understanding sync

[samhill5215 0]

I'd like to understand the workings of sync before I fully commit to using Emby.

Basically I'm looking for an alternative to Google Play for my music and the fact Emby can handle video is a plus. I've read as much content on sync as I can handle but haven't been able to form a coherent understanding of how sync works. At home that's not an issue since all my devices have access to my network server where Emby is installed. I'm concerned strictly with using Emby to stream content when I'm away from home.

The wiki says my content is not moved to the cloud. That's great since I have close to 90 GB of audio.

So, when I play tracks on my phone and I'm away from home does the Emby app handle it seamlessly or do I have to sync something?

How will the content be served to my phone?

Does Emby make a temporary copy of my audio files to the cloud prior to serving them to my phone? If so is there any lag? How long does it remain on the cloud? Are there any limits such as the amount that can be uploaded?

Can hardware play a role? Like the platform of the Emby server, the router, web service, connection speed etc?

Please be as technical and thorough as possible.

Thanks!

[PenkethBoy 2066]

i can answer a couple of things

if you access your server remotely then emby will send the music to your phone for it to play - i.e. stream it - so if you have a good connection usually then you dont need to sync.....

if you sync say an Album to your phone (before you leave) - as you wont have remote access to your server - no cell coverage where you are going - then once synced the music would be accessible for play on your phone at any time via the emby app etc - the limit to this ultimately will be the storage on the phone - so you can delete music which has been synced on your phone as necessary to allow for new albums etc.

When you sync to your phone - you have options to use a profile - original (un touched), mobile etc - these affect what the server does with a sync - original should sync the file "as is" so if you have large flac files the sync will take a lot longer and more space on your phone - but best quality result - mobile profile - will (on the server prior to sync) adjust the music to a lower quality you set - so size of files are more mobile phone friendly - things like lower bitrate, diff format etc etc - so less space and bandwidth needed etc etc. You too a degree control this when you setup the sync in the first place.

As for hardware - better is always good - but music is very low impact any cpu is not going to be taxed converting it if its say less than 10 yrs old - video is very different(there are numerous threads on transcoding video).

Sync to a remote phone etc will be influenced by how good you internet upload bandwidth is - again faster is better - but for audio the requirement is less than video so a moderately good connection will be fine - remember the phone bandwidth will play a part in this as well.

router/server os etc if configured correctly will have none to minimal influence on your experience

[samhill5215 0]

So, if I understand you correctly, sync essentially means I have to decide beforehand what I'll be listening to. The audio is copied to my phone and I'll be listening to that audio, not the audio on my server.

I'm more interested in listening on the fly, with access to my full library when I'm away. The documentation speaks of using the cloud for syncing. How is that accomplished? How can I access my server remotely when my ip address is liable to change?

[PenkethBoy 2066]

i asnwered that as well - first sentance - it will stream it

[samhill5215 0]

Yes, but how? Port forwarding? Specifics please. I need a roadmap. Have you done it? If so how?

[PenkethBoy 2066]

there are numerous other threads on here to do with remote connections, KB articles, ssl tutorials as well - have you tried searching and looking for things like that

Inside you network - assuming your phone/tabllet is on your wireless network (not cell) then it no different to a wired connection

 

I am not going to spoon feed you - you obviously are coming at this new so take your time have a read - and then if you have specific questions i or sombody else should be able to help you further

 

Yes i have done it several times over the years for my emby and other apps - once you understand then they all do it in a similar way with the odd twesk needed.

[PenkethBoy 2066]

So, if I understand you correctly, sync essentially means I have to decide beforehand what I'll be listening to. The audio is copied to my phone and I'll be listening to that audio, not the audio on my server

re the above - ONLY - if you do not setup remote access OR there is no cell service where you are going or on a plane/submarine etc - would you need to sync anything

otherwise with a working remote connection your music will stream from your server direct to your phone as a movie will etc