Media servers are not a new thing, and Emby certainly isn’t the first piece of software to run on Linux, but it does have something really unique. It doesn’t require a whole lot of configuration to set up and is considerably easier software to use compared to others available on the Linux platform.
This guide will go over the installation, setup and configuration of Emby on your Linux system. It’ll also go over the many ways in which you can access your movies, music, pictures and TV shows from your media server.
Installing Emby
Emby doesn’t have a package that you can download to install for Ubuntu directly. Instead, it uses the OpenSUSE build service. This guide will focus on Ubuntu, but this software is also supported officially by Open SUSE, Fedora, CentOS and Debian.
Before the software can be installed, the repository needs to be added to Ubuntu.
Note: for later releases, the 15.10 part of the command below will need to be changed to whatever point release Ubuntu currently is.
sudo sh -c "echo 'deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/emby/xUbuntu_15.10/ /' >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/emby-server.list"
When the repository is added, Ubuntu will need to update its software sources to reflect the change.
sudo apt-get update
After the changes have been updated, the Emby server software can now be installed.
sudo apt-get install emby-server
Finally, start the server on your system.
systemctl start emby-server
Set Up Emby
Now that the server software is installed, it’s time to set it up. Put “http://localhost:8096” (or “http://127.0.0.1:8096”) in your web browser to start the Emby setup wizard. The first thing to do is to enter your first name.
Just below that there’s an option to link an Emby account to the server. This is an optional step, but if you choose do to so, create an account here first.
After entering the required information, it’s time to add media to the server. Click the plus icon and browse to whereever the media you want to add is located. Once the folder is selected, you’ll be required to select what kind of media is in it. Find whatever fits for the files you’ve added.
On the next page Emby asks for settings to be configured. Select your language and country. Optionally, check the boxes “Download artwork and metadata from the internet” and “Save artwork and metadata into media folders” if you wish to download and save metadata for media on your server.
The page following the settings configuration area asks about setting up live TV. This is an optional step. Press “Skip” unless you’re looking to set up a live TV tuner.
Finally, accept the Emby licence agreement, and the setup is finished!
Using Emby
Emby can be accessed on nearly anything. Just open a web browser and head to “http://localhost:8096” or “http://ip.address.of.media.server:8096.” Alternatively, try out some of the apps available for the Emby media server.
The software itself supports Chromecast, Windows Media Center, Kodi, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Xbox 360, and the Web. More information on accessing Emby on devices can be found here.
Conclusion
Though not many people talk about them anymore, media servers are really useful. They allow you to put all of your media files in one place and allow you to access them on a myriad of platforms.
There are many media server applications available for Linux, but few can measure up to the simplicity of Emby. The fact that it’s so quick to get up and running is extremely refreshing. I hope that with this guide you’ll discover the wonders of Emby as well.
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Derrik Diener
Derrik Diener is a freelance technology blogger.
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