Add “direct play” option in quality settings of video

[mannyrothman 10]

In Plex, you can select to “direct play” (“play original quality”) easily in the quality options of any video. It would be great if Emby added this feature.

Edited February 4, 2024 by mannyrothman

[ebr 16172]

Hi.  Isn't selecting the max rate the same thing?

[RobbieBott 5]

23 minutes ago, ebr said:

Hi.  Isn't selecting the max rate the same thing?

Yes. But not as descriptive or end user friendly/novice. Especially for those coming from Plex.

Edited February 4, 2024 by RobbieBott

[mannyrothman 10]

6 hours ago, RobbieBott said:

Yes. But not as descriptive or end user friendly/novice. Especially for those coming from Plex.

Totally! Emby’s client/player experience should really be as friendly to non-techy people as possible.

[Luke 42077]

HI, we'll look at possible improvements to this. Thanks for the feedback.

[ebr 16172]

I guess we could add a top option labeled "Original quality" that uses an astronomical bitrate number for the limit but, personally, I think that should come with a warning that it may cause playback problems.

Also, it shouldn't be labeled "Direct Play" because other factors may require repackaging or transcoding.

[mannyrothman 10]

1 minute ago, ebr said:

I guess we could add a top option labeled "Original quality" that uses an astronomical bitrate number for the limit but, personally, I think that should come with a warning that it may cause playback problems.

Also, it shouldn't be labeled "Direct Play" because other factors may require repackaging or transcoding.

I’m unsure about the warning because the vast majority of the time, playing the highest quality avoids transcoding and ensures a buffer-free experience. And I think calling it “Original Quality” is perfect. 
 

Also, is there a reason why every single quality and bitrate is shown in the quality settings? It’s a bit extreme in my opinion. 

[RobbieBott 5]

1 minute ago, ebr said:

Also, it shouldn't be labeled "Direct Play" because other factors may require repackaging or transcoding.

@ebrIs there a true "Direct Play" with Emby? I am trying to move from Plex to Emby and with Plex every thing in my home "Direct Plays" or that's what Plex is telling me. So all my devices as long as I'm on my local network all play in "Original Quality".

[RobbieBott 5]

5 minutes ago, mannyrothman said:

Also, is there a reason why every single quality and bitrate is shown in the quality settings? It’s a bit extreme in my opinion. 

This is way cleaner and concise, it clearly tells you that it is being converted, or played directly and to what quality in simple yet technical terms.

Edited February 5, 2024 by RobbieBott

[RobbieBott 5]

14 minutes ago, ebr said:

I guess we could add a top option labeled "Original quality" that uses an astronomical bitrate number for the limit but

@ebrThank you very much for considering this.

[ebr 16172]

14 minutes ago, mannyrothman said:

I’m unsure about the warning because the vast majority of the time, playing the highest quality avoids transcoding and ensures a buffer-free experience

On a remote connection without adequate bandwidth selecting that option is going to create a very bad playback experience.

14 minutes ago, RobbieBott said:

Is there a true "Direct Play" with Emby?

All our apps will only transcode when necessary.  The only caveat is that it isn't always possible to completely accurately predict the available bandwidth at any given time.

[RobbieBott 5]

2 minutes ago, ebr said:

On a remote connection without adequate bandwidth selecting that option is going to create a very bad playback experience.

I concur, and that does happen with Plex on a remote connection if I select a setting that is to high it will buffer, that's why when I'm remote I leave it at the "Convert Automatically" selection and I don't normally see buffering. If I do see buffering i can see the quality drop until it doesn't buffer. Then if I watch the buffer build after a bit the quality goes back up again. I think they maybe adjusting transcode quality on the fly based on feedback to the server from the apps about playback buffering and etc.

[mannyrothman 10]

24 minutes ago, RobbieBott said:

This is way cleaner and concise, it clearly tells you that it is being converted, or played directly and to what quality in simple yet technical terms.

Totally agree. I think Plex did it well. However, I do think there should be even fewer options before clicking “show all” (no high and medium options) — the fewer upfront options, the better, in my opinion. 

[ebr 16172]

4 minutes ago, mannyrothman said:

Totally agree. I think Plex did it well. However, I do think there should be even fewer options before clicking “show all” (no high and medium options) — the fewer upfront options, the better, in my opinion. 

That screen of options has to be during playback of a specific item.  Are the options the same just in the app settings?

[mannyrothman 10]

1 minute ago, ebr said:

That screen of options has to be during playback of a specific item.  Are the options the same just in the app settings?

In Plex, the list of quality options differs on the max quality of the video. Exactly like YouTube does. Would love if Emby was the same way. It’s what people come to expect with quality modals now. 

[ebr 16172]

6 minutes ago, mannyrothman said:

In Plex, the list of quality options differs on the max quality of the video. Exactly like YouTube does. Would love if Emby was the same way. It’s what people come to expect with quality modals now. 

But that can only be the case during playback.  What about in the normal app settings?

FYI - our Android TV app does only show appropriate options during playback.

[RobbieBott 5]

7 minutes ago, ebr said:

That screen of options has to be during playback of a specific item.

Correct that screen of options was during playback of a movie, if I change to a 4K movie those options change a bit. Here is a 4K movie options:

Then when I click "Show All" here is what I get:

8 minutes ago, ebr said:

Are the options the same just in the app settings?

I am not fully sure I understand what your asking here.

[mannyrothman 10]

4 minutes ago, RobbieBott said:

Correct that screen of options was during playback of a movie, if I change to a 4K movie those options change a bit. Here is a 4K movie options:

Then when I click "Show All" here is what I get:

I am not fully sure I understand what your asking here.

Yeah I stand corrected. Plex has perfect implementation of this. Wish Emby had the same! Would be far more elegant and understandable for users. 

Edited February 5, 2024 by mannyrothman

[mannyrothman 10]

5 minutes ago, ebr said:

But that can only be the case during playback.  What about in the normal app settings?

FYI - our Android TV app does only show appropriate options during playback.

I guess the settings in the app work okay for now. But I would still like there to be an option that says “Maximum.”

I really think the absurdly long list of resolutions/bitrates should be ditched. The first time I saw it on Emby after moving from Plex, it felt really comical to me.

[ebr 16172]

9 minutes ago, RobbieBott said:

I am not fully sure I understand what your asking here.

Is the only way to change the quality setting during playback?  There is no default setting in the normal app settings screen?

[mannyrothman 10]

4 minutes ago, ebr said:

Is the only way to change the quality setting during playback?  There is no default setting in the normal app settings screen?

I feel like it’s important to note the vast majority of users will never poke around in the settings (at least my users don’t).

Yes, there should be the expanded list of resolutions/bitrates in the settings, but I doubt a regular user would ever interface with it — which is why getting the settings to be perfect in the player itself is really important. 

Edited February 5, 2024 by mannyrothman

[ebr 16172]

Just now, mannyrothman said:

I feel like it’s important to note the vast majority of users will never poke around in the settings (at least my users don’t).

Yes, there should be the expanded list of resolutions/bitrates in the settings, but I doubt a regular user (not a server owner) would ever interface with it. 

Okay, well, as I mentioned, our Android TV app already only shows relevant options during playback and I think it is probably a good idea to rename the top one to just "Original Quality".  Thanks.

[mannyrothman 10]

1 minute ago, ebr said:

Okay, well, as I mentioned, our Android TV app already only shows relevant options during playback and I think it is probably a good idea to rename the top one to just "Original Quality".  Thanks.

Totally- glad to hear that version implements this!

Would love for that to be available on all devices.

Thank you for your work on this

[RobbieBott 5]

1 minute ago, ebr said:

Okay, well, as I mentioned, our Android TV app already only shows relevant options during playback

Any news on when the Web player and other apps would exhibit this behavior?

In the user playback settings I see an option for Internet Quality with an "Auto" option can I force this to be the default on all users?

[ebr 16172]

1 hour ago, RobbieBott said:

can I force this to be the default on all users?

Hi.  That is already the default for all apps.