Nowadays, data breaches happen at a fast and increasing rate. So, it’s best to always have control over your data, especially when you access it from home. Here in our Synology Surveillance Station review, you’ll learn more about this solution and how it can double your security.
That’s one reason why we appreciate on-site NAS solutions from Synology. It offers excellent storage, outstanding performance, and has a great collection of applications that can be managed easily. Plus, it can extend its functions beyond simple storage.
Today, you’ll be able to check out this amazing tool from Synology in our Synology Surveillance Station review. It’s a solution that allows you to combine several IP cameras into one interface.
Synology Surveillance Station Review – Design and Functionality
The Surveillance Station from Synology is a professional VMS or Video Management Software add-on. It’s made and designed for the DiskStation Manager to let you remotely record and observe video footage via IP cameras. Then, you pair these with your DiskStation, and this Synology Surveillance Station review will discuss how it works.
The Surveillance Station is an add-on that transforms your NAS into an NVR (Network Video Recorder) specific for network cameras. It lets you integrate security footage into your NAS server instead of a vendor’s cloud or your camera’s SD card.
It improves deep video analytics via awesome real-time features like People & Vehicle Detection, Face Recognition, plus occupancy monitoring (these features are available on DVA series models only). These features guarantee perimeter security while producing advantageous business insights.
With Synology’s latest 8.0 update to their Surveillance Station, it now has one of the best features available. It now comes with a dedicated desktop app that can be installed instead of utilising the system via a web browser.
We can’t deny that using a browser is great in most situations. However, having a tool designed to do the job better is a much better solution.
The Interface
Our Synology Surveillance Station review won’t be complete if we miss out on the Surveillance Station’s interface. So, we’re going to check that out as well.
There are two different methods to access the Surveillance Station once you install it. One is by the DSM app itself or through the desktop app.
No matter what option you choose, you’ll have five self-explanatory icons available on the desktop. Each of these links to a specific function, and we’ll have a quick run-through of what these do.
This lets you view live scenes of all cameras while performing any live processes with them. What we think is great about it is that the live view doesn’t affect your recording. So, the camera will continuously record while you’re live-viewing its feed.
With Timeline, you can view the recordings from the past days in a 24h timeframe. It even comes with a cool search function. It allows you to search for videos based on motions that have occurred in a specific part of the camera view.
It lets you add several cameras to the Surveillance Station while also customising their settings.
Recordings are the area where you can view all the recordings from each camera. Download these recordings or export a couple of these according to different parameters.
This is where you can access other functions and applications to add more features to your Surveillance Station. There are links for downloading the Surveillance Station’s mobile and desktop apps. These can be utilised instead of the web-user interface.
Like the server interface itself, the Surveillance Station’s interface can simultaneously work with many windows. So, you can do live views while watching the timeline footage together.
Key Features of the Synology Surveillance Station
This time on our Synology Surveillance Station review, we will check out the key features of this surveillance software.
Supports a Wide Range of Cameras and Devices
Surveillance Station supports a variety of devices and integrates advanced camera features. It’s a flexible software that allows you to use new devices with your current setup.
Synology’s Surveillance Station is compatible with more than 7,200 IP cameras. The company’s website has a full list of compatible camera models, which you can check before purchasing one.
People and Vehicle Detection
With the Surveillance Station, you can spot people and vehicles within the areas you set. These features allow you to alert security personnel of trespassers and any unauthorised access.
Activate Device Licences Offline
You can easily activate surveillance device licenses via the Surveillance Station Client or DS Cam even without a network connection.
Customise and Apply Watermark over Downloaded Videos
To prevent unauthorised use of video recordings, you can add watermarks and logos upon downloading the videos. Having these watermarks can also help you in discovering the unauthorised use of leaked videos.
Additionally, you can certify the source or origin by overlaying custom texts and images on the video recordings.
Facial Recognition
Surveillance Station utilises a deep-learning algorithm, which enables it to accurately identify faces from its face database. It’s been proven to be accurate by over 97%, even in real-world settings. This software’s facial recognition feature can detect and record multiple faces at once to keep tracks of groups of people.
Additionally, you can create up to 10,000 user profiles and designate profile groups in various categories with different rules. With this feature, the Surveillance Station can trigger notifications when it identifies and detects unauthorised people.
Monitor Onsite Occupancy
This software can monitor people entering and leaving the premises in real-time. It will also generate statistical reports to analyse the number of people on-site for each timeframe.
Specifications
This time, our Synology Surveillance Station review will look into its different specifications.
It supports the Core i5 and higher and operating systems like the macOS and Windows 7 or higher. For the supported web browsers, these include Firefox and Google Chrome.
Video formats that can be used include MPEG4, MJPEG, H.265+, H.264, H.265, H.264+, and MxPEG. For streaming tunnel formats, these include MJPEG, HTTP, H.264+, H.265, H.264, H.265+, and MPEG4. In addition to these types, it supports MxPEG with RTSP over UDP and TCP.
When it comes to camera audio codecs, it works with AAC, PCM, AMR, G.726, G.711, and 16-bit PCM-LE. However, the latter’s supported camera audio codecs can vary depending on each camera’s specifications.
Hands on with the Synology Surveillance Station
This time, our Synology Surveillance Station review will discuss the performance of Synology’s Surveillance Station. But first, let’s take a look at how easy it is to install.
Installing the Surveillance Server
By default, Synology’s NAS doesn’t have the Surveillance Station application. But don’t worry, since you only need to log into the server’s web interface. Then, let the Package Center run, install the application, and you’re all good.
Plus, it’s free, so there’s no need to think of any fees to use it.
Setting up a Camera
We tried setting up our camera with the Surveillance Station, and we can’t say that it’s a difficult task. The thing is, it gave us more work compared to other solutions available.
This is because it’s a 2-step method where each depends on the type of camera utilised. First, we linked the camera to our network. Then, we added the Surveillance Station.
If you’re using a wired camera for this, simply plug it using a network cable, then you’re done. For Wi-Fi cameras, just follow its manual to link it to the Wi-Fi network via mobile application or web interface.
Once done, just go ahead and follow the instructions of the camera to change the settings based on your needs.
Surveillance Station’s Performance
For the most part, we were happy with how the Surveillance Station worked. It was reliable all throughout our tests, and it gave us excellent performance too.
What we love most about it is that there’s almost no limitation to how long the recording should be. Its Sync Playback and Timeline View were extremely helpful when we tried searching for a specific recording.
Remote access was also pretty convenient. We were able to do this via a web interface, DS Cam mobile application, or the Surveillance Station desktop software. We noticed that a lot of people utilise the Quick Connect vendor-assisted portal from Synology for accessing the NAS server. Alternatively, you can go for the Dynamic DNS as well.
In addition, utilising the remote accessing together with the Surveillance Station means recordings can be streamed from the NAS server.
Everything was great, and it performed well, though we did notice that its performance depended on the internet speed.
Synology Surveillance Station Review Summary
Surveillance Station is an impressive software, but it’s not for everyone. Although using it requires a specific level of networking knowledge, it’s more comprehensive than other security systems. You’ll also have full control of your video recordings without monthly charges when you use Synology’s Surveillance Station.
To conclude our Synology Surveillance Station review, we highly recommend using this video management software. If you have a Synology NAS, just get one or two cameras and try the Surveillance Station. You can download the software for free from the company’s Package Centre instead of paying for a monthly service.
