Emby

Feature-rich media server with live TV and DVR

Emby Server is a client-server media system that lets you host your personal multimedia library—movies, TV shows, music, and photos. With built-in live TV and DVR capabilities, mobile sync, and cross-platform apps, Emby provides a feature-rich media experience. QuickBox Pro installs Emby from official releases with per-user systemd services, auto-incremented ports, self-signed SSL certificates, and optional beta branch access.

Installation

Install from the Dashboard

Open App Dashboard → Package Management (/dashboard?mode=packages), find Emby in the catalog (browse Media Servers or search), and click Install. The dashboard streams the install log live and Emby appears in your Application Control panel when it finishes. Reinstall, Update, and Remove are available from the same panel.

In the install dialog you can pick the release channel — Stable (default) or Beta for early features — and optionally set a custom domain with SSL. See Channels & Versions for how channels work.

What you see and can manage is gated by your account: admins manage any user’s apps; regular users manage their own. For the full package flow see App Management.

Install and manage from the CLI

The CLI runs the same install and is suited to automation and scripting. The --beta channel flag and -d domain map to the Dashboard choices above:

qb install emby -u username
qb install emby -u username --beta
qb install emby -u username -d 'emby.yourdomain.com'
qb install emby -u username --beta -d 'emby.yourdomain.com'
qb reinstall emby -u username
qb update emby -u username
qb remove emby -u username
qb help emby

The complete command set:

Updates auto-detect the current channel from the install marker, so you only pass --beta to switch channels. Full flag reference: CLI Reference.

Accessing Emby

After installation, access Emby at:

Or via direct port access:

First-Time Setup:

1. Create your admin account (no Emby.media account required initially)
2. Set up your media libraries (Movies, TV Shows, Music)
3. Configure metadata providers and language preferences
4. (Optional) Sign in with Emby Connect for remote access

Initial Configuration

1. Create Admin Account

On first access, create your local admin account:

1. Enter username (no email initially required)
2. Set password for admin account
3. Click Next to continue setup wizard
4. (Optional) Sign in with Emby Connect later for remote features

2. Add Media Libraries

Set up libraries for your media:

1. Click Add Media Library button
2. Select library type:
   • Movies - Feature films and home videos
   • TV Shows - Television series and episodes
   • Music - Audio files and albums
   • Books - eBooks and audiobooks
3. Add folder paths:
   • /home/username/media/movies
   • /home/username/media/tv
   • /home/username/media/music
   • Or custom paths you’ve configured
4. Configure metadata providers:
   • The Movie Database (TMDb) - Movies and TV shows
   • The TVDB - Television series
   • MusicBrainz - Music metadata
5. Set language preferences for metadata
6. Click OK to save library

3. Configure Hardware Transcoding

Enable GPU acceleration for transcoding:

1. Go to Settings → Transcoding
2. Configure hardware acceleration:
   • Hardware acceleration: Select your GPU type (Intel QuickSync, NVIDIA NVENC, AMD AMF)
   • Enable hardware encoding: Toggle on
   • Enable hardware decoding: Toggle on
3. Set transcoding quality preferences:
   • Max simultaneous video streams: Number of concurrent transcodes
   • Hardware transcoding threads: CPU core count
4. Save settings

Service Management

Emby runs as a per-user systemd service.

systemctl status emby-server@username     # Check status
systemctl restart emby-server@username    # Restart service
journalctl -u emby-server@username -f     # View live logs
systemctl enable emby-server@username     # Start on boot (already enabled)
systemctl disable emby-server@username    # Prevent auto-start

Troubleshooting

Emby Won’t Start

journalctl -u emby-server@username -f

Check data directory permissions:

ls -la /home/username/.config/Emby
# Should be owned by username:username
sudo chown -R username:username /home/username/.config/Emby

Can’t Access Web Interface

Hardware Transcoding Not Working

Hardware transcoding requires compatible GPU and drivers:

# Check GPU availability (Intel, NVIDIA, AMD)
lspci | grep -i vga
 
# Verify emby user is in video and render groups
groups emby username
# Should include: video render
 
# Add to groups if missing
sudo usermod -a -G video emby
sudo usermod -a -G render emby
sudo usermod -a -G video username
sudo usermod -a -G render username
sudo systemctl restart emby-server@username
 
# Check /dev/dri device access
ls -la /dev/dri
sudo chown -R root:render /dev/dri

Library Not Scanning

# Manual library scan via web interface
# Settings → Library → Scan All Libraries
 
# Check file permissions
sudo chown -R username:username /home/username/media
 
# Verify Emby can access media directory
ls -la /home/username/media
 
# Check scanning logs
journalctl -u emby-server@username -f | grep -i "scan"

Live TV / DVR Issues

# Verify tuner device permissions
ls -la /dev/dvb
sudo usermod -a -G video emby
sudo systemctl restart emby-server@username
 
# Check EPG data source configuration
# Settings → Live TV → TV Guide Data Provider
 
# Verify recording path permissions
sudo chown -R username:username /home/username/recordings

Configuration Reset

# Backup current configuration
cp -r ~/.config/Emby ~/.config/Emby.backup
 
# Stop service
systemctl stop emby-server@username
 
# Reset configuration (keeps libraries and database)
rm ~/.config/Emby/config/system.xml
 
# Restart service (will regenerate config file)
systemctl start emby-server@username

Best Practices

Related Applications

Live TV, tuners, and HDHomeRun

Additional Resources