Add media directly or via network paths?

[Mohamed Selim 19]

I have emby installed in the (same machine) that have the media files,these media files are shared via Smb, is it better to enter network paths (//server/media/music) or add them directly(d:/media/music) when creating a new library.What are the advantages and disadvanges in terms of compatibility, speed etc?

Edited October 19, 2017 by Mohamed Selim

[mastrmind11 717]

deleted (bad advice, wrong os)

Edited October 19, 2017 by mastrmind11

[dcook 265]

You should always use UNC path do not used mapped drives.

Mapped drives have a habit of disconnecting

[Swynol 375]

i thought that if the media was local on the same machine as emby server then use mapped drive approach.

 

if the media is on a separate machine/NAS and even if you have it as a mapped drive you should use UNC path.

 

Does this mean i am doing it wrong? what is the optimal way to do this?

[Swynol 375]

found this - https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Wiki/wiki/Library%20Setup

 

so i'm sort of wrong and right as long as i use optional network path.

[dcook 265]

You should never used mapped drives

 

If the media is on a NAS or stored on another machine use format \\machinename\share\

 

Mapped drives disconnect and Emby Dev's have always said not to use them.

Edited October 19, 2017 by dcook

[Swynol 375]

sorry i think we have our wires crossed. Mapped drive = a mapping to a remote machine or hard drive or nas.

 

what i meant was that local internal hard drives mounted to a drive letter. I've used this method for years without issue. But if there's a reason to use UNC paths i.e. something like faster data access, clients more likely to direct play over streaming/transcoding then I will change my setup.

[ebr 14903]

If the media is local to the server machine, use the actual path (drive letter) and then fill in the network path such that other machines can access it.

 

The above would not be a "mapped" drive but, just a normal drive reference.

 

dcook is correct that you should never use mapped drives - meaning a network location mapped to a drive letter.  This is very old technology and is not necessary for any modern system as you can use the actual network path instead.

[dee1 3]

I have emby installed in the (same machine) that have the media files,these media files are shared via Smb, is it better to enter network paths (//server/media/music) or add them directly(d:/media/music) when creating a new library.What are the advantages and disadvanges in terms of compatibility, speed etc?

My suggestion is to use the UNC so that devices that have no notion of mapped drives, smb, nfs etc.. can access the material without trans-coding if possible.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_(computing)#Uniform_Naming_Convention

I highly suggest for greatest flexibility to use UNC.   

 

there is a setting (Optional) Shared network folder:

 

Under Ubuntu I had to use the optional shared network folder after screwing around with read access and full create access as I was saving metadata in shared folders off of NAS.

But you certainly would opt for the UNC if it works and then use appropriate access rights for user's with read only (playback only) and Create (admin)

My syntax being as follows under ubuntu

smb://192.168.1.26/moviemirror0/films

nfs://192.168.1.26/moviemirror0/films/

 

and a simple 

UNC under windows which was much easier to manage.

\\WDMYCLOUD\films\films

 

Hope this helps, your mileage will vary

Oh in actual answer look at the NFO contents, something off of the local server can resolve the artwork and files easier.

The NFO is your friend, test with Kodi with and without the NFO out on shared network drives the artwork loads much faster with the NFO file set to something a client (fireTv can resolve)

Edited October 19, 2017 by dee1

[F1nchy 24]

Hi guys
I have a similar issue. 
Basically I have Emby on my QNap NAS but also have a Synology NAS that has my movie archive on it. There are a couple of folders on the Synology that I'd like Emby on the QNap to access as they're for my daughter, but I can't work out how to set the paths under the add folder option in Emby. 

I'm trying to add like this for both folder and (Optional) Shared network folder;
nfs://192.168.0.50/Movie Archive/Movie Archive/My Movie Archive/Animated (Family)

but it says the path cannot be found. 

Any ideas how I do it? 
Thanks

[Luke 37008]

Nfs is not natively supported. Try mounting that to a local share on your server machine , and then add that local share to emby.

[F1nchy 24]

I think I understand what you mean, not sure I'm doing it right though. There's an option in the QNap to mount a remore share so I've done that using cifs/smb, and that's showing the share in the file manager on the QNap, but when I try to add it in Emby I cant work out what to put in. I can't find it listed when I search for the folder in the Emby add folder media path bit. 

I'm using the guest account on DSM and have checked that the QNap can browse the folders so I know permissions are fine. Any idea what I need to put as the path and optional shared network path? 

Thanks

[F1nchy 24]

No, I can't get that working as I can't see that it shows the path of the mounted share as it doesn't show in the file manager in Emby. 

It's this page I'm stuck at;

 

192.168.0.50\Movie Archive\My Movie Archive\Animated (Family)

\\192.168.0.50\Movie Archive\My Movie Archive\Animated (Family)

//192.168.0.50/Movie Archive/My Movie Archive/Animated (Family)

guest@192.168.0.50\Movie Archive\My Movie Archive\Animated (Family) (guest is the account that has access to the share on DSM)

\\guest@192.168.0.50\Movie Archive\My Movie Archive\Animated (Family)

smb://192.168.0.50/Movie Archive/My Movie Archive/Animated (Family)

 

What should I be putting for the top line and the bottom?
Thanks

PS: Sorry image is huge, it wouldn't let me upload a smaller one when I tried to resize it!

Edited January 8, 2019 by F1nchy

[Luke 37008]

@@PenkethBoy do you have any QNAP network tips?

[PenkethBoy 2063]

@@finchy

 

what does the remote connection dialog settings you used look like - screen shot would help

[F1nchy 24]

Yes, thanks, it was this;

 

[PenkethBoy 2063]

so in Emby have you tried

 

/Movie Archive/My Movie Archive/Animated (Family)

[F1nchy 24]

Just tried it and that doesn't work either, and I can't find anything for Movie Archive when I browse the file struction on that page. 

On the QNap File Manager it shows the connected mount like this;

[PenkethBoy 2063]

if you browse via ssh can you find the Movie Archive mount that way?

 

@@Luke as this mount requires a user/pwd - is this affected by Emby only using anonymous access???

[PenkethBoy 2063]

Ok the mounted folder will be under

 

/mnt which you can browse to in the library setup dialog ... a couple of times to move up the tree

 

so /mnt/Movie Archive would be what you put in the Folder text box

[F1nchy 24]

I can't see it listed under /mnt

It looks like the remote mount option in QNap is pretty much only accessible by the File Manager app and not other apps, so it might not be so straight forward to access it from Emby on the QNap.

 

https://forum.qnap.com/viewtopic.php?f=121&t=146059&e=1&view=unread#unread

[PenkethBoy 2063]

Ok then - manually mount the Syno 

 

The QNAP forums have several posts on how to do it 

[F1nchy 24]

It looks a lot beyond my ability I'm afraid, probably end up ballsing it up!

 

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Luke 37008]

Please let us know how you get on. Thanks !

[F1nchy 24]

Thanks for trying to help guys. I've decided to move the movies to the QNap for now as a quick fix - the toddler they are for won't allow me much time to work out how to do it via CLI for now so I'll have to have a look into it when I find some time!