3.5.11 My Media layout error when using selected item preview layout

[GaryMUK 7]

Hi folks,

Since 3.5.11 went live, there seems to be an inconsistency in what information is displayed on the main menu when you have 'My Media' as a menu item. 

If you use the Android app with the detailed preview option in home screen settings turned off, or the Web app, or Emby Theatre the My Media items are displayed with their text underneath.  However with the detailed preview option in the Android app, the text is no longer displayed under each icon, but it is displayed at the top of the detailed preview information.   

It could be that this is deliberate, it might be to remove the previous behaviour of displaying a media item from the library at random on the Preview panel.  So I would get it if this is a deliberate new change, but it does make the items in My Media difficult to differentiate using just the icons as they are all media a collection of small media items.  If this change is here to stay I will simply create some custom icons with text on them, but thought I would mention this change in behaviour as it seems odd to remove the labels from the My Media row.  

This aside, the new Android app is great, keep up the good work!

 

Android with no preview

Android with Preview

Text has now moved to the top of the preview info and been removed from the icons in the My Media row.  Making them kind of difficult to differentiate.

 

Emby Theatre

Showing the Labels under the my menu items as the Android app used to.  Instead of putting the icon label at the top of the 'preview' info, it instead picks a programme/movie/media at random from the library and displays that.

 

Edited October 7, 2025 by GaryMUK
To label the images

[Luke 42077]

Quote

However with the detailed preview option in the Android app, the text is no longer displayed under each icon, but it is displayed at the top of the detailed preview information.   

Hi, trying going into home screen options and uncheck the option to show the focused item preview. 

[GaryMUK 7]

2 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, trying going into home screen options and uncheck the option to show the focused item preview. 

Hi Luke,

Are you refering to the option "Use a layout on the home screen that shows a detailed preview of the selected item"?  If so, that is what my 1st picture shows.  When you don't have the preview on, the text appears under the icons in the My Media row.   When you turn this option on, the text now disappears and is instead shown at the top of the preview section, for whichever item you have highlighted.

Out of interest, when I tried this out, when you 1st enable the option and exit back to the main menu, you get the text showing under the my media icons like normal, but when you exit Emby and load it afresh with that setting enabled, the text is no longer displayed and you get what is shown in my second image.

[Luke 42077]

Quote

When you turn this option on, the text now disappears and is instead shown at the top of the preview section, for whichever item you have highlighted.

hi, this is normal. Is something wrong?

[Luke 42077]

Quote

when you 1st enable the option and exit back to the main menu, you get the text showing under the my media icons

This is happening by accident so we'll need to review that. Thanks.

[GaryMUK 7]

Ah, perhaps you wanted me to change the option in Emby Theatre rather than the Android app?

I have just reloaded Emby Theatre and that is just like the Android app now, if you have the detailed preview enabled, the text also disappears from the My Media row.  I assume this is a new design choice if this is now happening in both.... or is this perhaps connected to the server update as well?

Either way, it seems they are in fact consistent once reloaded.  In both the labels now disappear from the My Media row if you have enabled the detailed preview option and it displays a random background, but not full media info like it used to when you have a library selected.

 

[Luke 42077]

HI, it's not actually new. This is how that option has always worked. It was intended to mimic Netflix, and they do it the same way.

[GaryMUK 7]

Hi Luke,

I am sorry, but I'm confussed when you say this is how it has always been, because I have never seen this behaviour before. Without changing my configuration, two of my devices have updated to 3.5.11 and the text has disappeared. 

I still have an older version of the client on one of my other android devices, it is still showing the behaviour my other devices were displaying with the same configuration options.  In the images below, version 3.4.74 is how it has appeared in every version until the most recent update(s).  The 3.5.11 images are how it appears as of about 2 days ago when two of my devices auto updated.  In the 3.4.74 images the text label of the library name (Live TV, TV - Recorded, TV - Mainstream, etc) appears under the icon in the My Media row, and a full media item's details are show at the top of the screen when a library is highlighted.   In the more recent one the text is no longer shown under the library image and the name of the highlighted library is now shown at the top of the screen with a random media backdrop shown, but no media details displayed. 

I appreciate that 3.4.74 is 6 months old now, but the other devices have continued to autoupdate to the latest version in that time, and have been in daily use.  They have still behaved this way until they updated in the last few days.  In my experience, the previous versions of Emby for Android have still shown the text and it is only very recent that the library name text has gone.

If this the intended behaviour, that is cool, but I'm then confussed as to why two of my devices have displayed this abnormal behaviour on every version of the client in the last year or so.  Any guidance gratefully received, but I'm lost as to why my devices would decide only now to change the way they display the menu.  Each has been rebooted probably once a month, their configs have been unchanged and they all connect to the same server.  

 

How it was until a couple of days ago

 

How it is after the most recent update

[Luke 42077]

Yes you are right. I remembered wrong. Thanks.

[GaryMUK 7]

9 hours ago, Luke said:

Yes you are right. I remembered wrong. Thanks.

Okay, that clears up my confussion, thanks for looking at it, I appreciate it.  I'll get and make some nice category images to replace the auto generated media icons and enjoy the new layout.