New functions: a startup planner and IP cams
The DS508 thus offers one of the most complete functions panels that can currently be found on NAS (Thecus and Qnap nevertheless are very solid rivals here), all the more so since the addition of two new functions: the startup planner and IP camera management (Surveillance Station).
The first has been awaited for some time on Synology’s NAS. Unlike most firmware evolutions, it will only be to the benefit of the DS508 most likely for material reasons. It enables precisely setting the hour at which the system will turn on and off and to what days of the week this will apply. It’s a bit unfortunate this feature doesn’t go all the way and we would have liked to have been able to set different time periods for each day of the week (for example, setting different times the system is ON on weekends). Instead, we can only decide which days the set time period will be activated.
We should also mention that there was a bug in the firmware version (0590) which we tested and it will probably still be on the CD that comes with the product. When the DS508 is configured in the GMT+1 time zone, the startup time will be an hour behind. You will therefore have to set the time to 8h00 for wake up at 9h00, for example. Note that the bug does not affect the shut down time.
IP camera support enables you to transform the DS508 into a surveillance station. The idea is simple: after activating this service, a web configuration tool allows you to add cameras relayed to the network. The number of cameras you can control depends on two factors:
- the power of the processor integrated to the NAS. According to Synology, the DS508 has enough resources to manage 10 cameras. Otherwise, this means 5 for the CS407 and DS207+, 2 for the majority of other compatible models (CS407e, CS406, CS406e, DS207, DS107+, DS107 and DS106), and finally a single one for the DS108j, DS107e and DS106e/j ;
- the number of camera licenses you have. By default, Synology only provides one and you should buy as many as you have supplementary cameras for a fee of roughly 35 € taxes included ($49.90). While we aren’t surprised about being charged (development has to be paid for), the price of the license seems a bit high.
So does it work? We didn’t try it with 10 cameras, but with one it actually functions rather well. The list of compatible cameras is rather small at the moment with only 18 models
officially supported, and a dozen of others being tested
by users.
For us, we had a D-Link DCS-900 which the system immediately recognized. We then defined the parameters of the camera by choosing the recording time based on the day of the week and hour. Recording will be either continuous or only activated when it detects movement. We can also set the amount of time video will be conserved as well as specifying the zone for detection of movement.
Each recording is considered as an event by the system. We then can navigate through events directly in the Web interface by applying various filters (selection of the camera, if the recording was set off by movement detection, time period, etc.) in order to rapidly find the footage you are looking for. An integrated player enables instantaneous playback of video.
In the end, this system is quickly mastered after a short but necessary learning session. On the condition that you correctly set the parameters of the cameras (recording times, the time files are kept, etc.) to avoid having too many files, it should prove very easy to use.
Finally, we should mention that videos are stored in a protected memory, only accessible to the administrator.
