Emby may or may not be gaining a new wave of users soon..

[Luke 36999]

I do wonder why, with all of Plex's supposed money and support Devs they can't maintain one little app for HTPC usage. I mean Luke and Eric have plenty of time to do that and answer their users on the forums. 

 

I am annoyed by their move on behalf of the HTPC users out there.

 

When you're paying software developers a lot of money and there's only five htpc users left, that's when you start to question if you can afford to keep doing it or not. Of course that's an exaggeration but these are the types of decisions that every software company has to make from time to time.

[Guest asrequested]

Except when you need 11 of them and you have locations where they are connected to the back of a TV outside. I could use a NUC I suppose but that would cost twice as much and not really gain the things an HTPC has anyhow.

 

Now if I were in my parent's basement...

 

J/K

Lol.

 

 

Yeah, having 11 TVs is, well... Wow! Having a smaller footprint would be an advantage.

[Luke 36999]

I'd really like to mount an HTPC on the back of my TVs out on the back patio. 

 

Were you trying to make a joke because I did get a little laugh out of this. I suppose there might be some htpc's small enough.

[Sammy 735]

Were you trying to make a joke because I did get a little laugh out of this. I suppose there might be some htpc's small enough.

Yup. Not very practical. ShieldTV's do a great job zip tied to the wall mount on the back of outdoor TV's.

 

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

[jasonmcroy 315]

Luke did answer on the previous page actually..

 

Now I wonder how these two have the time to code and answer the forum questions too. I don't think they really have a whole lot of spare time actually.

 

Now about that Harmony Hub.. Do you have it set up for Live TV? If so, which button do you use for the "Last Channel" button? Thanks.

 

Yeah, I think Luke literally answered that while I was typing my post! lol (another example of how damn fast these guys respond!)

 

I don't really use Live TV lately. We DVR pretty much everything and watch it later. So, I haven't had a need for a "last channel" button. I am sure if there is some function in the App you're using that would accommodate that then it's pretty easy to map keys on the Harmony remote. On the Companion remote there is a row of colored buttons. I imagine one of those could be used for that or the "E" button on below the number pad perhaps?

[jasonmcroy 315]

When you're paying software developers a lot of money and there's only five htpc users left, that's when you start to question if you can afford to keep doing it or not. Of course that's an exaggeration but these are the types of decisions that every software company has to make from time to time.

 

This! I hadn't thought of that before. I guess that makes sense if the numbers are really that low. I know these companies use some type analytics to track that but I wonder how accurate those numbers are. 

[Gilgamesh_48 942]

Luke did answer on the previous page actually..

 

Now I wonder how these two have the time to code and answer the forum questions too. I don't think they really have a whole lot of spare time actually.

 

Now about that Harmony Hub.. Do you have it set up for Live TV? If so, which button do you use for the "Last Channel" button? Thanks.

 

I am one that is pretty sure I know how they do it. They simply have discovered, as I did when I was younger, (MUCH younger) that sleep and personal time are vastly overrated. It cost me a marriage but I did, over time, gain two great granddaughters.

 

I have seen people that managed to perform the way the Emby developers have by just giving up sleep. I hope that is the case here because my one regret in life is that I missed most of my daughter's childhood.

 

Actually I hope the developers are better at managing their time than I was because I would not wish anyone to go through any portion of their lives as clueless as I was.

 

Just to actually add a bit to the quoted post I have a harmony hub and it is programmed for full control of my media system that includes: Rokus, Fire TVs, Shield TVs, Raspberry PIs and two computers that can behave as an HTPC. Id do not use live TV so I cannot help there but I have been able to add many device controls and many "special" remote functions by taking advantage of the Harmony's learning abilities.

 

Because of that learning ability I am able to control a cooling system, my lighting and even a MediaMonkey system that runs independently from the rest of my system.

 

Mostly I use the Android app for the harmony control because of the easy to add functions from devices that are not needed to bre included in the current activity.

 

One more thing: I mostly do not create a device for the "special" controls I add to my system but rather create commands for functions I need by adding them to devices that are part of most activities, like my audio receiver.

 

The thing I most like about Harmony systems (and my Echos as well) is the ease of getting things working once you understand the abilities and limitations of the systems involved.

 

Were you trying to make a joke because I did get a little laugh out of this. I suppose there might be some htpc's small enough.

 

One of my HTPC type computers is just a little larger than my Roku Ultra. It was chosen for its size but it also turned out to be inexpensive and quite powerful enough for just about any HTPC type use. Its only lack is internal storage but the majority of my storage is network storage anyway.

 

However, no matter what I try, I cannot get the "get me a beer" or "make popcorn" functions implemented in my system so they are automatic. Oh well, I guess I cannot have everything.

[TylerV76 84]

Oh hell no! They are superior in every way. Always will be.

To an 8 track? Well of course they are

 

 

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[One2Go 98]

All interesting reads. Home Theater room has an i-5 NUC operated with a Harmony one, keyboard only used if maintenance is needed. Since I paid that much for the HT gear no need to be cheap on the playback device. NUC it is. The other rooms have Roku TVs with installed clients. Viewing habits plus searched for experience like a weekend party watching trilogies, the HT room it is.

 

Once you get used to a routine you hate changing it because the inevitable spent time to get it to work the way you want it is time you never get back.

[Guest asrequested]

If I had 11 TVs, I'd have 11 HTPCs on a rack, and HDMI over cat7 with reflash to every single one.

[tdiguy 96]

This is turning into quite the thread. For me Emby is a slick easy to use server / client environment. It provides a way for me to constantly have access to the entertainment my kids love. I cant tell you how many times its been used to help sooth my little autistic kiddo by being able to quickly pull his favorite show ( or clip pulled from youtuve ie baby shark ) up and get it playing. 

I think i have spent less money on the whole setup than some have spent just on clients but it works well even on pretty low end equipment, it would likely run just fine on a pi even for my purposes if we did not care much for live tv, but that gets dicy on a pi without some heavy tweeking that honestly i would rather throw a little money at ( ie upgraded server ) than the amount of time required to make it run smooth.

What really amazes me is that as far as companies go emby and plex offer very similar products, plex seems to be a much larger company than emby but emby seems to be able to cater to a far larger group when you look at the vast number of devices that are supported as servers and clients. In some ways it is almost like a microsoft vs ubuntu sort of thing. Which if its accurate i hope uuntu wins out in the long run.

[gcoupe 63]

For the past five years I've had both Plex and Emby installed on a Windows server feeding an HTPC. Initially I bounced between the two, but gravitated towards Plex as my preferred environment for TV shows and Movies. I've been there for probably the last three years. 

 

The recent announcement by Plex that they will drop support for the HTPC has switched me back to Emby. Time to get reacquainted.

[leed 1]

Once streaming players became mainstream and cheap, thats exactly what happened. Not only are they way less maintenance, they are cheaper, more efficient and convenient. I ran 5 htpc’s in my home for many years. My family could never get used to the convoluted process of using the remote with them. I now use 0 htpc’s and every person I built one for or helped with one also uses 0 of them. Each of mine cost around $20/mo in electricity. My streaming devices maybe cost $10 total and I have probably not 10 of them.

 

Times change, hardware gets smaller, cheaper and better and HTPC’s are the modern day 8 track.

You're right of course. It's just that when you're driving a Ferrari and that gets taken away and your only option is to drive a VW....VWs are fine cars with a decent level of performance and are fine for most uses. And yet a VW just ain't a Ferrari :-) Or to tweak your analogy, HTPCs are the rich, beautiful sound of vinyl, and streaming devices are the convenient, quick and dirty cassette tapes where quality is a tertiary concern :-)

 

I do note that so far, The Emby apps for LG and Roku seem to direct play everything with decent performance. That's all I really want! I'm not hung up on the use of HTPCs per se - it's just that on a HTPC I know all codecs will direct play or passthrough without the scrubbing off of quality plus the lag and stuttering that typically comes with transcoding even with a capable server, when you are using low powered streaming devices/smart TVs. But I guess even streaming sticks and TV's brains are becoming more powerful nowadays.

 

Well I've been setting up libraries etc. in Emby and it's quite good so far. Things did get weird with the LG app, it actually froze at one point, and when editing pictures I couldn't actually see which option I was selecting as nothing would get highlighted. So a little bug there. But it could have been user error. I do love that you can make quick metadata edits in the LG app. Can't do that with Plex. I do note that the LG app seems to be more feature-rich than the Roku app (including the inability, seemingly, to edit metadata on the fly on the Roku app where you can in the LG app) which seems odd given that I'd assume the Roku app has way more users. Live TV and DVR seems to work pretty well, as opposed to Plex which has been broken for a year and they've done nothing except make it even worse.

 

Anyway, as I dig into Emby it's much more positive than negative so far. Cheers!

[TylerV76 84]

...it's just that on a HTPC I know all codecs will direct play or passthrough without the scrubbing off of quality plus the lag and stuttering that typically comes with transcoding even with a capable server, when you are using low powered streaming devices/smart TVs. But I guess even streaming sticks and TV's brains are becoming more powerful nowadays.

 

 

 

 

You need an Nvidia Shield. Closest thing to an HTPC by far. 

[clarkss12 295]

IMHO, the days of the 10 year old, $10k, power hungry, HTPC's are long past their prime.  No matter how hard you desire to clutch the past, change is inevitable. The Embuary skin, created by Sualfred is a blend of feature rich PC version, and the simplistic feel of the Android version.  For those that have not tested it, you are missing the true genius of Emby.

 

Running his skin on any of the low budget, low powered Android powered boxes running LibreELEC/CoreELEC, kicks the butt of the HDCPs AND Android Emby apps, even the Nvidia Shield..... 

Edited August 17, 2019 by clarkss12

[gcoupe 63]

IMHO, the days of the 10 year old, $10k, power hungry, HTPC's are long past their prime.

 

Yes they are - I have a 5 year old < $1k, low power NUC, which is still giving good service as an HTPC. I don't need to throw it away and buy another device.

[Luke 36999]

If you consider RPI an htpc, then I think that has the best chance of keeping the niche alive given the horsepower that you get for the price.

[Guest asrequested]

You need an Nvidia Shield. Closest thing to an HTPC by far.

I have one of those, too. Head to head, no where near my HTPC. Not only is the hardware not as good, but the software doesn't have anywhere near the same capabilities that I require. Don't get me wrong, it's very good, but far behind my HTPC.

[leed 1]

IMHO, the days of the 10 year old, $10k, power hungry, HTPC's are long past their prime.  No matter how hard you desire to clutch the past, change is inevitable. The Embuary skin, created by Sualfred is a blend of feature rich PC version, and the simplistic feel of the Android version.  For those that have not tested it, you are missing the true genius of Emby.

 

Running his skin on any of the low budget, low powered Android powered boxes running LibreELEC/CoreELEC, kicks the butt of the HDCPs AND Android Emby apps, even the Nvidia Shield..... 

It just depends on the use case and preferences of the user. Not everyone's is the same as yours. It's not about clinging to the past or anything as prosaic as that. That's not the point at all. For me it's purely about capability. A capable HTPC can effortlessly handle anything you throw at it video codec-wise, and passthrough all audio including Atmos/True HD. No issues with subtitles. Nothing needs to be transcoded. Good luck trying to achieve that with good performance with a 4k/HDR HEVC file with Dolby Atmos audio, and subtitles you want to be able to use, on a cheapo Android box. In that scenario you *will* run into a compatibility issue, loss of quality due to transcoding, buffering, stuttering, or some other hassle. I guarantee it.

 

Plus, my HTPC client also happens to be my gaming rig, so it isn't going anywhere. It will continue to be parked below my TV regardless if I use it for streaming video. So why should I spend more money on another box just to add needless clutter to my setup? If the TV's app (in my case, LG Web OS) can't handle it (i.e. Atmos, or lack of throughput), I'd like my backup player to be my Windows 10 (the most used OS on the planet) HTPC with a 10 ft UI, controlled by my game controller. That doesn't seem like much to ask, nor does it seem like it's a super arcane/fringe use case all of a sudden.

 

But that's what Plex is phasing out which is why many are up in arms. I appreciate Luke's statement that Emby has no plans to phase that out. And with Plex introducing so much useless crap that no one actually asked for like news, podcasts, VR, etc. and then to screw over a lot of core users, and their Live TV and DVR has never worked right (on ANY client player) and only gotten worse - as a Lifetime Plex pass purchaser, it's extremely disappointing. Certainly seems like Plex is losing focus and just chasing the latest gimmicks. I'm glad Emby exists!

[clarkss12 295]

It just depends on the use case and preferences of the user. Not everyone's is the same as yours. It's not about clinging to the past or anything as prosaic as that. That's not the point at all. For me it's purely about capability. A capable HTPC can effortlessly handle anything you throw at it video codec-wise, and passthrough all audio including Atmos/True HD. No issues with subtitles. Nothing needs to be transcoded. Good luck trying to achieve that with good performance with a 4k/HDR HEVC file with Dolby Atmos audio, and subtitles you want to be able to use, on a cheapo Android box. In that scenario you *will* run into a compatibility issue, loss of quality due to transcoding, buffering, stuttering, or some other hassle. I guarantee it.

 

Plus, my HTPC client also happens to be my gaming rig, so it isn't going anywhere. It will continue to be parked below my TV regardless if I use it for streaming video. So why should I spend more money on another box just to add needless clutter to my setup? If the TV's app (in my case, LG Web OS) can't handle it (i.e. Atmos, or lack of throughput), I'd like my backup player to be my Windows 10 (the most used OS on the planet) HTPC with a 10 ft UI, controlled by my game controller. That doesn't seem like much to ask, nor does it seem like it's a super arcane/fringe use case all of a sudden.

 

But that's what Plex is phasing out which is why many are up in arms. I appreciate Luke's statement that Emby has no plans to phase that out. And with Plex introducing so much useless crap that no one actually asked for like news, podcasts, VR, etc. and then to screw over a lot of core users, and their Live TV and DVR has never worked right (on ANY client player) and only gotten worse - as a Lifetime Plex pass purchaser, it's extremely disappointing. Certainly seems like Plex is losing focus and just chasing the latest gimmicks. I'm glad Emby exists!

That is a misinformed statement about those cheapie Android boxes running LibreELEC/CoreELEC. 

 

"A capable HTPC can effortlessly handle anything you throw at it video codec-wise, and passthrough all audio including Atmos/True HD. No issues with subtitles. Nothing needs to be transcoded", that is exactly what those cheapie boxes do.  

 

If you enjoy your HTPC, that is great, but there are other options that are just as good. I have an Nvidia Shield, collecting dust, because as you say it is very limited in its capabilities.  I also have 3 miniPC's connected to my 65" 4k Sammy TV, going through my Yamaha AVR.  Of all my devices, my cheapie Android box smokes my other client hardware.

 

If you are a hardcore gamer, then a powerful HTPC is a must, and a media player is just the frosting on the cake.

[ebr 14902]

I have absolutely no inside knowledge of Plex's plans but I predict you will see a time in the not too distant future where you can sign up for Plex without having a server at all.

[Guest asrequested]

Yeah, I can see that happening. I think they are laying the ground work for becoming a service, as opposed to being a software product.

[One2Go 98]

Was my argument all along as they are trying to become a streaming media portal challenging the big boys plus hardware vendors like Roku who is also trying the same. I can also see where your local server libraries will no longer be an exclusive selection but will be integrated in content type with Plex controlling sort or filter options. Emby Devs should be in the best position to look at what provides future profit growth.

[Gilgamesh_48 942]

I have absolutely no inside knowledge of Plex's plans but I predict you will see a time in the not too distant future where you can sign up for Plex without having a server at all.

 

They tried something rather like that a while back call "Plex Cloud" where Plex actually provided servers in the cloud and linked to various "cloud" storage systems. That was a resounding failure and never really got much out of the experimental stage although it did work, mostly, and for a few people it worked very well.

 

But that may not be what you are alluding to. I think Plex wants to get out of the server/client model and become a provider/aggregator of various services like Tidal and others. But I think they will find that their client/server design is needed to anchor the other things they really want to support. In fact it would not surprise me to find Plex partnering with some company or companies that own a lot of content to be the system that puts that content out for subscription using a dedicated server system in the cloud. That might be a profitable way for smaller content holders to get their content online easily and without them having to build much infrastructure.

 

Of course reading what Plex is likely to do is harder than finding out what the top generals in North  Korea are doing or who is the next to become dog food.