Applications

You can enable or disable all QNAP Stations (Photo, Music, Multimedia, File, Download, and Surveillance Station) in Station Manager. We have already looked at these Stations in detail.


The control panel contains the Applications menu through which you can install and configure all available QNAP stations and applications. One of the most interesting ones is HybridDesk Station, which, briefly, is a platform onto which the famous Kodi (formerly known as XBMC) application and Chrome, along with other tools, can be installed for the ability browse the web or playback NAS multimedia content on a TV via the HDMI interface. This application will surely be of interest to home users since it makes multimedia players and HTPCs redundant. That said, HybridDesk Station can still be very useful in business environments since it makes locally accessing the administration interface without a client possible.

DLNA Media Server

Multimedia content on the NAS can be streamed to DLNA media players (e.g. TVs) if you enable the QNAP Media Server or TwonkyMedia DLNA Server option.

Transcode Management

This NAS can convert videos into different resolutions (240p, 360p, 480p, 720p and 1080p) pretty quickly because of the transcoding features its CPU supports. Video files can be converted through File Station, Photo Station, or Video Station, or into H.264 with the MP4 extension. Simply switch to the Transcoding Task tab to manage any tasks you create. The transcoding service is also enabled by default.

App Center

App Center is a managerial platform for installing add-ons to the NAS. Users can search for, install, remove, and update already installed apps. It is, in other words, like the App Store of Apple's iOS operating system. Applications are separated into categories. There are also lists of QNAP's selected applications and the recommendations QNAP makes. As you can see, the list of available applications is large, and you will find more after only a quick online search. However, you should only install applications that are already verified by QNAP to avoid complications. While the installation itself is automated, you can also manually install these application.

Video Station

Use Video Station to playback multimedia content, create a personal video website, or share videos on social networking sites.