What Path Is Emby Going Down?

[Heckler 147]

Logged into my media centre this evening, started MB Classic and was presented with the new PIN screen. and it prompted me to wonder on a few things

 

 

Where exactly is emby heading?

 

What level of online integration is going to be required in future?

 

Is this heading down a subscription route, where you can disable a persons access if they don't pay/renew?

 

 

I'll be honest... seeing that this evening worries me. I've been involved in software development in the past (not as a dev) and have seen some pretty horrible things go down and people get treated really badly. I've also seen occasions where a niche piece of software gets developed and gains a following... and development on it is halted, a new version is released with a hefty subscription charge.

 

I've seen the bad side and after seeing so much hard work and effort put in... I can certainly understand the need for the people who create it to try and earn something from their efforts... but my experiences make me extremely wary.

 

I'm not making any accusations here, I'm trying to point out that those experiences are what make me think the worse may be about to happen.. It's not my software and it's not my place to tell you what to do with it.

 

So I'm hoping the devs can let me, and everyone else know exactly what the plans are for the next year or two.

[Luke 37001]

i would suggest reading our literature on the Connect feature - there are wikis in this forum and on the website. As you will find out it is only an optional feature designed to enhance the Emby experience.

[aspdend 174]

Is there a roadmap for where the development is headed? 

 

Unless I am missing something, we have a lot of veiled references to the amount of work being undertaken on MBT, but no clear idea of actually what is in the pipeline - I appreciate that the development team know what's what - but as an end user and long time supporter of the product I use MBC daily but want to use MBT when I upgrade to Win 10, but what will happen to LiveTV/Recordings and Themes and so on and so forth...

[Heckler 147]

Good points @apsdend I too have been a user from back when it was called 'video browser'

 

When I found out that I would probably be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10... but that media centre was being discontinued. My thoughts immediately shifted to MBT... but with no clear idea of the how/why/what of it... I will be sticking with Windows 7 Pro 64 for the foreseeable future. That then prompts me to wonder if or how long it will be supported.  Once W10 comes out, will development shift to it's focus and how long before W7 is no longer supported and what will become of those still on it.

 

I'd love to know where MBT will be when W10 comes out... I'd like to make a smooth transition retaining the current look/feel of MB classic in MC with the EHS, Coverart and Subdued theme.

[techywarrior 688]

MS support for Win7 lasts until like 2020 so you don't have to worry about support of the OS and WMC (not that WMC has had much support in the last 5-7 years).

 

I too am eagerly awaiting the rebuild of MBT. Of course then I need to transition away from ServerWMC/WMC to one of the other Live TV backends but that is a separate issue.

 

Hopefully MBT will get a lot more Luke love once the new iOS/Android app is released. I know that is a major focus right now because of how out of date the iOS app is and that both the iOS and Android developers of the original apps are no longer around. On Windows there are more options so it seems less important. I personally believe that MBT should have been the flagship client but that ship has long since sailed.

 

Once the new MBT is finally released it will still take some time for themes to come out. And even then, since the themes are completely different, you may not get "subdued" but hopefully at least a few theme options with some nice variety like we had for MB2/MBC/Emby Classic in the past.

[gstuartj 39]

I don't use and probably never will use features like Emby Connect. As long as it isn't a hard requirement (which I don't see happening) I don't think it's an issue, and it provides a lot of utility for the average user. I was hesistant when the subscription model was added, but the Emby team is handling it well. Subscription perks are truly "extras," not cannabalized features that should be part of the core. I think they're monetizing it in a much better and more fair way than some other open source projects have recently, and on a project this big, with no third-party sponsorship, the team does deserve some compensation so development continues at the pace we've enjoyed.

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

Their primary competition is Plex. So see where PLEX is and Emby will follow.

 

Plex Servers - Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD, Synology, Netgear, QNAP, unRaid, Drobo, asustar, Thecus, Seagate, WD. These come in Intel, ARM, and PowerPC models as needed.

Emby Servers - Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD, FreeNAS, Open Media Vault, Synology.

 

Emby needs to catch up in the NAS arena here.

---

Plex Mobile Clients - Android, Kindle, Ouya, iOS, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8

Emby Mobile Clients - Android, Kindle, iOS, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8. 

 

Pretty comparable here. I don't think Ouya is a viable long term platform.

---

Plex TV/Console/Set Top Clients - Xbox, Playstation, Chromecast, Amazon FireTV, Roku, Android TV, Samsung, Vizio, Opera TV

Emby TV/Console/Set Top Clients - Chromecast, Amazon FireTV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox 360, Samsung

 

Emby is a little behind here.

---

Plex 10' HTPC Experience - Plex Home Theater (based off XMBC 12 or something like that), available for Windows, Mac and Linux

Emby 10' HTPC Experience - Windows Media Center (Windows), Emby Theater (Windows), Kodi embed (Windows, Mac and Linux)

 

Emby is ahead here currently.

 

Both have good web browser clients and management tools.

 

The biggest difference though is that Plex costs more than twice as much for a lifetime pass and has a larger development team with people working on it full time.

 

I would like to see a revamped Theater. Hopefully one day. Have been waiting for it over a year. We'll see. Only real way to make it happen faster is to pay people's salaries though. That is one of the drawbacks about open source software. One still has to put food on the table and if no one else helps with the development then it can become stagnant.

[Heckler 147]

MS support for Win7 lasts until like 2020 so you don't have to worry about support of the OS and WMC (not that WMC has had much support in the last 5-7 years).

 

I too am eagerly awaiting the rebuild of MBT. Of course then I need to transition away from ServerWMC/WMC to one of the other Live TV backends but that is a separate issue.

 

Hopefully MBT will get a lot more Luke love once the new iOS/Android app is released. I know that is a major focus right now because of how out of date the iOS app is and that both the iOS and Android developers of the original apps are no longer around. On Windows there are more options so it seems less important. I personally believe that MBT should have been the flagship client but that ship has long since sailed.

 

Once the new MBT is finally released it will still take some time for themes to come out. And even then, since the themes are completely different, you may not get "subdued" but hopefully at least a few theme options with some nice variety like we had for MB2/MBC/Emby Classic in the past.

 

I meant support for emby not windows itself... They dropped support for Vista long before MS did... My concern is that W7 will be the same and not every one will be able to upgrade to a new version of windows... Hell, the only reason I wold upgrade is down to the free upgrade offer from MS itself. I see no reason otherwise because 7 works so well... and without a replacement to use with W10... I won't upgrade my main mediaserver as it's also my main viewing system.

Edited May 29, 2015 by Heckler

[ebr 14903]

https://youtu.be/gEPmA3USJdI?t=46s 

[shaefurr 1337]

I'd love for the revamped MBT to be released soon, but sadly at its current rate of progress its still just too far off. Until more devs jump on it I doubt it will be released anytime soon. Maybe a beta sometime but nothing beyond that as its current state is basically only browse/playback. But as already mentioned, there are other good working windows clients to use in the meantime, the Kodi addon has actually come a long way in a short time. I have no doubt though MBT will be an amazing client when it is finished, but will it be out by the time Windows 10 drops this summer? Highly doubt it unless they're cranking away on it in secret without telling anyone.

 

I think thats my only real problem with the MBT overhaul, not that its taking a long while to finish, but there's very little news about its progress.

[xnappo 1593]

Plex 10' HTPC Experience - Plex Home Theater (based off XMBC 12 or something like that), available for Windows, Mac and Linux

Emby 10' HTPC Experience - Windows Media Center (Windows), Emby Theater (Windows), Kodi embed (Windows, Mac and Linux)

 

Emby is ahead here currently.

 

Both have good web browser clients and management tools.

 

The biggest difference though is that Plex costs more than twice as much for a lifetime pass and has a larger development team with people working on it full time.

 

I would like to see a revamped Theater. Hopefully one day. Have been waiting for it over a year. We'll see. Only real way to make it happen faster is to pay people's salaries though. That is one of the drawbacks about open source software. One still has to put food on the table and if no one else helps with the development then it can become stagnant.

Our new Kodi solution kicks their butt.

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

Our new Kodi solution kicks their butt.

 

From what I have seen it is good. Unfortunately, Kodi doesn't work well with a keyboard, mouse combination. Good at the 10' experience but weak on smaller screens. Though I realize that this isn't your fault.  

 

Hoping the new Theater works on smaller screens with a keyboard and mouse as well as the web client does.

[shaefurr 1337]

I thought the whole point of MBT was to be a 10' client like Kodi, why would you want to use it up close with keyboard/mouse? (just curious as I always see people saying that) The windows 8 app works great with keyboard/mouse though.

[badaas 139]

Their primary competition is Plex. So see where PLEX is and Emby will follow.

 

Plex Servers - Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD, Synology, Netgear, QNAP, unRaid, Drobo, asustar, Thecus, Seagate, WD. These come in Intel, ARM, and PowerPC models as needed.

Emby Servers - Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD, FreeNAS, Open Media Vault, Synology.

 

Emby needs to catch up in the NAS arena here.

---

Plex Mobile Clients - Android, Kindle, Ouya, iOS, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8

Emby Mobile Clients - Android, Kindle, iOS, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8. 

 

Pretty comparable here. I don't think Ouya is a viable long term platform.

---

Plex TV/Console/Set Top Clients - Xbox, Playstation, Chromecast, Amazon FireTV, Roku, Android TV, Samsung, Vizio, Opera TV

Emby TV/Console/Set Top Clients - Chromecast, Amazon FireTV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox 360, Samsung

 

Emby is a little behind here.

---

Plex 10' HTPC Experience - Plex Home Theater (based off XMBC 12 or something like that), available for Windows, Mac and Linux

Emby 10' HTPC Experience - Windows Media Center (Windows), Emby Theater (Windows), Kodi embed (Windows, Mac and Linux)

 

Emby is ahead here currently.

 

Both have good web browser clients and management tools.

 

The biggest difference though is that Plex costs more than twice as much for a lifetime pass and has a larger development team with people working on it full time.

 

I would like to see a revamped Theater. Hopefully one day. Have been waiting for it over a year. We'll see. Only real way to make it happen faster is to pay people's salaries though. That is one of the drawbacks about open source software. One still has to put food on the table and if no one else helps with the development then it can become stagnant.

Plex NAS support is getting stale, as a lot can't transcode [not enough power] unless you pay $$$

Their new music extras for instance isn't compatible with FreeBSD [although the Gracenote integration is poor imho, especially for a wider taste in music, ie. not Pop/Current/AOR]

The XBOne client is woeful, as is the PS3 client, and only available for paid subscribers [a lot of moaning is cleverly hidden behind closed Plex Pass forums which the general public can't see]

The Samsung app is developed for free by a non employed person [but for some very stupid reason he donated the code to Plex should anything happen to him and still works on it for gratis - go figure]

There are about 42 employees at Plex, I'd say about 15-20 are top level management [read speak waffle etc]

There are 2 devs for PHT, 1 skinner. One of the devs is also dev for PMS [their average bugfix turnaround is 1-2 years - no kidding; plus then they break something and leave that for another year]

Plex is only ahead by advertising and fundraising [having just raised $10 million from a venture capital firm - with the said promise of better music integration due to this investment; which failed to impress after them spending 6+ months working on it and ignoring all other bugs/top requests/better integration of existing mechanisms into already avialable apps]

 

 

I just spent 9 months getting to grips with Plex, only to realise once you scratch the surface, everything falls apart. I left because of this and because after a while you know you're just a cog in their machine, which seems to be largely based at the moment on reselling you free content off the internet with plugins cobbled and stolen from Kodi and others. Of course, this is my own humble opinion, and maybe slightly obsessive! Hehe

Edited May 30, 2015 by badaas

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

I thought the whole point of MBT was to be a 10' client like Kodi, why would you want to use it up close with keyboard/mouse? (just curious as I always see people saying that) The windows 8 app works great with keyboard/mouse though.

Monitors in the 20-30 inch range are more prevalent than televisions. They are designed to be used from about 30 inches away, not 10 feet. Remotes are clumsier than using a mouse and keyboard. In today's world both should be accounted for. Television sales are actually going down as Millennials work more with PCs and tablets. Two of my children don't even have televisions but use their laptops to watch media.

 

Have never been able to get the Windows 8 client to work on my machine so I don't know its capabilities. 

Edited May 30, 2015 by Koleckai Silvestri

[Deathsquirrel 741]

I'm eager to see the new mbt.  Kodi is absolutely unacceptable for reasons that have nothing to do with Emby and WMC is not a great platform if you only use Emby.  Theater is the only shot I have at making a HTPC a usable experience in this house.

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

I just spent 9 months getting to grips with Plex, only to realise once you scratch the surface, everything falls apart. I left because of this and because after a while you know you're just a cog in their machine, which seems to be largely based at the moment on reselling you free content off the internet with plugins cobbled and stolen from Kodi and others. Of course, this is my own humble opinion, and maybe slightly obsessive! Hehe

 

Thanks but I actually don't care much about Plex. However I did use it for months before using Media Browser / Emby. Kodi before that. However that is what Emby is following.

[xnappo 1593]

Monitors in the 20-30 inch range are more prevalent than televisions. They are designed to be used from about 30 inches away, not 10 feet. Remotes are clumsier than using a mouse and keyboard. In today's world both should be accounted for. Television sales are actually going down as Millennials work more with PCs and tablets. Two of my children don't even have televisions but use their laptops to watch media.

 

Have never been able to get the Windows 8 client to work on my machine so I don't know its capabilities. 

Try one of the Kodi touch interface skins.

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

Try one of the Kodi touch interface skins.

Not using a touch device. 

 

I am currently using a Windows 10 machine with three monitors. No touch pad. Just a gaming keyboard and 8 button mouse. My other machines are Windows 7 and accessed via TeamViewer

Edited May 30, 2015 by Koleckai Silvestri

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

Oh well.. it doesn't matter. One day someone will realize that there are more desktop and laptop computers in North American and European homes than televisions. They will create a native media player designed for the input devices on those computers and the world will rejoice.

 

Last year Apple sold over 20 Million Macintoshes. They've only sold 20 million Apple TVs since it was released. Apple isn't even a big player in the desktop and laptop industry compared to others. At least not by volume.

Edited May 30, 2015 by Koleckai Silvestri

[Luke 37001]

I think for use with a mouse it doesn't really matter what technology is used. A web interface could be perfect if it's not compromising too much in order to support mobile form factors. Of course there is also format support in the browser, but I predict that won't be an issue for too much longer.

 

Anyway I can look at desktop specific enhancements so please by all means make suggestions. I saw the spotify screenshot you showed the other day with the two sidebars and that has been very much in my thoughts.

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

Anyway I can look at desktop specific enhancements so please by all means make suggestions. I saw the spotify screenshot you showed the other day with the two sidebars and that has been very much in my thoughts.

 

That was actually the Music Player that will be in Windows 10. It will replace Xbox Music. However it does look like the Spotify interface.

 

In Theater:

Look at the mouse controls. If I tilt my scroll wheel left, I should scroll towards the left of the screen. If I tilt it right, I should scroll to the right of the screen. Theater doesn't do this. It doesn't scroll with the mouse wheel at all. Just moving the mouse left and right does present jerky scrolling but it is hard to get to the item you want.

 

If you use the keyboard there is no way to leave a library. That is no way to get back up to the back button in the top left corner. Have to use the mouse to go back. Arrow keys won't do it.  When looking at a long list of items, pressing a letter key should take you to items starting with that letter. It doesn't. There aren't even letters to select from on the screen so you can use the mouse. 

 

Just a lot of little things that are overlooked.

[Luke 37001]

That was actually the Music Player that will be in Windows 10. It will replace Xbox Music. However it does look like the Spotify interface.

 

In Theater:

Look at the mouse controls. If I tilt my scroll wheel left, I should scroll towards the left of the screen. If I tilt it right, I should scroll to the right of the screen. Theater doesn't do this. It doesn't scroll with the mouse wheel at all. Just moving the mouse left and right does present jerky scrolling but it is hard to get to the item you want.

 

If you use the keyboard there is no way to leave a library. That is no way to get back up to the back button in the top left corner. Have to use the mouse to go back. Arrow keys won't do it.  When looking at a long list of items, pressing a letter key should take you to items starting with that letter. It doesn't. There aren't even letters to select from on the screen so you can use the mouse. 

 

Just a lot of little things that are overlooked.

 

what do you like about that screenshot that made you post it?

[Deathsquirrel 741]

I'm looking for an interface that makes scrolling through large libraries with a remote control easier and couldn't possibly care less about mouse and keyboard control.  That and stability is all I'm after at this point.

 

I don't envy the dev team with such wildly disparate requests.

[Deathsquirrel 741]

To the OP's point though, I really think it could be beneficial to have a brief overview of what's being worked on in the short and longer term for the various client and server projects.  Not a detailed roadmap, but a few bullet points summing up what's active and planned couldn't hurt.