The budget-minded enthusiast will find that the Synology DiskStation DS216play is a great choice if you are on the lookout for a 2-bay NAS unit. The dual-core CPU comes with floating point unit that helps the overall performance, but especially the creation of thumbnails for the media functions.

Good performance up to and above 110MB/s; Powerful dual-core CPU with H.265 codec support for 4K video transcoding; Complete entertainment hub functionality; Everything you'll want to backup from and to

No front USB 3.0 port; No drive bays for easy hot-swap

One option for those looking for network-attached storage (NAS) to store and stream up to 16 terabytes of video is the DiskStation DS216play from Synology. This 2-bay NAS can handle playing 4K video across a local network as well transcoding it so it can be streamed to a range of devices, including...

4K Video Support; Low cost; 16TB Capacity

No PLEX support currently; No SD card slot

The DS216play is a multimedia-oriented NAS despite the fact that it doesn't feature an HDMI port. It supports 4K video transcoding, and its highly efficient SoC is crucial in reducing its overall power consumption.

The relentless march that Synology undertakes with its NAS enclosures is an enviable one, as is its prowess in creating feature-packed and more importantly easy-to-use operating systems that strike a balance that few other NAS manufacturers match.

Really fast and versatile home NAS; Liked being able to Rsynch my files to a remote NAS at an alternate location; Bought it to stream home movies; Still working on the proper transcoding technique; Overall Extremely pleased

I'd like to see more packages

Note that with a 2-disk setup, you can only have either RAID-0 (No data protection) or RAID-1 (Mirrored disk). You need 3 disks for a RAID-5 setup for proper data protection. As this appliance is for my personal backup, which doesn't clear 4TB, I opted for this 2-disk system with RAID-1 and (2) 4TB...

Been playing with this box for a few days. So far - very happy on how it performs. The app list is great. So far used it as a media center + storage for personal photos and documents. I haven't upgraded the RAM and so far I do not see the need.

Can't recommend this piece of kit highly enough. It is easy to use and has so many features it is the server that keeps on giving. I use if for automated file and photo backups. It runs Plex, Sonarr, Radarr, Deluge, and Jackett servers. All installed via Docker containers.

4TB WD Red WD40EFRX SATA 6Gb/sec, 64MB Cache, IntelliPower 8ms NCQ OEM 24x7 with NASware 3.0 2 Bay Synology DS216Play NAS, Dual Core 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, GbE, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, 2x 2.5"/3.5" SATA, Upto 16GB Max. Products arrived promptly and perform as required.

Great product