Watch on your other devices
With your media server set up, enjoy your media on many devices.
Once Emby is up and running, as we’ve seen, you can access your media through a web browser on any computer: type 192.168.x.y:8096 into the browser (replacing 192.168.x.y with your server’s IP address), then log in to access your server remotely.
The web interface is more for managing than viewing your media, though, so what other options are there, and how do you access your media on other devices?
Desktops and laptops
Windows users can install EmbyTheater ( http://bit.ly/EmbyTheater) – as its name implies, it’s a front-end optimised for Emby servers, and by far the best way to experience Emby on Windows.
An alternative on other platforms – including Macs – is to install Kodi and add the EmbyforKodi add-on ( seebelow). You could even set up a dedicated media centre by pairing the OpenElec ( http://openelec. tv) distro with the EmbyforKodi add-on. Emby also fully supports the DLNA protocol, so any DLNA-compatible media player or distro can access your library, albeit without the fancy posters and extra metadata.
Raspberry Pi
Any model of Raspberry Pi makes a great under-the-TV media player, although the more powerful and recent Pi 2 is really recommended. For best results, pair it with OSMC ( http://osmc.tv), a Kodi- based distro that supports the KodiforEmby add-on too. Browse to http://osmc.tv/download/linux to download the device installer tool, which will create bootable media for you to install it on your Pi – in order to create this, you’ll need a class 10 8GB SD card, plus an SD card reader on your PC.
Android phones and tablets
You’ll find a wide range of UPnP-compatible media players for Android, but the obvious choice is the official Emby app. It’s polished, and it works with MBConnect, which gives you access to your media server even when you’re out and about. The official app is free to Emby Supporters (see http;//emby.media/donate) and £3.53 for everyone else, although you can trial it before you buy.
Alternatively, if your phone or tablet has enough grunt, then you can also get the functionality for free by installing the full Kodi app for free from the Google Play store. Once you’ve done this, follow our step-by-step guide below to adding the required repository to Kodi on your Android device, enabling you to add the Emby add-on.
Another option is to take your media with you – the VidOnPlayerHD app is free, plays a wide range of media and even allows you to download content from your Emby server to your mobile for watching offline while you’re away. Downside? The current version doesn’t work with Android Lollipop 5.1 or later.
Windows Phone
Not only does Emby provide a dedicated app for Windows Phone users (search for ‘Emby’ in your Store), it’s the only phone app that’s currently free for all users. There’s a Windows 8.1/10 Store app available for tablets too, but that costs £3.89.
Apple iPhone and iPad
At time of writing, the Emby iOS app is ‘almost finished’ – when it’s released, expect to pay around £3-£4 for it. In the meantime, an unofficial MediaBrowser app offers a similarly slick experience, at a cost of £2.99. If you don’t want to pay for access, you could connect through the Safari web browser using localhost:8096 at home or when out use https://app.emby.media. Or – if you’re happy with a less polished (but still detailed) interface, then install the free VLCforiOS app instead. Open the main menu and select Local Network – after a short pause, Emby should appear as an option under Universal Plug ‘n’ Play, allowing you to browse and access your media.
Apple TV
Previously you needed a jailbroken Apple TV to run a media player capable of playing UPnP streams like those offered by Emby. The newly announced Apple TV 4, however, will come with
an app store and Emby is likely to be developed for it at some point. In the meantime, you can stream content to your Apple TV via AirPlay, but that requires using your iPad or iPhone as an intermediary. If you’re using Android, you can still stream to Apple TV: VidOnPlayerHD supports AirPlay via Settings > AirPlay. Choose ‘Compatibility Mode’ for best results.
Stream music over Airplay
Speaking of which, do you want to stream music direct from your server to AirPlayenabled speakers without having to use your mobile? Visit http://bit.ly/Raop2 and you’ll find a guide to installing and configuring Pulseaudio-raop2, an experimental fork of PulseAudio that supports newer AirPlay enabled devices. It’s a lengthy process, but the result is worth it – we recommend taking an LVM snapshot of your system first, though, just in case things go awry.
Smart TVs / Blu-ray Players
Most Smart TVs and Blu-ray players offer some means of watching streaming media from a DLNA/UPnP server like Emby’s – format support may be an issue, but if your server is powerful enough to transcode, it shouldn’t be insurmountable. Try to make sure your media is encoded using the x264/H.264 codec, wrapped in an MP4 file with MP3 audio and you should be fine.
If you’ve a Samsung TV with the Smart Hub D series (2011 or later), then you’ll find a community-built Emby app is available: go to https://emby.media/download, select ‘Samsung Smart TV’, then click the link for instructions on obtaining and installing the app.
Set-top boxes
There’s a dedicated Emby app for Roku settop boxes, and if you’ve purchased a £10 or £15 NowTV box you can sideload the app via Developer Mode. ( Seethestep-by-step guide below,which explain show).
Dedicated Emby apps for both Android TV and Amazon Fire TV stick have also recently been released – you can download a free trial through the relevant store, and then the full app costs £3.95 as a one-off purchase or is free for Emby Supporters.
Google Chromecast
Chromecast supports only WebM and MP4/ H264 video, so it’s likely your server will be doing some heavy transcoding to route media through it. Nevertheless, support for Chromecast is built in to the iOS and Android apps, while if you install the Google Cast extension in Chrome or Chromium on your server (or other PC) you can then cast the tab containing your media to your Chromecast for watching on the big screen.
Games consoles
There’s a dedicated plugin for the Xbox 360, which you can add to Windows Media Center via the https://emby.media/ download page. Things are trickier with Xbox One, but the upcoming release of a Windows 10-powered dashboard should see an Emby app appear sooner rather than later – for the latest updates, check the Emby forums.
The Playstation 3 can access Emby using its DLNA server (make sure you enable DLNA on the PS3 via Settings > Network Settings > Media Center), while PS4 users should make sure they’ve got the latest firmware installed.