Choose specific version of a movie

[bobhays 2]

If I create multiple version of a movie

 

Movie X - 1.mkv

Movie X - 2.mkv

Movie X - 3.mkv

 

Emby recognizes that there are 3 version of the movie but I can't seem to find a way to choose which version to play. Is this possible or does it still just choose the one that is easiest to stream? If so what about if there are different cuts?

 

The only solution I've found so far is to add the different versions to the extras folder so I can choose from there.

 

 

 

Also a side note: the naming restriction for the extras folder seems to have gotten much stricter.

[zigzagtshirt 55]

@@bobhays

 

Emby server will decide which one to play, and there is no way to choose. The idea is to keep it as simple as possible since many media consumers expect to hit the play button and have it "just work" (e.g., my wife). It will pick the best available that does not require transcoding for the client.

 

If there are different cuts then you probably should make them separate movies in your library since they are not just movies with 3 different bitrates, etc. but also slightly different content. Maybe put them in a collection? Up to you though.

Edited April 15, 2017 by zigzagtshirt

[legallink 187]

@@bobhays

 

At this time you can't choose which version to play which is why I put them in the extras folder. For instance, I have avatar theatrical, extended, and special versions. In general I always want to watch extended, so I put that as the base movie and the rest I put in the extra folder named accordingly.

 

I think there is also recommendation to have each version of the movie input as a separate movie and then form a collection Of the different versions, so you can see other versions on one screen.

 

As to naming convention in the extras folder being stricter. I haven't noticed that. I name things whatever I want in that folder. Can you elaborate?

[ShoutingMan 101]

If they are different encodings targeting different playback devices or bandwidths, place them in the same folder and Emby determines which is best to play for the requesting app.

 

If they are different versions of the same movie (Theatrical, Special Edition, Directors Cut...) create a folder for each one, allow Emby to create multiple versions of the same movie, and then use Collections to gather them up into a clean interface to choose from. If you're motivated, create custom poster images to visually separate them.

[bobhays 2]

@@bobhays

 

At this time you can't choose which version to play which is why I put them in the extras folder. For instance, I have avatar theatrical, extended, and special versions. In general I always want to watch extended, so I put that as the base movie and the rest I put in the extra folder named accordingly.

 

I think there is also recommendation to have each version of the movie input as a separate movie and then form a collection Of the different versions, so you can see other versions on one screen.

 

As to naming convention in the extras folder being stricter. I haven't noticed that. I name things whatever I want in that folder. Can you elaborate?

Thank you, my current setup is to have them in the extras folder. The problem is when I actually have the extras for a movie so there's a list of stuff I have to search through to find the specific version.

 

@@Luke If I could suggest something, maybe a good solution would be to create a folder similar to "extras" called "versions" or "editions" that would have all the different bitrate versions of the movie. When you click play Emby would still have the optimized version play automatically, but if someone wanted to choose a specific version they could just scroll down and pick one. This would give you the best of both situations (easy playback, and control). I assume that it would be pretty similar to the current implementation of the Specials folder so it shouldn't be too hard to add. Thanks!

Edited April 15, 2017 by bobhays

[bobhays 2]

@@bobhays

 

At this time you can't choose which version to play which is why I put them in the extras folder. For instance, I have avatar theatrical, extended, and special versions. In general I always want to watch extended, so I put that as the base movie and the rest I put in the extra folder named accordingly.

 

I think there is also recommendation to have each version of the movie input as a separate movie and then form a collection Of the different versions, so you can see other versions on one screen.

 

As to naming convention in the extras folder being stricter. I haven't noticed that. I name things whatever I want in that folder. Can you elaborate?

I meant the naming restriction for the folder itself. Before I had the folder structure like this

 

Movie X

      >Movie X.mkv

      >Movie X Extras

             >Extra 1.mkv

             >Extra 2.mkv

 

Emby would recognize that there was another folder inside and automatically put all videos in there as extras. While browsing recently I couldn't find any of the extras so I renamed "Movie X Extras" to "Extras" and then it added a Specials section to the movie page with all the videos.

 

Btw, what is the best way to encode a video for direct streaming? I was just going to use handbrake (ffmpeg is great but handbrake is just sooo much easier to use) and convert all videos to 1080p h.264. For audio I thought AC3 or AAC would work but last night I couldn't get AC3 to direct stream but AAC worked just fine. I also don't know what to encode the subtitles in so that it won't require transcoding.

[legallink 187]

@@bobhays the answer to that question is entirely based on your end clients. I use handbrake and have a profile set targeting my current minimum spec end clients (Apple TV) with aspects designed for more codec rich end clients.

 

There are a lot of,people on here with more handbrake tech chops then me. That being said, for audio, when converting to MP4 for direct play on my Apple TV, I put aac first, then ac3 and then the uncompressed audio. The app,e tv will direct play aac, and the other platforms, I've set to request ac3 and uncompressed respectively.

 

Subtitles I think will depend on the nature of the subtitle. Is it a Foreign movie in English or an English movie with bit a of foreign language? (Replace English with whatever language you like to watch your movies in). If it's the latter, I burn them in with handbrake. If it's the former, I add them to the file, but don't burn them in.