Emby Premium

[Misinthe 46]

Hey everyone, so I just purchased Emby Premium, and I'm looking at the extra features to try and get things set up and I have a couple of doubts. What is the difference between the Emby app and Emby Theater? How can I set up the Smart Home? Is there a guide to set up DVR? Does it need to be plugged to my cable box? Thank you.

@@cayars

[ebr 16195]

Hi.  Have you seen our searchable Knowledge Base?

 

It has articles on setup and some of the features you are asking about.

 

"Emby Theater" is one of our Emby apps.  There are several depending on the platform you are using.

[Carlo 4561]

The knowledge base ebr pointed you to should be your first stop for information on this Emby related with these forums closely following that.

 

You asked a quite diverse set of questions.  Like any other component of a Smart Home Emby can be made a part of it.  With the proper setup you can control it with your voice, dim lights and all kinds of creative features that come with home automation.  For others the "automation" might stop with integration with Alexa.

 

Live TV/DVR can be used with a few sources which include IPTV, Antenna or Cable.  I use all 3 for example.  

https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44001160415-live-tv-setup

 

Emby supports different hardware but most people seem to like and use the HDHomeRun products the best.

https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44001848794

 

For use with an antenna you would likely choose the HDHomeRun Connect Quatro which supports 4 simultaneous channels in use at the same time.  The great thing with antenna use is there is NO MONTHLY FEE.  In my area I get over 60 channels OTA (over the air) including all the local channels like ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, FOX,, etc  What you won't get is cable only channels such as CNN, Fox News, Lifeline, Hallmark, etc

 

For cable use you would likely choose the HDHomeRun Prime which is a 3 channel cable box replacement.  You still pay the cable company every month but won't need all their equipment.  By using my Primes I save $40+ a month in box & service fees. 

 

For me there is little difference in a cable plan with Internet access vs just internet access because of the double/triple play packages they always offer.  They make a lot of money on equipment rentals which I don't need using Primes and Emby.  Not only that but I can watch my TV stations remotely or set recordings remotely as well which is great.

[Misinthe 46]

The knowledge base ebr pointed you to should be your first stop for information on this Emby related with these forums closely following that.

 

You asked a quite diverse set of questions. Like any other component of a Smart Home Emby can be made a part of it. With the proper setup you can control it with your voice, dim lights and all kinds of creative features that come with home automation. For others the "automation" might stop with integration with Alexa.

 

Live TV/DVR can be used with a few sources which include IPTV, Antenna or Cable. I use all 3 for example.

https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44001160415-live-tv-setup

 

Emby supports different hardware but most people seem to like and use the HDHomeRun products the best.

https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44001848794

 

For use with an antenna you would likely choose the HDHomeRun Connect Quatro which supports 4 simultaneous channels in use at the same time. The great thing with antenna use is there is NO MONTHLY FEE. In my area I get over 60 channels OTA (over the air) including all the local channels like ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, FOX,, etc What you won't get is cable only channels such as CNN, Fox News, Lifeline, Hallmark, etc

 

For cable use you would likely choose the HDHomeRun Prime which is a 3 channel cable box replacement. You still pay the cable company every month but won't need all their equipment. By using my Primes I save $40+ a month in box & service fees.

 

For me there is little difference in a cable plan with Internet access vs just internet access because of the double/triple play packages they always offer. They make a lot of money on equipment rentals which I don't need using Primes and Emby. Not only that but I can watch my TV stations remotely or set recordings remotely as well which is great.

Thank you for the information, like I thought, I would need to connect my server to my cable box. Which I'm not really wanting to do.

[Carlo 4561]

Actually the Prime card replaces the need for the cable box so you would likely save every month on the bill.

I know on xFinity/Comcast they charge $10 per additional box plus $10 digital access fee plus $10 for DVR service per month.  I had 3 cable boxes (living room, basement, bedroom) so I saved $20 for the cable boxes, $10 for the DVR fee and $10 for the digital access which wasn't needed since I wasn't using their equipment any more.  That saved me $40 per month so 3 months paid for the Prime card and I've been saving $40 ever month since.

 

https://www.silicondust.com/product/hdhomerun-connect-quatro/  That's the model for antenna but they all look similar.  They are a standalone small box that has an Ethernet port.  So you place the box near your antenna or cable wall outlet and plug it into your Ethernet network.  Emby then finds the device on your network.  So the device and your server can be at opposite sides of the house as long as they are both connected to the same network it works great.

 

Something to think about or at least keep in mind for later.

[revengineer 142]

The HD Homerun Prime is an excellent replacement for a cablebox: no box fees, supports unlimited TVs, up to three shows simultaneously. The only problem is that it is no longer available, at least not new. The maker, Silicondust, is working on a 6 tuner version, which however has been promised and vapor ware for at least a year. I wonder if it will come to market before cable TV loses relevance entirely.

 

You could also go with IPTV, but, as with cable or OTA, you will also have to bring your own source. The legality of most IPTV is probably questionable and I only use it for foreign channels which I can otherwise not access.

[Carlo 4561]

I've been waiting on the Prime 6 for 4+ years which is how long I can remember.  Personally I think most people can get by fine with just OTA/Quatro setup as that normally gets you all the local channels for popular shows, news & local sports.  Most people probably get movies and TV Series other ways without the commercials so the channels they air on aren't as important.

 

Cable probably isn't needed unless a family member has a specific channel they like which typically is Fox News, CNN, cooking or home improvement type channel. Then there are the sports nuts like myself who want to watch as much of everything as possible like try to watch every NFL game each week.