Continue Watching Not working - latest 4.8.8.0

[W3NGX 1]

Hi There,

Was wondering if anyone can help.  I am also experiencing strange issues with the continue watching not working properly since updating to 4.8.8.0 update last week. 

My Setup:

Qnap TS-1685 with emby server 4.8.8

Zidoo z10 Media Player wtih AndriodTv 2.0.83q

The issue and observations:

For over a year since I installed the emby server and client Ive never had an issue with the "Continue Watching" and have not changed any of the settings but recently and I can only put it down to the update, when I finish watching a TV episode the continue watching does not update, or updates and then reverts back to the previous episode watched. 

I play media (Tv shows, movies etc) using the external player (direct play) option in the  Embyapp as I prefer my media box to do the heavy lifting rather than the NAS.  I understand you can not use the resume timer function but normally when I get to 90% marker Emby knows I have finished the episode and updates the "Continue Watching" but of late this is not happening. If I watch multiple episode by clicking the "up next" message box at the end of an episode it still does not update the continue watching.  I am assuming if the message box pops up after the episode finishes or I stop episode after the 90% marker Emby knows I have finished the episode so Im not sure why "Continue Watching" is not working.

My settings:

However....Sometimes when the Continue Watching does update after I watch an episode, if I leave it on the home screen for a while it then reverts to the previous episode which I have seen right before my eyes.

If I manually mark the episode as played then the "Continue Watching" updates and stays.

Other observations:

When I am playing an episode on my Media box & TV, I have logged on to my Emby server dashboard via my phone/PC, I can see it playing on the Mediabox/TV under the "Now Playing" but the play back counter starts but then resets after 10-12 secs back to zero.  I am wondering if that is the reason why the server doesn't think I have finished the episode as the counter gets stuck in a loop from 0-12 sec.

    

Troubleshooting attempts:

I have attempted to mark all episode as played and then un-played to see if that will jar the "Continue Watching" back to life but it didn't work

Logs:

embyserver-63853142400.txt

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.  Its been driving me crazy.

Let me know if you need anymore info.

Many thanks

[W3NGX 1]

Hi There,

Very sorry its my first time in this forum and initially posted this under the linux heading where a user was having the same issue I hope this is the right place to post this as I use a QNap.

Was wondering if anyone can help.  I am also experiencing strange issues with the continue watching not working properly since updating to 4.8.8.0 update last week. 

My Setup:

Qnap TS-1685 with emby server 4.8.8

Zidoo z10 Media Player wtih AndriodTv 2.0.83q

The issue and observations:

For over a year since I installed the emby server and client Ive never had an issue with the "Continue Watching" and have not changed any of the settings but recently and I can only put it down to the update, when I finish watching a TV episode the continue watching does not update, or updates and then reverts back to the previous episode watched. 

I play media (Tv shows, movies etc) using the external player (direct play) option in the  Embyapp as I prefer my media box to do the heavy lifting rather than the NAS.  I understand you can not use the resume timer function but normally when I get to 90% marker Emby knows I have finished the episode and updates the "Continue Watching" but of late this is not happening. If I watch multiple episode by clicking the "up next" message box at the end of an episode it still does not update the continue watching.  I am assuming if the message box pops up after the episode finishes or I stop episode after the 90% marker Emby knows I have finished the episode so Im not sure why "Continue Watching" is not working.

My settings:

However....Sometimes when the Continue Watching does update after I watch an episode, if I leave it on the home screen for a while it then reverts to the previous episode which I have seen right before my eyes.

If I manually mark the episode as played then the "Continue Watching" updates and stays.

Other observations:

When I am playing an episode on my Media box & TV, I have logged on to my Emby server dashboard via my phone/PC, I can see it playing on the Mediabox/TV under the "Now Playing" but the play back counter starts but then resets after 10-12 secs back to zero.  I am wondering if that is the reason why the server doesn't think I have finished the episode as the counter gets stuck in a loop from 0-12 sec.

    

Troubleshooting attempts:

I have attempted to mark all episode as played and then un-played to see if that will jar the "Continue Watching" back to life but it didn't work

Logs:

embyserver-63853142400.txt

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.  Its been driving me crazy.

Let me know if you need anymore info and sorry for posting it in multiple places wasn't sure where best to post to get help.

Many thanks

[Luke 42077]

@W3NGX

Hi.  Can you try searching for our standard android app (Just "Emby" on Amazon and "Emby for Android on Google) on the same device's app store and see how that compares?

Thanks.

 

[W3NGX 1]

@Luke

Many thanks for the advice.  I download the Android app for my media player and tried it last night as you suggested.

With the Android app it seems to update the continue watching, however at the end of the episode it does not ask whether you want to watch the next episode (even if you let it finish to the end or stop after the 90% marker).  it just comes back to the info screen and you have to manually select the next episode to watch.

There is still weird behavior happening (I guess because I am using an external player to direct play)  sometimes if I watch an episode and stop halfway and watch something completely different it remembers the resume time of the one I stopped and comes up with a message to start from beginning or from the resume time even though it is a different program.

I can confirm the "continue watching" on the homescreen does update and hold using the Android version of the app.

Is there anything else I can try to get the androidTV version working.  I much prefer the androidTV version

Many thanks for your help.

[Luke 42077]

Quote

With the Android app it seems to update the continue watching, however at the end of the episode it does not ask whether you want to watch the next episode (even if you let it finish to the end or stop after the 90% marker).  it just comes back to the info screen and you have to manually select the next episode to watch.

Hi, did you enable autoplay of the next episode in the app's settings?

[Luke 42077]

Quote

Is there anything else I can try to get the androidTV version working.  I much prefer the androidTV version

Why do you prefer it?

[W3NGX 1]

Hi @Luke

5 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, did you enable autoplay of the next episode in the app's settings?

Yes this setting is on but it still goes back to the info screen after the video finishes to the end or is stopped after the 90% marker. 

5 hours ago, Luke said:

Why do you prefer it?

The AndroidTV app allows you to change the size grid poster size "Auto", "small", "Medium" "Large" etc.. so you can adjust the way it looks and fit more on the TV. 

The AndriodTV app homescreen seems better scaled.  For example on the home screen on the AndroidTV app I can see two row Latest Movies, Latest Boxset easily and comfortably  but for the Android app the images are too big that I can only see one row (and half a row) at a time.  My TV is 65" 4k OLED screen.

On the Android app I cant seem to find a way to scale the images of the home screen or library grid poster so everything looks really oversized and big.  When you view the media info the text and images are really large.  Just feels like I am using a fisher price toy and scrolling through my media grid takes ages.

In terms of how it works (other than this continue watching issue I am having), playing media they are on par with one another and am happy with either, Its just the look and feel of the Android app I'm not a fan of.

With the Andriod App. Is there anyway of adjusting the homescreen scaling and library grid posters?? is there a setting I am missing?

Ive been using the Android TV app for over 2 years on multiple Media systems and never had an issue till now.  Absolutely love Emby!!!

Edited June 10, 2024 by W3NGX

[GrimReaper 4739]

6 minutes ago, W3NGX said:

Just feels like I am using a fisher price toy

7 minutes ago, W3NGX said:

With the Andriod App. Is there anyway of adjusting the homescreen scaling and library grid posters?? is there a setting I am missing?

Click on your User icon top right>App settings>Display tab, scroll down to Image size (that applies both to Homescreen and all libraries). 

For each library, click three dots (next to sort button)>change Image size from Default to any desired, if not happy with the general size setting you set in App settings in previous step. 

[W3NGX 1]

Hi @GrimReaper,

59 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

Click on your User icon top right>App settings>Display tab, scroll down to Image size (that applies both to Homescreen and all libraries). 

For each library, click three dots (next to sort button)>change Image size from Default to any desired, if not happy with the general size setting you set in App settings in previous step. 

I think I am missing something here. For the Android App. I clicked the User icon top right>app settings> Display tab but there is no setting for Image size.  I attach a screen shot of all of the settings (sorry about the image had to take a photo of each page)

Also for the library image I clicked on the 3 dots and there is no setting for image size.   The only options I have are view, group items into collections and show fields. Screen shot of settings under the 3 dots attached

For the Android TV App these settings you mention are there and I am able to scale the screen but on the Android app, not for love or money can I find any settings similar.  Hence the fisher price comment

I attached below example of the home screen for the Android app and the AndroidTV App.  With the AndroidTV App I can see two full rows but the Android App only 1 and half a row.  Its not much, but having half a row is off putting and messy looking.  Sorry Im all about the look and feel and here big is not always best.   The picture are of the full tv screen.

Android App:

Android TV App:

Many thanks for your assistance and help.

The thing that is consistent is that I am having issues with continue watching on both Android TV app and Android app and automatically marked as played. [Original posted issue]

 

 

Edited June 10, 2024 by W3NGX

[CBers 7450]

13 minutes ago, W3NGX said:

The thing that is consistent is that I am having issues with continue watching on both Android TV app and Android app and automatically marked as played. [Original posted issue]

When do they become PLAYED?

What are your Playback settings for each library on your server?

These are mine:



Once playback has reached 95% (Max resume percentage), then the item is marked as PLAYED.

The Continue Watching row will update according to these settings.
 

[CBers 7450]

19 minutes ago, W3NGX said:

Hi @GrimReaper,

I think I am missing something here. For the Android App. I clicked the User icon top right>app settings> Display tab but there is no setting for Image size.  I attach a screen shot of all of the settings (sorry about the image had to take a photo of each page)

Also for the library image I clicked on the 3 dots and there is no setting for image size.   The only options I have are view, group items into collections and show fields. Screen shot of settings under the 3 dots attached

For the Android TV App these settings you mention are there and I am able to scale the screen but on the Android app, not for love or money can I find any settings similar.  Hence the fisher price comment

I attached below example of the home screen for the Android app and the AndroidTV App.  With the AndroidTV App I can see two full rows but the Android App only 1 and half a row.  Its not much, but having half a row is off putting and messy looking.  Sorry Im all about the look and feel and here big is not always best.   The picture are of the full tv screen.

Android App:

Android TV App:

Many thanks for your assistance and help.

The thing that is consistent is that I am having issues with continue watching on both Android TV app and Android app and automatically marked as played. [Original posted issue]

 

 

For your image sizes, you can change them in each library on the Home Screen, not on the server side, by entering the library, then for the Universal Android app, you can click the 3 dots (...) to open a menu, then select the Image size you prefer:






 

Edited June 10, 2024 by CBers

[GrimReaper 4739]

1 hour ago, W3NGX said:

I think I am missing something here. For the Android App. I clicked the User icon top right>app settings> Display tab but there is no setting for Image size.  I attach a screen shot of all of the settings (sorry about the image had to take a photo of each page)

What is the app version you're running? 

And what about:

2 hours ago, GrimReaper said:

For each library, click three dots (next to sort button)>change Image size from Default to any desired

 

1 hour ago, CBers said:

For your image sizes, you can change them in each library on the Home Screen, not on the server side, by entering the library, then for the Universal Android app, you can click the 3 dots (...) to open a menu, then select the Image size you prefer:






 

Edit: Disregard that last one, I just saw you've already stated you don't have Image size option there either.

Edited June 10, 2024 by GrimReaper
Eyesight ain't what it used to be

[W3NGX 1]

Hi @CBers

My playback settings:

Once playback has reached 90% (Max resume percentage), then the item is marked as PLAYED.

On the Android App:

If I watch one episode and and let it finish or stop after the 90% then with the standard android app it will mark is a played. but doesn not come up with the message box asking whether I want to watch the next episode.

On the Android TV App

When I watch one episode and let it finish or stop after the 90% then the item sometimes marks it as played and the continue watching does not update.  If I use the "watch next message box" at the end of the episode I can end up watching 3 or 4 episode and they don't get marked as played and the continue watching does not update.

 

[W3NGX 1]

1 hour ago, GrimReaper said:

What is the app version you're running? 

And what about:

 

Edit: Disregard that last one, I just saw you've already stated you don't have Image size option there either.

No worries,  The current version I am running:

Andriod App - Emby for Android 3.4.0

Andriod TV - Version 2.1.14g I'm using the beta version to see if it fixed the continue watching but it doesn't.  I can confirm that the issue also happens on the stable version Stable: v2.1.10g (2024/03/15).  I will revert back to as I am still seeing the same issue under beta.

[W3NGX 1]

2 hours ago, CBers said:

For your image sizes, you can change them in each library on the Home Screen, not on the server side, by entering the library, then for the Universal Android app, you can click the 3 dots (...) to open a menu, then select the Image size you prefer:






 

Hi @CBers

The image size option is not available [please see previous screen shot I provided].  Its not available under the library or on the home screen setting on the Android App.

My server is on Qnap and the server side is fine.  In the Andriod app 3.4.0 running on a zidoo media player that option is not listed.

[GrimReaper 4739]

32 minutes ago, W3NGX said:

Andriod App - Emby for Android 3.4.0

 

1 minute ago, W3NGX said:

The image size option is not available [please see previous screen shot I provided].  Its not available under the library or on the home screen setting on the Android App.

My server is on Qnap and the server side is fine.  In the Andriod app 3.4.0 running on a zidoo media player that option is not listed.

I can only assume that is something client-device (zidoo) specific. @Luke

[W3NGX 1]

1 hour ago, GrimReaper said:

 

I can only assume that is something client-device (zidoo) specific. @Luke

@GrimReaper

Thanks.  I have another media play DuneHD with the Emby Andriod App and can confirm the setting to change image size is missing also.

The thing they have both in common is that they are both Android 9 devices does that make a difference?

I find it really strange that only that particular setting is missing.

The Android TV app on both devices has the setting to change image size.

 

[Luke 42077]

Maybe it has a really old webview engine? The image size settings will be hidden if the rendering engine doesn’t support certain features.

 So I would make sure the Android OS is up to date on that device. 

[W3NGX 1]

16 hours ago, Luke said:

Maybe it has a really old webview engine? The image size settings will be hidden if the rendering engine doesn’t support certain features.

 So I would make sure the Android OS is up to date on that device. 

many thank @LukeMy Zidoo and DuneHD media box firmware are both UpToDate.  Sorry I'm not an Android expert.  I think with these media boxes (DuneHD, Zidoo) the Andriod version (ie android 9 - Pie) remains the same and just gets patched so I don't think I can move to 10 or the latest version 15.

The Emby AndroidTV app has the image size settings available.  Is there a fix/configuration you could apply to the Android App to make it work for older versions of android? long shot otherwise have to change media player or move to another media player?

[Luke 42077]

On 6/11/2024 at 6:42 AM, W3NGX said:

many thank @LukeMy Zidoo and DuneHD media box firmware are both UpToDate.  Sorry I'm not an Android expert.  I think with these media boxes (DuneHD, Zidoo) the Andriod version (ie android 9 - Pie) remains the same and just gets patched so I don't think I can move to 10 or the latest version 15.

The Emby AndroidTV app has the image size settings available.  Is there a fix/configuration you could apply to the Android App to make it work for older versions of android? long shot otherwise have to change media player or move to another media player?

What version of chrome is installed? What version of the Android system webview is installed?

[W3NGX 1]

On 14/06/2024 at 03:21, Luke said:

What version of chrome is installed? What version of the Android system webview is installed?

Hi @Lukesorry for the delay in responding, was testing a few thing out before responding.

It never crossed my mind to update chrome on the device as I never used it. Chrome was running on 78.0.3904.62 and I have update it to 125.0.6422.186 so I had a really old version.  When I updated Chrome to the latest version there was an updated for the Webview, but I can't find what it installed or what version it is currently running.  It did update though, and it did resolve the issue and I can now see the "image Size" setting everyone has been talking about  and I can adjust the image size.  However......  It doesn't really change the font size of the title or the My media so the font looks massive and sometime illegible see below screenshots:

Android TV App on extra small Image Size:

Android App on extra small image Size: Fonts look way too big.

Anyhow at least I can see the setting now..... so that is a bonus and a step forward.

Given the update of the chrome and Webview solved the "Image Size" issue with the Andriod App, I thought I'll test out the continue watching issue I originally posted to see if that has fixed it. 

Unfortunately it hasn't and the continue watching still does not update.

I have worked out that it is due to using an external player "Direct Play" option instead of Emby player to play the file.  As previously mentioned: If I use an external player, the Emby server shows it as playing but the time keeps resets to 0 after a few seconds in a loop whilst watching it so emby thinks that I have only just started playing the file even if I have watched it all the way through and then doesnt update the continue watching.  When I use the emby player the timing is correct to what I am watching and the continue watching updates.

Ive been using Emby for over 2 years with Direct Play /External player option and have never had an issue with the continue watching,  Only seem to start experiencing it since I upgrade the server to the latest version.

[Luke 42077]

Quote

As previously mentioned: If I use an external player, the Emby server shows it as playing but the time keeps resets to 0 after a few seconds in a loop whilst watching it so emby thinks that I have only just started playing the file even if I have watched it all the way through and then doesnt update the continue watching.  When I use the emby player the timing is correct to what I am watching and the continue watching updates.

When you close the external player, there's now way for the Emby app to know where you left off. No universal or standardized way at least that would work with everything.

And the time keeps resetting to 0 because while you're playing, there's no way to get the current playback position from the external player. So by using an external player, those are things you're giving up in exchange for whatever reason it is that you're using it.

[W3NGX 1]

Thanks @LukeI just prefer to use the external player than the Emby player.

Its just strange that I havent had an issue with the continue watch till upgrading so guess I will have to live with it if I want to use the external player which is a shame.

Many thanks

[Luke 42077]

It's always been this way for external players. I think we have some special sauce for mxplayer that can grab the position from that, but that's the only one.

[W3NGX 1]

Thank @Lukewe can all do with some special sauce .  I found a another forum posting regarding zidoo integration.  It would be awesome if you collaborate together as Ziddo and Emby is a pretty awesome combination. 

There is a plex ziddo integration Releases · bowlingbeeg/PlexToZidoo (github.com) It would be great if you could do something similar.  I dont have the heart or stomach to go back to plex...... terrible product and terrible support team. I'm definitely team Emby.

For now I will continue to use the external player option and live and hope.

Many thanks for your help.