Which do you think is better plex or emby

[shawie60 0]

Hi, which Emby app do you feel is cluttered? The fire tv app? Or are you talking about the web app? Thanks.

it was the fire tv app, I'll try and get pics of both so you can see .. as I said I might not have configured it correctly ..  plays ok tho where at times I struggle with the plex app ..

[Luke 37071]

Thanks !

[Chyron 221]

Please provide more detailed feedback on where you feel their UI is more polished. We are happy to look at possible improvements. Thanks !

 

On the Android app, the My Media entries are oddly formatted.

 

"My Media (small)" is displayed in rows rather columns while in portrait mode, while also only using half the available space; "My Media" has thumbnails the size of... well, other thumbnails, so only one and a half entries can be seen onscreen at any one time. In either case it's not very polished.

 

[Luke 37071]

Ok sure, we'll look at those buttons, but that is an option that is off by default so it's not really indicative of out of box experience. thanks.

[TylerV76 84]

Ok sure, we'll look at those buttons, but that is an option that is off by default so it's not really indicative of out of box experience. thanks.

 

Please provide more detailed feedback on where you feel their UI is more polished. We are happy to look at possible improvements. Thanks !

 

 

 

Just for curiosity sake. What are the chances of a small redesign to the emby apps (Shiled, iOS, FireTV etc.), to sort of "clean things up"? I read the Plex forums to see if they are ever going to fix the bugs and Emby is always part of the discussion. Theres a particular thread "I think I'm done" where Emby is getting a TON of attention but the one comment that has come up most often is "Emby is not as polished in the UI area". 

 

I don't think it would take much to get the apps to feel a bit cleaner. My primary gripe is the size of thumbnails on the main screen and the amount of space they take. Beyond that, some of the colors used for selections etc. 

 

For example:

Plex thumbnail sizes

 

Emby Thumbnails

 

 

Thats probably the biggest issue with Emby I have. The thumbnails for Live TV and DVR are huge yet the ones for movies are perfect and much much smaller. If some of these images were smaller, more would fit on the screen and the screen would be less cluttered. I also wouldn't mind an option to hide the list of "what's on now" from the home screen. 

 

Beyond that, please give me a way to remove the green highlighting from the apps. Any other color, preferably one a bit more modern at least as a skin.

 

A UI upgrade will bring you guys so many more users. Just look on the Plex forums and you will see for yourself. 

Edited October 23, 2018 by TylerV76

[ebr 14913]

more would fit on the screen and the screen would be less cluttered.

 

In my mind - those two thoughts contradict each other...  How can less items be more "cluttered" (whatever that means...)?

 

BTW - you can actually read what those episodes are in Emby - not so much in Plex...

[TylerV76 84]

In my mind - those two thoughts contradict each other...  How can less items be more "cluttered" (whatever that means...)?

 

BTW - you can actually read what those episodes are in Emby - not so much in Plex...

 

 

 

Well, the movies section on the home screen looks much cleaner and less cluttered because the thumbnails are much smaller. Even though more items fit on the screen, it looks cleaner because they take up a smaller amount of space (Height Wise). It would create more blank space on the page giving it that cleaner look that users have referenced. 

 

I understand that with the large thumbnails you can see the episode name etc but for many, that doesn't matter. I would bet quite a few people never look at the title since its available on the next screen when you click play or play next. IMO, The home screen should be minimal and all the details should be on the following screen that holds all the detail. 

[TylerV76 84]

In my mind - those two thoughts contradict each other...  How can less items be more "cluttered" (whatever that means...)?

 

BTW - you can actually read what those episodes are in Emby - not so much in Plex...

 

 

This is what a few people have referenced over the past few months that I agree with:

 

If you remove the "On Now" section from the home screen and created a link like you did with Live TV guide, Recorded TV, Schedule, and Series, then you made the DVR thumbnails match the movie thumbnail sizes you would create that clean look that Plex has and many people are looking for. Even if you just did this as a "Minimalistic" skin, this would be exactly what is being discussed in this thread. It just cleans up the home screen and for many is a more pleasant appearance. 

 

With the ability to resize the thumbnails for categories up top, the main screen would be very symmetrical and clean looking. Less "off the page" scrolling is a good thing.

 

If I knew how I would be more than willing to help but this stuff is way above my skillset.

Edited October 23, 2018 by TylerV76

[Luke 37071]

You know that you can customize your home screen and remove on now, right?

[TylerV76 84]

You know that you can customize your home screen and remove on now, right?

 

 

In the Fire TV and Shield apps? I did not but I will start looking for how right now lol. 

 

Edit: I assume you mean by removing "Live TV" from the home screen. I use the 4 tabs for that religiously so I would prefer to keep that but not the "On Now" thumbnails.

Edited October 23, 2018 by TylerV76

[Hitsville 37]

Theres a particular thread "I think I'm done" where Emby is getting a TON of attention but the one comment that has come up most often is "Emby is not as polished in the UI area". 

 

 

Just to chime In here. As one of those who made the comment on that other sites forum about Emby having a less polished UI, I can say personally I was only referring to the server settings part. The clients are head and shoulders above Plex offerings, especially since their latest abomination of a UI.

[ebr 14913]

it looks cleaner because they take up a smaller amount of space (Height Wise).

 

FYI - the height of the thumbs and posters is identical.

 

Maybe the word "cluttered" is just a bad term because, to me, that means too many things such that it is hard to focus on any one of them.

[Carlo 4330]

When people talk about "polish" I'm sure this is web only and not any of the clients.

i too agree with this as well.  The web UI is all integrated with the same feel to it regardless of where you are.

You can change the size of posters/thumbs with a slider (top right) so it's always the perfect size for you.

 

Posters/thumbs are the same size through the web app unlike in Emby where they differ.

Plex's use of thumbs is only for episodes/videos and not for movies.  If a section is mixed content then posters are used.

While I haven't measured it a quick glance makes thumbs look the same size as posters just oriented differently.

There are no themes to use but the defaults work and are good for visually impaired people due to the contrast.

 

Some of the so called "polish" is being able to edit the meta-data from the front end itself.  Same for doing library scans. No need to access the dashboard.

In things like Now Playing you can see the timeline of what is being played using the Roku Bif files. You can also click on the now playing show/movie and it takes you to the video in question (both useful features).

 

From the front end you can see/monitor all activity going on such as scans, bif production, syncing, chapter creation, who's playing, etc and there are count indicators to show the number of each.

 

I think it's some of things things that are what people refer to as "polish".

[TylerV76 84]

FYI - the height of the thumbs and posters is identical.

 

Maybe the word "cluttered" is just a bad term because, to me, that means too many things such that it is hard to focus on any one of them.

 

 

I would agree, clutter isn't the right term. For my personal taste, I would like to see more items on screen by using smaller images. As it stands now I only see 3 DVR items but I see somewhere around 8 movies. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Emby and this UI thing is just an opinion. 

 

Is there a way for me to create my own skin for the client apps?

[TylerV76 84]

When people talk about "polish" I'm sure this is web only and not any of the clients.

 

 

Im referring strictly to client apps. 

[arrbee99 1560]

Also don't like those huge episode thumbs (though get your point about space for text, maybe it could roll when in focus). Really think if your going to use them, which I don't think I'm bothered about, they should cover the same area as movie posters.

 

Also, as I mentioned in another thread (or somewhere else in this one which I can't find), really don't like having posters and thumbs in the same row.

[VaporTrail 66]

Is there a way for me to create my own skin for the client apps?

 

Perhaps look into displaying your Emby library through Kodi. With the "Emby for Kodi" addon + "Embuary" skin, you have a few more design options. You can also contact the skin developer with UI design suggestions. They're active on the forum.

 

FWIW, @@Luke has stated he'd like to offer resizable poster thumbnails in future.

[TylerV76 84]

Perhaps look into displaying your Emby library through Kodi. With the "Emby for Kodi" addon + "Embuary" skin, you have a few more design options. You can also contact the skin developer with UI design suggestions. They're active on the forum.

 

FWIW, @@Luke has stated he'd like to offer resizable poster thumbnails in future.

thanks for the tip, Ill look into that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[shawie60 0]

Hi, which Emby app do you feel is cluttered? The fire tv app? Or are you talking about the web app? Thanks.

ive played some more and managed to get the layout looking better, for the top few rows .. then everything goes large and untidy. The icon sizes arnt consistant.

maybe ive not found how to configure all of it yet but Id thought it you set the layout in one place it would become default, and if im honest it took me a while to find out how .. again in plex I didnt need to.  maybe theres a manual/user guide I can find?

Another thing I didn't like was when adding libraries again you had to keep specifying which country etc. Surely it would be better to configure that in one place and have it apply for all? 

None of this was needed for Plex.  I also find it slow loading at the moment, but maybe thats due to the large library I have.

For instance on the browser dashboard it takes a good minute before the icons etc appear.

I also noticed in my library folders the images for films etc were there, again not so in plex. I think a lot of my problems may be down to configuration so im willing to persevre as I dont wish to be too critical.

generally it does steam a bit faster .. I just think the configuration layout etc needs work to make it easier to set up.

[Luke 37071]

What icon sizes are not consistent?

[KarlDag 25]

ive played some more and managed to get the layout looking better, for the top few rows .. then everything goes large and untidy. The icon sizes arnt consistant.

maybe ive not found how to configure all of it yet but Id thought it you set the layout in one place it would become default, and if im honest it took me a while to find out how .. again in plex I didnt need to. maybe theres a manual/user guide I can find?

Another thing I didn't like was when adding libraries again you had to keep specifying which country etc. Surely it would be better to configure that in one place and have it apply for all?

None of this was needed for Plex. I also find it slow loading at the moment, but maybe thats due to the large library I have.

For instance on the browser dashboard it takes a good minute before the icons etc appear.

I also noticed in my library folders the images for films etc were there, again not so in plex. I think a lot of my problems may be down to configuration so im willing to persevre as I dont wish to be too critical.

generally it does steam a bit faster .. I just think the configuration layout etc needs work to make it easier to set up.

Apparently loading speed will be much faster with the new server version that's currently in beta.

[Luke 37071]

Yes it will

[Guest wheatism]

So today my Plex Pass expired, and after being a solid Plex Pass user for over 5 years I am leaving Plex for Emby.

I "dabbled" with Emby a couple of years ago but it was just a bit too rough around the edges for me but now I have been really surprised to see the advances in just the last year.

Also, reading this thread from start to finish was an eye opener.... I mean the Devs actually responded!!! That never happens with Plex Forums. Forums are full of complaints about bugs with never any update...support is terrible.

Also Plex has lost it's way, or at least moved away from being a media server solution to trying to be everything to all people, and doesn't fix the basics.

So I have terabytes of data to move, movies, TV shows, music and photos, , and a server to rebuild from scratch and so I might be posting a lot over the coming weeks but I am now convinced this is the right move.

The killer for me was that the main selling point for Plex was it's polished client GUIs. When they moved away from library views they killed the possibility to easily manage dedicated libraries for kids, and the GUI is now a mess to use.

Hello Emby...I'm looking forward to migrating to your world

[ebr 14913]

Welcome!

[BillOatman 500]

I have used both.  They both have their pluses and minuses. Plex tended to be a bit more stable running and "polished" when it came to the configuration and server management.  Two big reasons I switched from Plex to Emby:

 

1) IPTV.  This is head and shoulders, at least, ahead of Plex.  Plex doesn't officially support IPTV and you have to use trickery to get it to work at all. And it is erratic at best.  In Emby it just works, until it doesn't (see stable comment above).  I have to restart the emby server  sometimes. But when it is working, which is most of the time, it works like a dream.

 

2) Support.  When you post something here with a question/problem that needs a developer, it does not take long until you hear from one.  I posted a bug last night at about 10pm my time about a server memory leak, and by the time I logged in this morning there were 2 responses, 1 from a developer.  In Plex land you are lucky to hear from a Plex employee at all ... ever ... much less within 12 hours.

 

I own lifetime passes to both.  But I haven't turned on my Plex server since I got Emby setup.

 

OK I lied, 3 reasons.  I have a Roku ultra in the bedroom that I use as a client sometimes (primary is a shield).  The Plex client for the Roku for live TV is god awful.  No grid guide yet, just the big squares.  The next version of it is due out by about years end I believe *still* doesn't have a grid guide.   The Emby client has, quite frankly a very attractive grid guide which on a Roku is impressive.  It is painfully slow to scroll between channels as I believe it is loading the data on the fly instead of preloading it, but it does work.  

Edited November 15, 2018 by BillOatman