Emby is a self-hosted media server used for organizing and streaming personal movies, music, and photos to various devices across local and remote networks. It functions as a central hub for media library hosting, incorporating a DLNA media server for device discovery and a remote media gateway for secure external access.
The system features a GPU-accelerated transcoder that converts video formats on-the-fly to ensure compatibility across different playback devices. It also includes a live TV DVR capable of streaming live television signals and scheduling recordings for later viewing.
The platform provides metadata-driven library organization, parental content controls, and offline media downloading. It supports extensibility through a plugin architecture and offers synchronization options for cloud and external storage.
The server exposes a REST API for client communication and integrates with vehicle interfaces and voice playback controls.
