Jump to content

Old MB User (MIA for 3+ Years) Questions on Changes?


AZMedia1

Recommended Posts

AZMedia1

Hi All,

 

Any help would be appreciated. Things have certainly changed over the years. I'm now completely lost with how the app works....and the forum.

 

We retained our old MB folder structure.

We now have a Synology 8 disk server hosting movies and TV shows

Media Center Master collects our metadata and images, uses the movie.xml and other xml files.

We assembled pristine artwork (except no actor images) and 1080p trailers for every movie.

 

ARTWORK & METADATA QUESTIONS:

  1. Can EMBY use our existing artwork and trailers, get missing stuff like actor images from the net?
  2. Does the metadata & artwork used by EMBY download to our server/PC or does it need a constant net connection ?
  3. Would it be reccomended to use NFO or XML metadata?
  4. Would it be better to have MCM create metadata or EMBY handle it?

 

GENERAL CONFIG QUESTIONS:

  1. It looks like 2 necessary pieces (Apps & Server) are required for this to work. Using our 2012 Synology server, do we also need a PC so EMBY can be viewed on our TV's?
  2. We use our PC to manage MCM, which moves completed stuff to our Synology server. Would we need to open our Synology server up to the internet? Right now it's only a local network device.

 

I just dread spending dozens of hours again to learn everything all over. We really don't know what to ask to get this to work effectively on our TV's. Our preference is have our server host as much as possible (artwork, metadata, etc). Any insight would be very helpful.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AdrianW

I'll answer what I can...

 

ARTWORK & METADATA QUESTIONS:

  1. Yes - go to the Metadata section on the server and check "Save artwork and metadata into media folders" and if you want to continue to use MCM, uncheck "Download artwork and metadata from the internet" (although you may need that set on to get people images). 
  2. Artwork is downloaded (unless it already exists) and is either stored on the server or with your media (depending on the first checkbox I mentioned above).
  3. I use XML  - I think the only benefit of using nfo is for Kodi use.
  4. Personal choice - I'm still use Metabrowser as it gives me more control over all aspects of the metadata, but Emby also has many metadata features - see the Metadata Manager.

GENERAL CONFIG QUESTIONS:

  1. IMO it's still best to run the server on a Windows PC (I use a NUC on which I'm also running Emby Classic - equivalent of Media Browser 2). If you still have an HTPC, then you can install the server and Emby Classic on that and have a very similar user interface to what you were used to with MB2.
  2. Only the PC with the server needs to have access to the internet. If you use your Synology just for storage it won't need access to the internet.

There's many ways of getting your content on to your TV - probably the best experience is to use an HTPC (like my NUC). But, you can also use a Roku, an Android STB, a Chromecast or DLNA (if your TV supports that). For the chromecast and DLNA options you'd need another device for browsing (like a smart phone or an iPad) and play commands would send the video to the TV (assuming the TV is on the same network).

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

AZMedia1

Thanks Adrian. Could I bother you (or anyone) for a few minutes of your time. I'm rolling up on 60 years old and this can be a bit overwhelming. I loved the flexibility, user interface, and tweaking of MB. All our TV's are Samsung with ethernet ports/connected.

 

My Q's:

Would it be unreasonable to think Synology could serve up our content directly to our TV's via our Cat6 cabling? I was hoping all that was needed was an EMBY plugin installed on our Synology and/or TV.

 

Currently, Plex offers their server apps as a Synology plugin. Synology also has their own "Video Station" plugin which is this very basic GUI for perusing TV and Movie files. It does include metadata and some artwork grabbed from the net, but overall is not very flexible. The Synology "DS Video" plugin simply installs on the Samsung TV's to make it all work without a PC. I think Plex works the same way, a client app for the TV.

 

Has EMBY not caught up with the above type of technology?

Edited by AZMedia1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

AdrianW

There's actually an Emby Samsung TV app that you can install on your Samsung (as long as it has Smart Hub series D or later) - see this main Samsung forum, and this thread for install instructions. That app is still in rapid development, so it hasn't been released to the Samsung app store yet.

 

You still need an install of Emby Server somewhere on your network. There's a thread here about progress on a Synology version of the server, but (at least to start with) I'd just install the server on a Windows PC somewhere - it doesn't have to be a standalone PC, it can be used for other things as well - it'll just need to be on when you want to watch content.

Edited by AdrianW
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...