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Emby Server 4.7 Release: Many New Features, Improvements and Fixes

Carlo

Entry posted by Carlo in Emby Server

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Emby Server 4.7 is Released with Many New Features, Improvements and Fixes

Emby Server 4.7 is starting to rollout to different platforms. It's packed with new features, improvements and fixes. We wanted to give you a Preview of some new functionality and changes to Live TV as well as bring to your attention possible post installation configuration changes that might be required.
 
If you currently use one of the following Live TV Plugins (NextPVR, MediaPortal, ServerWMC, TVHeadEnd, TVMosaic, Vu+, DVBLink or DVBViewer) you will need to reconfigure the plugin after it is updated following the 4.7 installation (the server checks for new plugins after a new install). As part of this process the guide will refresh.  Please let it completely finish before going to the next step.  Once the guide refresh is complete please go to Live TV menu and add a new tuner. You will see an entry for the plugin you are using. See Below:
 
Live TV has many new features as well as a new plugin framework. Our own internal tuners and guide have been moved into plugins using this new framework as well. Setting up a tuner for use in Emby thanks to the new framework allows for a unified architecture, simplifying tuner/source setup. Here's an example of the Add TV Source dialog showing a few of the different choices using the new plugins.
image.png.c0abc9fe750321871528be388fc454a1.png
Whenever you install a new Live TV Plugin an entry will appear on this dialog. All available tuner types are now managed from one central place simplifying setup and configuration. All tuner types now share a common set of features. This allows 3rd party plugins to work exactly the same as Emby provided sources. This is now possible thanks to a new TV framework Emby uses debuting in this release.  This new framework allows for simpler TV plugin creation as the server takes over responsibility of many functions previously needed at the plugin level.  This helps to prevent issues related to specific plugin code as Emby server can now handle streams in a very consistent manner regardless of source. This is a WIN/WIN for developers as well as users!
 
Emby Server 4.7 along with it's new TV plugin Framework includes new features and expanded functionality. Some of the highlights are:
 
 
Support for OTA ATSC 3.0 & 4K Live TV
If you have an ATSC 3.0 compatible tuner and live in a TV market currently broadcasting ATSC 3.0, Emby has everything you need to embrace this new technology. This includes new support for the proprietary AC-4 coded needed to decode audio streams.  Not only will you get a beautiful picture especially on 4K HDR channels, but awesome sound as well!

Cable Support for 4K Channels
Emby supports receiving 4K digital cable channels. All you need is a compatible tuner like the ever popular HDHomeRun Prime. Of course your provider needs to support 4K channel transmission and have this turned on for you account. Check your providers website for 4K support as many providers have this available, often at no additional cost.

4K Channel support is not limited to built in OTA and Cable tuners but is fully supported through all tuner types if the source itself support 4K.
 
Here's a great screenshot of a 4K SDR broadcast captured from an HDHomeRun Prime tuner:image.thumb.png.8cf3b5d5cb11763f155748a32ae6f842.png
 
Universal Closed Caption Support In All Emby Clients
Every Emby Client including web browsers fully support Closed Captions, not to be confused with subtitles. The Emby Transcoder is fully Closed Caption aware, so it doesn't matter how or where you play Live TV in Emby, it's now available if you require it.
image.png.1389c48334e32f0589573884fa627262.png

Manual Recordings Support
Another new addition to Emby is support for manual recordings regardless if you have guide information or not.  You can setup these recordings to use specific channels, set the starting start and end times, you can set the frequency of recordings (one and done or Recurring)  as well as specific days of the week. Of course you can personalize the title of the recording(s) as well.
 
You can setup a manual recording easily by clicking the the Create Recording button followed by choosing the Channel and Time option on the popup window.image.png.df26dc2988aff1e812ea72ee9214de34.png
You can then setup the manual recording criteria that will be used.
image.png.259569df27aaeefcb843f61ea45dbb9f.png
 
Here you see the custom recording already scheduled to record.
image.png.5d14a6fc2ab85df693ed3a094077c5d1.png
Multiple Channel Support for Series Recordings
You can now setup a single recording that can be used across specific multiple channels you choose.
image.png.4506118b1c529e9d48a8a73b6de57459.png
 
Emby also has adds new options to allow:
Support Negative Recording Padding Values
Enter a negative Number in the Start or End Options
Max Recording Length for Series Recordings
You can now set as a precaution a maximum duration that any recording can have. This shouldn't be needed but is there if you need it should you have a "fringe" reception channel that sometimes causes you grief with recordings.
image.png.49fb341f4041ee5890a8f5fe4436a256.png
 
All New Views in Live TV Recordings Tab
Emby now supports viewing your recordings just like other Movies or TV Shows libraries.
Explore this option on your own and you should feel right at home with it.
 
Server Dashboard Changes
The server dashboard has been reorganized a little to make it easy to quickly find information. It also adds additional information. 
image.png.bf6ca70c8509192784be3cff18df483a.png
Here you can quickly see 2 Active Recordings taking place on the Server.

Now Playing Dashboard
The Now Playing section on the Dashboard sports a lot of new information but is easier to view as well.
image.png.6bb6f54f2a2a51bc25058a2655455469.png
In the above picture you can quickly see Apollo 13 is Direct Playing the content as well as see additional information about the streams.
My Cousin Vinny on the other hand is Transcoding the Video while leaving the Audio untouched, but is sending this to the client using HLS.
The little graphics in the Video section following HEVC tell you it's using Hardware Transcoding. You can see the transcoder is Throttling (waiting) as it's producing 53fps which is more than what's needed at the time.

The new Now playing also sports new features such as being able to click on the video name (ie Apollo 13) and be taking directly to it's detail page. Same with clicking on the username or device type. It's very cool!
 
Improved Tab Design Used at the Top of Pages
Emby now uses an improved design for tabs whenever show on a page.
It's much easier to quickly see there are multiple tabs on the page with options and features.
It's also much easier to see which tab your currently using.
The new tab interface look follows your choice of theme information as well.

New Theme Options
Emby Server 4.7 gives you more control than ever over the look of your pages by allowing you more control over the theme options.
You now have separate theme and accent color options.
image.png.22bc4fb84389444700d84f3b48f0fab4.png
Want a strong all blue theme?
image.png.531fc184b26f211abe391581fc88750d.png
How about and easy to see dark theme with Pick Highlights?
image.png.2a42b4c5a7a9eeef93347a555f7786a9.png
You can also use a bit of imagination mixing different Theme, Setting Theme and Accent colors to achieve interesting results not possible previously.
image.png.d5f6beb5541f2eea13005a228b48ad72.png
 
Embedded Lyrics Support for Music Files
Emby now supports display of musical lyrics you provide.  This doesn't require modifying your actual music tracks but is done using a text file residing next to the track!
You can quickly and easily use a tool such as MediaHumon Lyrics Finder that makes quick work of adding Lyrics to your existing content.  Rescan your music library and have this:
image.thumb.png.704355143fa65648ec5c79fae539d1bd.png
This is a great new feature that's easy to implement, uses hardly any storage space (text files) and gives you great results! (first icon bottom left)
 
Audio now playing screen
The above picture shows one view of our new audio Now Playing Screens.  Here's another version of the same screen without the lyrics showing your current queue:
image.png.8ac0e14192c2b8b3f60459e027c84388.png
This view uses the middle button at the bottom between Lyrics and the cog/settings icon.
image.png.06f02cd3bf6d1b05f1ade46961a429d4.png
Clicking the last icon  (cog/settings) brings up a mini menu allowing you to change playback speed, Stats for Nerds or the ability to save your current queue as a playlist.
Without any of the options selected you can have a simpler viewer centered on the page like this:
image.png.f1d550208c49f9f9107b3127c352cd5d.png
 
You can get to these screens clicking the far right icon on the audio playback toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
image.png.7d7d01682079223eca8a0a707f90fc09.png
This new audio toolbar put everything you need right at your fingertips.  See the artist, album and song. Change volume, set repeat mode, pause, stop, change tracks or switch views as shown above. The toolbar stays at the bottom of the screen for music while allowing you to explore other parts of the system.  Very Nice!
image.png.e051810181a9e7c6a61f6f5c907b3d47.png
 
Audio Book Continue Listening
Emby supports continue listening to Audio Books.  The above screen shot shows the docked toolbar at the bottom of the screen while the top portion show a new option being set to display on the home screen to be able to quickly access and continue listening to audio files.

New On Screen Display (OSD) Features
Some of the new 4.7 OSD features have been shown recently in a couple Emby client blog posts using a preview release of 4.7. Some of the functionality of visual timelines and thumbnail graphics have been available in some form the past but now are fully unified in a cohesive manner that's very easy to use from a keyboard, mouse or remote.  It's very slick, adds new navigational functionality as well as additional information you had to quick playing in the past to access. You can see how much thought and care went into this design allowing it to work effortlessly across the different cleints.
Visual Timeline Showing Overlayed Chapter Information Done Through Keyboard Navigation
image.png.25a5df5589b7cd0a1a22c7d960d4b2e3.png
Info - Bottom-Left Menu Option
image.png.cf1c13e5f7f7b9ac0f0b669e0f807919.png
This will bring up information about the movies, show episode or TV channel you happen to be watching.
Chapters Menu
image.thumb.png.dae324ebef17ecbd6dcbebdd1711922a.png
This shows the next menu option displaying a list of embedded chapters including the Chapter name, the timeline it starts as well as of thumbnail from the start of the scene.
Cast & Crews
image.png.84b6d8f6798fb4085493168cd6aab7ed.png
How often have you watched something and wanted to know the actor or actresses name playing a part? Previously you had to exit playback to look this information up but now it's right here always available a click or two away. What a non-intrusive time saver this option is!
On Now
image.png.7930d125a7875dcb299458d750fd9fc4.png
You can quickly and easily see what's on TV using the two new views added to the OSD. The On Now view above uses the programs graphics if available (Emby Guide supports this) to show what's currently on each channel in your lineup.  You can easily scroll the list sideways to get a good look at everything currently being broadcast. The Guide showed below allows you to quickly see what's on a currently as well as what's coming on later.  It's not limited to what's shown but allows scrolling up and down channels as well as the timeline so you can see what's coming on 12 hours from now.  It's a fully functional Mini-Guide built right into the OSD.
image.thumb.png.cab90de32411a89b2878f7b740b42616.png
All of the OSD functions shown above work right over top the currently playing media allowing you access to a lot of new information with the least amount of disruption possible. Previously you probably got gripes and complaints from family members if you exited the media playback to get a look at the cast list to see the name of the actor. Now instead of having to wait to the end of the movie to see the cast list or catching wrath from the family, you can quickly view this information in a non-disruptive manner.
 
Having all this new information as well as new tools for easier navigation right at your fingertips during playback shows how much thought and design went into this new version. Emby sets the bar high for OSD functionality that others can't compare to.
 
More To Come!
We're excited to share how awesome Emby Server 4.7 release is. We plan to following up this blog post with additional posts in the coming days expanding on it's new features. A special thank you goes out to all the people that helped test the many beta versions along the way!  Inevitably with a monster release of this size there will likely be some issues we'll address with quick to follow maintenance releases. Please make sure to let us know in the community forum what you think of our new 4.7 release and any issues or questions you might have. Post Questions, Comments and Issues Here.
 

Other Improvements
Update to .NET Core 6.0
Update to ffmpeg 5.0
id3v2 parsing: Read full null separated list for text info frames
Add Log anonymization feature
Add now playing screen style options
Reduce port mapper network traffic
Add library option to control importing of playlist files
Add log file rotation option
Clean HLS segments during playback when disk space is low
Reduce sizes of server log files when debug logging is not enabled
Add subtitle download max age option
Add subtitle download option for forced subtitles only
Support comment tag as description for audio files
Preserve subtitle track language with conversion and download features
Safeguard against junk year values when probing audio files
Save writers as composers when probing audio files
Support a-z picker in descending order
Support a-z picker when sorting by album artist or album
Support reading roontracktag for music
Clear episode external ids when changing series display order in metadata editor
Improve deriving hw devices
Support Audio Book resume
Adjust for QSV changes in ffmpeg
Support HW Acceleration for (graphical) subtitle burn-in
Add subtitle background color and opacity options
Add logo as title display option
Add resume rewind playback option
Make context menu header texts clickable
Update TVDB plugin to newer TVDB API
Update multi-episode metadata fetching to work with all metadata providers
Add South African ratings
Improve camera upload error handling
Support convert feature with multi-select tool
Improve multi-version display names
Don't show video OSD on double tap skipping
Reworked Active Devices display into Now Playing
Improve audio book detail screen
Improve audio OSD
Improve efficiency of real-time monitor
Improve DSD audio support over DLNA
Minor adjustment of detail screen buttons
Display chapter name in seek thumbnail previews
Add channel name and channel number as DVR post processing command line arguments
Improve scan metadata folder scheduled task progress reporting
Improve performance of playlist detail screen
Add sort by track number option to folder views
Add Copy to Clipboard support in API Keys screen
Enable chapters for audio books
Update decision making for periodic refreshes
Support TCM as composer
Show full Chinese display name in track languages
Update top tab design to be more discoverable
Improve layouts with docked sidebar
Set DLNA Server to off by default
Allow for higher audio stream copy bitrate
Support subs and subtitles folder case-insensitive
Update album/song links with Included In section
Make DVR wake server optional on supported platforms
Set subtitle filename when downloading subtitle files to the browser
Always display sort title in the metadata editor
Make sort title lockable in the metadata editor
Add Italian ratings
Always record episodes when the option to check existing library is not selected
Adjust recording image save behavior for series episodes that are sports
Don't convert really large images to webp
Improve album Identify search results display
Support audio description and studio from copyright tag
Support wm/year and original year tags
Improve same subnet detection
Improve episode parsing with episode titles contain numbers
Add paths to log file for reference
Allow deleting albums and artists
Update folder queries to fix metadata manager sorting for albums
Log DX detection into main log if debug logging is enabled
Avoid resetting real-time monitor to parent folder when possible
Adjust continue watching query
Improve series grouping in mixed content
Remove rejection of large camera uploads to allow any file size
Support .mid audio files
Support sort_with embedded sort title for videos
Update sort by date last episode added to not be impacted by virtual episodes
Prevent split button on missing episode detail screen
Resolve performance issues associated with having large numbers of devices in the server database

Bug Fixes
Fix android database errors on deletion
Fix year not being parsed from movie folder name
Fix QuickSync HW overlay with tone mapping
Fix display of incorrect video format names
Fix Avoid detection of duplicate DX11VA devices
Fix regression bug with ASF when reading image attachments
Fix search displaying previously aired programs
Fix incorrect photo orientation in slideshows
Fix Roku playback failures with very long recordings
Fix Windows: restart scheduled task and DVR times when system time changes (daylight savings)
Fix QuickSync HW overlay with tone mapping
Fix CBR books sending wrong mime type
Fix DVD & Bluray folders not being hidden via .ignore files
Fix transcoding throttling not occurring with Chromecast
Fix classic image series extraction
Fix music album parsing error when album name is ()
Fix folder images getting replaced when not saving images in media folders
Fix identify feature with music videos
Fix episodes with season numbers greater than 200
Fix photo scanning getting stuck in a loop with certain files
Fix edge case closing of streams being left opened after stopping playback
Fix occasional display of incorrect video format names
Fix occasional duplicated Sign Out entry
Fix list view multi-select in FireFox
Fix hide from resume getting unhidden after adding a new episode
Fix local NFO ignoring date added value in certain cases
Fix for graphic subs burn-in with tone mapping on QSV
Fix scaling of wrong-sized graphical subtitles
Fix incorrect hw context indication for D3D11VA decoders
Fix av1 direct play
Fix album items being added to playlist alphabetically
Fix transcoding audio channel count with convert function
Fix artists inheriting genres from albums when they shouldn't
Fix sporadic cases of burned in subtitles not appearing
Fix detection of video stream vs. embedded image
Fix web app playback failures in cases of videos that played successfully with Emby Server 4.5
Various fixes with manual subtitle downloading for multi-version videos
Various fixes for Apple TV top shelf content
Various transcoding fixes
  • Like 16
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  • Thanks 4
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75 Comments

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mauriciomaurente

mauriciomaurente 2

Posted

Ansioso

rooser11

rooser11 8

Posted

good job - at the moment, the only thing i am really waiting for is "grey/light grey/dark grey" color options for subtitles on all emby clients.  for example, i dont have any grey color options in Android emby client and when I watch HDR contents, all of the font color options hurt my eyes, especially in dark movies like the Batman.  In any event, again, good job.

Locutus64

Locutus64 124

Posted

🥳🥳SIMPLY FANTASTIC🥳🥳

SirBomble

SirBomble 2

Posted

I can't help but notice the Hauppauge option in Live TV, how did you go about that? 

DarKni8

DarKni8 37

Posted

Dope, congrats @Lukeand emby team @cayars

  • Like 1
intel329

intel329 6

Posted

finally!

TaranTSR

TaranTSR 3

Posted

Perfect!, Such an improvement, Now all we need is the update to the Apple TV app!.

spongebob69

spongebob69 10

Posted

"Update TVDB plugin to newer TVDB API"
And still no alternative season order 👎

Carlo

Carlo 4543

Posted

14 hours ago, SirBomble said:

I can't help but notice the Hauppauge option in Live TV, how did you go about that? 

Hauppauge has been supported on Windows for a while now. It requires running Hauppauge's WinTV software at present but will be replaced with a new Hauppauge plugin in the future that is supported on all OSes as well as drop the need to have WinTV running.

Carlo

Carlo 4543

Posted

2 hours ago, spongebob69 said:

"Update TVDB plugin to newer TVDB API"
And still no alternative season order 👎

TVDB switched to a new API version (version 4) as well as new subscription model ($12/year per individual) that is no longer free to use. https://thetvdb.com/subscribe
One of the benefits of running Emby is that you do not need to have an individual subscription as this cost is picked up by Emby on your behalf and is transparent to you. It doesn't matter if you have Premier or not, we foot the bill for this access so all Emby Servers have access to TVDB.

The update mentioned above is the change needed to migrate from API version 3 to 4 that was needed as part of this process (old API is sunsetting).  It's my understanding that with the change in subscription models TVDB will be expanding the API over time making additional information available. As the API continues to grow and expand, Emby will be able to take advantage of it.

Hope that helps.

 

  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
SirBomble

SirBomble 2

Posted

2 hours ago, cayars said:

Hauppauge has been supported on Windows for a while now. It requires running Hauppauge's WinTV software at present but will be replaced with a new Hauppauge plugin in the future that is supported on all OSes as well as drop the need to have WinTV running.

Gotcha, any idea when we'll see the Hauppauge on all OSes? I'm currently hosting on a linux box.

toon

toon 3

Posted

my dvblink plugin is missing and i can install but it doesnt show in plugins to configure.

not showing in livetv providers

adrianwi

adrianwi 252

Posted

Just the update to .NET (for those platforms still running mono) would have been worth the wait.  Great work!

  • Thanks 1
GWTPqZp6b

GWTPqZp6b 49

Posted

congrats on shipping

  • Like 1
edvinmorales@hotmail.com

edvinmorales@hotmail.com 5

Posted

Not sure if its the new server release but i have to restart emby server every time i am away from home remotely, is becoming very inconvenient, anybody else having this issue?

spongebob69

spongebob69 10

Posted

15 hours ago, cayars said:

TVDB switched to a new API version (version 4) as well as new subscription model ($12/year per individual) that is no longer free to use. https://thetvdb.com/subscribe
One of the benefits of running Emby is that you do not need to have an individual subscription as this cost is picked up by Emby on your behalf and is transparent to you. It doesn't matter if you have Premier or not, we foot the bill for this access so all Emby Servers have access to TVDB.

The update mentioned above is the change needed to migrate from API version 3 to 4 that was needed as part of this process (old API is sunsetting).  It's my understanding that with the change in subscription models TVDB will be expanding the API over time making additional information available. As the API continues to grow and expand, Emby will be able to take advantage of it.

Hope that helps.

 

New TVDB api already supports new seasons order, need to add them to emby plugin, that is what I mention that is missing

  • Agree 1
cjlong45

cjlong45 17

Posted

still no toggle for adding collections etc to home library

Locutus64

Locutus64 124

Posted

1 hour ago, cjlong45 said:

still no toggle for adding collections etc to home library

?????????????

JsinFate

JsinFate 19

Posted

"Reduce port mapper network traffic"

Can someone please expand on this? Would this change have any affect on VPN use? Since this version I can no longer use the bypass VPN feature for Emby, all other applications work except Emby.

Carlo

Carlo 4543

Posted

6 hours ago, cjlong45 said:

still no toggle for adding collections etc to home library

What do you mean?  There's no meta-data provider for your home movies to make collections from but you can certainly add your home library items to any collection or playlist you want.

Carlo

Carlo 4543

Posted

2 hours ago, JsinFate said:

"Reduce port mapper network traffic"

Can someone please expand on this? Would this change have any affect on VPN use? Since this version I can no longer use the bypass VPN feature for Emby, all other applications work except Emby.

It used to try and open ports on your router very, very often and would "litter" the log files.  It's now much better in this regard.
However, if you have manually forwarded your ports for remote access and don't have UPnP turned on in your router (you probably shouldn't) then you don't even need the plugin loaded and can deinstall it.

I haven't seen a router with UPnP turned on my default in a few years.

JsinFate

JsinFate 19

Posted

45 minutes ago, cayars said:

It used to try and open ports on your router very, very often and would "litter" the log files.  It's now much better in this regard.
However, if you have manually forwarded your ports for remote access and don't have UPnP turned on in your router (you probably shouldn't) then you don't even need the plugin loaded and can deinstall it.

I haven't seen a router with UPnP turned on my default in a few years.

Thank you for the information. I have really been struggling with the new version being able to bypass my VPN. I have port forwarding set on my router but I didn't think to try uninstalling port mapper. Maybe this will help.

Thank you again.

visproduction

visproduction 250

Posted (edited)

Is there a button to restart the server somehwere?

Oh nevermind.  I see for Windows restart is in the bottom taskbar icon now.  I don't think it's in the dashboard anymore.

Update:  Restart is where it is suppose to be from an icon on the Dashboard main page.  Nothing's changed.  I didn't see it due to tweaking my CSS styles hid the icons.  This is not an issue.

Edited by visproduction
Locutus64

Locutus64 124

Posted

48 minutes ago, visproduction said:

Is there a button to restart the server somehwere?

Oh nevermind.  I see for Windows restart is in the bottom taskbar icon now.  I don't think it's in the dashboard anymore.

I hope that's not the case. I hate to think that something that should be buried in the setting was in plain sight on the taskbar.

panamakevin

panamakevin 4

Posted

Thank you for your continued hard work!  Been loving the new improvements so far!  

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