What is the next big thing for Emby?

[thebutchergr 4]

I feel Emby is improving when it comes to performance. However it lacks compared to its competition on new features (skipping intro), or the UI of it's clients. So what would be the next "'BIG'' thing for emby?

[Luke 37029]

Hi, what feedback do you have on the UI?

[Aquardz 5]

I think the UI is mostly perfect. The Settings page is perfectly laid out and easy to navigate. When viewing a category I don't think you can make it simpler and easier to navigate and it looks clean. Where I do think the UI could improve is the Home screen. Something about it just doesn't feel right. Maybe a more dynamic user experience to make it feel more personal to them. So allowing the user to select different layout templates that "re-arrange" the Home screen in a way they would prefer (Almost like Kodi's Themes). Although I know something like this would be a HUGE change that will take a very very long time to achieve.

Two other things I wanted to mention is that I have noticed that:

- In Firefox under security, if you check "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed", you will be frustrated to hell. It resets every single users theme back to black and even it you change it, it will reset when you close the browser. So at the moment, you cannot clear cookies/site data at all if hosting an Emby server if you care about your themes.

- I've been following the thread on the Actor View function as I am also starting to get interest in this. What I have noticed is that when I click on a movie or TV show, not all the actors load properly, some stay blank. I either then have to click refresh metadata (replace all images) to fix it, or I must go under edit images and then on the primary image (which shows the image) click delete, it doesn't remove the image it keeps it there, and when you go back and refresh the page, the image then shows. So to find all these "broken link?" actors, I have to go into every single movie and TV episode to try and find these actors, which can be painfully long. So if an actor screen does not happen, at least have a button in the settings even just to re-scan and fix actor paths.

[ebr 14905]

6 hours ago, Aquardz said:

So allowing the user to select different layout templates that "re-arrange" the Home screen in a way they would prefer

Hi.  Each user can already choose which sections to show on the home screen and in what order.

[Armageus 67]

Hopefully it's the Live TV improvements that have been mentioned for what seem like forever:

Channel Editing

Native Tuner Support

Edited June 19, 2020 by Armageus

[Aquardz 5]

25 minutes ago, ebr said:

Hi.  Each user can already choose which sections to show on the home screen and in what order.

yes I understand that, but the layout is still the same.

When I say dynamic layout, I mean you can have the my media as a bar on the side going down where the other half of the screen has a latest 2 items of each section.

or if I wanted to split the home screen in 4 sections and just have a module show in each block.

Think of something like wordpress or dotnetnuke, which gives you layout templates to work with or the community can create layout templates that you can use to change the layout of the site. With Emby, It doesn't matter who's Emby you look at, you have the menu bar on top and flow layout panels running down the page.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Aquardz

[MBSki 1010]

Agree that a left nav would be nice. 

And, the ability to pick and choose specific items that show up on the home page. Right now things are lumped together with no way to separate.

[EZEd 53]

This thread is the very reason why I previously advocated that the Feature Requests needed to be tracked and prioritized into a true feature list.  It's just good engineering practice.  (1) Make a total list of requests; (2) prioritize based on immediate need vs nice to haves; (3) keep the list running based on what is currently being worked vs what is still in the upcoming stage; (4) make the list visible to all on where each request item is in the development cycle so that all can see and then they don't have to keep asking these questions (they can readily see what has already been requested) and you might cut down on some duplicate requests; (5) check off accomplishments as you go so that all can compare what has been requested vs what has been implemented. (6) major fixes and problems with current capabilities get priority interrupt over current development and future nice to haves.

In my world its called the IMS & IMP (integrated master schedule, integrated master plan) but at its heart is just a simple prioritized "to do" list that can be checked off when things are "done".  Otherwise you're just running an ad-hoc railroad and no one knows what time the trains get to any of the stations.  It probably cuts down on having to give a lot of canned responses to "yes it's planned for the future".  They can be directed to the list and see where it is in the future and probably stop bugging you about when.

Just a suggestion.

I myself have resigned to not worrying any more about when things are coming since the things I'm more concerned about seem to be a good distance into the future. But to give yourselves some well deserved peace at night (meaning sleep) as developers it might help to give folks a notional plan just to let them know where they stand in the pecking order.

For me personally, the things that Emby can't currently deliver, I am having to use other platforms to augment. When and until Emby get's them I'll continue that way.  I'll certainly be glad when Emby gets them but I can't deny myself using them knowing that they exist waiting on Emby to implement.  Again I'm certainly pulling for you guys because I like the direction that you're going but for my personal use full functionality is not quite there yet.

All of your efforts are greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work.  We're all pulling for you.

Thank you

 

[MBSki 1010]

@EZEdI whole heartedly agree. I REALLY wish they would at least tell us what's planned for the next 6 months. I too am pulling for Emby, but there are some big gaps that I have to use Plex for. Wish I didn't have to but I have no choice.

Now that we have an improved forum, maybe at a bare minimum we could get real voting added. Liking the first post doesn't work very well and isn't well known as a voting method. Make it obvious and allow us to sort by most votes so we have an idea (and devs have a better idea) of what users really want.

Overall, it's getting there. Just wish I knew what was around the corner.

[Tnuctihs 0]

5 hours ago, EZEd said:

This thread is the very reason why I previously advocated that the Feature Requests needed to be tracked and prioritized into a true feature list.  It's just good engineering practice.  (1) Make a total list of requests; (2) prioritize based on immediate need vs nice to haves; (3) keep the list running based on what is currently being worked vs what is still in the upcoming stage; (4) make the list visible to all on where each request item is in the development cycle so that all can see and then they don't have to keep asking these questions (they can readily see what has already been requested) and you might cut down on some duplicate requests; (5) check off accomplishments as you go so that all can compare what has been requested vs what has been implemented. (6) major fixes and problems with current capabilities get priority interrupt over current development and future nice to haves.

In my world its called the IMS & IMP (integrated master schedule, integrated master plan) but at its heart is just a simple prioritized "to do" list that can be checked off when things are "done".  Otherwise you're just running an ad-hoc railroad and no one knows what time the trains get to any of the stations.  It probably cuts down on having to give a lot of canned responses to "yes it's planned for the future".  They can be directed to the list and see where it is in the future and probably stop bugging you about when.

Just a suggestion.

I myself have resigned to not worrying any more about when things are coming since the things I'm more concerned about seem to be a good distance into the future. But to give yourselves some well deserved peace at night (meaning sleep) as developers it might help to give folks a notional plan just to let them know where they stand in the pecking order.

For me personally, the things that Emby can't currently deliver, I am having to use other platforms to augment. When and until Emby get's them I'll continue that way.  I'll certainly be glad when Emby gets them but I can't deny myself using them knowing that they exist waiting on Emby to implement.  Again I'm certainly pulling for you guys because I like the direction that you're going but for my personal use full functionality is not quite there yet.

All of your efforts are greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work.  We're all pulling for you.

Thank you

 

+ 1000

This is how I work also. A clearly defined feature roadmap, with expected delivery dates, would be invaluable in my opinion.

[Deathsquirrel 741]

I'm sure the Emby team already HAS a defined feature list with target dates.  What you want is for them to tell you and almost no companies do that.  25 years in this industry and I've never worked at a company that does that.  If I told you the exact list of features my employer was working on or planned release dates I would be looking for a new job.

[pir8radio 1292]

I don't believe there is a list, show me.  

[MBSki 1010]

@Deathsquirrel I disagree. Most companies share what they've got planned. They don't share their entire roadmap, but they do share a portion of their roadmap. One obvious example is Sony and Microsoft sharing details of the Xbox Series X and PS5. Many other companies do the same. 

You can't seriously tell me that you don't share your planned features with your users. I've worked in this industry 25 years too, and everywhere I've been we try to share as much as we can with our users. In fact. We get them deeply involved in DECIDING what comes next. 

[Deathsquirrel 741]

46 minutes ago, mbarylski said:

@Deathsquirrel I disagree. Most companies share what they've got planned. They don't share their entire roadmap, but they do share a portion of their roadmap. One obvious example is Sony and Microsoft sharing details of the Xbox Series X and PS5. Many other companies do the same. 

You can't seriously tell me that you don't share your planned features with your users. I've worked in this industry 25 years too, and everywhere I've been we try to share as much as we can with our users. In fact. We get them deeply involved in DECIDING what comes next. 

Of course we do.  Under NDA.  Not on a user forum accessible to the world at large.  And while yes, MS tends to share a fair bit about upcoming designs, most public companies follow the Apple model of publicly denying everything until it's already out.

[MBSki 1010]

@Deathsquirrel I wouldn't say most don't. It's probably fairly evenly split between those who share and those who don't. Users prefer to hear what companies have planned though. What exactly is the harm in sharing for a product like Emby? The worst that happens is a feature gets delayed or doesn't get implemented because of some technical issue. Hearing something about what's planned is still better than just hearing, "yes, it's planned for the future." 

All that said, what we DO hear is still a thousand times better than what is provided in the Plex forums.

[ebr 14905]

44 minutes ago, mbarylski said:

What exactly is the harm in sharing for a product like Emby?

Competitive [dis]advantage.

[MBSki 1010]

4 minutes ago, ebr said:

Competitive [dis]advantage.

Hmmm, really? Well, at least you've told us why you don't want to. Appreciate the input.

[neik 835]

4 hours ago, ebr said:

Competitive [dis]advantage.

I think the most of us would be happy to know what will come with the next beta.

According to a post of Luke you guys are working on improving Live TV management for this beta round. What's the harm telling us that?! Are you afraid others may copy that within the beta cycle?

 

[lightsout 144]

As soon as they "promise" something and there is a hiccup everyone is in an uproar saying they don't come through.

I would agree though a list of popular feature requests in one place with polls for each would be great. There doesn't need to be about info from the emby team on what's being done. But it's a way for the user to have a single place where we can show our interest in requests instead of digging through a bunch of threads.

And it's an easy way for the emby team to see what people are asking for with a quick glance. Win win.

[ebr 14905]

5 hours ago, neik said:

I think the most of us would be happy to know what will come with the next beta

As soon as something hits a beta release, there is discussion of it in our testing area.

[K1ng_Lear 184]

Frankly, I don't get what some people are claiming to the UI. Especially the EBMYs UI is good and a lot better then e.g. Plex.  My 2 ct.

[unisoft 272]

22 hours ago, K1ng_Lear said:

Frankly, I don't get what some people are claiming to the UI. Especially the EBMYs UI is good and a lot better then e.g. Plex.  My 2 ct.

Agree, get fed up with people wanting it look like a computer application rather than for a 10 foot interface on a TV or simple for mobile app. For example "Folders" that was introduced as a top menu item when its a view type sub-menu option or a default setting view or the silly bottom menu bar on iOS that has Movies but no TV link and duplicated home links. Those who want VLC use it, those who want plex interface, use Plex.

[MBSki 1010]

6 minutes ago, unisoft said:

Agree, get fed up with people wanting it look like a computer application rather than for a 10 foot interface on a TV or simple for mobile app. For example "Folders" that was introduced as a top menu item when its a view type sub-menu option or a default setting view or the silly bottom menu bar on iOS that has Movies but no TV link and duplicated home links. Those who want VLC use it, those who want plex interface, use Plex.

And I get fed up with people thinking the Emby UI is perfect. There are plenty of posts describing what can be improved in the UI. The UI is really good, but there are some improvements that can be made. Better consistency, option for left nav to get to libraries, more granular flexibility with what is shown on the home page, and cleaner themes/colors. 

We're not going to agree on this point, but IMHO the Plex UI is slightly better than Emby's. The reason I prefer Emby though is because the functionality is much, MUCH better. And, the Emby devs actually talk to us. Emby stomps Plex on those 2 points.

And no, I am NOT asking for Emby to change to an identical UI as Plex. Plex got it right for their app, but Emby is it's own brand and should definitely stay that way. Some minor UI improvements however would make it much better.

[unisoft 272]

6 minutes ago, mbarylski said:

And I get fed up with people thinking the Emby UI is perfect. There are plenty of posts describing what can be improved in the UI. The UI is really good, but there are some improvements that can be made. Better consistency, option for left nav to get to libraries, more granular flexibility with what is shown on the home page, and cleaner themes/colors. 

We're not going to agree on this point, but IMHO the Plex UI is slightly better than Emby's. The reason I prefer Emby though is because the functionality is much, MUCH better. And, the Emby devs actually talk to us. Emby stomps Plex on those 2 points.

And no, I am NOT asking for Emby to change to an identical UI as Plex. Plex got it right for their app, but Emby is it's own brand and should definitely stay that way. Some minor UI improvements however would make it much better.

I agree that some things can be tweaked, like the logos being bigger on the LG app and the menus and section headers in bigger fonts. Going back to being able to have a separate photos and videos library if people still want that instead of the newly inflicted combined library, getting rid of FOLDERS as a menu menu item and putting it in the correct place as a default setting for a library or as a view setting. Home and Favorites as top of the screen links needs to disappear on iOS as that is now on the new bottom menu.

If Emby starts looking like Plex then I'm off.' Plex is a horrible UI. Too cluttered and looks like a computer app rather than a slick TV app.

Edited June 21, 2020 by unisoft

[K1ng_Lear 184]

@mbarylski Sure, you're right, everything can be made better.

But a lot of people, including me, are afraid that the claim "make a more modern UI" ends up in the PLEX bullshit. Yeah, PLEX may be look a bit more modern but modern must not mean better. The PLEX UI is a pain in the ass and it looks like "modern" crap. I love it to change my icons and so on.