DS video vs Emby
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DS video
Stream your video collection from your Synology NAS to your mobile device. Automatically retrieves movie information and organizes content into libraries. Record and manage TV programs remotely if you have compatible HDHomeRun devices connected to your NAS.
- Stream video collection from Synology NAS
- Automatic movie information retrieval
- Organized video libraries
- Record and manage TV programs
- Remote TV schedule management
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**You must own a Synology NAS to run this app, and be running the latest Video Station 2.3.0 to get the complete set of features** Use DS video to stream your video collection on your DiskStation from your iOS mobile device. Browsing is made easy as your videos are sorted in different libraries, and each movies has its information retrieved online automatically. And if you have connected HDHomeRun devices with DVB-T standard to the same local area network as your Synology NAS, you will also be able to record TV programs, as well as view the TV program to manage the recording schedule even when on the move. Find all detailed features about the app on our website: www.synology.com > NAS > DSM 7.1 > Apps > Mobile Apps > Software Specs https://www.synology.com/dsm/software_spec/mobile#DSvideo
Emby
Unite your personal videos, music, and photos into a single, accessible library. Stream your media to any device with automatic on-the-fly conversion and elegant organization. Share with friends and family, and manage access with robust parental controls.
- Personal media aggregation
- On-the-fly media conversion
- Elegant media organization
- Media sharing with friends/family
- Parental controls
- Cloud-synced media streaming
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Bringing all of your personal media together into one place has never been easier! Emby unites your personal videos, music, and photos and streams them to your devices. Get the free Emby Media Server from the Emby website (required as part of your Emby install). • Emby automatically converts your media on-the-fly to play on any device. • Emby organizes your media into an elegant display with artwork, rich metadata and related content. • Easily share your media with friends and family. • Rich parental control and management features allow the Emby Server administrator to easily control access for your entire family. • Stream your cloud-synced media (with installed cloud sync providers) The app is free to browse your media collection, and free to cast media to other devices. Playback requires a small one-time in-app purchase, or an active Emby Premiere subscription, also available in-app. Emby Premiere is available in-app as a monthly subscription for $6.99 USD per month. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account upon confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and the renewal cost is $6.99 USD. Subscriptions may be managed and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period. Our privacy policy can be found at https://emby.media/privacy. Please also see our terms of use at https://emby.media/terms. All content displayed here is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. The videos displayed are available on the Open Movie Project, found at http://www.blender.org/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DS video at none against Emby's 3. DS video also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Emby's advantage is rating (3.1 vs 2.8) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Emby sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. DS video asks for nothing beyond the download.
Emby holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 257 and 654 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of DS video's written reviews are positive against 31% of Emby's.
DS video ships an update every 2 months, Emby every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DS video | Emby |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.8 (257 ratings) | 3.1 (654 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.7% of reviews | 30.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 257 | 654 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 126 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Synology Inc. | Emby Media |
Customer experience
DS video
Emby
User reviews
DS video
From 257 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Simple and fast
- ⭐ Excellent ability to stream to Chromecast
- ⭐ Automatically fetches metadata
- ⭐ Allows sharing with family/friends
- ⭐ Works flawlessly with Synology NAS
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unstable, crashes frequently
- 🐛 Playback issues, video doesn't start or stops unexpectedly
- 🐛 Doesn't support common video formats like MKV, HEVC, DTS
- 🐛 Transcoding/download issues, videos don't play properly
- 🐛 Buggy on newer iOS/tvOS versions
Emby
From 654 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great app
- 👍 Awesome interface
- 🚀 Flawless performance
- 🚀 Smooth playback
- 👍 Customizable home screen
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Buggy app
- 🐛 Unreliable Chromecast support
- 🔒 Paywall for basic functionality
- 🐛 Playback issues
Bugs and requests
DS video
Reported bugs
4 issues- Playback controls not working on Apple TV
- Subtitle display issues
- Inability to play videos over encrypted connections
- Synology NAS integration problems
Requested features
6 requests- Add support for more video formats
- Improve playback controls (skip forward/backward, resume, etc.)
- Implement auto-play next episode for TV shows
- Add Picture-in-Picture support on iPad
- Improve Chromecast and AirPlay support
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Enhance parental controls and content filtering
Emby
Reported bugs
7 issues- Playback errors
- Inability to play certain file formats
- Disconnection issues
- Syncing problems
- Crashes on launch
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Orientation issues
- Transcoding problems
Requested features
7 requests- Picture-in-picture mode
- Swipe gestures for navigation
- Improved music management
- Offline playback enhancements
- Chromecast improvements
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Faster server scanning/indexing
- Better codec/format support
In-app purchases
DS video
No in-app purchases
Emby
- Emby Premiere$6.991 Month
- Unlock Playback2 variants$4.99







