Issue: Home Screen / Main Screen Not Refreshing Automatically on Emby for Android TV

[UsamaWaheed 8]

Hi team,

I’m running into an issue where the Home screen doesn’t refresh or update itself automatically. I need to switch to another tab (e.g., Favorites) and then return to Home before the interface updates.

What I Observed (Example with Actual Content)

• I watched “The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest – S1 Ep5.”

• After finishing Ep5, the Play Next prompt appeared.

• I continued and watched S1 Ep6 all the way through.

• When I backed out to the series page, it still showed Ep5 with Resume, as if Ep5 wasn’t played.

• I pressed Back again to return to the Home screen, but the Continue Watching row was still stuck on Ep5.

• If I clicked Ep5 from the continue watching it at least removed the resume item and show it as played—so the data updated, but the Home screen did not.

• Only after going to Favorites and then returning to Home did the Home screen refresh and correctly and shows Ep7 on continue watching.

I have a video demonstrating the issue and can share it if needed.
Logs are attached so we don’t miss anything.

Environment

• Emby App: Android TV

• Device: Nvidia Shield Pro (2019)

• Network: Same LAN as Emby Server

• Server & App Versions: Included in logs

Happy to provide more info, video, or run tests if required.

Attaching last two logs just in case.

Thanks!

embyserver-63900144000.txt embyserver.txt

[Luke 42077]

Hi, what version number of the Emby Android app is it?

[UsamaWaheed 8]

24 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, what version number of the Emby Android app is it?

Thanks for the prompt response.

Emby App Version : 2.1.23g Registered

Emby Server Version : 4.9.1.90

[Tur0k 148]

I think I just noticed this yesterday too.  I am running Emby Server 4.9.1.90 on docker.  I had loaded a new movie to movie directory, I then manually triggered a library scan.  I confirmed in browser it was detected in web app by doing a search.  I then moved to the smart TV running Emby Samsung TV 2.1.0 app.  on the Samsung TV app in the main screen under the new items the movie was not listed.  I opened my movies directory (which is sorted by date added) and it was there.  I thought it was interesting at the time but didn't grab logs.  I can test again and get the logs if that would help.  

[Luke 42077]

3 hours ago, UsamaWaheed said:

Thanks for the prompt response.

Emby App Version : 2.1.23g Registered

Emby Server Version : 4.9.1.90

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.

 

[UsamaWaheed 8]

On 01/12/2025 at 08:51, Luke said:

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.

 

I installed Emby for Android on the same device, and during the short time I tested it, I didn’t experience any of the refresh issues I’m seeing in the Android TV version.

That said, Emby for Android TV is significantly more usable and TV-friendly, so I’d prefer to continue using it.
Is there any possibility that this refresh issue will be addressed in an upcoming release of the Android TV app?

Happy to assist with logs, videos, or further testing if that helps.

[Luke 42077]

40 minutes ago, UsamaWaheed said:

I installed Emby for Android on the same device, and during the short time I tested it, I didn’t experience any of the refresh issues I’m seeing in the Android TV version.

That said, Emby for Android TV is significantly more usable and TV-friendly, so I’d prefer to continue using it.
Is there any possibility that this refresh issue will be addressed in an upcoming release of the Android TV app?

Happy to assist with logs, videos, or further testing if that helps.

Hi there, what exactly makes you think it is more user friendly?

[UsamaWaheed 8]

On 02/12/2025 at 10:47, Luke said:

Hi there, what exactly makes you think it is more user friendly?

I wanted to highlight a few functional differences I’ve noticed between the two. Some of these are a bit hard to explain, but I’ll do my best:

Playback controls

• In Emby for Android running on Android TV (Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019), there are no on-screen skip forward/backward buttons.
• On a phone using Emby for Android, skip forward works via tap, but this behaviour isn’t available when the same app is used on Android TV.

Episode navigation

• The “Next episode” button is not available in Emby for Android, whereas it is available in Emby for Android TV.

Subtitles

• In Emby for Android TV, subtitle positioning (move up/down) is available.
• This option is missing in Emby for Android.
• Subtitle offset behaviour feels inconsistent across both apps.

These are the main differences I can recall right now. If anything else comes to mind, I’m happy to share additional feedback.

One question for clarity:
Are there any plans to discontinue or slow development of Emby for Android TV in favour of consolidating everything into Emby for Android?

 

[seanbuff 1315]

27 minutes ago, UsamaWaheed said:

In Emby for Android running on Android TV (Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019), there are no on-screen skip forward/backward buttons.

There is, you just need to enable transport controls in your App Settings under 'Playback' - change this to 'No'

 

30 minutes ago, UsamaWaheed said:

The “Next episode” button is not available in Emby for Android, whereas it is available in Emby for Android TV.

What do you mean by this? In your 'Playback' settings, what do you have selected here?

[Luke 42077]

Quote

• In Emby for Android TV, subtitle positioning (move up/down) is available.
• This option is missing in Emby for Android.

Hi there, what makes you think that it's missing? Where are you looking for it?

Quote

Subtitle offset behaviour feels inconsistent across both apps.

In what way? It is actually the Android TV app that is the one that is inconsistent from our other apps.

[UsamaWaheed 8]

 

On 14/12/2025 at 10:04, seanbuff said:

There is, you just need to enable transport controls in your App Settings under 'Playback' - change this to 'No'

 

What do you mean by this? In your 'Playback' settings, what do you have selected here?

Thank you this was very helpful.

[UsamaWaheed 8]

@Luke
 

On 14/12/2025 at 13:07, Luke said:

Hi there, what makes you think that it's missing? Where are you looking for it?

In what way? It is actually the Android TV app that is the one that is inconsistent from our other apps.

I’ve been using the Emby for Android TV app for the past few weeks and overall it’s been a solid experience. I did want to raise two observations—one functional and one UX-related.

1. Subtitle controls (offset & positioning)

On the Android app, I don’t seem to have access to subtitle offset (sync) or subtitle positioning controls.

I’ve attached screenshots showing the available subtitle options, but I couldn’t find:

• Subtitle timing offset (delay / advance)

• Vertical or positional adjustment

2. Back button behaviour / navigation flow (UX feedback)

This one is more subjective, but I wanted to share some UX feedback.

If I navigate like this:

• Home → Series A

• From “More Like This” → Series B

• From “More Like This” → Series C

Pressing the Back button retraces the full navigation path:
Series C → Series B → Series A → previous screens, etc.

On a TV, this can sometimes feel a bit cumbersome, especially when you’ve followed a long recommendation chain—you may need to press Back 5–6 times just to return to the Home screen.

Suggestion:

• A dedicated Home button on all screens, or

• A long-press Back action that jumps directly to Home (PREFERRED)

Totally understand that some users may prefer the current behaviour—just sharing feedback from a living-room / remote-control usability perspective.

Edited January 8 by UsamaWaheed
Forgot to attach the screenshots

[Luke 42077]

14 hours ago, UsamaWaheed said:

@Luke
 

I’ve been using the Emby for Android TV app for the past few weeks and overall it’s been a solid experience. I did want to raise two observations—one functional and one UX-related.

1. Subtitle controls (offset & positioning)

On the Android app, I don’t seem to have access to subtitle offset (sync) or subtitle positioning controls.

I’ve attached screenshots showing the available subtitle options, but I couldn’t find:

• Subtitle timing offset (delay / advance)

• Vertical or positional adjustment

 

Hi, It's not enabled for embedded subtitles. Are you saying that the subtitles embedded into your own video are out of sync?

[UsamaWaheed 8]

On 09/01/2026 at 08:06, Luke said:

Hi, It's not enabled for embedded subtitles. Are you saying that the subtitles embedded into your own video are out of sync?

Hi I was just using one of these as an example. But I just checked they are showing in all of my videos with external subtitles. Sorry I guess false alarm. 

Marking this as closed. Thank you for patiently trying to resolve it with me.

On 08/01/2026 at 17:58, UsamaWaheed said:

. Back button behaviour / navigation flow (UX feedback)

This one is more subjective, but I wanted to share some UX feedback.

If I navigate like this:

• Home → Series A

• From “More Like This” → Series B

• From “More Like This” → Series C

Pressing the Back button retraces the full navigation path:
Series C → Series B → Series A → previous screens, etc.

On a TV, this can sometimes feel a bit cumbersome, especially when you’ve followed a long recommendation chain—you may need to press Back 5–6 times just to return to the Home screen.

Suggestion:

• A dedicated Home button on all screens, or

• A long-press Back action that jumps directly to Home (PREFERRED)

Totally understand that some users may prefer the current behaviour—just sharing feedback from a living-room / remote-control usability perspective.

Just the one recommendation for the back button behaviour thing. One real life scenario was I binged watched 10 episodes of a show, the back button took me though all 10 episodes before going back to home screen.