Share Your Setup – Be Featured on the Emby Blog

[sross44 430]

We’re working on a new community spotlight article titled “Meet the Emby Community: Users Share Their Setups”, and we want to feature YOU.

Whether you’re running Emby on a Raspberry Pi, a NAS, or a high-powered server with remote access for friends and family — we’d love to hear about it.

What we’re looking for:

• A short description of your setup

• What OS you're running Emby on

• Key hardware specs (CPU, storage, RAM, GPU if applicable)

• What devices you stream to (Apple TV, Android TV, browser, mobile, etc.)

• A sentence or two on why you love Emby or what makes your setup special

• Optional: A photo or screenshot of your setup (server rack, UI, media library, etc.)

Example:

"I'm running Emby on Unraid with an i7-12700k and Intel Quick Sync for transcoding. I use a Nvidia Shield for streaming, and the Emby client handles 4K beautifully. It’s quiet, fast, and super easy to manage."

We'll be selecting a few standout setups to feature on the official Emby Blog, with full credit (and links if you'd like to share your forum name, Discord, or blog).

Post your setup below or feel free to DM me if you prefer a private submission.

Let’s show everyone all of those awesome setups! 

[vincen 71]

Hi,

Happy to open the share with my config:

Rack server (processor Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 6130 CPU @ 2.10GHz, 64 cores, 128G of RAM) with up to 38 drives in it (so far "only" filled with 32 drives) running Debian 12 installed in a datacenter. Full IPv4/6 access.

Medias storage and metadatas storage on ZFS volumes (storage space used for medias around 220To right now). Separate storage for medias and metadatas, and separate raid for OS.

Stream to bunch of different devices.

2 pictures (one during installation in rack, and one during a reorganisation of the rack). The emby server is the machine with blue locker on drawers.

Vincèn

Edited June 26, 2025 by vincen

[pwhodges 2012]

My Emby server is an i7-3770 with 16GB memory and an nVidia GTX 1050Ti for transcoding.  It is running Windows 10, and is controlled remotely using RDP.  The disks are: (1) 500GB SSD for the system - also the Emby program and temp directories; (2) 12TB disk for the permanent media store (video and audio); (3) 6TB disk for TV recordings and torrents.  The server runs nothing other than Emby and Deluge.

The media library is curated on a large disk on my desktop (a far more powerful machine with loads of audio editing software and my concert recordings for the last 50 years on it).  The local media disk is then mirrored to the server every night.  This setup means that no additional backup is required.

Clients in regular use are: (1) Roku TV in family room; (2) Roku stick for travel; (3) Firestick in the guest room; (4) iOS on a tablet when lazing around; (5) Theatre on desktop machine when convenient (the screen is a 30" HP screen - I had a 30" Apple Cinema Display, but it became unusable and unrepairable).

The "server room" is a corner in the attic:

On the left a big UPS with an HDHomeRun sitting on it.  In the middle two machines which are internally identical - an 8-core atom processor with 32GB and several SSDs - these run HyperV core (no GUI) hosting a domain controller, a print server, and a jack-of-all-trades web machine with a Caddy web server (about 8 sites) and reverse proxy, a Tomcat server, and a mail server (Kerio).  These virtual servers are split between the HyperV hosts to balance the load, and are replicated (mirrored every five minutes for a warm backup).  On the right the lower machine is the streaming server (Emby and torrents), and the HP on top is an old backup machine.  The streamer is the only machine powerful enough to have a cpu fan!  Above you see the central network switch and a distributing TV amplifier feeding the main and guest TVs, the HDHomeRun and a Hauppauge card in the streamer (not currently in use).  Not seen, because in a different room, is the Draytek Vigor 2860ac router/firewall.

Of more specialist interest is my desktop while editing a concert (this on was last Sunday, in fact):

Enjoy!

Paul

[Jdiesel 1431]

My setup isn't pretty as it is tucked away out of sight and out of mind in my crawl space. I did grab a few photos during my last upgrade though.

Previous Build

• Intel i5-8700
• 16GB RAM
• 1TB NVME
• 8x 12TB SAS HDD
• 2x LSI 9211-8i SAS HBA
• Antec One Hundred Case

 

New Build

• AMD Ryzen 9 7950x
• 64 GB RAM
• 1TB NVME
• 2TB NVME
• 16x 12TB SAS HDD
• LSI 9305 16i SAS HBA
• Antec Nineteen Hundred Case

 

 

The server OS is unRaid with various dockers for media, home automation, and other hosted services. Upgrade was done to support future local LLM needs. I'm currently looking for two Nvidia RTX 3090 GPUs.

 

Emby Details

• 1 local user and 6 remote users
  • Clients are almost exclusively Android or FireTV (90%)
  • A few users occasionally use mobile devices (both Android and iOS)
  • One Roku client
  • One Xbox client
  • One Emby Theater client
• Library consists of 1080p content only, a 4K library is available to only my local account
• IPTV source for Live TV
• AMD iGPU HWA is being used via VAAPI (works fine for 1080p SDR content but the Intel i5-8700 was better, HDR tone mapping does not work under Linux)

What makes my Emby setup special is that the Emby install/database I'm using dates all the way back to 2018. No fresh installs, no crashes, just upgrade after upgrade for the last 7 years. I have been using Emby (MediaBrowser) since it was a Windows Media Center plugin.

Edited June 27, 2025 by Jdiesel

[slevin7 86]

Just wanted to share my humble little NAS setup that’s been quietly powering my home for a while now — and Emby is absolutely the star of the show here.

Hardware:

• Case: Jonsbo N2 (small, stylish, surprisingly roomy)

• Mainboard: GIGABYTE B760I AORUS PRO

• CPU: Intel Core i3-13100 (solid performance, low power draw)

• RAM: 64GB DDR5 (yes, I know, overkill — but LXC love it)

• Storage: 3x HDDs, total of 36TB usable, pooled with mergerfs

• Inside: a lightweight Ubuntu LXC container running Docker, which hosts:

  • Emby (media server)

  • Tdarr (AV1 re-encoding)

  • Other small services ()

• Power consumption: ~25.7W average
  

 

It’s headless, sits on a shelf behind my monitor, and just works. No noise, no drama, no spinning fans of death.

Why Emby?
I’ve used Plex and Jellyfin before, but Emby hits the perfect sweet spot:

• Responsive UI

• Excellent transcoding support.

• Plays nice with remote users

• Mobile apps are actually good

• Easily reverse proxied behind Caddy with Cloudflare

It serves my local and remote users effortlessly, even when pulling 4K content. Tailscale gives me secure access from anywhere (seriously, I streamed from a train once), and I’m slowly re-encoding older files to AV1 via Tdarr — Emby eats them without complaint.

 

Yes, it’s a bit of a cable jungle — but that’s just the honest aesthetic of every good homelab.

If you’re looking for a clean, quiet, efficient setup that doesn’t break the bank — the N2 + Proxmox + Emby combo is chef’s kiss.

Happy streaming!

Edited June 29, 2025 by slevin7

[sross44 430]

Seeing all of the builds and use cases is awesome everyone. Keep them coming in!

[voodoo5_6k 29]

Here's a brief overview of my setup.

At its core it's running a Xeon E-2124G with 96GB DDR4 ECC RAM on a Supermicro X11SCH-LN4F.

The case is a Node 804, but with a spare side panel, so I could get rid of the annoying window. PSU is a platinum Seasonic. There's a UPS connected, so the server can safely shut down in case of a power outage.

The OS is currently TrueNAS 25.04.1, on two mirrorred WD Red 500GB SATA SSD.

Emby is deployed as an official TrueNAS "app", running on two mirrorred WD Red 1TB NVMe SSD.

The data are stored on six 8TB WD Ultrastar DC HC510 4kn SAS 12Gb/s HDD attached to an IBM M1215 HBA with IT firmware on it. The disks form a RAID-Z2 array. There's also a cold backup server with more capacity, holding backups of everything.

The server has its own subnet and is connected via LACP to the switch sitting on top of it. The server is located in the basement, sharing a shelf with the laser printer. In the room behind it is the pfSense router, the "core" switch, PBX, DNS resolver, syslog server and fiber modem.

Effectively, there's a single emby client, an nVidia Shield TV Pro 2019. The Shield outputs to a Lumagen Radiance Pro (upscaling, color management, dynamic tone mapping), which outputs to a Panasonic 4K OLED. The video chain is professionally calibrated for SDR and HDR, both are output as DCI P3 to the TV by the videoprocessor.

My content is exclusively 1:1 rips of all my DVD/BD/UHD BD (*.iso rip, converted to *.mkv, and then archived on the cold backup server). DV content with FEL has the FEL baked in currently, as long as there's no real direct playback solution with clients supported by emby.

There is other content on the server, but that's managed elsewhere (like JRiver MC for music).

Of all the solutions I tried, emby's what's just working. This doesn't sound like much, but it actually is. I've tried a lot of players, madVR HTPC, Oppo UDP-203, Dune HD Pro Vision 4K Solo, CoreELEC on Ugoos AM6B+, and I've thrown them all out because each and everyone struggles, stutters or outright fails from time to time. Emby with the Shield is miles ahead... There's so little trouble that I can finally spend my little free time actually watching my favourite movies or shows rather than constantly troubleshooting unreliable players. It's like peace of mind... Thank you so much for making and keeping it possible

[evil_crab 23]

Here's my setup:

 

Hardware:

• ASRock B550 Extreme4 motherboard
• AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
• 32GB RAM
• Nvidia Quadro P620 for transcoding
• LSI 9211-8i SAS HBA card
• 250GB SSD for Docker containers/VMs
• 4.5TB SSD media cache pool
• 4x12TB HDD storage array. 1 parity, 3 data, 36TB of usable space
• Sipeed NanoKVM PCIe for remote access
• Corsair RM750i PSU
• Inter-Tech 4U-4410 Case

I'm slowly running out of space, so I'm planning to add a couple more drives this year. And if AV1 transcoding becomes a thing, I'll probably get a new GPU.

Software:

I'm using Unraid OS.

Most services are running as Docker containers, except for Home Assistant VM.

List of containers:

• Emby
• various *arr services
• Home automation (Zigbee2MQTT, Mosquitto, etc.)
• Bitwarden
• Nextcloud
• a couple of game servers

Clients:

At home, I use the Nvidia Shield for streaming to the TV or the Emby app on my PC. When I travel, I use Infuse on my phone, and I usually bring Chromecast with Google TV to plug into the hotel TV. I'm considering replacing Shield with the next Apple TV unless Nvidia finally releases a new Shield.

I have ~10 friends using my server. They mostly use Web and desktop apps, with a couple also using TV apps.

Emby:

I started using Emby (with a premier subscription) ~5 years ago. I chose it mostly because Jellyfin was still a relatively new service with some rough edges, and Plex was too inflexible for my liking. 

I'm quite happy with Emby, especially with the wide selection of apps, although I wish some of the issues and feature requests had more attention (e.g. ASS subs often being laggy or Watch Together feature).

My library is mostly 1080p, with some 4k movies.

[elpoolet 26]

Hi all.
I'll share my setup, but unable to take some pictures since it's a too much of a mess !

The streaming server consists of a mid tower that is filled with : 
 - B450 AORUS motherboard
 - AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
 - 8 GB of RAM (I know it's not that much but is enough for now)
 - Windows 10 Home x64
 - 128 GB SSD for the OS
 - 240 GB SSD for the Emby programs, database and metadata
 - 500 GB 2-1/2 HDD for library - documentaries
 - 2 TB 3-1/2 HDD for Nextcloud replication
 - 1.5 TB 3-1/2 HDD for photos storage
 - 2 TB 2-1/2 HDD for some TV Shows
 - 2 TB 3-1/2 HDD for TV Shows
 - 4 TB 3-1/2 HDD for movies

This server also hosts PicApport instance (for browsing photos).

I installed a "storage server" in a hp microserver G7
 - OpenMediVault installed on an USB key
 - 2 TB 3-1/2 HDD
 - 2 x 3TB 3-1/2HDD
 - 4 TB 3-1/2 HDD
 - 10 TB 3-1/2 HDD

All is power-backuped with a 750W UPS.

Outside home I have a "downloading and encoding server" with :
 - 4 TB HDD for storage
 - 960 GB SSD for temp files and OS
 - Windows Server 2016
 - AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
 - 32 GB RAM

All my downloads are re-encoded in VP9 (1850 kbps video, he-AAC 5.1 sound) and sound is normalized. I create 2 versions of each download.
A "web" version that fits in around 2 Mbps and a "heavier" version with h264 or h265 video and several audio tracks including DTS or AC3 original ones (ie : the heavier version is filled with 4 audio tracks if there's a FR en EN track )
Doing this prevents in 99% of times video transcoding.

I also have a hosted "reverse proxy". It allows to not expose 8096, 80 and 443 ports of my internet connection.

 

The clients are : 
 - web app (most of the clients) 
 - Fire TV : 3 at home : bedroom with a projector, home cinem room with a projector and a 5.1 sound system, guest house
 - Smart TV : Philips 60"
 - Android App : around 10 since my setup is shared with some friends and family members
 - iOS App

What is unique and why I choosed Emby, is that it allows the sharing of my library with friends and family and all is self hosted (or at least self hostable) !
 

I bought the premiere lifetime and all I can say is : It worth it !!!!
 

[negativenull 3]

Very simple/cheap setup:

OrangePi 5+ with 256GB EMMC, 8 Core, 16GB RAM

Synology DS224+ with 2x8TB WD Red

 

Also Shown: System76 Meerkat (for hosting other websites/misc things)

Ubiquiti UCG Ultra

Backup drive/enclosure

 

Clients:

Android Phones (Pixels of various ages)

Android Tablet

Roku

Chromecast

Web Browsers

 

Easily handles family traffic.  (3-4 streams simultaneously at most).  It is open to the world (using cloudflare tunnels and good firewall in Ubiquiti router)

[Guest]

Oh boy! We made multiple threads on this some years back. 30 pages long or something. Always interesting seeing how everyone builds their systems. 

Edited July 11, 2025 by generiq

[Guest]

Something I built for my old system that I no longer have.

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/91775-storage-server-upgrade/#findComment-968065

[rechigo 364]

Main Server - Intel NUC 10 i5 w/ OpenMediaVault

* 16GB RAM

* 256gb SSD (OS/cache/temp)

* 4TB + 6TB Ironwolf Pros in MergerFS (Media)

* Runs Emby, various *arr apps, AdGuard Home, game servers, monitoring tools, other applications (I have 30 docker containers... but im sure thats not a lot to some of you superusers)

Second Server - Raspberry Pi4 CM running DietPI

* 4 GB RAM

* 16gb EMMC (OS, built-in to compute module)

* 24 TB IronWolf

* Main Server Backup Service

* Backup Adguard Instance 

I would like to add that the Main and Backup servers are located in opposite corners of the house, to minimize risk of them both getting destroyed in event of a fire. I don't have any offsite backups... At least not yet - I'm not super paranoid

Edited October 1, 2025 by rechigo

[sross44 430]

11 hours ago, rechigo said:

Main Server - Intel NUC 10 i5 w/ OpenMediaVault

* 16GB RAM

* 256gb SSD (OS/cache/temp)

* 4TB + 6TB Ironwolf Pros in MergerFS (Media)

* Runs Emby, various *arr apps, AdGuard Home, game servers, monitoring tools, other applications (I have 30 docker containers... but im sure thats not a lot to some of you superusers)

Second Server - Raspberry Pi4 CM running DietPI

* 4 GB RAM

* 16gb EMMC (OS, built-in to compute module)

* 24 TB IronWolf

* Main Server Backup Service

* Backup Adguard Instance 

I would like to add that the Main and Backup servers are located in opposite corners of the house, to minimize risk of them both getting destroyed in event of a fire. I don't have any offsite backups... At least not yet - I'm not super paranoid

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing. 

If anyone else has setups they would like to share for the next one, please get them in! Pictures are definitely welcomed for sure 

[guytpetj 2]

My system, some parts are getting a bit old but have been updating over the years. This system remembers the Media Browser days.

Media Server:

• Intel i7 - 4790 processor
• 32 GB Ram
• 2 x SSD (256) root drive - mirrored
• 1 x SSD (1TB) download and processing drive
• 1 x SSD (1TB) Emby data and other software config data
• 2 x 16TB HDD, mirrored, for Movies and music
• 2 x 18TB HDD, mirrored, for TV-Series and pictures
• Running on Windows 10: Emby, Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, SabNZB, OpenVPN, RealVNC ...... and nothing else.
• Connected to a UPS, and the house has an automatic standby generator.

I'm running 10 x Fire Stick (standard, 4K, and 4k Max) between our house, and our son's and daughter's homes, and our travel kit (as we spend a lot of time on cruise ships)

I'm running my own VPN servers (openvpn and wireguard) for connecting to my home and have a virtual tunnel between two edge routers over 1GB fiber between our and our son's home.

I started with this kind of setup in 2006 running on MediaPortal, at some stage switched to Kodi, then to Media Browser/Emby and never looked back. Still remember thinking years ago "why in the f*ck renaming Media Browser to Emby". It's still Media Browser to me. 

My Emby setup is relative lean, don't use trailers or intros for movies and other flashy things etc. It's all about reliability and running unattended, especially with us "living" on cruise ships for 3 to 5 months of the year.

Next to Emby, I also run a very complex home automation system which runs of Home Assistant on a RPi 5. It is all interlinked.

My Wishlist for Emby is to have a proper integrated media file management for renaming files, tagging, and managing large media libraries. Emby has so much but is lacking here. Now I have to rely on some other software for renaming and music tag/meta data editing.

Edited October 2, 2025 by guytpetj

[dcook 299]

I have been running Emby for over 10 years with various hardware, my latest is a low power consumption setup:

Dell T330
Windows 2022 Server
Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1270 v5 @ 3.60GHz   3.60 GHz
64GB RAM

220TB of storage using Drivepool & Primocaching
(6TB SSD's for OS & caching, rest are Ironwolf or Exos SATA)

2x10GbE SFP Network

Between my family and a couple friends there are about 5 regular daily users of my system.
I would say over 80% of viewing is with FireTV & Roku clients, the rest would be via iPad App & Chrome browser

I also do very little transcoding, mostly direct play

I had tried Plex in the past and hated almost everything about it, I also tried Jellyfin, its not bad but just a knock-off of Emby, less polished and stable.

 

[hd4fun 6]

Just a quick list of my system - 1 single low powered Beelink unit ($300 US$ about)  (4W to 30W usage)

Trying to keep power to a minimum while have large storage options

Running a ryzen 5 - 5560u cpu in a micro pc with built in radeon graphics / 16 GB RAM / 500 GB NVME for OS

No monitor - but an hdmi stub connector - allowing remote control simulating a console

Asustor AS6706 (Qty 3) with > 300 TB available storage in raid 5 configurations  (2W to 45W) each unit

   the nice thing is 1 unit may run while the other are idle

No pictures as its in my crawlspace 

but here is system running EMBY streaming to LG at 4K  directplay & playing hidef audio through roon to the kef setup 

 

 

Running windows 11 Pro

   used via rdp for cleaning media/moving files to storage units 

Running hyper-v with a 4 GB OpenSuse VM for media cleaning

Running ROON for High def audio  too:

     NAD BlueOS - with triangle speaker / REL Subwoofer

     BlueOS Powernode -- KEF LS50 speakers & KEF KC62 Suwoofer

    BlueOS - pulse speakers

    Sonos AMP v2 (multiple) - for deck speakers & garden speakers outside (AMPS in crawlspace)  - long cable runs

   Sonos S1's

  TCL nxtpaper 11 plus for audio control of roon - besides phone

   roon remote to cell phones while in cars (playing home audio in cars)

roon - about 10 TB local hidef music also connected to Qobuz  - raided nvme in one 6706 unit

 

Running Media Browser (Since 2010)

    LG 65" TV with sonos sound bar

   Sony 65" TV with surround and subs - paradigm reference

 

hope you find it interesting

I used to run old used  servers & storage but with this config I tried to save on power and space and be green - but have my cake too

letting storage units go to sleep when not used - I am using < 10W when idle - probably about 60W when streaming to one TV from one storage unit

 

Thanks to Emby crew for proving me years of fun

 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2025 by hd4fun

[legierk 8]

I have been an Emby fan for at least 10 years. Prior to finding Emby, I used Plex and Kodi but found them too cumbersome. I do build my own PCs, but I am not a programming wizard. My Emby server is the hub and provides about 80% of our viewing entertainment. (OTA TV/10% and Prime/10%). 

Network - Router Asus GT-AXE16000 > 4 x Asus Mesh Nodes all using 2.5Gbe wired connections

Server - Windows 11/Core i5-11600k/32GB Ram/Nvidia RTX 3050/Windows Storage Spaces 4 x 14TB HDD/2.5 Gbe Realtek card

Clients - Long list.....

Office PC - Windows 11/ Ryzen 5600XT/32GB Ram/Nvidia RTX 3050/2.5 Gbe Realtek card 

Living Room - 75" Roku (Roku) TV>Denon X3800 AVR OR XBox Series X (mainly used as a disc player but the grandkids play games too, but I have Emby on it)

Theater - Roku Ultra standalone box "OR" HTPC>Denon X4800 AVR>Epson LS-12000 4k Projector. The HTPC has a 7600XT CPU/RTX4070/2.5Gbe Network, but I find the Roku Ultra does a great job even with HDR material.

Bedroom - 65" TCL (Roku) TV (Wireless)

Guest/Grandkids bedroom - 55" Westinghouse (Roku) TV

Emby does everything I need it to do. My wife sorts (makes Collections) of movies just for the Grandkids. I love how easy it is to check to see if I am missing any TV episodes. The weak links in my entier setup are the Microsoft Storage Spaces (I have run this for 15 years with 1 failure), playing Dolby Vision content can be hit or miss on the tone mapping (mostly great, but occasionally off). Really can't think of anything else. 

I realize I am using only the core features of Emby. I could probably really dig into it to make things really great (I never got "Theater Intros" to work, but kinda gave up anyway), but I am a boomer, and the core functions are straightforward and easy. 

I actually jumped on the forum because I was entertaining the idea of a NAS (to replace the Windows Storage Spaces PC) and was seeing if there was UGreen support. Saw this thread and thought I would share my wonderful experience with Emby for the last 10 years. And, no, I am not thinking about switching to something else, ever!