VR App for Emby

[Pommes 11]

Hi
Anyone ever had the idea of making an emby app for virtual reality?
Only a simple app with a virtual screen (maybe cinema environment).
There isnt a good solution for enjoing media in VR yet, so that might bring many new users to emby.
Plex tried sth similar about a year ago, because many people requested it but the app was in a very bad shape at release and failed.
Btw have someone already tried sth in that direction?

[Luke 38808]

Hi there, yes it's something that we're interested in for future updates. thanks for the feedback.

[SikSlayer 237]

BigScreenVR has DLNA support, and allegedly, Plex works, but when I tried it, neither Emby or my HD Homerun showed up. There was a DLNA related bugfix today, I haven't tested it yet.

[ebr 15429]

 

[SikSlayer 237]

On 9/1/2020 at 7:37 PM, SikSlayer said:

BigScreenVR has DLNA support, and allegedly, Plex works, but when I tried it, neither Emby or my HD Homerun showed up. There was a DLNA related bugfix today, I haven't tested it yet.

So yeah, multiple updates later, it still doesn't work. I SEE the HD Homerun,but it errors out when I click it.

[Jbbrack03 35]

Here are our options currently:

Oculus Browser:

Pros: Let's you access the Emby UI with metadata as intended, Streams Smoothly.
Cons: The Oculus Browser cannot be freely resized (although you can select 3 different sizes) and you can't adjust the viewing angle.

Skybox VR App:

Pros: This works with Emby's DLNA feature and works well. Video quality is top notch and it's a smooth streaming experience. Let's you view Emby content from within a realistic and well-done Movie Theater.
Cons: Because this works over DLNA, you don't get any metadata or custom sorting, so it can be a bit of a pain to browse through. With that said, this is currently the best looking option out of this list.

Oculus TV App:

Pros: You can sideload the official Emby Android App to your headset and enjoy the full Emby Android experience. This includes the UI, Sorting, Accounts, etc.
Cons: You have to register as an Oculus developer to sideload, and there's a small learning curve to installing Android content on your headset. The Oculus TV App is also a bit limited and it does not allow you to adjust the size of your screen, the viewing angle, or to even setup a flat screen (the default is curved). 

Virtual Desktop App:

Pros: Virtual Desktop allows you to stream the screen of your PC to your headset. It also allows you to view that PC in a variety of environments from an office setting to a virtual movie theater. The screen is extremely customizable and can be moved, resized, tilted, and curved to your liking.
Cons: This App streams from your PC, so you do need a fairly capable PC in order to use it. You'll need to deal with remotely controlling your PC using the Oculus Touch Controller which can take some getting used to. You are also reliant on the quality of your network, so your mileage may vary.

Bigscreen VR App:

Pros: This App allows you to view DLNA content in various virtual environments. There is also support for watching content remotely with a friend. The virtual environments are lush and awesome, probably the best out of all of the Apps in this list.
Cons: Technically Emby is not currently working on Bigscreen. It might seem silly to put it in this list, but it is something that the Bigscreen team is working on. They do intend for DLNA content to stream smoothly, so it's one to keep an eye on. It's also worth noting that because you're accessing via DLNA, you'll be restricted to selecting content from a list and you won't get any metadata or rich sorting.

 

With all of this said, it may appear that there are many ways to view Emby through your Oculus Headset. This is somewhat true, but all of the current options are limited in some way. Some are hard to setup, and some are hampered in some significant way. None of these would be as good as a dedicated Emby App that supports the UI, Sorting, and Accounts experience. If Emby can release an App that let's you easily access content in a variety of high-quality environments and that let's you customize the size, angle, and distance of your screen, then it would beat everything that I listed hands-down.

[Mibok 141]

For those few like me that have a Windows Mixed Reality headset. If you download the windows store version of Emby Theater you can put the App floating on your WMR home environment and works really well.

 

[romeyn 0]

Still not working with BigScreen as of today.  I pinged them on Discord and this is what user @Peregrine had to say:

"I don't use Emby myself, but Bigscreen should work with any DLNA server that strictly adheres to the DLNA API as we use the official schema files. As a small team, we weren't able to specifically test every single implementation of DLNA servers available, though we did try to test some of the more popular ones, including Plex, Kodi, and Synology. It's possible there may be a bug somewhere that we would need to do some in-depth testing to pinpoint, but that's not something we have time for at the moment."

 

[Jbbrack03 35]

42 minutes ago, romeyn said:

Still not working with BigScreen as of today.  I pinged them on Discord and this is what user @Peregrine had to say:

"I don't use Emby myself, but Bigscreen should work with any DLNA server that strictly adheres to the DLNA API as we use the official schema files. As a small team, we weren't able to specifically test every single implementation of DLNA servers available, though we did try to test some of the more popular ones, including Plex, Kodi, and Synology. It's possible there may be a bug somewhere that we would need to do some in-depth testing to pinpoint, but that's not something we have time for at the moment."

 

I appreciate you taking the time to post about this issue. With respect I'd argue that Emby is bigger as a media streaming platform than Synology. Most people that run a Synology NAS are using it to host Emby or Plex. I hope that someone at Bigscreen will take some time to setup an Emby Server and test it out to see what they come up with. It would be awesome to use Emby as the backend for Bigscreen. They do a great job with your environments and features.

Edited November 2, 2020 by Jbbrack03

[xyzeratul 2]

I own a quest 2 and did some testing, sadly like @Jbbrack03 said here,  there is no good way to enjoy the both:

• a good meta sorting and managment 
• a smooth playback and control

Really hope we can get a better VR option from emby or other developers

 

[quietday 2]

I found my OG Pixel smartphone and Daydream View recently and got a little nostalgic when I saw the Plex VR app on it. It was really nice being able to drop in and lay back to watch something hands-free, and if we could vote for the features our Premiere funding went towards, this is what I'd choose.

Enjoying your services immensely, and thanks for the great work!

[Nafe 0]

Another vote on this, Jusy bought a quest2 and was thinking how great Emby would be 

[romeyn 0]

I'm still in the "this would be great!" camp.  In the meantime, Emby works great voa DLNA in Skybox.  But still doesn't work with Bigscreen from my Synology NAS.  I finally broke down and fired up the Synology Media server and pointed it at the same media folders so I can watch movies in Bigscreen's environments.  (I don't like having to do that, but it works.)

[bobaldis 12]

Hi,

I've just got access to a Quest 2 and would love to watch my Emby content on it, it is possible to use the built-in browser, but it is a little clunky and wondered if an Emby App is under development yet, especially as would like to try some 3D films?

Cheers,

Bob

[Luke 38808]

57 minutes ago, bobaldis said:

Hi,

I've just got access to a Quest 2 and would love to watch my Emby content on it, it is possible to use the built-in browser, but it is a little clunky and wondered if an Emby App is under development yet, especially as would like to try some 3D films?

Cheers,

Bob

Hi, not yet. Why do you think it’s clunky with the browser?

[bobaldis 12]

Hi Luke,

It's just not as straightforward and functional as using some of the dedicated Media Apps, but if there are no plans for an Emby App, no problem.

Cheers,

Bob

[Luke 38808]

22 minutes ago, bobaldis said:

Hi Luke,

It's just not as straightforward and functional as using some of the dedicated Media Apps, but if there are no plans for an Emby App, no problem.

Cheers,

Bob

It's something that we're interested in, I was just trying to offer something in the meantime. If you bookmark the web app to the home screen it should open full screen, and then it's basically an app, right?

[Luke 38808]

Big Screen DLNA support with Emby Server is resolved in the Emby DLNA plugin version 1.1.4+. Thanks !

[bobaldis 12]

On 13/04/2023 at 22:47, Luke said:

It's something that we're interested in, I was just trying to offer something in the meantime. If you bookmark the web app to the home screen it should open full screen, and then it's basically an app, right?

Hi Luke,

I know it's been some time, but using the browser is just not as good as using an App, the browser expects interactivity, therefore, the controller is visible and when it does time out the screen minimises, I've enabled hand control but then this introduces a dot in the middle of the screen.

Basically, it's not as an immersive experience as other Apps, I know probably not a big market ATM to spend time and resources on but just a reminder it would be nice to have a dedicated App :)

Cheers,

Bob 

[gihayes 41]

Ignore

mistaken  post

Edited July 4, 2023 by gihayes

[Meeko 34]

push for Meta Quest 3

[gihayes 41]

Has anyone ever tried sideloading the emby android app onto a Quest? Any model?

[SikSlayer 237]

42 minutes ago, gihayes said:

Has anyone ever tried sideloading the emby android app onto a Quest? Any model?

I did. Specifically, I tried the WMC UI beta on the Quest 3, and was so focused on that I didn't try the normal version, but I've ran many 2D Android apps and they work very well. Hand tracking works well with it, even in mixed reality. Navigation was a bit jank, but that's more because of the nature of the WMC UI beta, than I expect the standard 2D Emby app would exhibit. The more up to date SoC in the Quest 3/3S matches well. Playback of most any format was a breeze. The main/only real issue in that regard is that 3D content doesn't play in 3D, but otherwise things worked very well. It even has hardware AV1 decoding.

Also...

https://www.uploadvr.com/quests-meta-horizon-store-now-accepts-2d-android-apps/

Things are in flux a bit as much is in active development. But having the 2D Emby app on the Meta Quest store I think shouldn't be too complicated, nor should much have to change. It'd be a feather in Emby's cap to be there before Plex.

I'm sure Luke and other devs will say "it's not that simple" but it never is.

IN fact, I'm gonna go install the most current APK on my Quest 3 right now and try it out.

[gihayes 41]

Cool Sik, My Quest 1 died about 6 months ago and I've been thinking on what I have to look forward to when I finally get my Quest 3. AVI huh? Neat. I was able to connect to Emby and watch 3D movies via Quest's web browser. Just had to wait till the movie was playing then click the Emby full screen icon and the browser 3D options would appear. Of course you can also connect to Emby locally using Skybox or Bigscreen via DLNA each one does great 3D. Using the native Emby App on a Quest sounds like it would be nice. I tried the WMC beta on my computer and it's cool. It probably works well on the Quest given that it's touch based. How did the 2D Emby app work on the Quest?

[podonnell 34]

Joining in as I recently got VR and love Emby.

What are the modern solutions for this until we have a full fledged Emby app for VR? I see a few things mentioned above but they were a bit dated - would love to hear what others are doing.