Emby Client Options

[saajan4u 79]

I'm just about to move house soon

and thinking ahead and planning to change my clients.

my question is

which client relies on transcoding and which doesnt

 

currently I have a roku2, chrome cast, firetv. and buch of android tablets and phones

 

all my rooms are wired connected to a netgear switch

 

main emby server is in a i7 machine which is in the living room, running W7MCEMBY..

 

I like how the living room set up is at the moment.

 

as for the other rooms

would it be best to get mini pc's which wont rely on transcoding

or have i completely got the wrong end of the stick?

Edited January 8, 2016 by saajan4u

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

All of your current clients will rely on transcoding to a degree unless you compress your content and make sure it is in MP4 containers with AAC stereo audio first. Even then, you will probably require minimal transcoding if you use subtitles that are not burnt into the video. However, the Roku will only process pass through high definition audio if the content is in an MKV container.

 

Unless your server is struggling, transcoding is not a bad thing. With an i7, it shouldn't be struggling.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Koleckai Silvestri

[saajan4u 79]

i'm thinking along the lines of a Nuc with the full blown emby theatre on them..

[AdrianW 1053]

i'm thinking along the lines of a Nuc with the full blown emby theatre on them..

 

I'm actually using a NUC for my server and EMC (possibly soon to be ET). If you can afford NUCs then I'd be tempted to go that way - no transcoding required, best video and audio always. But I'm sure there are cheaper options.

[legallink 187]

I've used Roku's and most of the clients that connect are Roku's, they are decent but require transcoding.  People love the FireTV's, but they require some transcoding.

 

I've switched to an Apple TV, which also requires transcoding, but I prefer it over the roku through airplay (and hopefully an AppleTV app)

 

I run an i5 2500k from a few years ago, and can support about 4 streams transcoding usually.

 

All content is MKV's uncompressed from DVD's and Blu-Rays

[gstuartj 39]

If you use Kodi with the Emby plugin (which works great, btw) it will do software decoding for practically any format you throw at it. Kodi can be sideloaded on your Fire TV.

[ebr 14960]

Our app on the Fire TV (not stick, but true FTV) shouldn't require much transcoding either - unless you have ISOs or folder rips.

[Spaceboy 2506]

Nuc with Kodi on for me, I actually want to use the android app on a nexus player but live tv still isn't quite there

[ebr 14960]

I actually want to use the android app on a nexus player but live tv still isn't quite there

 

How so...?

[Tharnax 49]

I've been using Nvidia Shield with EMBY for Kodi as all my .MKV DTS-HD files play perfect and quickly using this method.  I was a little concerned that DTS-HD audio would be transcoded or sent as PCM to the receiver but my Yamaha receiver recognizes each audio stream and plays it perfectly.  Of all the setups I've attempted, NUC, WMC for EMBY, EMBY Windows App, EMBY Android TV app, Amazon EMBY App for Fire TV, EMBY Roku app I'm finding Nvidia Shield with EMBY for Kodi works the most flawlessly for playback.  

 

For navigational purposes, all the device specific apps made by EMBY work best and I really like the EMBY Android TV app, when it works.  However, for pure playback and audio support Nvidia Shield with EMBY for Kodi works and works very well. 

[Spaceboy 2506]

How so...?

not the app directly I don't think, still struggling with getting direct streamed live and recorded tv. I can play live tv transcoded but not direct and recorded tv not at all.

 

http://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/16771-devdvblink-live-tv-plugin/page-17&do=findComment&comment=281968

Edited January 9, 2016 by Spaceboy

[ebr 14960]

I really like the EMBY Android TV app, when it works.

 

When doesn't it work?

[lulzyatlas 20]

I'd think the Nexus Player (sometimes on sale for $50 USD) would be the cheapest option that would transcode the least.

 

Haven't used Android Set Tops too extensively, or the NP for that matter, but on the Android based devices I've used for the time I did, anytime something direct-playable failed to play, using the external player option with MXPlayer or VLC resolved it.

 

Of course you lose out on some of the In-App Player features, however the Android standard client layout allows you to choose between external and internal player as soon as you play.

 

I can't think of any media I've encountered that didn't direct play on Android for a while, in the early detection models it would attempt some transcodes but lately things have been pretty smooth.

 

With the nature of stream formats it appears LiveTV transcode detection is a can of worms all its own, probably one you can only avoid with a NUC or similar client for now.

 

As far as set tops, I'd put the NP over the Roku personally, if not for Android updates, custom firmwares and flashed packages make it pretty scalable. (Emby Client doubling as a NAS, Home Automation, Backup Server, USB soundcards, Android TV's native HDHomerun guide & support, etc)

[ebr 14960]

Haven't used Android Set Tops too extensively, or the NP for that matter, but on the Android based devices I've used for the time I did, anytime something direct-playable failed to play, using the external player option with MXPlayer or VLC resolved it.

 

Our Android TV app doesn't have external player support but it has VLC built-in so it plays pretty much everything and you don't lose any in-app features.

 

 

With the nature of stream formats it appears LiveTV transcode detection is a can of worms all its own, probably one you can only avoid with a NUC or similar client for now.

 

With an HDHR and our internal Live TV support this seems to work very well.  I think the only issues are when using some of the other external Live TV providers and, I think, most of those can be conquered with the proper configuration.