Help with moving from "My Movies" to Emby

[JulesC 51]

My current setup is:

- My Movies/Clients running on 2 HTPCs, 2 iPads, 2 iPhones
- Windows 10/Windows Media Center (WMC) Hack running on both HTPCs
- My Movies/Server running on Windows Home Server (WHS) 2011 (1,500+ movies & TV series in Video_TS & .MP4 formats - yes, I decided to support both options). 

Since WMC and WHS 2011 are no longer strategic/supported solutions, I'm trying to put plans together to sunset these technologies and move to Emby as my Media Center Platform and Windows 10 for my home server.

Note: I set this system up for my handicapped son so he could easily manage accessing and launching his movies & TV series from his iPad. Since then, the whole family loves this system. 
 

Does anyone in this forum have any experience/learning's they would be willing to share with me to help me plan out these moves?

 

Additional questions:

1. Does Emby support access from my iOS devices or do I need to jailbreak them (similar to Kodi)?
    
2. What is the key difference between Emby and Kodi (i.e. why would I use one vs. the other)?
    
3. How do Emby and Kodi work together and when would that approach be appropriate?

 

Thanks for helping me plan out my new and improved Home Theater system.

  

Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[mastrmind11 722]

1) Yes, there's a native Emby app for iOS (and pretty much everything else).  https://emby.media/community/index.php?/blog/1/entry-347-emby-for-ios-132-released/

2) They're both clients.  Emby supports Live TV w/ an interactive program guide (as long as you have a HDHomerun tuner in your network somewhere), Kodi does not (w/o a stand alone PVR backend).  It's really personal preference here, imo.

3) Assuming you mean the Emby client, similar to #2.  They wouldn't "work together" where one requires the other, but if you're asking would you have both installed, I do simply because Kodi lacks Live TV + EPG.  Kodi has a sync plugin for Emby Server which keeps your library synced across devices (watch states, new media added, etc), and the Emby app handles that natively.  

Edited January 20, 2017 by mastrmind11

[JulesC 51]

Mastrmind11, thank you for your response.  

 

Do you have any experience with "My Movies" or "Windows Home Server (WHS) 2011"?

 

I'm trying to determine the most efficient migration path from "My Movies" to Emby, as I have ~1500 movies and ~20 TV series.

 

I'm also trying to determine the best platform to run the Emby Server on.  I currently run WHS 2011, but was thinking of moving to Windows 10 for my media center server/central database, storing my movies & TV series.  Any concerns with Windows 10?  Other suggestions?  Is there an easy migration path from WHS 2011 to Windows 10 that you're aware of?

 

Thanks again for your help and anyone else in this forum that can provide their experiences/learning's.

[legallink 187]

Migration path is really more about file storage structure than anything else.  Look at how you have to store movies for Emby and you can "migrate" upon install.  Emby doesn't require  you to stop using My Movies (although it is helpful to avoid conflicts/problems if there are any).

[Happy2Play 9783]

Mastrmind11, thank you for your response.  

 

Do you have any experience with "My Movies" or "Windows Home Server (WHS) 2011"?

 

I'm trying to determine the most efficient migration path from "My Movies" to Emby, as I have ~1500 movies and ~20 TV series.

 

I'm also trying to determine the best platform to run the Emby Server on.  I currently run WHS 2011, but was thinking of moving to Windows 10 for my media center server/central database, storing my movies & TV series.  Any concerns with Windows 10?  Other suggestions?  Is there an easy migration path from WHS 2011 to Windows 10 that you're aware of?

 

Thanks again for your help and anyone else in this forum that can provide their experiences/learning's.

There is a backup plugin if you were looking to move or restore an installation.  But some configs  will have issues between relative and network paths in some instances.  Do you really need to update, that is up to you.  If you are not changing to new hardware then I wouldn't change OSes.

 

Doesn't My Movies still have encrypted movies.xml files?

[JulesC 51]

Thanks for everyone's assistance.  It appears that Emby Media Server supports running on "Windows Home Server (WHS) 2011".  Do any of you have experience with this setup?

 

If I install Emby media server on my windows home serve, do I need to be logged into the WHS 2011 for the Emby server to run? If so is there a way to run the server without anyone being logged into WHS 2011 (i.e. run as a service)?

 

Thanks again for helping this newbie get started with Emby.

[arztonyou 17]

I can't speak to the iOS devices or Windows Home Server, but I can speak to using Kodi and Emby server together.  I've tried various combinations of Plex, Emby (back to when it was still Media Browser), and Kodi (back when it was still XBMC) over the last decade or so.  Ultimately I've chosen to use the Emby server with primarily Kodi as the client software.  Here's why:

 

 

Why use Kodi as the client instead of an Emby client?

 

Playback of just about every codec and file type because it's been under development for so long and uses a different internal player.  Thus, there is usually less need for transcoding as compared to some of the Emby clients.  However, the Emby clients do keep improving playback, so this is becoming less of an issue as time goes on.

 

The abundance of skins for Kodi allow you so many options in setting up the appearance of each client.  You can use posters, thumbnails, logos, clearart, and banners organized in many different ways.  There are some options for tweaking the appearance in the Emby web and Android clients, but not nearly as many options compared to using different skins in Kodi.  Skinning is just starting to be developed for some of the Emby clients, so I'm curious to see our options in the next few months.

 

The appearance is more consistent across multiple platforms since you can install the same Kodi skin.  Whereas Emby Theater, the Emby Andoid app, the Emby Android TV app, and Emby for WMC all look a little different and are in different places in their development.

 

 

 

Why use Emby apps as a client instead of Kodi?  

 

Simplicity.  My wife and daughter often use the AndroidTV app for this reason. 

 

You install the Emby client for your platform and, for the most part, you are ready to use it once you connect to the server.  Your Emby libraries are right there in a straightforward interface with a minimal number of settings to tweak.  If you use Kodi, you probably have some work to do to set everything up.  There are a lot more settings, which some people find difficult to navigate.  You will probably want to search through the skins to find one that works well for you.  In particular, you will want one where you can change the main menu items so you can add your Emby libraries as menu or submenu items.  I use the Titan skin.

 

You also have to download the Emby for Kodi addon from the appropriate repository and then let it import your Emby library into your Kodi library.  Every time you watch something in Kodi, the addon has to communicate with the Emby server.  Every time you open Kodi, the addon will receive updates from the server.  Most of the time this goes very smoothly, but sometimes the scans will hang and you have to reset the Kodi library and rescan again.  So it's another potential thing that can go wrong.

 

There is no Kodi PVR addon that interacts with Emby, although I believe one of the developers has started working on one.  But it probably won't be ready for many months.  So while you can install a Kodi PVR addon to watch and record from a network tuner, it will be completely separate from Emby.  And you'll need to setup the backend (NextPVR, MediaPortal, etc.).  If you want to use Emby to record from a network tuner, then you cannot use Kodi to manage recordings, but you can use some Emby apps to do so.

 

 

 

 

That's probably way more information than you wanted, but I hope you find it helpful.  Good luck in making the transition.

[ebr 16185]

Yes, you can run the server as a service if you wish.  You will have to be sure you configure it properly to be able to access the media.  This may not be an issue with WHS though (assuming the media will be local to the server).

[JulesC 51]

I can't speak to the iOS devices or Windows Home Server, but I can speak to using Kodi and Emby server together.  I've tried various combinations of Plex, Emby (back to when it was still Media Browser), and Kodi (back when it was still XBMC) over the last decade or so.  Ultimately I've chosen to use the Emby server with primarily Kodi as the client software.  Here's why:

 

 

Why use Kodi as the client instead of an Emby client?

 

Playback of just about every codec and file type because it's been under development for so long and uses a different internal player.  Thus, there is usually less need for transcoding as compared to some of the Emby clients.  However, the Emby clients do keep improving playback, so this is becoming less of an issue as time goes on.

 

The abundance of skins for Kodi allow you so many options in setting up the appearance of each client.  You can use posters, thumbnails, logos, clearart, and banners organized in many different ways.  There are some options for tweaking the appearance in the Emby web and Android clients, but not nearly as many options compared to using different skins in Kodi.  Skinning is just starting to be developed for some of the Emby clients, so I'm curious to see our options in the next few months.

 

The appearance is more consistent across multiple platforms since you can install the same Kodi skin.  Whereas Emby Theater, the Emby Andoid app, the Emby Android TV app, and Emby for WMC all look a little different and are in different places in their development.

 

 

 

Why use Emby apps as a client instead of Kodi?  

 

Simplicity.  My wife and daughter often use the AndroidTV app for this reason. 

 

You install the Emby client for your platform and, for the most part, you are ready to use it once you connect to the server.  Your Emby libraries are right there in a straightforward interface with a minimal number of settings to tweak.  If you use Kodi, you probably have some work to do to set everything up.  There are a lot more settings, which some people find difficult to navigate.  You will probably want to search through the skins to find one that works well for you.  In particular, you will want one where you can change the main menu items so you can add your Emby libraries as menu or submenu items.  I use the Titan skin.

 

You also have to download the Emby for Kodi addon from the appropriate repository and then let it import your Emby library into your Kodi library.  Every time you watch something in Kodi, the addon has to communicate with the Emby server.  Every time you open Kodi, the addon will receive updates from the server.  Most of the time this goes very smoothly, but sometimes the scans will hang and you have to reset the Kodi library and rescan again.  So it's another potential thing that can go wrong.

 

There is no Kodi PVR addon that interacts with Emby, although I believe one of the developers has started working on one.  But it probably won't be ready for many months.  So while you can install a Kodi PVR addon to watch and record from a network tuner, it will be completely separate from Emby.  And you'll need to setup the backend (NextPVR, MediaPortal, etc.).  If you want to use Emby to record from a network tuner, then you cannot use Kodi to manage recordings, but you can use some Emby apps to do so.

 

 

 

 

That's probably way more information than you wanted, but I hope you find it helpful.  Good luck in making the transition.

 

Arztonyou, Thank you for sharing your detailed input...very helpful.  I fully understand your rationale on using Kodi as your Media Center client and Emby as your Media Center server.  I will definitely try this setup for my needs (2 HTPCs & 1 xBox).  As for my iOS devices, I'll plan to use the Emby apps so I don't have to jailbreak them for Kodi, and I will most likely provide Emby for WMC app for my wife and son.  At the end of the day, I like the idea of having a simple interface that my wife and handicapped son can operate and one for me that has more customization options since I'm the one that mainly operates our Home Theater system.

 

Are there iOS apps that you're aware of that my wife & son could easily use as a remote to navigate Emby for WMC or should I consider a different approach?  I have a wireless keyboard that I currently use for our system.

 

Is there an easy way to review the Kodi "skins" to see which one would best meet my needs?  

 

Navigational features that I'm thinking of are: Movies - TV Shows (.MP4 Series/Episodes, Channels, Live TV, Recorded TV) - Photos - Music.

Ability to categorize movies by Genre, display synopsis for movies and TV Series, etc. Any skins you can think of to best meet this need?

 

Thanks for the watch-out regarding the syncing with "Emby for Kodi addon".  I will definitely make note of this.

 

If I use "Live TV" from Emby with an HD Homerun to record TV shows/Movies, can I watch the recordings from Kodi or can I only do this from Emby?

 

Have you opened up remote access to your Emby movies/TV shows to family/close friends?  If so, do you have any learnings you can share (i.e. configurations required, do you use a firewall (e.g. pfsense, etc.))?

 

Thanks again for ALL your input and willingness to help me as I plan out my migration from "My Movies" to "Kodi/Emby".

[arztonyou 17]

JulesC,

 

I can't help with the iOS apps.  Never used any version of iOS.  I did try an Android app called My Media Center for a while, and it was okay, but not outstanding.  There might be an iOS version you could try out.  For Kodi, there is an app called Yatse that is fantastic, but I don't think there is an iOS version.

 

Here's a link to a comparison of Kodi skins, but it needs to be updated:   http://kodi.wiki/view/Comparison_of_skin_features#Kodi_Skin_features 

 

I use Titan, which is developed by one of the developers of the Emby for Kodi addon, so it easily allows you to create menu items from your Emby libraries using smart shortcuts.  It's a very nice skin with lots of features that is under active development.  I would suggest installing the Titan skin and just playing around with all the views until you find your favorites.  I have also used the Aeon MQ, Aeon Nox, and Arctic: Zephyr skins in the past, and I think they would be solid choices for you as well.  Aeon Nox is the simplest of those skins, although there are mods available that add in various extra features.

 

 

EmbyTV (with a HDhomerun tuner) records as a .ts file, but the server has options to change to a .mkv container or convert to a .mp4 file.  So you will be able to watch the recorded shows in Kodi because the server adds your recording folder as a media library.  Or there is an auto-organize feature with the server that will move the newly recorded files into the appropriate series and season folder if the show is already part of one of your Emby libraries.  But all of this is completely separate from a Kodi PVR addon, so to Kodi these will just be regular media files and you won't be able to schedule recordings, etc.

 

Since you are planning to use WMC, you could use ServerWMC instead of EmbyTV.  ServerWMC interacts with Windows Media Center to record, and there is both an Emby plugin and a Kodi PVR addon for ServerWMC.  I used it for a while when I was still on Windows 7 and it worked pretty well.  But I upgraded to Windows 10 and decided not to install WMC, so I went with EmbyTV at that point.

 

I have not opened up access to family or friends yet.  They only use streaming services and the cable company DVR.  So someone else will have to chime in with advice for that.

 

 

Good luck.

[arztonyou 17]

I forgot to mention that I do have a Kodi PVR addon installed: http://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=250

 

Basically it uses a HDhomerun to load in guide data for a few hours, and you can select shows to watch from the guide, but you can't record anything.  So I use this just to watch TV in Kodi.  I manage EmbyTV recordings through a web browser or using the Emby Android app.

 

This is not to be confused with the new SiliconDust DVR project that is currently in beta.  That's something completely independent of Kodi, but there is an addon for using it in Kodi, and people have started to post questions in the Kodi forum linked above.  But they are completely separate projects.

Edited January 22, 2017 by arztonyou

[JulesC 51]

Arztonyou, thank you for the additional input.  I will definitely look into the Titan skin for Kodi...sounds like it will meet my needs.

 

Appreciate the additional details for Emby Live TV,  HDhomerun and recording format options.  I will also review the threads regarding SiliconDust DVR project as well just for a complete picture.

 

I spoke out of turn when I mentioned using Emby for WMC because I'm using Windows 10 on my HTPCs.  I know you mentioned you use Emby Android TV app for your wife, but was wondering if you had any experience with "Emby Theater for Windows"?  Was wondering if this was a good option for my HTPCs.

 

Thanks again for your input and assistance.

[Luke 42081]

Emby for Android TV and Emby Theater are both great options. Enjoy

[arztonyou 17]

I do have Emby Theater installed on my Windows 10 PC and have played around with it some.  It seems to work very well for playing ripped and already recorded video files.  I'd actually like to switch to using it and eliminate Kodi just for the simplicity.

 

But I don't love how it looks.  I mean, it's perfectly fine, but I don't LOVE it the way I LOVE some of the views in Kodi.  I think there are a few skins in development for Emby Theater, so I'm curious to see what people come up with in the next few months.

 

The other issue that I've had is that I've never gotten Live TV to work well.  Sometimes I've had audio and video out of sync.  Sometimes when I select a show from the guide, I've gotten a spinning circle that never goes away and the show never starts.  If I didn't already have Kodi set up, I'd probably work harder at figuring out this issue.  I may spend some more time on it now because I'd like to use ET on an Xbox One.

 

I like to have it installed as a backup in case I go to watch something and Kodi is having issues.  So I'll keep an eye on its development and probably switch over to it at some point.  Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think about it.  

[arrbee99 1817]

Doubt if it'll help much, but maybe the best way is to try it out.

 

Maybe download the server. Create special seperate small test libraries containing seperate Movies and TV series just copied from your existing setup.

 

Point the server to those two libraries. See how it picks these libraries up, how it works with your typical naming, how it plays your stuff in a browser. Explore options, parental control maybe. Test the iOS app on this limited library.

 

Just a thought.

[JulesC 51]

arrbee99, thank you.  This is exactly the approach I'm taking    Appreciate the suggestion.

[JulesC 51]

I do have Emby Theater installed on my Windows 10 PC and have played around with it some.  It seems to work very well for playing ripped and already recorded video files.  I'd actually like to switch to using it and eliminate Kodi just for the simplicity.

 

But I don't love how it looks.  I mean, it's perfectly fine, but I don't LOVE it the way I LOVE some of the views in Kodi.  I think there are a few skins in development for Emby Theater, so I'm curious to see what people come up with in the next few months.

 

The other issue that I've had is that I've never gotten Live TV to work well.  Sometimes I've had audio and video out of sync.  Sometimes when I select a show from the guide, I've gotten a spinning circle that never goes away and the show never starts.  If I didn't already have Kodi set up, I'd probably work harder at figuring out this issue.  I may spend some more time on it now because I'd like to use ET on an Xbox One.

 

I like to have it installed as a backup in case I go to watch something and Kodi is having issues.  So I'll keep an eye on its development and probably switch over to it at some point.  Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think about it.  

 

I was only thinking of leveraging Emby Theater for Windows for my wife and handicapped son...thinking this interface might be easier for them.  Will download it and check it out, but like you, I plan to go with Kodi client with Titan skin & Emby Media Server for myself.  I also like the idea of having it as a backup media center client if Kodi is having issues.

 

I will definitely check out the Live TV with Emby and share back my learnings...just give me a week or two.  More than happy to help you and others...if I can.  Thanks again for everything.