Linux Mint - No OSD/interface when playing back video

[aaronsomek 13]

Hiya, so I installed Theater 3.0.21 on my laptop running Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon.

Video playback is working and smooth, however there is no OSD/interface. It is not displaying any playback controls when moving the mouse. I can pause/resume the video using the spacebar, but that is all.

Has anyone else run into this issue? Should I upload a log file?

[Luke 42077]

Hi, we’re looking into this. Thanks.

[user101xy 26]

@Luke

 

Same here... no OSD.

 

 

Thanks in advance!

[user101xy 26]

@Luke

 

How will the update proceed?

Will Emby App be automatically updated, during starting the App, or should i download the file from Emby Downloads?

[Luke 42077]

21 minutes ago, user101xy said:

@Luke

 

How will the update proceed?

Will Emby App be automatically updated, during starting the App, or should i download the file from Emby Downloads?

If you currently use Emby for Windows Store, that will automatically update (when the time comes).

The desktop app will not, but we'll put up a banner in the app asking you to switch to the new one.

[user101xy 26]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I don't mean the Windows Store app, but Linux Mint.

[Luke 42077]

12 minutes ago, user101xy said:

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I don't mean the Windows Store app, but Linux Mint.

OK for that we'll also put up a banner about switching apps when the time comes.

[BigAl66 7]

Any update on this topic? Still no OSD for Linux Mint :-(

[Luke 42077]

9 hours ago, BigAl66 said:

Any update on this topic? Still no OSD for Linux Mint

Hi, yes there is. Please follow along here!

 

[BigAl66 7]

Thank you for your answer.

This means nobody knows when we can expect a working version. Correct?

Therefore, I am postponing my plans to switch to Linux until a later date... 

[softworkz 5065]

2 hours ago, BigAl66 said:

This means nobody knows when we can expect a working version. Correct?

Incorrect. Due to the new unified codebase for client apps, the new Linux app is 90% done already.
But we need a new way for integration of video playback, for which some groundwork is required. That's what we're doing in the engineering test group.
We have made some good progress already and as soon as we have a range of working packages for installation, we will extend the beta, giving access to more interested users.

If you have a choice between Windows and Linux for using as an Emby client platform, I'd always recommend to stick to Windows, though.  While we do our best to create a decent Emby client app for Linux, the Windows app has a user base which is larger by magnitudes and naturally receives more attention and effort than less popular platforms. And certain features (like background downloads via push notifications, or full-featured remote control support) cannot be provided on Linux in the same way like on Windows. Also, the wide variety of Desktop Environments and window managers on Linux makes it hard to provide the same level of desktop integration like we have on Windows. The latter (DE's and window managers) is even the reason why we do need to perform those engineering tests, to be sure that the video playback integration will be working everywhere. Nothing like this has been required for development of the Windows app.

So, don't get me wrong: We will be creating and delivering a great app for Linux which will be not only be much better than the current one but also stand out from the competition, but it cannot match the Windows app in all details. 

Edited December 25, 2024 by softworkz

[BigAl66 7]

Thank you for your detailed answer. This helps a lot!

[pmac 143]

On 25/12/2024 at 12:33, Luke said:

Hi, yes there is. Please follow along here!

 

HI @Luke, does this mean we likely shouldn't expect a fix for the missing OSD on the current Linux app, and should instead wait for the new app to be released? 

[Luke 42077]

3 hours ago, pmac said:

HI @Luke, does this mean we likely shouldn't expect a fix for the missing OSD on the current Linux app, and should instead wait for the new app to be released? 

If it were an easy fix then of course we would put out a maintenance update, but it is not.. What might seem like an easy UI problem actually has more to do with certain situations where we just can't render content on top of the video surface. So you're probably looking at major restructuring of the way things are done in order to get that resolved. For this reason it is better to just move forward with the new app.

[pmac 143]

21 hours ago, Luke said:

If it were an easy fix then of course we would put out a maintenance update, but it is not.. What might seem like an easy UI problem actually has more to do with certain situations where we just can't render content on top of the video surface. So you're probably looking at major restructuring of the way things are done in order to get that resolved. For this reason it is better to just move forward with the new app.

Fair enough, I was just curious. I've never used ET on Linux until now anyway; I just happened to refresh an old laptop for my wife and found Mint ran a lot better than Windows on it because it's so old and wasn't sure if this issue was something new and being worked on, or if it's been a well known existing bug for a long time.

[looking111 30]

Since I also prefer to use Emby-Theater (everything is played directly and without transcoding), I'll hook myself up to it here.

Thanks

[sh0rty 714]

Any news on that? Just set up a Linux Mint Laptop and was surprised OSD is still not visible and there is no control possibility via OSD.

 

As always I'm too late for the Beta party by @softworkz

Edited October 2, 2025 by sh0rty

[Luke 42077]

 

[rajurules 1]

hey all, sorry to be that person that pokes an old discussion. But i am running Mint Cinnamon on a 9th gen Intel, 3060 ti. Graphics card and environment is running smooth, always up to date... but linux deb x64 emby theatre (emby-theatrer-deb_3.0.21_amd64.deb) fresh from the emby site and not any other source. Is still having similar issues to what you all are discussing. The on screen buttons go away when you press play, pause space bar, next arrows seem to work. But it makes using emby theatre very annoying. Any workarounds, or suggestions? Long time Emby user, but emby theatre on device decoding is what i need.  

[Luke 42077]

16 minutes ago, rajurules said:

hey all, sorry to be that person that pokes an old discussion. But i am running Mint Cinnamon on a 9th gen Intel, 3060 ti. Graphics card and environment is running smooth, always up to date... but linux deb x64 emby theatre (emby-theatrer-deb_3.0.21_amd64.deb) fresh from the emby site and not any other source. Is still having similar issues to what you all are discussing. The on screen buttons go away when you press play, pause space bar, next arrows seem to work. But it makes using emby theatre very annoying. Any workarounds, or suggestions? Long time Emby user, but emby theatre on device decoding is what i need.  

Hi, not for that version but we have a new app coming soon so stay tuned.

[sh0rty 714]

On 10/31/2025 at 6:43 PM, Luke said:

Hi, not for that version but we have a new app coming soon so stay tuned.

Any news or progress regarding the update?

[softworkz 5065]

We're currently in the very last round of testing in the private beta and public beta is very very close now!

[chizz44 9]

Wish I had seen this thread before upgrading, using the web browser version in the interim.

[Luke 42077]

11 hours ago, chizz44 said:

Wish I had seen this thread before upgrading, using the web browser version in the interim.

 

[chizz44 9]

Right on, sorry I missed that! Love the install script with built-in rollback options, installed the Beta and the OSD is back.

Edited January 19 by chizz44