acnp77 61 Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 Hi, I am trying to fully understand the "Play On" function of Emby server (emby-server-deb_4.5.4.0_amd64.deb). I could not find any detailed information on this. The reason for asking: I use "Emby for Kodi" app (4.1.19) on RPi2 with Kodi (18.9.0). It is very important to me that my FLAC files are played in Kodi directly from the SMB share without any transcoding or whatever going on. For this I use the Kodi client in native mode (direct paths). The two main Questions are: 1. If I use "Play On" from Emby server webgui or apps, to play on Kodi - is there ANY difference regarding the audio-stream, opposed to starting playback in Kodi itself? Or will the device on which I use "Play On" just forward the stream that it would use itself - regardless of Kodi's direct mode? 2. Does the stream run directly from the server to the Kodi client, or does it also run through the device I use the "Play On" function on? @Angelblue05 Can you tell me if "direct mode" can prevent transcoding completely - not only when starting the stream in Kodi, but also when using "Play On" from Emby? What I have noticed: I start a stream using "Play On" from the server webgui to run on Kodi, then I disconnect. After that, fast-forwarding in the stream in Kodi is very slow. If I start the stream in Kodi itself, fast-forwarding is much faster resp. much more responsive. So there must be some kind of difference. This does not prove anything, but is still strange to me. Sorry for the long post - Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37188 Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 @quickmic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickmic 1372 Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 20 hours ago, acnp77 said: Hi, I am trying to fully understand the "Play On" function of Emby server (emby-server-deb_4.5.4.0_amd64.deb). I could not find any detailed information on this. The reason for asking: I use "Emby for Kodi" app (4.1.19) on RPi2 with Kodi (18.9.0). It is very important to me that my FLAC files are played in Kodi directly from the SMB share without any transcoding or whatever going on. For this I use the Kodi client in native mode (direct paths). The two main Questions are: 1. If I use "Play On" from Emby server webgui or apps, to play on Kodi - is there ANY difference regarding the audio-stream, opposed to starting playback in Kodi itself? Or will the device on which I use "Play On" just forward the stream that it would use itself - regardless of Kodi's direct mode? 2. Does the stream run directly from the server to the Kodi client, or does it also run through the device I use the "Play On" function on? @Angelblue05 Can you tell me if "direct mode" can prevent transcoding completely - not only when starting the stream in Kodi, but also when using "Play On" from Emby? What I have noticed: I start a stream using "Play On" from the server webgui to run on Kodi, then I disconnect. After that, fast-forwarding in the stream in Kodi is very slow. If I start the stream in Kodi itself, fast-forwarding is much faster resp. much more responsive. So there must be some kind of difference. This does not prove anything, but is still strange to me. Sorry for the long post - Cheers Following information is for the next-gen plugin. Not sure if 4.1.19 works 100% same. "On Play" is just like a remote control. It will play same way as initiated directly via Kodi. If you synced native pathes to Kodi will play native. As always, there is an exception If you play a file which is NOT synced to Kodi, it will always use a stream. Transcoding is ONLY initiated (from Kodi side) if the selected Videoquality, Audiooquality in pluginmenu is lower than the actual content, or you forced transcoding for specific formats. Not sure if Emby server can stream all formats, but I think flac is streamable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acnp77 61 Posted May 23, 2021 Author Share Posted May 23, 2021 @quickmic Thank's for your reply. Sounds good, I think this is ok for my usecase. Although it would be nice to fully understand "Play On" which I think I do not 1 hour ago, quickmic said: Following information is for the next-gen plugin. Which version exactly is this? Is it available or a future version? I am happy with version 4.1.19 and I think it also works the way I want with synced items. I love it, because I can use Kodi for playback, without any interference from Emby. Emby is used only for sync and as a remote in my home. All the cool Emby stuff comes into play when used away from home 1 hour ago, quickmic said: Transcoding is ONLY initiated (from Kodi side) if the selected Videoquality, Audiooquality in pluginmenu is lower than the actual content, or you forced transcoding for specific formats. I assume this is only valid for items that are NOT synced with direct paths - So I can be sure that all items that are synced with direct paths are played directly for SMB share, regardless of the way I start them ("Play On" or directly in Kodi) - correct? CHEERS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickmic 1372 Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, acnp77 said: @quickmic Thank's for your reply. Sounds good, I think this is ok for my usecase. Although it would be nice to fully understand "Play On" which I think I do not Which version exactly is this? Is it available or a future version? I am happy with version 4.1.19 and I think it also works the way I want with synced items. I love it, because I can use Kodi for playback, without any interference from Emby. Emby is used only for sync and as a remote in my home. All the cool Emby stuff comes into play when used away from home I assume this is only valid for items that are NOT synced with direct paths - So I can be sure that all items that are synced with direct paths are played directly for SMB share, regardless of the way I start them ("Play On" or directly in Kodi) - correct? CHEERS next-gen is the replacement of "old" 4.x emby-for-kodi plugin. Same functionality, but almost completely rewritten. If you are happy with 4.x, no need to change it (especially, 5.x next gen) requires a full DB rebuild on Kodi. If you update to Kodi 19, there is no way to keep the old plugin. You must migrate, 4.x has not python 3.X support. Versions are available in stable and beta Emby Kodi repo. Also, bleeding edge versions are available here (I recommend using this version, not fully tested but it covers lots of issues compared to stable and beta repo): Edited May 23, 2021 by quickmic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acnp77 61 Posted May 23, 2021 Author Share Posted May 23, 2021 Great, thank you! I will give it a try, as soon as my new RPi4 arrives Sorry for asking again, but this is important to me: 4 hours ago, acnp77 said: Transcoding is ONLY initiated (from Kodi side) if the selected Videoquality, Audiooquality in pluginmenu is lower than the actual content, or you forced transcoding for specific formats. I assume this is only valid for items that are NOT synced with direct paths - So I can be sure that all items that are synced with direct paths are played directly for SMB share, regardless of the way I start them ("Play On" or directly in Kodi) - correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acnp77 61 Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 @quickmic confirmation from a dev would be great, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickmic 1372 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 5 hours ago, acnp77 said: @quickmic confirmation from a dev would be great, thanks I'll doublecheck... May I asked why this is so important? Sounds you have a really special case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickmic 1372 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Confirmed for next-gen plugin. Frankly, there is a minor bug. Remote playlist manipulations for music content used the video playlist in Kodi. It'll be fix in next beta version. The actual playback works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acnp77 61 Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 @quickmic Thanks a lot for checking and confirming, and also for finding the little playlist issue... great 6 hours ago, quickmic said: May I asked why this is so important? Sounds you have a really special case I have a music library containing classical music ripped to flac and checked with CTDB and AccurateRip. Quality is very important to me. I play the music with RPi and external DAC on a good sound system. I want to stream directly from SMB to make sure Emby does not transcode or do anything else during playback. At least at home I only use Emby for the library and to browse content. That is why I asked about the play on function. For me this is the only way to ensure Emby will not transcode, as we all know Emby really likes to transcode, sometimes even if it is not necessary To be honest, I think my usecase is pretty straight-forward - I only use the Emby functions I really need, preventing "overhead" that is not necessary. And also having the possibilty to use Kodi for playback, as it is still the best media-playback software IMHO. The Kodi plugin makes this possible, and I am very happy it exists - thanks a lot. I must say, I find it strange that this is considered a special usecase It should be possible to have a general setting in Emby that forbids transcoding for specified playback devices. Away from home of course it is totally different, and I use transcoding etc. which is great. But maybe I am also making things too complicated for nothing - I would be interested in your thoughts on this subject. Thanks for the great support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickmic 1372 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 (edited) Well most people are not that audiophile as you are and not too many people use Kodi as an audioplayer. For your use case, I would doublecheck if Kodi (not the plugin) isn't "improving" the audio output. Probably you should use passtrough option in Kodi and let the amp be in charge. Edited May 30, 2021 by quickmic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acnp77 61 Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 1 hour ago, quickmic said: Well most people are not that audiophile as you are and not too many people use Kodi as an audioplayer. Sorry for the many questions... just a last one: Do you know any good Hifi audioplayers that could use the Emby library? I thought of using a Hifi player that can receive airplay (e.g. from my ipad running Emby web app) but there it is even worse, as I have no idea what airplay actually does to my audio-stream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickmic 1372 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 54 minutes ago, acnp77 said: Sorry for the many questions... just a last one: Do you know any good Hifi audioplayers that could use the Emby library? I thought of using a Hifi player that can receive airplay (e.g. from my ipad running Emby web app) but there it is even worse, as I have no idea what airplay actually does to my audio-stream. I don't use airplay, but Kodi should be capable. https://www.heise.de/tipps-tricks/Kodi-und-AirPlay-funktioniert-das-4024609.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acnp77 61 Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 (edited) Thanks a lot. The idea is not to use Airplay with Kodi, because the emby play to function, as you confirmed is much better because it does not do anything to the stream if synced native pathes to Kodi. Airplay would only be an option so I do not have to use Kodi anymore. I think using RPi and Kodi with passthrough as a "bridge" like the roon-bridge (https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/roonbridge) should be a good solution. Cheers Edited May 30, 2021 by acnp77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickmic 1372 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Well there is also the emby app available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickmic 1372 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 btw, you can also check the Webinterface functions of Kodi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acnp77 61 Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 (edited) 3 minutes ago, quickmic said: btw, you can also check the Webinterface functions of Kodi. this is what I am doing today, but the emby interface just looks better with all the metadata I have in the musicfiles. Check out the roon-bridge, I think it is a good principal that can also be done with kodi. Edited May 30, 2021 by acnp77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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