Episode thumbnails
An episode thumbnail is associated with a particular episode presentation or record, which can differ from series artwork and locally extracted frame previews.
An episode image identifies or previews one episode. It can come from a catalogue asset or from a chosen local frame, depending on the route.
A series poster describes another level of the library hierarchy.
The image source has an identity
| Candidate source | Association to check |
|---|---|
| Provider episode image | Selected episode record |
| Local extracted frame | Selected video and programme position |
| Series artwork fallback | Series relationship, not an episode-specific scene |
Correctly matching the series does not resolve every episode order. A recut release can divide the story differently, so a provider's episode 3 image may depict scenes outside the local part 3.
The TheTVDB article develops that ordering context. Emby's TV naming documentation supplies the product's identification workflow.
The useful still is a presentation choice
A frame at a fixed offset can fall on a black transition, credits or an unrepresentative scene. A catalogue-selected image can serve recognition better, but it still needs to describe the intended episode.
There is no universal rule that the first or central frame makes the best thumbnail. Identity and image selection answer different questions.
Fitting can change what remains visible
An episode image can have the programme's aspect or another supplied composition. The client tile and generated derivative can crop or fit it.
A readable subject in the original can disappear at the smaller crop. Thumbnail generation explains the source/derivative boundary.
A set of time-position previews serves navigation within the episode; chapter thumbnails explains that other relationship. One selected episode image does not encode every scene position.