Trickplay / Video Thumbnails while Scrubbing on tvOS (Apple TV)

[Babatom 6]

Hi Emby Team,

 

first of all, thank you for the great work on Emby — it’s my primary media server and I really enjoy using it across different platforms.

 

I would like to request a feature for the Emby app on tvOS (Apple TV):

support for video thumbnails (Trickplay) while scrubbing/seeking on the timeline.

 

Currently, when fast-forwarding or rewinding on Apple TV, there are no preview thumbnails shown. This makes precise seeking more difficult, especially for longer movies or TV episodes. Other Emby clients (like Web) and some third-party tvOS apps demonstrate that this feature can significantly improve usability.

 

I understand that tvOS may have platform limitations, but native players like Infuse already offer thumbnail previews during scrubbing, which suggests it should be technically possible.

 

Benefits:

• Easier and more precise seeking

• Better user experience, especially for long content

• Feature parity with other Emby clients and competing apps

 

 

Thanks for considering this request, and keep up the great work!

 

Best regards

[Luke 42077]

Hi, have you enabled video preview thumbnail extraction on the library in Emby Server ?

[Babatom 6]

Sure, I see chapter images, but no thumbnails when i'm seeking in the timeline.

[Luke 42077]

15 hours ago, Babatom said:

Sure, I see chapter images, but no thumbnails when i'm seeking in the timeline.

How did you configure the option?

[Babatom 6]

Based on the inquiries, I assume it should normally work?

[Luke 42077]

OK in order to have the seek thumbnails you need to set the interval to the 10 seconds option.

[Babatom 6]

I changed the settings and started the task. I'll report back.

[Babatom 6]

@Luke

It doesn't work even with a 10-second interval.

[Luke 42077]

6 hours ago, Babatom said:

@Luke

It doesn't work even with a 10-second interval.

Hi, how does the web app compare?

[Babatom 6]

I just noticed that it works, but only for content added after switching to the 10-second beat. How can I apply this to my entire library?

I have already started video preview thumbnail extraction in the settings under scheduled tasks and initiated a library scan.

 

Edited January 27 by Babatom

[Luke 42077]

6 hours ago, Babatom said:

I just noticed that it works, but only for content added after switching to the 10-second beat. How can I apply this to my entire library?

I have already started video preview thumbnail extraction in the settings under scheduled tasks and initiated a library scan.

 

Hi, existing content will require manually refreshing metadata, and then running the task after doing that.

[Babatom 6]

it works fine, thank you for your support!

[alex77777 16]

I notice my video preview only shows up when fast forward/rewind with the touch pad of my Apple remote. When I click left and right no video preview appears. Is there any way to change that?

Edited January 29 by alex77777

[Luke 42077]

5 hours ago, alex77777 said:

I notice my video preview only shows up when fast forward/rewind with the touch pad of my Apple remote. When I click left and right no video preview appears. Is there any way to change that?

Hi, isn't that how the apple apps do it?

[alex77777 16]

11 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, isn't that how the apple apps do it?

Not from my experience with other apps, when I use YouTube for example, I'm able to just click left and right and the video preview shows up. Not a big deal, would be nice to have it appear for both swiping on the touch pad and clicking left and right.

[Luke 42077]

Right I meant the apple app, for example apple tv+.

[alex77777 16]

19 hours ago, Luke said:

Right I meant the apple app, for example apple tv+.

Yes that is how the Apple TV+ app does it, it only shows when swiping. It would be nice to have the option for both swiping and clicking.