User Swapping similar to Plex?

[Titanarchon 2]

I am new to Emby and a long time Plex user. I hate to compare the two but two things i have found... and i mean just two things i have found I miss from Plex. One I'll put in the appropriate place but the second one is i have two kids who use our devices (all Roku) and i love the way the parental controls are set up in Emby. One thing i don't fully understand is the switching of users. 

On Plex, when i brought the app up i was confronted with a screen that had all my "Local" users. I could then select Parents or Kids and the parents profile had a PIN on it. I highly doubt that Emby doesn't have this because its such and amazing program, but i am failing to figure it out. I also fail to see an option like Plex has to "switch users." Would this be better suited to be a feature request? Until then i have to shelve my over 100 dollar purchase until i can make it easy for my children to log in while keeping their login separate from ours as we have MUCH more mature movies that are just not suited for a 4 and 7 year old. Thank you all and i LOVE Emby so far! Below is what i'm talking about.

 

 

[samuelqwe 317]

What platform/app are you using to watch Emby content? I think maybe the "remember me" option might be enabled in that particular app.

 

Emby itself does let you add users and each app should let you switch between those users.

Edited September 12, 2019 by samuelqwe

[Titanarchon 2]

I thought I posted in Roku and put that they are all Roku’s in my question. May have missed it on my phone.

[samuelqwe 317]

I thought I posted in Roku and put that they are all Roku’s in my question. May have missed it on my phone.

You probably did, I just missed it. My bad.

 

But to answer your question, simply check the settings in the Emby app on your Roku and make sure the remember last user option is disabled. With it off, anytime you open the app, it will ask for what user you want to use.

[ebr 16171]

But to answer your question, simply check the settings in the Emby app on your Roku and make sure the remember last user option is disabled. With it off, anytime you open the app, it will ask for what user you want to use.

 

This is most likely your issue.  Our default behavior is to remember the last login.  Turn this option off and you will be presented with a login screen each time.

 

Please let us know if this solves it for you.

 

Thanks and welcome!

[SenatorIvy 18]

Is it possible to have a login account and then sub-accounts?  I have married couples on my server that would like the convenience of remaining logged in to the server, but also have the netflix style convenience of keeping their viewing logs/etc separate.

[Titanarchon 2]

Thanks all! I'll try to turn off remember last login to see if that helps, but not having something GUI where my children can identify their account still may be a deal breaker if they have to type something like Kids in every time. 

 

Ill report back tonight!

[ebr 16171]

Is it possible to have a login account and then sub-accounts?  I have married couples on my server that would like the convenience of remaining logged in to the server, but also have the netflix style convenience of keeping their viewing logs/etc separate.

 

Not at this time but switching users should be basically the same thing.

[SenatorIvy 18]

There's definitely an option to have the logins be image-based, though if you want to secure your server if it's remotely accessible, they'll still have a password to type in.

This is why I think there should be a server login for users and then subusers of that user.

[ebr 16171]

Thanks all! I'll try to turn off remember last login to see if that helps, but not having something GUI where my children can identify their account still may be a deal breaker if they have to type something like Kids in every time. 

 

Ill report back tonight!

 

You will get a screen allowing you to choose from available users.  You can even decide which users to show or hide on this screen (at the server/user configuration level) and provide custom images for each of them.

[SenatorIvy 18]

Not at this time but switching users should be basically the same thing.

 

Switching users does accomplish the same thing in keeping viewing separate, but it also requires that they login multiple times, whereas if there were a server account login that then had sub users they could just switch between them.

[ebr 16171]

Switching users does accomplish the same thing in keeping viewing separate, but it also requires that they login multiple times, whereas if there were a server account login that then had sub users they could just switch between them.

 

If you use our facility to not require a password on the LAN, doesn't this do the same thing?  Or, are they remote...?

[SenatorIvy 18]

They're remote.

[Titanarchon 2]

OK noob question... is that a server setting or per device setting? I dont see it even in this browser to disable auto login.

[Titanarchon 2]

So far to be honest, I think Plex has this beat pretty badly. A user should be different than your "Friends" your sharing library's with. I can have multiple users under my account and the people i share my libraries with (friends) can do the same. This is a much better and controllable environment.

 

Plus when i add a "Friend," they get an email and create their account and it connects for them all via the relay. I dont have to have them create their account then send me back their info.  THen the relay uses SSL, gives them the ability to have multiple servers under the same login, the ability for them to have multiple users for parental controls, and never have to manually connect to a server via a direct connection.

 

Don't get me wrong this isn't "BAD" or anything, just an area that needs improvement to reach more users. I have to use Plex until this gets something similar in my business as well because i have different devices at our business locations using different "Users" that have access to only specific libraries, but they log in with our company credentials and i give them the PIN for just their location user. It works perfectly. I want to switch all of our stuff over to Emby because of the presentation and pretty much everything else, so there is about 1500 bucks laying there if this can get implemented correctly! 

[ebr 16171]

OK noob question... is that a server setting or per device setting? I dont see it even in this browser to disable auto login.

 

The option is in each app.  In the Roku, you press the "*" button on the home page to get to the settings.

 

 

This is a much better and controllable environment.

 

Well, that's because Plex controls your users centrally.  We are different.  We don't force you (or your users) to sign up with us in order to use your system.  This does make things more complex in some areas but it also gives you complete control over what users you have and what they access and see instead of having a central authority controlling those things.

[Titanarchon 2]

What about a browser? Is there an option in the web?

 

Different for sure, but i don't feel its anything but worse. I still have complete control over what my users can access and see, then they have control over what their say children see without me being engaged at all. I realize my point of view won't change the way your doing this, but i do hope to see it move that direction. Not a single one of my users care they need an account to watch my media. Everything needs an account nowadays and people expect that. Its more cumbersome to connect via a dedicated URL than just a static log in. I feel that's why Plex moved that way and it would be nice to see that in this case. Anyways, ill try to disable auto login and see how it works when i get home today and report back. Thanks again for all the responses and maybe i write this up as a feature request. I feel you'll score much more business level accounts with that level of control along with implementing SSL over the relay that doesn't require your own cert.

[SenatorIvy 18]

The idea of server access under a specific account and then users under that account doesn't require any centralized db of user info; Emby could implement a system by which server access is granted to an account, and then that account could have the option of making sub-accounts.  It would be more management on the backend potentially for server people, but I wouldn't mind that.  Keep things away from centralization and put the fine-grained control in the hands of the users that want it.

 

Could have multiple approaches:

 

[server]

[1 access account]

[X number of users, all of which can see each other]

 

or

 

[server]

[X number of access accounts]

[X number of users under each individual access account]

 

Seems like this could be implemented fairly easily with the existing system as it is, with particular users just being grouped under particular access accounts.

 

Just spitballing.

[Titanarchon 2]

OK so i did as you said @@ebr and when i set it to not log in, my kids have the ability to remove the server! That's just not going to work. Ill have to abandon Emby until there is sufficient user vs shared user management. I suggest a set up exactly like Plex. You have a very superior product to theirs, but their user management has a huge jump on your product    Can't WAIT for you all to advance that further!

[speechles 2055]

Are you imply your children are mischievous? Because on entry into the app it has no context of who is using it. So it has to offer the ability to do things on a fresh start.

 

Can you show a screenshot (picture through a camera where quality is irrelevant just that it shows the problem) of the screen where your children could/will be removing the server? It sounds like you used Emby connect with PIN which would prevent your children from access your user when Emby connect is used. Emby connect = user + server = auth. Another user cannot auth or get in or should not be able to. They can auto login as themselves and cannot change users. Remove server would just force them to reauthenticate to your Emby server. Not remove the server for every user. ie, they would only be screwing themselves if they got mischievous. Hurting themselves.

 

How did you add the other users to your Emby server? Just normal users or through the Roku emby app with a PIN as Emby connect users? I am curious. We need feedback on where we drop the ball and sort of how you want this to work. Can you explain with a little more detail what you children are doing or potentially doing that bothers you? We want this to be painless and it sounds like it isn't. Please give us clues to exactly where these pain points are and how you would address them if you were us. Thanks. Sorry for the problems. Your use case is different than most which is why you see this issue. With your feedback we can do better. Thanks again.

Edited September 12, 2019 by speechles

[Titanarchon 2]

Sure! I love this app and i would love to pitch in. 

Ill attach pics and reference them here. 

1. I used Emby connect to link my Roku app. I created my "user" kids and set the appropriate permissions to the libraries. They are NOT cloud connected. I followed your advice and hit the * then turned off "Remember Me." Here is where i get the first problem. When opening Emby from the main screen, my kids have the ability to select a server or add a server, which they know nothing about. So first they have to select my server as opposed to my friends. There is also the added nuisance if i didn't set up a "user" correctly then they may see someone elses login and therefore libraries after they select my server. Shared users or "friends" need to be separate from local users. 

2. After i select the Kids profile and it goes in, there is no where we as the parents can swap profiles. We must completely exit the app then go back in and select A, our server and B, our name and enter our PIN. Very cumbersome. 

 

How Plex has it set up 

1. I use Plex connect to link my Roku app. I created my "user" kids and set the appropriate permissions to the libraries. I start the app and i am faced with the Plex pic from my opening post. They only have two options and don't know my PIN so they select theirs which doesn't have one.Done.

2. If at any time we come behind them and want to swap to our profiles, we hit the * then select switch profiles. That takes us to the same screen with the two aforementioned profiles and we can select ours and enter our PIN. Done. 

3. when i add a "friend" to share with, they get an email and are forced to make a plex account. If they don't, they don't get to watch movies. After they create a profile, they simply hit launch and watch movies from my server. If they want to watch my content on their Roku or SmartTV or fire stick, they download the app and use Plex connect just like I do to watch my server. On phones the app is a one time purchase for unlimited use. Very simple and straight forward. 

 

With the Plex way, i have zero ability to see "friends" names i have shared my libraries remotely with because they are separate from my local log ins. The log ins also have the exact same behavior when we are remote. Whatever app/device i have attached to my account with Plex connect, i am faced with the same interfaces and options all the way through. Very good. 

 

I am totally open to speak/video chat with anyone on the team. I am very supportive of this and love Emby's direction so far.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2019 by Titanarchon

[ebr 16171]

I feel that's why Plex moved that way and it would be nice to see that in this case.

 

 

Actually, the reason they did it that way was so that they could capture your users and present them with content to buy in the future   (and the future is almost now).

 

Thanks for the feedback though.  We are working on simplifying the entire "Emby Connect" experience.

[Titanarchon 2]

Actually, the reason they did it that way was so that they could capture your users and present them with content to buy in the future   (and the future is almost now).

 

Thanks for the feedback though.  We are working on simplifying the entire "Emby Connect" experience.

 

Hahaha i totally agree. Maybe you could not prompt them for Emby Premium when they create their account. Then you would not only be simplifying the process, but being honest to your customers customers! Thanks and feel free to keep me in the loop!