mandj 0 Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Ok, first things first, I am not intentionally here to bash either Plex or Emby, I am just looking for guidance... I started out with Emby many years ago and bought the lifetime pass when it was first available.... Due to various bugs & unreliability I thought I would try Plex and to be honest I have used Plex for about 3-4 years and been quite happy but for the last year or so Plex has become dated and several issues are being ignored by the devs and the community has become quite disgruntled especially with Live TV problems. A few days ago I thought I would give Emby another crack as it has been some time! Personally I WANT TO USE EMBY! that is my preference but I am still struggling with a few issues that are critical due to my Wife! Watching a Live TV Show that is recording is paramount (This is where Plex has had an issue for over a year now) but here are my findings with Emby. I have 4 LG TV's in the house and 1 Sony Android TV. The Sony Android works perfectly but the 3 LG's cannot seek forward or backwards when watching a program currently being recorded so I bought a raspberry pi 4 to try to overcome that issue on the main living room tv. I loaded the pi with the latest Emby Theater Image uploaded yesterday which is fantastic! it is slick, fast but same problem on seeking a currently recorded program + it does not play 4K Movies (5 FPS for some reason) and also the screen goes black whenever you press a button or move the mouse I thought I would try Windows Emby Theatre (Windows 10, I7 8700K with 128GB RAM & NVME) but this took over a minute to start playing a movie (spinning circle) and watching a currently recording program just showed a forever spinning circle I Dug out an old Mini8 Octocore Android Box and Success! everything works as it should, I can seek a currently recording program and everything else works perfectly as it should. so! What is the crack with the LG Apps & Emby Theatre? is this something that can be fixed soon or do I need to go and buy Android Boxes for all the TV's to stay with Emby? If anyone has any similar experiences or a perfectly working alternative solution I would really appreciate you chiming in! Many Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrbee99 1551 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Pointless ordinary user comments - Might be worth just trying out a 4K Fire TV Stick. Pity you missed Amazons sale. Could possibly try getting your TV to Emby via a plugin, like NextPVR. Doubt it'll make any difference, but has the advantage of being free. Not having an LG TV, am assuming there isn't some setting you might possibly have missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 Hi, Thanks for the info! I have an HD Homerun, ZGemma Dual Satellite and an IPTV Account, so 3 different inputs into Emby all have the same problem on all 3 of my LG TV's Apps, Raspberry Pi & Emby Theatre, I forgot to mention earlier that Chrome & Edge work perfectly as well as the Android Box. Not sure that an Amazon stick would be better/different to the Android box I am using? (Unless you know something I don't?) I am sure I have a Firestick kicking around somewhere so I will look in the morning. The problems are with the clients for sure but pretty frustrating that the LG App and Raspberry Pi 4 don't work. I will almost certainly have to get some more Android Boxes or Firesticks to get around the problem with Live TV if I stick with Emby. Have you any personal experience with the Firestick? Many Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkss12 295 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Why don't you take that mini 8 Android box, and slap LibreELEC on it. Use the Embuary skin, and tvheadend for your live and recorded TV shows. Use the free zap2it guide data for the tvheadend server running on the same device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrbee99 1551 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Hi, Thanks for the info! I have an HD Homerun, ZGemma Dual Satellite and an IPTV Account, so 3 different inputs into Emby all have the same problem on all 3 of my LG TV's Apps, Raspberry Pi & Emby Theatre, I forgot to mention earlier that Chrome & Edge work perfectly as well as the Android Box. Not sure that an Amazon stick would be better/different to the Android box I am using? (Unless you know something I don't?) I am sure I have a Firestick kicking around somewhere so I will look in the morning. The problems are with the clients for sure but pretty frustrating that the LG App and Raspberry Pi 4 don't work. I will almost certainly have to get some more Android Boxes or Firesticks to get around the problem with Live TV if I stick with Emby. Have you any personal experience with the Firestick? Many Thanks! Not with the Firestick, two of the older 2nd gen boxes and a Shield and they work fine, but thats because I only have access to dvb-s tv and am not into sport or pausing live TV. Just mentioned as it probably comes under the 'cheapest alternative that might work but you haven't wasted too much money if it doesn't' category. Your existing Android box sounds like its fine, just another reason for mentioning firestick was seems to come out well under the bang for buck category and might, possibly, just speculating, get better support from Emby being a more well known, possibly more official Android device. Pi 4 might get better, who knows, early days after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) Why don't you take that mini 8 Android box, and slap LibreELEC on it. Use the Embuary skin, and tvheadend for your live and recorded TV shows. Use the free zap2it guide data for the tvheadend server running on the same device. The mini m8 ii box is the only client I can get working for a TV, would this option allow me to watch currently recording programs and seek back & forward as well? Not with the Firestick, two of the older 2nd gen boxes and a Shield and they work fine, but thats because I only have access to dvb-s tv and am not into sport or pausing live TV. Just mentioned as it probably comes under the 'cheapest alternative that might work but you haven't wasted too much money if it doesn't' category. Your existing Android box sounds like its fine, just another reason for mentioning firestick was seems to come out well under the bang for buck category and might, possibly, just speculating, get better support from Emby being a more well known, possibly more official Android device. Pi 4 might get better, who knows, early days after all. The problems with the Pi 4 also exist for the older 1,2,3 pi's as well so it is not isolated to the pi 4. If anyone can chime in that has a working client that will allow me to watch currently recording programs and seek back & forward I would love to know! Thank you Edited July 20, 2019 by mandj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Droid 634 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 These work: Nvidia Shield TV Xiaomi Mi Box Firestick (gen2), newer version should be even better. Might work: Chromecast - the playback features work but my gen1 can't handle the MPEG2-TS format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kikinjo 162 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Firestick & Tivimate app, working flawless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 These work: Nvidia Shield TV Xiaomi Mi Box Firestick (gen2), newer version should be even better. Might work: Chromecast - the playback features work but my gen1 can't handle the MPEG2-TS format. Hi. Thanks for the reply, Does the Chromecast need a phone to work or can you install Emby as an app? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 Firestick & Tivimate app, working flawless. looks interesting! thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Droid 634 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Hi. Thanks for the reply, Does the Chromecast need a phone to work or can you install Emby as an app? Chromecast connects directly to the server but needs a secondary device for control. A PC browser, smart phone, tablet, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkss12 295 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) Created a video clip showing what Tvheadend client looks like and how it works. As you require, you can start a recording, and later go back and watch it from the recording or live......... This is running on my Beelink GT-King box with CoreELEC as the OS. The Emby server AND Tvheadend server are running on this device so it is a self contained media center. Do NOT need a computer OR NAS for an Emby server, it runs great on this device. No TRANSCODING at all. Plays every video and audio codec that you can throw at it. Have NOT tested to see how many external devices that require transcoding, it can support. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xkqhtou169xiq9v/record%20and%20FF.mp4?dl=0 Edit: for the price of a microSD card, you can try it yourself on you Android box. Takes a couple of hours to set up. That includes installing, and setting up the Emby server, and Tvheadend server. Edit 2: Channel switching is almost instantaneous, since you are accessing the HDHomeRun networked tuners directly. Edited July 20, 2019 by clarkss12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Droid 634 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Hi. Thanks for the reply, Does the Chromecast need a phone to work or can you install Emby as an app? So after a little more testing with Chromecast it turns out to be quite usable as long as your server can handle the transcoding. The trick for me is to reduce overhead on the player. Mine is connected to a 720p TV so there's no point in sending 1080 content and making the Chromecast convert the output. On the phone Emby app I set the Chromecast playback options to the highest 720p bitrate (4mbps) and it can play an OTA (1080i original) recording in progress just fine. The one glitch I noticed is that the progress bar doesn't show the correct program duration or position. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 Chromecast connects directly to the server but needs a secondary device for control. A PC browser, smart phone, tablet, etc. Ah, that is what I thought, I need something that the kids can just pick up the remote and click away.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 Created a video clip showing what Tvheadend client looks like and how it works. As you require, you can start a recording, and later go back and watch it from the recording or live......... This is running on my Beelink GT-King box with CoreELEC as the OS. The Emby server AND Tvheadend server are running on this device so it is a self contained media center. Do NOT need a computer OR NAS for an Emby server, it runs great on this device. No TRANSCODING at all. Plays every video and audio codec that you can throw at it. Have NOT tested to see how many external devices that require transcoding, it can support. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xkqhtou169xiq9v/record%20and%20FF.mp4?dl=0 Edit: for the price of a microSD card, you can try it yourself on you Android box. Takes a couple of hours to set up. That includes installing, and setting up the Emby server, and Tvheadend server. Edit 2: Channel switching is almost instantaneous, since you are accessing the HDHomeRun networked tuners directly. This is great!! Thank you for such a detailed reply, unlike Plex forums I feel I have some options from responses! I am going to experiment with this setup tomorrow... thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 So after a little more testing with Chromecast it turns out to be quite usable as long as your server can handle the transcoding. The trick for me is to reduce overhead on the player. Mine is connected to a 720p TV so there's no point in sending 1080 content and making the Chromecast convert the output. On the phone Emby app I set the Chromecast playback options to the highest 720p bitrate (4mbps) and it can play an OTA (1080i original) recording in progress just fine. The one glitch I noticed is that the progress bar doesn't show the correct program duration or position. All my TV's are 4K and are capable of direct stream, my embyserver is probably a little overkill as it is running a 32core Threadripper and 10gb/E all through the house so overhead hopefully not a problem... I have just thought that the kids are happy enough using their tablets so maybe this is an option? Thanks so much for taking the time to test, it is really appreciated, just a shame that the Emby App on LG is not functioning as expected.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkss12 295 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 @@mandj, if you decide to try the LibreELEC/CoreELEC on your Amlogic box, you create that OS on a microSD card. it does NOT touch your existing Android or setup. If you live in the US or Canada, you can install the zap2it modules that Edit4ever created, and it will automatically download 14 days of FREE guide data. https://github.com/edit4ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Why don't you take that mini 8 Android box, and slap LibreELEC on it. Use the Embuary skin, and tvheadend for your live and recorded TV shows. Use the free zap2it guide data for the tvheadend server running on the same device. He said he had a working setup on the Android box with our app already. Why complicate it with all of this...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkss12 295 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) He said he had a working setup on the Android box with our app already. Why complicate it with all of this...? Yes, but the channel changing is very slow on these budget Android boxes using the Emby app. With the LibreELEC/CoreELEC OS using the Embuary skin, he get the best of both worlds, fast TV channel changing, and a much better media experience. Emby is by far the best media server available, but Kodi plays everything. His Android box will NOT passthrough HD audio nor will does it support automatic frame rate switching. Using his Emby backend with the Kodi front end using the Embuary skin and tvheadend DVR, he will have a media player equal to or better than the Nvidia Shield, and only for the price of a cheap microSD card. PS. it is not complicated....... Edited July 20, 2019 by clarkss12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1nchy 24 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) Don't get a 4k fire stick yet if you intend to use it with hdhomerun, the last two firmware updates have not been able to play back live tv or recordings. Emby, plex and the hdhomerun app all just crash if I try to play a live channel or recorded video (basically anything that's from the hdhomerun). I don't have any probs with my sony android tv or Nvidia shield tv with any of these, and looking on the hdhomerun, shield and Emby forums pout is a specific issue with the 4k stick Edited July 20, 2019 by F1nchy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 Don't get a 4k fire stick yet if you intend to use it with hdhomerun, the last two firmware updates have not been able to play back live tv or recordings. Emby, plex and the hdhomerun app all just crash if I try to play a live channel or recorded video (basically anything that's from the hdhomerun). I don't have any probs with my sony android tv or Nvidia shield tv with any of these, and looking on the hdhomerun, shield and Emby forums pout is a specific issue with the 4k stick Thanks for the heads up! I am currently looking at @@clarkss12's option at the moment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Don't get a 4k fire stick yet if you intend to use it with hdhomerun, the last two firmware updates have not been able to play back live tv or recordings. Emby, plex and the hdhomerun app all just crash if I try to play a live channel or recorded video (basically anything that's from the hdhomerun). I don't have any probs with my sony android tv or Nvidia shield tv with any of these, and looking on the hdhomerun, shield and Emby forums pout is a specific issue with the 4k stick I don't recall any reports of this and we have a lot of people with that hardware combination. Can you please point me to the reports? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandj 0 Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) I also thought I might try an NUC with Emby Theatre on Windows 10 but tried Emby Theatre on my PC (Also Windows 10) and Live TV does not work on that either! it just crashes with the spinning circle when you select a channel, I have attached the log from fresh start, selecting Freesports HD and then having to force close the app as it just locks up I also tried Chrome & Edge and although they are fast and responsive to watching currently recording shows you cannot rewind.. slim pickings to find a working client for live TV unfortunately :-( https://1drv.ms/f/s!AjnJhtmhYMJlh5oNOd_NrjaemHjLTw Edited July 21, 2019 by mandj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1nchy 24 Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) I don't recall any reports of this and we have a lot of people with that hardware combination. Can you please point me to the reports? Thanks. I reported it myself and you replied to my post a while back. Still not resolved, HDHomerun still on unusable on 4k stick, either through the HDHR app, Plex or Emby. https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/72506-fire-tv-4k-stick-issue-videos-recorded-via-hdhomerun-cause-emby-on-firetv-4k-to-crash-freeze/page-2&do=findComment&comment=731482 Also, https://forum.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=70081&start=150 Edited July 21, 2019 by F1nchy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Ah, okay, looks like this is limited to certain streams in the UK at this point. It can't be a "nothing works" situation or we'd be inundated with reports. Thanks for the reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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