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Access to Extras?


playloud

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playloud

I am returning to Emby WMC after nearly 2 years using exclusively Roku TV.

 

(The Roku app works very well, wife likes it, and even my 4-year old can quickly pick a show to watch.)

 

I have setup my home theater in the basement, using a Windows 7 PC.

 

I tried Emby Theater, and it works perfectly, but unfortunately it looks exactly like the Roku app with no customization of views and no themes (yet).

 

So I am trying WMC again, because I love customizing the views in each category (Detail, Coverflow, Thumb, Poster, etc).  

 

Thanks to the forum I have solved a few early issues by:

 

* Switching to the current Beta version

* Smoothing out some network sharing issues and adding UNC Paths on the server

* Installing LAV codecs

 

My current major obstacle is viewing my extras from each movie.  I have special features (documentaries, deleted scenes, etc) in a folder labeled "Extras" for each movie.  They can be accessed in Roku and Emby Theater.

 

I think when using Chocolate, there is a button to view the Extras. 

 

So, is access to these Extras solely dependent on the theme being used?

 

I think this is why I originally moved away from the Diamond Theme.  

 

Do any of the Throg Themes have this option?

 

View customization and access to my Extras would be a winning combo for me!

 

 

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So, is access to these Extras solely dependent on the theme being used?

 

Yes, as a "theme" in EMC is really an entire user interface.

 

 

Do any of the Throg Themes have this option?

 

I think they do but @@throgmorton can confirm.

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One2Go
Do any of the Throg Themes have this option?

 

View customization and access to my Extras would be a winning combo for me!

I am using Throg's themes for the sole reason of eye candy as well as the customization. Throg's themes can only display what the "Core" of the EMBY server sends to the theme, OR if he is willing to introduce a hack/workaround if the "Core" does not provide it. He did this for the displaying of the studios which was stopped by Emby. His hack for his themes allows now the display of studios.

 

As far as the Extras are concerned I am not 100% sure about this as I make use of the Extras in a different way. First I determine if the Extras are worth it. If they are then I rip the full Blu-ray and let PDVD play them back from EMC. Granted not as fast or as having them ripped separately but less hassle with artwork and metadata. For TV shows like Suits and Big Bang Theory I keep the Blu-rays of the seasons. For other shows I create a Season 0 folder for any extras.

 

For movies it gets trickier. I have never kept the main movie and extras in the same folder, for the few rare occasions that I have the main movie plus extras in separate folders, I create a top folder that has a sub folder for the movie and a folder that has the extras. However every now and then I run into difficulties when extras have different frame rates or formats as you can't combine them in a single MKV file without reencoding or audio format change. You may want to try and trick the system if that is possible and create a collection using the main movie plus the extras as a collection. On the EHS you can have the entry for collections. Granted not the same as the folder for the movie in the video wall that also contains the extras.

 

This discussion about extras has been discussed in great length try searching for BDMV folder playback and several other expert users voiced their opinions of keeping extras being worth it or not.

 

Bottom line for me since I like flexibility and customization I stick to what should be guaranteed for some time which is DVD and Blu-ray playback plus a must for me is nested folders. On a side note the detail page of Throg's Supremacy theme is without its equal.

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playloud

When I started using MediaBrowser, I was using DVD ISO's because I wanted the entire disc, including menus and extras.  When I started adding Blurays, I launched them through TMT, and that worked for a while.  There were headaches, and launching TMT was sometimes hit or miss.  Eventually I decided to go all .mkv including the extras in a separate folder.  I always keep the original ISO's as a backup in case I need to use a different format/setup someday.

 

This was a success and the wife loved the immediate play rather than waiting for the external program to launch, then the warning screens etc.  Then we had to figure out audio options (commentaries), and subtitles.  The Roku app makes these things very easy.  Emby Theater is the same, works perfect. 

 

It sounds like you and I share the desire for control over the views of every aspect of our experience, and that's why I'm giving WMC another try.  If Throg's themes can allow me to access my extras, and even better, give me a choice on how they display, I'm on board.

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One2Go

That answer about Throg's themes and extras can only be answered by @@throgmorton.

 

Just an observation on the external players. I use MPC-HT for all my content except DVDs & BDs because I have a projector and run madVR for native frame rate as well as the best renderer for my PJ and HTPC. However I run VIDEO_TS and BDMV folders rather then ISOs as that is an additional step of mounting. I used to use also TMT 5 but they went tits up because of licensing issues. Power DVD starts just like TMT except I never have had a miss as long as you have the correct Blu-ray folder structure even if the folders are empty. Paid $30 for a promotional offer for their version 17. I have no complaints because the player starts very quickly as it is called via a command line. You can get rid of the warning screens if you want to by placing identically numbered blank m2ts files into the Stream directory instead of the FBI warning shit or using AnyDVD enable prohibited operations and bypass some of the Disney preview crap. However this does require a BDMV folder structure rather then ISO>

 

I do run Windows 7 with WMC on an Intel NUC i-5 and it is fast and enjoyable. I used to run Media Browser 2.6.2.0 on a ten year old Intel Core Duo processor and it was slow compared to my present setup. I also understand the WAF which to me is also very important. To be honest in a home theater presentation, video walls intelligent feedback is important. For example on Throg's Supremacy detail page it lists all the actors. Once you press enter on any of the actors names it shows you what other movies the actor is in and if it is on the server a check mark appears next to it. Here is an idea of what Throg's themes look like on EMC:

 

EHS with the Movie library

5ca6cf32cfc14_WMC1.jpg

 

Video Wall of the Movie Library

5ca6cf5d17395_WMC2.jpg

 

Supremacy Detail page with media info

5ca6cf8629574_WMC3.jpg

 

Actors in the movie

5ca6cfaf670bc_WMC4.jpg

 

Actors details and other filmography

5ca6cfe7b5737_WMC5.jpg

 

Hope you get your Extras and setup sorted. To best of my knowledge besides the default theme Throg's themes are actively supported here which is always worth something.

Edited by One2Go
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playloud

Thanks for the feedback and screen shots. I have been playing around with the various themes and views.  I forgot how nice it is to have choices!

 

One thing I have come across, maybe it only matters to me:

 

Have you come across a way to have different views for each library at the same level?

 

In other words, "Movies" Library uses "Poster" view.  When I select a collection, I choose "Thumb" view.

 

Another library "Sports" uses "Poster" view.  When I click on a collection, I select "List" view.

 

When I go back "Movies" library, collections are now in "List" view.  If I change this to "Thumb", now my collections in "Sports" automatically switch to "Thumb".  Follow me?

 

Maybe I need to settle on one view style for ALL libraries at each level.

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One2Go

That is not the case with me and the Throgsoft themes I use. Each library can use a different initial view. For example for Animation, Movies, TV Shows, Documentaries and Music Videos I use as the initial view the Ascendancy Poster view because it gives me the best overall view for the many items I have in these libraries plus an initial view of highlighted item with all the vital statistics. Look at the second screen shot above.

 

On the other hand for small libraries like Bollywood which has just a few movies I use the Ascendancy List view. However I have settled on a few views that I use across the libraries. The final view that has the Play and Resume button on it I settled on Supremacy, third screen shot above. For TV Season view I settled on Ascendancy Thumb and for episode level it is Default strip. If I change the season level from one TV show to another it will do what you experienced. But for libraries I can select different initial views.

 

Some of my nested folders have trilogies and I use either Ascendancy or Iridium poster as they can have 3 posters per column. If I have many movies I use Ascendancy list. The flexibility that are built in with Throgmorton's themes is very appealing to me.

 

Hope you get your themes and extras sorted.

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throgmorton

I'm unsure exactly what "extras" are as I doubt I use them. If these are available in another WMC theme let me know so I can have a look. I would probably just need to see it in action and understand the setup structure to implement if it something that is readily available in core.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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playloud

By "Extras" I am just referring to special features from the DVD/Bluray, such as deleted scenes, documentaries, etc.  I have them ripped as individual mkv's in a folder called "Extras" for each movie.

 

Below are shots from the Xenon theme.  There is a button for "Specials" which brings up the contents of my "Extras" folder:

 

5caf768b273ee_Xenon1.jpg

 

 

5caf76b175c24_Xenon2.jpg

 

 

In Emby Theater, there is not a button, but they automatically show up under Cast & Crew:

 

5caf7ac7e004c_ET1.jpg

 

 

It's a separate topic, but since I'm posting screenshots....

 

The final piece of the puzzle for me would be the ability to pre-select audio track and subtitle.  Emby Theater and Roku got this right:

 

5caf7c4d81803_ET2.jpg

 

Of course I would also like the audio tracks to display the titles that I add in MKVToolNix, but I do not believe that is in the "Theme" arena.

 

Thanks for your inquiry.  I'm giving Emby WMC another shot purely for the visual appeal and customization.  Sounds like your themes might fit the bill.

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