# Emby instead of Plex ?



## PacketMan (Nov 9, 2017)

I've been using multimedia/plexmediaserver for a few years and in the grand scheme of things it seems like a decent media server system.  Although I guess like a lot of other good application programs, scope creep and the resultant bloat sets in.  But that's fine we just buy more cpu and ram right?

In doing some searching one evening I found this:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/is-plex-dead-on-freebsd.50534/

So even though Plex folks have not made it official, the 'body language' of the conversation does seem to suggest that the Plex folks are really considering abandoning a native install for FreeBSD. So for that and other reasons, including the above, I have been trialing multimedia/emby-server and WOW I got to say I love it so far. Out of the gate it seems to be a great media server, but if you want, just pop the bonnet, and start tinkering with the more advanced settings.  Emby seems to be designed with the power user in mind, and when running both simultaneously `top` shows Emby using less memory on my 10.3-RELEASE.

But can't help wonder if their are some surprises or gotchas with Emby that I don't know about yet? Or maybe Plex too?  What do you think? I would really like to hear what you folks have to say? At some point in time I will be making a decision, or maybe the folks at Plex will make it for me.


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## ekingston (Nov 9, 2017)

I too use Plex on FreeBSD as my home media server. One of the big features that drew me to Plex (that may not be obvious) is that it will transcode on the fly. An Intel Core i3 can transcode 1080p@30fps. This is very handy if the device doing the playing does not support the encoded format.

Another handy (and not as easy to find) variation on transcoding is that Plex can be configured to pre-transcode some media files to be optimal for specific devices. Thus a lower bit-rate for when you are connecting remotely, a 720p (or 480p) for your old TV while retaining the original.

How is Emby at transcoding?


After your earlier inquiry about Emby, I had a look at it myself (although haven't installed it yet). It appears there are player apps for the Roku and Apple devices, which is good for me as those are the two main end-points I use. I haven't yet found a definitive list of devices that have an Emby client. For example, would the LG smart TVs (or Samsung, or Sony) have an Emby player (they all have a Plex player)?


Another question I'm having trouble getting a definitive answer for is the software. Is Emby Open Source, or partly Open Source? It used to be but all that language was removed from the Emby website. The Plex media server (but not the web interface or players) is open source. So, if FreeBSD is officially unsupported, in theory we could still get the media server running but wouldn't have the web interface to manage it.


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## ekingston (Nov 9, 2017)

One other thing, I'm going to attempt to install Emby beside my current Plex installation (on FreeBSD) and test it too.


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## metsuke (Nov 9, 2017)

I've been running emby on my FreeBSD server for over a year now.  It works great and convinced me to buy the lifetime premiere license.  The port is always up to date and my upgrades to the new versions are smooth.  Transcoding seems to work fine and I made a ramdisk for it to use.  Subtitle downloading can be kind of weird, but I eventually got what I needed.

I've never tried Plex, and one thing that put me off from it was needing to connect to their site to get the install going, at least it was for the FreeBSD when I tried.


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## PacketMan (Nov 10, 2017)

metsuke said:


> ... one thing that put me off from it was needing to connect to their site to get the install going, at least it was for the FreeBSD when I tried.



Yeah, and in order to use your server, at least remotely, or with devices like smart phones and tv's your server needs to be signed into mother ship.  I never was a fan of that.  In comparison, my Emby is stand alone, an island with no causeway.


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## metsuke (Nov 10, 2017)

Forcing external communication to a third party makes an application untenable for my standards.  With Emby, I can force everything through my own proxy or cut off access to only one or two devices. As a plus, the developers (finally) just released an Emby app for LG TVs.


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## Datapanic (Nov 10, 2017)

Both applications / "media servers" want your money.  
With PlexPass you can control what user gets access to your pron. 

It all comes down to whatever whorks for U.


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## metsuke (Nov 11, 2017)

Datapanic said:


> Both applications / "media servers" want your money.
> With PlexPass you can control what user gets access to your pron.


I hadn't looked at PlexPass before.  With Free Emby, you have user control by default.  The only real $ value from Emby Premiere is complete access from remote apps, which are usually fairly cheap anyway.


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## ShelLuser (Nov 11, 2017)

I never really understood the added value of software media servers tbh. My AC Ryan supports a wide array of file formats and also has no issues accessing NFS or CIFS alike. So when I need to watch something I simply rely on a mere Windows (-like) share. Heck, even VLC on FreeBSD can access my media over smb so...


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## driesm (Nov 11, 2017)

Emby looks pretty nice, however I don't like the fact I have to use ports to enable some options on ffmpeg to get all features for emby-server. Let alone X11 turned on by default.


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## PacketMan (Nov 11, 2017)

ShelLuser said:


> I never really understood the added value of software media servers tbh. My AC Ryan supports a wide array of file formats and also has no issues accessing NFS or CIFS alike. So when I need to watch something I simply rely on a mere Windows (-like) share. Heck, even VLC on FreeBSD can access my media over smb so...



Can't use SMB to stream a movie to your kids tablet when on a log drive. Yeah I can copy stuff to their devices (and net-p2p/btsync) worked well for this, but having the kids be able to go to an app, pick the movie they want, and then stream it over the cell phone network is slick to say the least.


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## metsuke (Nov 12, 2017)

Indeed, having a media server solves many issues for me.
-Remote viewing from any device anywhere.  Many mobile devices are difficult (at least for me) to set up with Samba.
-User control for media categories - Kids only get to watch kids shows etc...
-On-the-fly transcoding means no format is unplayable and every device is compatible.  I previously had issues with only uses Samba or Kodi due to devices not being able to stream at a specific rate or read a specific format.
-Automatic subtitle retrieval.  Emby searches subtitle websites and finds the exact subtitles that fit my specific version of the movie in my collection.  This wasn't a huge problem before, but I ran into a few movies that I needed subtitles for and now that's not an issue.

I use synth to exclude the x11 parts of Emby, but I know not everyone has such mechanisms set up.


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## phoenix (Nov 12, 2017)

ShelLuser said:


> I never really understood the added value of software media servers tbh. My AC Ryan supports a wide array of file formats and also has no issues accessing NFS or CIFS alike. So when I need to watch something I simply rely on a mere Windows (-like) share. Heck, even VLC on FreeBSD can access my media over smb so...



It's more to do with the clients and all the automatic stuff that happens behind the scenes. Downloading of artwork, information about the shows, playing theme song while browsing episodes, indexing everything for easier/faster searches, transcoding between audio and video formats, etc.

And having a remote- or touch-friendly interface that even a 3-year old can figure out (something that can't be said about vlc).

The ability to start a show on one TV, pause, and start at the same place on another TV/device is also great. We've been watching Spider-Man for about a week now, in 30 minutes bits, on 3 different devices so far, without missing any bits and pieces or having to fast-forward manually. 

It all comes down to convenience and features. And the users that you'll need to support.


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## poorandunlucky (Nov 13, 2017)

You know, you can just open a port in your router and connect to Plex that way, right?  Like from your phone...  That's, of course, if you don't mind using a browser instead of an app (which is really a browser)...

(Like you don't need to pay for their license... unless you really like it and want to support them...)

(I'd support them if I had the money, but I don't, so...)


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## johnblue (Dec 27, 2017)

Thanks for starting this thread.  Emby is looking sweet!

I have always been ho-hum about plex because of the mothership connection.  Still, I bought a lifetime package back in 2012 or so because my bros were running plex servers.


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## rigoletto@ (Dec 27, 2017)

This should be the reason of Plex supposedly ending the FreeBSD support: Thread 38162/page-2#post-317478


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## Snurg (Dec 27, 2017)

Now that the plex dev wrote is interesting und sounds sensible to me.
His explanation about the function of kqueue is very clear.
Is there a particular reason why kqueue, which seems to be very primitive and ineffective compared to FSEvents, has been put into FreeBSD instead of the latter?


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## rigoletto@ (Dec 27, 2017)

As far I understand kqueue(2) was created to watch sockets and not file systems. So, it can watch file system but it is not the right tool for the job.

An implementation of an equivalent to FSEvents/iNotify in FreeBSD would be very welcome for several reasons. I just would like to know (curiosity) how much could cost something like that.


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## PacketMan (Dec 28, 2017)

johnblue said:


> Thanks for starting this thread.  Emby is looking sweet!



I'm liking it more and more.  Think I will buy a couple features sometime in 2018, and do a `pkg remove plexmediaserver`. Their DLNA implementation is pretty decent too.


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