[Plugin] Emby Theme Maker

[Oratorian 48]

 

Theme Maker — Emby Server plugin

Auto-generate theme videos & theme music for your TV shows — straight from Emby's own Intro markers. Now as a native plugin, no external script.

From script → plugin: this is the plugin version of my earlier command-line tool (Emby Theme Creator). Same idea, but it now runs inside Emby — no Python, no API key, no ffmpeg install, no path mapping. Just drop in a DLL and run it from Scheduled Tasks.

Source & downloads: github.com/Oratorian/emby-theme-maker  ·  grab the DLL from the latest release (GPL-3.0; releases carry a verifiable build attestation).

Most of us let Emby's Intro Detection scan our libraries so we can skip the openings. But those IntroStart / IntroEnd markers already point at the exact theme-song sequence of every show. This plugin reuses them: it cuts that segment out of a representative episode and drops it into the series folder as a looping backdrop video (and, optionally, theme music) that plays on the detail page. See it as an alternative to the TV-Theme plugins.

No manual clipping, no hunting for openings, nothing to install alongside Emby — if Emby detected the intro, you get a theme.

How it works

1. Reads each series' intro markers directly from Emby (in-process — no HTTP, no API key).
2. Picks a representative episode per series (median intro length — robust against cold opens / creditless specials).
3. Uses Emby's built-in ffmpeg to cut [IntroStart → IntroEnd], re-encode with fade in/out, and write the result where Emby expects it — then it kicks off a library scan so the new themes show up.

video →  SeriesFolder/backdrops/theme.mp4  (h264/aac video backdrop)

audio →  SeriesFolder/theme.mp3  (theme music, series root)

both  →  both of the above, in one pass

Highlights

• Native plugin — one self-contained DLL, no Python, no external ffmpeg, no API key, no path mapping. It uses the server's own ffmpeg and item database.
• Runs from Scheduled Tasks — set it on a schedule or run it on demand, with progress and last-run status in the dashboard.
• Preview task — a read-only "Theme Maker: Preview" task logs exactly what would be generated (source episode, intro span, already-has-theme) before you write anything.
• Full settings page — mode (video / audio / both), quality (CRF, preset, max height, peak-bitrate cap), fades, audio language, output names, parallel jobs, and an optional "only under this folder" scope.
• Safe by default — never overwrites an existing theme unless you enable Overwrite; even protects a hand-curated theme-music/ folder.
• Atomic writes — a cancelled run never leaves a half-written file, and an overwrite never leaves a series themeless.
• Idempotent — re-run any time and it only fills the gaps.

Requirements

• Emby Server with Intro Detection already run on your shows (that's where the markers come from).
• That's it — the plugin uses Emby's bundled ffmpeg and reads your items directly. No API key, no separate install.

Quick start

1. Grab EmbyThemeMaker.dll (attached below, or from the latest GitHub release) and drop it into your Emby plugins folder, then restart the server.
2. Open Dashboard → Theme Maker and set your options (mode, quality, etc.).
3. Dashboard → Scheduled Tasks → run Theme Maker: Preview (read-only) first to see what it would do, then Theme Maker: Generate to create the files. Add a trigger if you want it to run on a schedule.

Tip: Emby only registers new theme files on a full library scan. The plugin triggers one for you automatically at the end of a generate run (toggleable in the settings).

Notes

• Built for Emby 4.9.x (tested on 4.9.5.0, Windows & Linux).
• Bare-metal / VM installs where Emby can write into your series folders. (Container/NAS setups where the series folders aren't writable by the server won't be able to drop the theme files.)
• Series with no detected intro are simply skipped and logged.
• Everything it does is logged to the Emby log with a [ThemeMaker] prefix.
• Provided as-is by a fellow user — feedback, issues and PRs welcome!

 

EmbyThemeMaker.dll

Edited 21 hours ago by Oratorian

[MediaIntelNUC 49]

Hi there!

Thanks for sharing, gave this a try and it works great!

Nice to see an actual plugin with great options to customize

One question though, will it get support for movies aswell sometime in the future?

N/

[Oratorian 48]

3 minutes ago, MediaIntelNUC said:

Hi there!

Thanks for sharing, gave this a try and it works great!

Nice to see an actual plugin with great options to customize

One question though, will it get support for movies aswell sometime in the future?

N/

That is something I am already experimenting with.
The problem, a move has no markers for intros. Only maybe chapters.
It would be either something like, generate a random 110sec clip or scan for Chapters and for scenes with high average bitrates, which suggests heavy action scenes.

[MediaIntelNUC 49]

Great!

I use Powershell scripts available at the moment but a plugin would off course be much better.

Discovered one thing now, when running it on a new folder (Documentary series) that it skippes ceratain series folders.

I have deleted all backdrop and trailer folders in each series folders and ran it again, but it skippes same series again, any tips for troubleshooting on my end?

Im guessing folder structure isnt the issue since its all the same structure and some gets added properly

Thanx!

[Oratorian 48]

7 minutes ago, MediaIntelNUC said:

Great!

I use Powershell scripts available at the moment but a plugin would off course be much better.

Discovered one thing now, when running it on a new folder (Documentary series) that it skippes ceratain series folders.

I have deleted all backdrop and trailer folders in each series folders and ran it again, but it skippes same series again, any tips for troubleshooting on my end?

Im guessing folder structure isnt the issue since its all the same structure and some gets added properly

Thanx!

This plugin depends that emby hold intromarkers on the series. If emby doesn't have intros for it, the plugin skips it.
But that is certainly fixable. ChapterAPI lets you create IntroStart and IntroEnd markers, which is exactly what my plugin looks for.

This way you could even make them for movies, just set IntroStart/IntroEnd markers with ChapterAPI. For Movies you could use that trick to get favorite scenes as Backdrops.

Edited 1 hour ago by Oratorian

[MediaIntelNUC 49]

Thanx!

Will look inte that:)