I think it will be a custom build next time. I’ll still use the old one just for backing up photos from my phone.

Do want something that’s quiet and sips power when idle, but can easily transcode any content when needed.

True. When I first started experimenting with the NAS to stream home media, Video Station worked fine. And I could also access content outside of the home network without messing about. Obviously Jellyfin, Emby, Plex are better.

I made the mistake of buying one where the ram couldn’t be upgraded. 2GB is a joke. Had to send it back.

Starting to think that companies are all competing on a secretive Achievements Global Leaderboard.

Synology finally unlocked: “Hubris - only 99% of other large corporations have achieved this”.

I have an old Synology NAS; which i was considering upgrading.

But…

1. They removed Video Station and HEVC support
2. Recently moved to remove all hardware transcoding
3. This stupid HD restriction
4. The decision to once again cheap out on hardware. My Synology is about as powerful as a first-gen Netbook. Newer models aren’t much of a step-up. I’m surprised they opted to upgrade networking to 2.5gbe, probably pressure from competitors.
5. Edit: from a comment, the e-waste builds with non-upgradeable RAM

Yes the software is easy and reliable to use, but the fact that I only need to interact with it a few times a year, means it’s no longer a selling point for me.