v4.0.1.0

Home Screen Companion v4.0.1.0

Version 4 going stable. I have tested quite a lot but there is probably some bugs to be found. Pls help me by reporting them!  
This update contain some new functionality with top-list, and bug fixes.

Important

Minimum required Emby server v4.10.0.10

Release notes

NEW (introduced in 4.0.0.1-BETA)

• Top-List

You can now create a "Top 10 movies of the week" based of an existing tags to present as a home screen section. The plugin will create the new home screen section and new posters with numbers.

Updates

• Support for TMDb (introduced in 4.0.0.1-BETA)
• TMDb: Added better support to be able to use their API calls, for example copy/paste this url into the plugin: https://api.themoviedb.org/3/trending/movie/day?language=en-US
  More examples can be found here: TMDb API Docs
• Top-list: Added functionality to build a manual top-list
• Top-list: Added ability to edit top-lists
• Top-list: Created different styles on the number badge for top-picks. Neutral (black), Green, Blue, Red, Violet and Gray (not in picture)

Fixes

• Top-list: Fixed an issue where library access was not granted for all users. When creating a new top-list a new library is created and now all users defaults to have access to this.
• UI fix and improvements
• Rewritten the "Help/Get started" to make it easier to read and understand.

v4.0.0.1-beta

Home Screen Companion V4.0.0.1 BETA

This update bring some new functionality. We can now create a "Top 10" sort of list with numbers overlay on the poster directly from the plugin. Just choose from existing tags (that are managed from the plugin) what list you want and give it a name, the plugin fixes the rest.

Also abandoning .NET v8 version for now. The v6 gives full functionality and will be easier for the user and also for me to maintain.

Important

Minimum required Emby server v4.10.0.10

Important

Create a backup of both Emby and the plugin, as this is a BETA and there will be bugs!

Release notes

New

Create Top-list based of tags and collections
You can now create a "Top 10 movies of the week" based of an existing tag or collection to present as a home screen section. The plugin will then create new home screen section and new posters with numbers.
This is done by creating a new library with only the movies that will populate the top-list, sorting them in order and writing new posters.
Why a separate library? To ensure that the posters with numbers don't end up in another ordinary section, this is also needed to ensure that the sort order is correct. In other word, not to interfere with other views when browsing Emby.

There is also a new scheduled task for this. When creating a new library Emby automatically adds this to all home screen sections (dynamic media). But with the Top-list we only want to use the library that is connected to the top-list. To clean this up - run the task after adding/creating a new library. Otherwise the top list will populate with movies from the new library as well.

The plugin will handle library access for already existing home screen sections.

Also added a badge in the TAG & COLLECT menu to easy see what tag is used for a top-list

Note

For top-list to collect the correct sort order, you first need to run a "Sync tags and collections". This will then save the order the list is downloaded and use for top-list.

Note

Due to limitations with Emby, Top-list function only works for movies.

Updates

• Added support for TMDb

Fixes

• Smaller UI Fix (widen the Tag & Collection page, changed some colors on the flags for Tag, Collection, etc.)

---

Some thoughts about this update
The hardest part with this update/function is the way Emby now handles libraries in the home section. When a new library is created it automatically applies to all home sections. But for the top-list to work we can not have another library adding movies to the list, and we do not want the top-list library to be added to another home section. So this is something to keep an eye on for those who test the beta. 
If everything is done by the plugin it should be handled correctly, but when we manually add a new library or home section things start to get complicated. So i created a new "Scheduled run" that will try to cleanup all the library settings. 

For example:
I first create a new top-list called "Top 10 of the week". The plugin will then create a new home section and a new library with .strm files. It will also tell all existing home sections to NOT use this library (as we don't want to mix in these movies with another home section).
I then manually create a new library called "kids movies". This is then automatically added to the home section of the top-list by Emby. 
Running the new scheduled task called "Top-list section sync", the task will remove "kids movies" from the top list home section.

v3.3.2.1

Home Screen Companion V3.3.2.1

This update contains fixes to match Emby server 4.10.0.10

Important

Minimum required Emby server v4.10.0.10

Note

Included a .NET V6 release, this is for MacOS or legacy support. This version is NOT tested

Release notes

Fixes

• Updated Playstate function to work with Emby 4.10.0.10
• Fixed an issue where private/locked list from MDBList didn't get accepted by the plugin even though correct API key was entered.

v3.3.2.0

Home Screen Companion V3.3.2.0

This updates contain some fixes and some requested features. 
Biggest one is that we are now able to build a home section row of selected collections as image below:

Important

Minimum required Emby server v4.10.0.8

Note

Make sure to back up before updating, just in case.

Note

Included a .NET V6 release, this is for MacOS or legacy support. This version is NOT tested

Release notes

Improvements/updates

• Added ability to only show selected collections as a Home screen section. This way you can choose one or multiple collections to show on the home screen (no need to display all of them). See the tip below on how to configure
• Cleanup menu:
  • Made the tags and collections clickable links to its own view (open in new tab)
  • Added a filter for Tags
  • Added a small popup/hover over the name that simply explains where the tag originated

Fixes

• Fixed an issue in the cleanup where tags for some media types didn't populate the list. (Extras is now included with an "include extras" option).
• Fixed an issue where blacklist didn't get applied when running a single group sync

UI

• Remade the "Update available" to be dismissible. If dismissed a smaller discreet text will still be visible.

Tip

Below is how to set up a home screen section with selected collections.

Source = local collection
*Select what collections to include*
Tag = *random tag name* (the selections on what level to tag will be ignored by the plugin)
Collection tab: leave blank
Blasklist tab: will probably not work
**Important!** Home screen section tab: set media type to "Collections", you can play around with all other options

v3.3.1.0

Home Screen Companion V3.3.1.0

This updates contain various bug fixes.

Important

Minimum required Emby server v4.10.0.8

Note

Make sure to back up before updating, just in case.

Note

Included a .NET V6 release, this is for MacOS or legacy support. This version is NOT tested

Releasenotes

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where multi-line option didn't work. For example entering multiple actors in the Smart playlist filters.
• Various minor bug fixes

v3.3.0.0

Home Screen Companion V3.3.0.0

This updates focus on bug fixes and improvements to fully work with the home screen settings. Also introducing a Cleanup menu/function.

This release is not that significant by itself, but it's a milestone for the plugin as a whole. With Emby Server v4.10.0.8, all bugs seem to have been fixed for filters in the home screen sections setting, and this allows this build of the plugin to fully take advantage of this. My ambition with this plugin has been to manage all sections and settings for the home screen in the plugin itself, which now is possible.
In other words - this plugin is the only tool you need to have a fully managed and curated home screen!

Important

Minimum required Emby server v4.10.0.8

Note

Make sure to back up before updating, just in case.

Note

Included a .NET V6 release, this is for MacOS or legacy support. This version is NOT tested

Releasenotes

New

• Created a "Cleanup" menu. This allows to quickly remove tags and collections (also those that are not created by the plugin).
  Removing a tag or collection that is managed by the plugin will ask if you want to disable that group (to prevent repopulate).
• Added an option in settings menu how empty sources should be handled (keep latest or empty the tag/collection). Default is set to preserve latest.

Updates/improvements

• Updated plugin to fully operate with Emby server 4.10.0.8. Embys native menu and the plugin menu for home screen section now mirrors each other, meaning you can do all managing for sections in the plugin.
• Improved performance
• Remade comma separated lists into line separation. One value per line/row
• If a "schedule priority override" returns zero, now treat it as the schedule is inactive

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where episodes got tagged even tough "Series" was selected as tag.
• Fixed a bug where collection wasn't able to get tagged when the collection name contained a comma.

v3.2.1.0

Home Screen Companion V3.2.1.0

This updates bring mostly some user requested improvements to the Smart playlist filters, with support for music and music videos among other new filters. 
Also adding the filter function to all source-types, so now you can filter and match the list from ex MDBList to only tag movies that are in 4K.

Important

Minimum required Emby server v4.10.0.6

Note

Make sure to back up before updating, just in case.

Note

Included a .NET V6 release, this is for MacOS or legacy support. This version is NOT tested

Releasenotes

New

• Added filters for all source types. For example you can now get a list from Trakt or MDBList, and apply filters to only tag the movies or shows you have that contain a certain actor, or only are available in 4K.

Updates/improvements

• Added support for music and music videos in Smart Playlist function
• Added a WatchedByCount (how many users have watched this movie) in Smart Playlist filters
• Added collection and playlist as options in the smart playlist filters.
• When using local playlist as source or in the smart playlist filter, now every users playlists is shown.
• Improved sync with Emby native home screen section settings, and added more options when creating a home screen section from the plugin.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where home screen sections was created multiple times if they where reorderd with the plugin tool.

v3.2.0.0

Home Screen Companion V3.2.0.0

This updates bring some new AI features and a remade way to set tags an create collections. Also adapting the home screen section filters with Emby server 4.10.0.6 where we now can add a filter for watched/unwatched status. And as always some fixes.

Important

Minimum required Emby server v4.10.0.6

Note

Make sure to back up before updating, just in case.

Note

Included a .NET V6 release, this is for MacOS or legacy support. This version is NOT tested

Releasenotes

New

• Added AI-generated lists as an option for source.

Updates/imrovements

• Updated home screen section settings in according with Emby server 4.10.0.6. Now we can select to filter with play-status. (currently Emby server 4.10.0.6 is having bugs with this feature, but this plugin will support the function)
• When selecting Media Type = Episode, there is now an option to also check towards the parent series (tree crawl) if the series match.
• Added ability to enter multiple options in text fields, separated by comma. For example
  Actor=Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, Edward Norton
Studio=Netflix, HBO, etc
Overview=Christmas, halloween
• Added function for better control of tags and collections: Remade tag/collection logic for Media Type=Episode (introduced in v3.1.2.0). In previous release this was made so episodes where tagged or added to collections. This logic is now moved into the Tag and Collection tabs. See below for more info.
  ❗If you where using this to tag episodes, make sure to update according to the new way to set tags to episodes!

Fixes

• Some smaller UI fixes
• Fixed an issue where external list from MDBList only fetched up to 1000 items. This is now unlimited.

Tip

New way to select Tag and Collection level
You can now control at which level tags and collections are applied when using the MediaInfo (smart filter) source — independently for tags and collections.
Tag tab — a new "For TV shows, tag at level" section lets you choose one or more of: Series, Season, Episode.
Collection tab — a new "For TV shows, add to collection at level" section with the same options.

These two settings are fully independent. For example, you can tag individual episodes while adding the parent series to a collection — all from the same filter.

How scan scope and output level work:

The filter determines what gets scanned. By default, the scanner processes movies and series. Adding a Media Type = Episode filter rule switches the scanner to episode-level, giving you access to episode-specific metadata.

The tab checkboxes determine where the result goes, regardless of what was scanned:

Scanning series + Season target → all seasons of matched series are tagged
Scanning series + Episode target → all episodes of matched series are tagged
Scanning episodes + Series target → the parent series is tagged/collected
Scanning episodes + Season target → the parent season is tagged/collected

Information about the new AI feature

This function is 100% optional. Just type what you want and the selected AI will give you a response that is already adapted for the plugin to read.
It's enough to type "Give me good horror movies", and the plugin will also add (invisible to the user) instructions.

Note

The AI function will NEVER send any sensitive data. No user ID, no usernames, no server information etc. See below for exactly what information that is sent

Below is the full promt that the plugin will send.

You are a movie and TV show recommendation assistant. Respond ONLY with a valid JSON array. No explanation, no markdown, no code fences. Each item must have these fields: "title" (string, required), "year" (integer or null), "imdb_id" (string starting with "tt" if known, otherwise null), "type" ("movie" or "show"). Return exactly the items requested. Do not add any commentary. Example: [{"title":"Inception","year":2010,"imdb_id":"tt1375666","type":"movie"}]

Give me good horror movies (This is the user promt)

Return up to 20 items.

Below is if you also select to send latest watch history

You are a movie and TV show recommendation assistant. Respond ONLY with a valid JSON array. No explanation, no markdown, no code fences. Each item must have these fields: "title" (string, required), "year" (integer or null), "imdb_id" (string starting with "tt" if known, otherwise null), "type" ("movie" or "show"). Return exactly the items requested. Do not add any commentary. Example: [{"title":"Inception","year":2010,"imdb_id":"tt1375666","type":"movie"}]

The user has recently watched these movies and TV shows (most recent first):
- Oppenheimer (2023) [movie]
- The Bear (2022) [show]
- Inception (2010) [movie]
Use this to personalize your recommendations.

Give me good horror movies (This is the user promt)

Return up to 20 items.

v3.1.2.0

Home Screen Companion V3.1.2.0

This release contains some updates, user requested improvements and bug fixes.

Note

Make sure to back up before updating, just in case.

Note

Included a .NET V6 release, this is for MacOS or legacy support. This version is NOT tested

Updates / Improvements

• Added function to only run a single group.
• Added library sync across users (Home screen --> Copy)
• Added more search filters for source entries/groups
• Improved logging
• Smart playlist / local media information
• • Added "Overview" as filter. With this option you can match keywords or phrases against a movie, serie or episode overview (plot).
• • Added "Title (episode) as filter. This matches against the episode name
• • Added Episode to Media Type, see explanation below
• • Made a "How to use" help for smart playlist filters. This explains every selection and the functions. Also includes both simple and advanced examples.

Fixes

• Bug fix: Fixed a bug where weekdays in schedule was not selectable
• Bug fix: Fixed an issue where series/shows didn't get included with some filters
• Bug fix: Revamped the "Title" filter for smart playlist. Title now means movie title, or series title.
• UI/UX: Added a badge for type of source., and some other smaller UI/UX fixes.

Tip

Media type = Episode

When a filter is set in conjuction with media type = Episode, the tags will be set on episodes that matches. For example you want all episodes that actor XX has been guest playing in:
Media type=Episodes
AND
Actor=XX

If not using Media Type=Episode the tag will be set on the serie itself.

For example:
This will give you at tag (or add to collection) the specific episode of Scrubs (S01E01)

While this will tag the whole series, Scrubs (since it contain an episode with that name)

So Media Type=Episode is the key if you want to tag episodes!

v3.1.1.0

Home Screen Companion V3.1.1.0

This release contains all features from latest beta and also improvements to mostly the smart playlist feature.

Note

Make sure to back up your settings before updating, just in case. Both the plugin and Emby (user data)

Note

Included a .NET V6 release, this is for MacOS or legacy support. This version is NOT tested

New (introduced in 3.1.0.0-beta)

• Section management: Added function to manage a users home screen sections. You can now reorder sections directly from the plugin itself
• Create home screen sections: Added ability to create a new home screen section directly when creating a tag or collection.

Updates

Smart playlist / Local media information

• Added more filter for local media information
  • Date added
  • Date modified
  • File size
  • Last played (per user or all users)
  • Watched / Unwatched (per user or all user)
  • Play count (per user or all user)
• Added option for partial or exact matches fore some filters
• Added premade filters for local media information, to use as inspiration or examples, or of course as is.
• Created a function where you can save and load a set of filters

Other

• Made the "Schedule badge" in the header standing out more when priority override is active
• Created a duplicate function to each entry (the copy will be placed at the top of the list)

Fixes

• Bug fix: Fixed a bug where the UI in Home Screen --> Manage didn't show
• Bug fix: Fixed an issue when menu was not visible in light theme (fixed in 3.1.0.0-beta)

Improvements

• Optimization improvements using local media information
• Created a flag for Tag and Home screen section in the header of each entry. Removed the source counter to make room. (introduced in 3.1.0.0-beta)
• Updated the "Help"