who made the brand great. The focus is no longer on long-term support of the individual user, but on new financial growth markets in the (large) business segment.
While Synology says it will continue to care for the engineers who made the brand great, more and more actions contradict those words. Just consider the mandatory purchase of Synology SSDs and HDDs for models that Synology itself considers a business.
Synology bundles its NAS devices with a comprehensive suite of proprietary software that helps users get started quickly. The demise of DS Video shows that, as a user, you are still subject to your provider’s decisions even if you choose local storage over the cloud. With DS Video disappearing, a less popular app is disappearing, but it also automatically creates uncertainty about the future of more popular applications like Photos.
Source: IT Daily
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