lankness 1 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 First off, I've been using WMC for years. It has been a good solution, I've been happy with it, my family can all use it, the babysitter can use it. It works. Well, it did. As we all know MS is slowly suffocating it. Aside from Windows 10 updates stripping it out, the sh!tst0rm of getting guide data...ugh. I'm done. I've tinkered with Emby for a few years (mostly this has been used to manage mkvs with Emby server). A few weeks ago I decided to take the plunge and completely switch over to using Emby server/Emby Theater and rip my WMC and extenders out. A new HTPC build, a few Chromecast Ultras, a few new Cat6 drops and I am up and running. For the most part, this has gone well, but there are some things that still need work. Pros: - Easy to set up - Device support - android, FireTv, Chromecast, etc. - MKV playback works flawlessly to Chromecast. FF, Rewind, all good. This was impossible with WMC and the Xbox extenders. - Interface is nice. I like the flow as it stands now more than WMC. I didn't think I'd ever say that as the WMC interface has always been solid from my family's perspective. Cons: - Live TV buffer, or lack of one. I'd like to rewind sports occasionally to rewatch a play outside of replays. - Remote support/nits (*more below). - Guide data and the ability to search. This works from the web interface, but does not from Theater. - Recordings - set keywords to find shows/record - No way my parents could use my system right now, babysitter either... I don't see going back to WMC. But I would love to see some tweaks to the Emby solution. I think the remote control is the biggest issue for me, so let me expand on this: - If Emby Theater is open, when I hit guide on the remote it should immediately give me the guide. As it sits there are several clicks to get to it. - In the guide, if I select/hit 'ok' on a show/channel that is currently playing, it should immediately start playing. The current screen that results should show up if 'info' is selected and let me take the option of recording/playing. - In the guide, I should be able to hit '6' '3' '3' and have the guide scroll to that channel. No number support sucks. - Similar to above, if I'm watching a show and know what channel I want, I should be able to hit '6' '3' '3' 'ok/enter' and playback should be switched to that channel - Previous channel. Being able to flip back and forth between 2 channels would be nice. Current X1 setups (and Uverse I believe) will show the previous several channels in a bar across the bottom. I don't need that many, just a quick back and forth would be enough. The nits with the remote control are the biggest problem in getting others to use the system. People grab the remote and it doesn't work how remotes should work in controlling the TV viewing experience. At this point in time I just leave a mouse/keyboard out... tl;dr; But, seriously, I'd love to help with this if I can. Maybe some of this is in plans, maybe none of it is on a roadmap. I did want to post my feedback though and offer any assistance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigjohns97 2 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 From the Live TV Suggestions thread https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/44802-live-tv-suggestions/?p=420179 FYI - you can jump directly to playback, skipping the details screen if you use the play command on the grid. This is Ctrl-Shift-P on the keyboard, or if using a Windows Media remote hit the Play button. This works in other parts of ET as well to skip the detail screen like to start a TV episode directly from the Next Up on the home screen or start a movie from the movie poster. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37094 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 @@denz, what does WMC do if you're on the guide and you click a program. Does it start playing or does it show a menu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lankness 1 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 WMC immediately plays if you hit enter/ok. If you hit info, it goes to the details menu that will show the synopsis/actions to take (record, record series)/other showings/etc. I can get screen caps if you'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asrequested Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 (edited) WMC immediately plays if you hit enter/ok. If you hit info, it goes to the details menu that will show the synopsis/actions to take (record, record series)/other showings/etc. I can get screen caps if you'd like.That sounds better. I'd like that. That would be like the Comcast X1 menu. That way we can still manage recording options, if we need to. But for those of us who don't use a remote, we would need an info button that we can click with a mouse. Edited February 17, 2017 by Doofus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14921 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 WMC immediately plays if you hit enter/ok. It is worth noting that WMC had a dedicated "record" button on the remote as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latchmor 584 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 (edited) Luke, I made a video/doc for you last year. You were probably swamped at the time. Anyway here they are. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BySCIuCBl669U0lLR19SWlg0ZlU/view?usp=sharing https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xaZ9cLB-YFc4zYgURHFoWwzEHrFwQW3OhYJT8idQQh8/edit?usp=sharing I haven't changed it since then so some of it is perhaps not relevant anymore. Edited February 17, 2017 by Latchmor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillout 85 Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 (edited) Like any big corporation, MS probably had a huge team working on the WMC interface. Its clean, functional, and efficient. Bill Gates went on Oprah to demonstrate how easy it is to use. Its so intuitive anyone can use it. Could it have been better? More features? Absolutely! But the bar has been set high for the people migrating from WMC to something new in the next few years. If Emby wants to capture those people, it would help to provide an alternative people are used to. Switch out the green button with the Emby logo to go back to the home screen. Emby theater is close to that experience but missing a few key features: #1. being able to record live tv while watching #2. adjustable live tv buffer #3. the user guide experience (speed to get to channels, guide overlay, +/- to change channels, seeing what shows are coming up) I think if a software could look, feel, and function like WMC it would attract a lot of attention in the WMC community. Throw in a few new cool features like Theater already does and it will be a home run. Lack of DRM support is an issue, but luckily only affects a minority of people and not all cable tv networks. Edited February 18, 2017 by Chillout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillout 85 Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 theater: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lankness 1 Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share Posted February 18, 2017 Agreed with the comments above. At one time MS worked hard on WMC, and it showed. I believe Emby has a really good chance to be just as clean/intuitive/user-friendly, hence the thread. Just let me know how I can help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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