I bought the Emby lifetime license about 2 years ago when the plex remote streaming stuff first started getting talked about. It coincided with my server refresh so it ended up working out. I have been really happy with Emby so far.

One thing to note is that music streaming on remote devices is WAY better on plex, Emby behaves more like a mapped network drive running over the internet to a local music player that then forgets your position on pause or when you move away from the remote app/device whereas Plex is actually functional as a modern music player. I keep a local copy of my music library on my phone anyways and okay through Gonemad so it is a non-issue for me but Emby should work better than it does in that case.

Plex also allows/provides “live” tv (with ads) which can be nice if you are into that, and there is the “free” streaming library too which Emby doesn’t offer. I’ll keep plex around for those features but non-of my stuff is/will be hosted on Plex.

Oh look, another example of a product that worked fine without internet connectivity and was improved by adding extra bullshit you don’t actually need that then gets worse when those features can’t function properly because their server is offline.

We got a basic roomba 650 (the one that crashes into stuff and randomly cleans) like 10 years ago and it still works fine (well, as well as it ever worked which wasn’t great), you program the time and day of the week with physical buttons, and leave it alone.

Don’t worry it’s engine nerd shit, no one there is having any sex.

On the fedira ws vm, I just layered it because its easy. I tried running openjdk in distrobox on bazzite but I didn’t have time to screw around with getting the program (Tunerstudio MS) that is already on my bazzite install to “find” the java in distrobox. I’m also REALLY new to distrobox so I was probably using it wrong. I’ll checkout toolbox later today.

Yeahh java is a pain in the ass to get setup on bazzite without breaking stuff when you have an os update. I spun a fedora vm up and just installed it there but I need to redo that because the program I need java for is on my main os and I can’t move the license without javing java installed on the main os…

Setup was easy, it just works, its stable, and if you want the regular updates, just get the lifetime model on sale. I bought it becaue I didn’t want to spend time screwing with setup and just wanted to get my data moved snd running.

Unrelated but did you know that Libraries oftentimes have cd’s, dvd’s, and even audiobooks available to borrow?

What program are you using for your rpg campaigns?

Minecraft server is fairly universally supported.

Emby is a good option if you don’t want to hop to jellyfin. I have been pleased with it so far. I found the media tag/idenifier to work better/quicker than plex’s.

Up: My unraid server with media library, emby and my kids Down: the fiber internet line into the house that the contractor working on our siding snapped. No one is upset so the system is working.

I have been really happy with hosting my stuff via Emby even with my friend’s library on Plex. I have found the media recognition and identification system in Emby to be much better/easier to use.

While the music player in Emby is nowhere near as good as plexamp. I mostly store a local copy of my music on my phone anyways so it is not really an issue. I am going to start playing with navidrome when I get time but a one directional sync with syncthing fromy server to my phone would also work for my needs.

The Emby app on android tv is decent but not flashy and does not have streaming content by default, it is fully functional as a media player for library files.

My server that I host emby on is an unraid setup and using the “automated ripping machine” docker has been super handy for transferring my physical discs into digital form for proper preservation.

Completely unrelated, but did you know that most local libraries have music on cds and movies on dvd/blu rays that you can checkout for free with a linrary card?

I have been really happy with Emby. The setup was easy, library tags updated more reliably than plex, and remote access was simple to get setup with a user account. I am not using a vpn to access it, just give it the server details and user credentials and it works. I did opt for the paid lifetime version though.

I named my old white bitfenix prodigy m “Baymax” because it was white and had rounded edges.

Fedora Silverblue was VERY easy to install. I opted to go the GNOME route but its been great so far as a former windows user. I rebased from Fedora to Bazzite and it was dead simple. Been on Bazzite for a couple months now and have had no major issues. Figuring out my printer drivers was a bit tedious but it worked the first time once I got the process figured out.

I don’t have a recommendation but I have been looking for similar products. I am considering an esata setup to add my secondary array or a hotswap housing for switching backup drives. There are some pcie to esata adapters, you then just need power. Keeping it sata helps mitigate the risks of usb DAS connections with respect to corruption allegedly.

Emby will let you do it but you need a host server. Same with plexamp. Foobar2000 offers remote smb folder access but I don’t remember if it works as the library of it it just lets you download the files from smb.