Feature Request: Implementation of a "Language Fallback Chain" for Image Scrapers

[lianqq 0]

Current Limitation:
The current "Preferred image download language" setting follows a strict "All-or-Nothing" logic.

• Scenario A: If I set it to "English", Emby only looks for posters tagged as English. For regional content like Chinese Donghua or European films that lack English-tagged posters on TMDB, Emby often defaults to downloading random backdrops or low-quality screenshots as placeholders. This ruins the visual consistency of the library.

• Scenario B: If I leave it "Blank", Emby prioritizes posters based on vote counts, which often results in Chinese posters for Hollywood movies. This is not ideal for users who prefer English posters for international films.

The Proposal: Tiered Language Selection (Fallback Mechanism)
I suggest adding an "Alternative/Fallback Language" option to the library settings to create a logic chain for image fetching.

The Logic Flow should be:

1. Primary Language: (e.g., English) – Emby first searches for posters in this language.

2. Secondary/Fallback Language: (e.g., Chinese or Original Language) – If no Poster is found in the Primary Language, Emby should look for posters in the Secondary Language before resorting to backdrops or screenshots.

3. No Language Tag: If still none, check for posters tagged as "No Language" (the default/original posters).

Why this is needed:
Many users (like myself) want a professional-looking library with English posters for the majority of films, but also want correct, high-quality original posters for regional content where English versions don't exist. This fallback mechanism would ensure that a high-quality "Poster" (even in another language) is always prioritized over a "Backdrop" or "Screenshot".

Thank you for considering this quality-of-life improvement!


"The screenshot shows how Emby picks a low-quality backdrop for 'Shrouding the Heavens' because there's no English poster, even though a perfect Chinese poster exists on TMDB."

 

[Luke 42301]

Hi, yes this is something we plan to add. Thanks.