DS cam vs Qcam Link
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DS cam
Monitor and receive alerts from your Synology surveillance cameras. Control PTZ, patrols, and lens functions in real-time. Easily filter recordings and manage essential tasks like disabling cameras or deleting snapshots.
- Real-time camera monitoring
- Alert notifications
- PTZ, patrol, and lens control
- Advanced recording filters
- Essential management tasks
- Snapshot management
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You must own a Synology NAS or NVR to run this app, and be running the latest Surveillance Station to get the complete set of features. DS cam makes it possible to monitor and receive alert notifications from all your surveillance cameras set up on a Synology DiskStation. Smart features such as PTZ, patrols or lens control allow for perfect control of your cameras in real-time, while advanced filters make it easy to pinpoint any specific event from large lists of recordings. You can even perform all essential management tasks, from disabling a camera to unlocking and deleting a snapshot. Find all detailed features about the app on our website: www.synology.com > Solutions > Surveillance > Surveillance Mobile > Specifications https://www.synology.com/dsm/7.2/software_spec/surveillance_station
Qcam Link
This app allows you to remotely view and manage your Qcam DVR, NVR, and IP cameras. You can add devices easily, view up to 16 channels simultaneously, play back recordings, and control camera PTZ functions.
- Add devices via QR code
- Multi-channel viewing (up to 16)
- Remote playback of recordings
- Capture live video
- Capture still images
- PTZ camera control
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Qcam Link for iPhone Qcam Link app supports the following features: 1. Allows for the adding of new devices by simply scanning a QR code with your smartphone or tablet. 2. Multi-channel viewing with up to 16 channels on the screen at the same time 3. Remotely playback of recordings from your DVR/NVR hard drive. 4. Capture video from the live view channels onto your iPhone for future playback. 5. Capture single or multiple still images and save them to your iPhone. 6. Remotely control the camera via PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom). The Qcam Link app supports the DVR, NVR, and IP Cameras from Qcam. Qcam Link app uses a data stream that will connect to your DVR / NVR / IP Cam via 3G/4G or WiFi. When using 3G/4G, note that this will consume mobile data and will contribute to your mobile data limit that your cellular plan has. Exceeding any plan limits may incur additional usage charges. Consult with your mobile service provider regarding the use of a video streaming app and how it may affect your plan. For the latest information, please visit http://qcam.com For assistance with this app, contact Qcam Tech Support: support@Qcam.com, or visit http://qcam.com/support.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DS cam at 3.0 against Qcam Link's 2.3. DS cam also leads on ratings volume (176 vs 9) and review sentiment (32% vs 20%). Qcam Link's advantage is iOS requirement (6.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
DS cam holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DS cam has 176 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of DS cam's written reviews are positive against 20% of Qcam Link's.
DS cam ships an update every 4 months, Qcam Link every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DS cam | Qcam Link |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (176 ratings) — better | 2.3 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 32.2% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 176 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 6.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 85 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Synology Inc. | Amcrest |
Customer experience
DS cam
Qcam Link
Bugs and requests
DS cam
Reported bugs
16 issues- Regular app crashing
- Cannot scroll back in timeline without issues
- Event viewer rarely works
- Keeps buffering
- Crashes constantly
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- Battery drain
- Push notifications not reliable
- Cannot click on push notifications
- Cannot download h265 videos
- Notifications missing thumbnails
- Slow login process
- Loses remembered connections
- Slow to connect
- Notifications stopped working
- Crashes iPhone 14 Pro
- Incompatible with older Surveillance Station versions
Requested features
11 requests- Selective motion notifications
- Custom notification sounds
- Ability to categorize alerts
- Live scrubbing on timeline
- Bookmarks and advanced filtering
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- Ability to download h265 videos
- Faster login process
- Ability to retain remembered connections
- Apple TV app
- Dark mode for all screens
- Ability to quickly switch between cameras
Qcam Link
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
DS cam
No in-app purchases
Qcam Link
No in-app purchases
