Comparison

Emby vs DS Video+

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Personal media aggregation
  • On-the-fly media conversion
  • Elegant media organization
  • Media sharing with friends/family
  • Parental controls
  • Cloud-synced media streaming
Features
Read full description

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/

About

DS Video+

Organize and play your video collection from Synology DiskStation or personal devices. Sync playback across devices, search easily, and create smart playlists. Download videos for offline viewing.

Highlights
  • Personal video library management
  • Seamless cross-device synchronization
  • Powerful video search function
  • Smart personalized playlists
  • Offline video playback
Features
Read full description

DS Video+ sounds like a great video player for Synology DiskStation! It aims to provide users with a convenient video playback and management experience across multiple platforms. Here are some key features of DS Video+: Personal Video Library: It allows users to build their own video library on personal devices or Synology network storage devices. Seamless Sync: DS Video+ enables video synchronization among multiple devices through a Synology account login. You can sync your favorite videos, playback history, and settings across all supported devices, allowing you to enjoy videos anytime, anywhere. Powerful Search Function: The app incorporates a robust search engine, making it easy for you to search and find your favorite videos. You can search by video title, director, genre, and other keywords to quickly find the desired videos. Smart Playlists: DS Video+ offers users a feature of smart video playlists. It automatically creates personalized recommendation lists based on your preferences and habits. Offline Playback: You can download videos to your local device for offline playback, making it convenient to enjoy videos even without an internet connection. This allows you to watch videos anytime, anywhere without relying on a network connection. Sounds like a cool app for video enthusiasts!

Screenshots

Emby1 screens
DS Video+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Emby at 3.1 against DS Video+'s 1.0. Emby also leads on review sentiment (31% vs 0%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 11 months). DS Video+'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Emby holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Emby has 656 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Emby's written reviews are positive against 0% of DS Video+'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Emby ships an update every 3 weeks, DS Video+ every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Emby versus DS Video+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmbyDS Video+
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (656 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews30.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings656 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.2
Further details — not scored
Size126 MB107 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEmby Media青龙 倪

Customer experience

Emby

All ratings654 ratings
Positive48.0%
Neutral7.5%
Negative44.5%
Written reviews452 reviews
Positive30.8%
Neutral12.2%
Negative57.1%

DS Video+

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Emby

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Playback errors
  • Inability to play certain file formats
  • Disconnection issues
  • Syncing problems
  • Crashes on launch
Show 2 more
  • 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 more
  • Faster server scanning/indexing
  • Better codec/format support

DS Video+

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Emby

Subscriptions1
  • Emby Premiere$6.991 Month
One-time1
  • Unlock Playback2 variants$4.99
None

DS Video+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Emby free?
Emby is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DS Video+ free?
DS Video+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Emby or DS Video+?
Emby is rated higher. Emby averages 3.1 out of 5 from 656 ratings, while DS Video+ averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Emby or DS Video+ have ads?
Neither Emby nor DS Video+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Emby or DS Video+?
Emby ships an update every 3 weeks, and DS Video+ every 11 months. Most recently, Emby was updated on October 21, 2026 and DS Video+ on October 1, 2026.

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