Jump to content

M3U Playlists Not Working


mediaGuy

Recommended Posts

I'm sure this is simple but I've spent a couple hours and gotten nowhere.  How do I get an m3u music playlist to be detected by Emby?

I add them to the same folder (data/playlists) as Emby saves xml playlists but I don't see them after a library scan (or any info in the log).  I also tried creating a directory for each one, similar to what Emby does for xml playlists, that didn't work either.

What am I missing?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FrostByte
On 9/23/2020 at 12:56 AM, mediaGuy said:

I'm sure this is simple but I've spent a couple hours and gotten nowhere.  How do I get an m3u music playlist to be detected by Emby?

I add them to the same folder (data/playlists) as Emby saves xml playlists but I don't see them after a library scan (or any info in the log).  I also tried creating a directory for each one, similar to what Emby does for xml playlists, that didn't work either.

What am I missing?

 have you tried adding one to your music library and then scanning?  Maybe create a folder called Playlist in music library and throw them in there and then rescan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mark-in-dallas

I could be completely off base, but in my mind an M3U file isn't a playlist, but a link list, and a library scan does not scan for links but looks for files.  I would think that the M3U would need to be added as a TV Source in Live TV and the data contained would show up as Channels in Live TV.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/28/2020 at 7:14 PM, Luke said:

Hi there, can you please go over an example? Thanks.

Sorry, what do you mean by go over an example?
I have an m3u file that works on both WMP and Kodi.  I then edit the file so that the directory structure of each mp3 matches that of my Emby music share and save.  The file is placed in the data/playlists directory and library scanned.  I don't see the playlist show up in the music -> playlist list after the update.

I see @FrostByte mentioned putting the m3u playlist file inside the music library?  To date I've been putting them in the playlist directory of my music library.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mediaGuy

Not sure what else to say.  I described the problem as best I could, there's no error or message of any kind in the logs.  Clearly I'm doing something wrong but I can't find many details in the forums on how to use m3u files properly.

I'm not reporting a bug or problem.  I'm asking how people get m3u files working.

Edited by mediaGuy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happy2Play

I do not believe it is possible to drop a M3U file in the programdata\data\playlists folder.  I believe it only works from within a album folder containing the content.  So a album added to the your music library also containing a m3u file will show that playlist via playlists.  Have not done a lot of testing with this though.

Edited by Happy2Play
Link to comment
Share on other sites

mediaGuy

I just tried moving the playlists into my music library folder but that didn't work either.  That being said I put them in the root folder.  If it only works when the mp3 files are in the same directory then that's useless.  The whole point of the playlist is to pick favorite songs from the various albums/directories.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happy2Play

But if those are not in the Emby Database how should this work?  I can assume a different route has to be taken to just read the m3u for items that are not part of the Emby Library.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mediaGuy

The files are in the Emby library.  All my albums are under /media/music/albums.

My m3u files point to various single files such as:
#EXTINF:0,08 - Just Kidding I'm Only Using This As An Example.mp3
/media/music/albums/Backstreet Boys/08 - Just Kidding I'm Only Using This As An Example.mp3
#EXTINF:0,08 - Another Joke.mp3
/media/music/albums/Nsync/08 - Another Joke.mp3

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happy2Play

I could be wrong but what little testing I have done I have only gotten m3u files within album folder to work with just track names.

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:188,Bob Dylan - The Man in Me
01-bob_dylan-the_man_in_me.flac
#EXTINF:174,Captain Beefheart - Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles
02-captain_beefheart-her_eyes_are_a_blue_million_miles.flac
#EXTINF:130,Elvis Costello - My Mood Swings
03-elvis_costello-my_mood_swings.flac
#EXTINF:183,Yma Sumac - Ataypura
04-yma_sumac-ataypura.flac
#EXTINF:195,Piero Piccioni - Traffic Boom
05-piero_piccioni-traffic_boom.flac
#EXTINF:247,Nina Simone - I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
06-nina_simone-i_got_it_bad_and_that_aint_good.flac

I know another m3u file with path fails.

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:188,Bob Dylan - The Man in Me
C:\Users\Media\Desktop\Videos\Music\Soundtracks\The Big Lebowski\01-bob_dylan-the_man_in_me.flac
#EXTINF:174,Captain Beefheart - Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles
C:\Users\Media\Desktop\Videos\Music\Soundtracks\The Big Lebowski\02-captain_beefheart-her_eyes_are_a_blue_million_miles.flac
#EXTINF:130,Elvis Costello - My Mood Swings
C:\Users\Media\Desktop\Videos\Music\Soundtracks\The Big Lebowski\03-elvis_costello-my_mood_swings.flac
#EXTINF:183,Yma Sumac - Ataypura
C:\Users\Media\Desktop\Videos\Music\Soundtracks\The Big Lebowski\04-yma_sumac-ataypura.flac
#EXTINF:195,Piero Piccioni - Traffic Boom
C:\Users\Media\Desktop\Videos\Music\Soundtracks\The Big Lebowski\05-piero_piccioni-traffic_boom.flac
#EXTINF:247,Nina Simone - I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
C:\Users\Media\Desktop\Videos\Music\Soundtracks\The Big Lebowski\06-nina_simone-i_got_it_bad_and_that_aint_good.flac

@Luke will have to comment more.

Edited by Happy2Play
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The files not only need to be in your emby library, but the path to the media must match the same path used in emby library setup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mediaGuy

Where do the m3u files need to be placed?

My library path and file name path in the m3u match.  I tried putting the m3u files in the data/playlist dir and in the music library folder but neither work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mediaGuy

OK, I finally got this working.
- m3u files must be in the music library folder, not the xml playlist folder
- paths must be file system paths, not adjusted for "Shared Network Folder" which is the path the Emby metedata on an mp3 shows

The reason my playlists weren't showing up at all was some sort of Emby bug.  My music is under /media/music (docker).  I added the albums folder to Emby (which is /media/music/Albums) and the files added fine but Emby somehow saved the folder as /media/music/albums so no future library scans ever worked.  This is the folder clicked through the Emby interface (when adding a library folder) so it wasn't me inputting a typo on the capital A.

On a future note, it'd be great if Emby could also recognize the filenames in the m3u using the "Shared Network Folder" name instead of just the local path.  That way the same playlist could be shared between WMC, Kodi and Emby.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...