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Access rights and recommended container formats for streaming


embytestit

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embytestit

Hi,

I have two questions that I would appreciate an answer to:

Question #1

I have created a library football with the library path /path-to/emby/football.

In the directory /path-to/emby/football there are several subfolders /game1, /game2, ..., gameX.

Now I have given a user access rights to /path-to/emby/football, which automatically gives him access rights to all movies in the subdirectories.

Unfortunately there seems to be no easy way to share the library /path-to/emby/football for another user as well, but just NOT TO ALL the videos stored in his subdirectories /game1, game2 etc.

It seems that it is not possible to give this other user e.g. access to 100 football videos under /path-to/emby/football, but exclude e.g. the Superbowl. But that would mean that I would have to upload 100 videos again (redundantly) to another directory and assign them to a separate library because of a single video to which this user should not have access.

Is that correct?
 

Question #2

I read that you recommend mp4- and mkv-containers for avoiding on-the-fly transcoding of the emby server.

Why does it depend on the container?
I would have rather assumed that the CODEC is decisive here and consequently MOV containers with h264 etc. are just as usable as MP4 and MKV with h264 and the like.

 

Thanks in advance and kind regards
embytestit

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I read that you recommend mp4- and mkv-containers for avoiding on-the-fly transcoding of the emby server.

Why does it depend on the container?
I would have rather assumed that the CODEC is decisive here and consequently MOV containers with h264 etc. are just as usable as MP4 and MKV with h264 and the like.

To completely avoid conversions, it's both because every platform will have their own list of what is supported and what is not.

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pwhodges

(1) Upload the things you want to give different rights to into separate directories - then add all of those directories into one library.  All the stuff will be there together, but you will find that under user access you can limit access by directory within the library.  This is only possible when you add the directories separately.

(2) Codec is crucial, sure - but not all client devices will handle the MKV container.  Note, though, that Emby can repackage without re-encoding the content.

Paul

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embytestit
6 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, regarding permissions, have you taken a look at this: 

 

Thanks, but I didn't mean native OS file permissions, but accessibility to videos within a library!

Kind regards
embytestit

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embytestit
28 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

(1) Upload the things you want to give different rights to into separate directories - then add all of those directories into one library.  All the stuff will be there together, but you will find that under user access you can limit access by directory within the library.  This is only possible when you add the directories separately.

It would make much more sense if a library that has been assigned a specific path to a root directory - e.g. /usr/home/emby with 100 subdirectories /movie1, /movie2, ... later these would also be listed at PROFILE -> ACCESS -> LIBRARY ACCESS -> LIBRARIES to be able to define the access rights more finely. Currently you can only define that user XY can access the library under /usr/home/emby and its subdirectories or not.  In other words: He either gets access to ALL 100 videos in the above located subdirectories or not at all!

28 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

(2) Codec is crucial, sure - but not all client devices will handle the MKV container.  Note, though, that Emby can repackage without re-encoding the content.

Paul

Somewhere in the Knowledge Database it is pointed out that mp4 and mkv are best for streaming without transcoding.
But strangely MOV is not mentioned here. I wonder why MOV would be less suitable for this?

 

Kind regards

embytestit

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mov has pretty broad support, so in general I think you'll be fine with that, but it's still not quite as universally supported as mp4 and mkv.

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embytestit
1 hour ago, Luke said:

To completely avoid conversions, it's both because every platform will have their own list of what is supported and what is not.

Hi,

how can I find out which container/codecs avoid conversion under FreeBSD 13?

Thanks and regards
embytestit

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10 minutes ago, embytestit said:

Hi,

how can I find out which container/codecs avoid conversion under FreeBSD 13?

Thanks and regards
embytestit

It's not related to the platform the server is running on, but instead the app/device that you're playing media from.

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pwhodges
1 hour ago, embytestit said:

Currently you can only define that user XY can access the library under /usr/home/emby and its subdirectories or not.  In other words: He either gets access to ALL 100 videos in the above located subdirectories or not at all!

You're missing the point.  You can load your movies into a number of folders, e.g. MyMovies, JanesMovies, TedsMovies - as many as you like, and then when defining the library specify each of those folders in turn to be added to the library so that one library has multiple folders defined.  When you've done that, the user access page will show each of those folders that you've added to the library, and you can give access selectively. 

Paul

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pwhodges

Example of adding a second folder to a library (I pressed the (+) to add it:

image.jpeg.8708e07faf83859774284ab981eb7ac2.jpeg

Resulting effect on the access list for a user:

image.jpeg.47f79bce168f4dd9f5a3cbf89cbd838f.jpeg

HTH

Paul

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embytestit
45 minutes ago, Luke said:

It's not related to the platform the server is running on, but instead the app/device that you're playing media from.

Okay, I understand!

Currently it is Windows 10 (PC) so I guess that it should not be a problem.

Thanks!
embytestit

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embytestit
46 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

You're missing the point.  You can load your movies into a number of folders, e.g. MyMovies, JanesMovies, TedsMovies - as many as you like, and then when defining the library specify each of those folders in turn to be added to the library so that one library has multiple folders defined.  When you've done that, the user access page will show each of those folders that you've added to the library, and you can give access selectively. 

Paul

Hi Paul,

when I defined the library I had only TWO subfolders. Now THIRTY.
Thus the problem described by me arises logically only at a later time!

Kind regards
embytestit

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15 minutes ago, embytestit said:

Hi Paul,

when I defined the library I had only TWO subfolders. Now THIRTY.
Thus the problem described by me arises logically only at a later time!

Kind regards
embytestit

HI, why? Is it because you added 30 subfolders?

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embytestit

Hi,

the following screenshots illustrate what I mean.

/usr/home/vj/emby/videos is the library path for VIDEOS II.
The movies are located in subdirectories names PXYZ...

 

In screenshot #3 you can see that only the main folder can be selected but not the subdirectories in which the videos are stored.

Therefore it is not possible to assign differentiated access rights for a user.

Kind regards

embytestit

 

Screenshot #1

embyscrshot1.jpg.91ffcd7e1ec11407f5a739ec319e2856.jpg

 

Screenshot #2

embyscrshot2.jpg.434e004c8465d6c1e1e5d8dc595ff114.jpg

 

 

Screenshot #3

 

embyscrshot3.jpg.14f7039d2b8b3d339f7df47c6db29ff7.jpg

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pwhodges

Are you not free to rearrange the folders to enable what you want?

Paul

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GrimReaper
2 hours ago, embytestit said:

Hi,

the following screenshots illustrate what I mean.

/usr/home/vj/emby/videos is the library path for VIDEOS II.
The movies are located in subdirectories names PXYZ...

 

In screenshot #3 you can see that only the main folder can be selected but not the subdirectories in which the videos are stored.

Therefore it is not possible to assign differentiated access rights for a user.

Kind regards

embytestit

 

Screenshot #1

embyscrshot1.jpg.91ffcd7e1ec11407f5a739ec319e2856.jpg

 

Screenshot #2

embyscrshot2.jpg.434e004c8465d6c1e1e5d8dc595ff114.jpg

 

 

Screenshot #3

 

embyscrshot3.jpg.14f7039d2b8b3d339f7df47c6db29ff7.jpg

You should add those folders separately as library paths as @pwhodges suggested:

4 hours ago, pwhodges said:

Example of adding a second folder to a library (I pressed the (+) to add it:

image.jpeg.8708e07faf83859774284ab981eb7ac2.jpeg

Resulting effect on the access list for a user:

image.jpeg.47f79bce168f4dd9f5a3cbf89cbd838f.jpeg

HTH

Paul

You'd have full control then and it sholud take you whole of a 5 minutes to set that up and get your issues sorted. 

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embytestit
7 hours ago, GrimReaper said:

You'd have full control then and it sholud take you whole of a 5 minutes to set that up and get your issues sorted. 

5 Minutes for adding i. e. 1000 subdirecties?
Wouh! 😁

Kind regards
embytestit

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embytestit

Hi,

I wonder if we are possibly talking at cross purposes?


When I create a new library in emby with "new library", I have to define for it:

1. content type
2. display name
3. folder or several folders

If I have, to stay with my example above, a root directory /usr/home/vj/emby/videos, which does not contain any video files, but e.g. 1000 subfolders with one video file in each, these 1000 subfolders are automatically included by emby when scanning the libraries. Then 1000 movies are displayed. But for these 1000 movies you obviously can't grant or revoke specific access rights to a user, but either grant access for /usr/home/vj/emby/videos, so he can see ALL movies, or revoke access to /usr/home/vj/emby/videos, so he has no access at all to the 1000 movies.


Obviously, in emby one would have to assign 1000 directories to the library in question, as Paul suggested above, which of course would take a lot of effort and is not reasonable for a user.


Moreover, from a software-technological or -ergonomic point of view, it is not compatible with the principle of conformity to expectations that, on the one hand, the subdirectories of the root directory assigned to a library are automatically read in, and on the other hand, these read-in directories do not appear later at the point in the program where the access rights for a user are defined.


The whole thing would only be stringent if, when creating a library, you were forced to specify the desired subdirectories for a folder that itself contains no files.
If the concept is designed in such a way that from a root directory of e.g. 1000 subdirectories, which is assigned to a library, each subdirectory must be added individually, so that it is later selectable with user access permissions, the software should at least automatically determine during the creation of the library that 1000 subdirectories exist in the specified root directory and make them selectable/deselectable by means of "checkboxes", so that one does not have to assign MANUALLY 1000 subfolders to the library in all seriousness.

Kind regards

embytestit

 

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embytestit
11 hours ago, Luke said:

It's not related to the platform the server is running on, but instead the app/device that you're playing media from.

Hi Luke,

apparently this is probably not always true, because in my case described in this thread, I can play the file locally on my PC with Firefox without any problems.

 

Best regards

embytestit

 

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GrimReaper
11 hours ago, embytestit said:

when I defined the library I had only TWO subfolders. Now THIRTY.

1000 is sure not feasible, but for those thirty yeah, 5-10 mins, I have 27 in my TV Shows library (A-Z + #), it took as long to set those up as. 

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embytestit

The figures I have given are of a general nature.

And, of course, a library can grow larger and larger over time.

So consequently, such problems are to be determined independent of the real number of subdirectories of a user.


Kind regards
embytestit

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GrimReaper

I understand your request and actually find it reasonable, Emby reads and does know which subfolders exist under main library folder, might as well present at least that first level in Acccess tree, was just offering you solution for your current issues now rather to wait when/if it'll be implemented. 

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embytestit

Hello,

my detailed note was in no way meant to be derespectful and I also appreciate your note about adding manually.

I myself am professionally involved in software development and -evaluation, usability studies, etc., which is why I automatically think abstractly (i.e., for example: What happens if the user suddenly has 1000 subdirectories).

ad

Quote

"Emby reads and does know which subfolders exist under main library folder, might as well present at least that first level in Acccess tree"

This is an essential point: since this information about the subdirectories is available anyway, it should also be utilized in the best possible way in terms of functionality and conformity to user expectations and comfortability.

 

Kind regards
embytestit

Edited by embytestit
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pwhodges
2 hours ago, embytestit said:

Obviously, in emby one would have to assign 1000 directories to the library in question, as Paul suggested above, which of course would take a lot of effort and is not reasonable for a user.

Actually, I didn't suggest that.  I suggested grouping those thousand directories into folders containing movies which will require the same access, and adding those folders to the library.

Since the subdirectories in a normally-organised folder are the individual movies, showing them separately as GrimReaper suggested wouldn't provide the added value of the grouping.  Though I guess his idea is that if Emby can work out that there is a layer of folders between the main one and the movie folders, it could display that - but to my mind, for a one-time setup the saving of effort would be negligible on top of that of organising the folders anyway.

Paul

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