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How do I play anime from a Jellyfin / Emby / Plex server in Fushi?

Updated

If you run Jellyfin, Emby or Plex at home there's no need to copy anime into Fushi again: sign in once and the server's videos play right inside Fushi — tap words, mine cards, as usual. Jellyfin and Emby share one API, so the steps below apply to both; Plex is at the end. (Not sure what they are? Start with What are Jellyfin, Emby and Plex?.)

Before you start ​

  • The server is installed, has scanned its libraries, and you can see your anime in its own web UI or app.
  • You know the server address: on a LAN typically http://192.168.x.x:8096 (Jellyfin and Emby both default to port 8096; Jellyfin with HTTPS on is 8920; behind a reverse proxy it's your own domain). On phones use the IP address — Android and iOS can't resolve .local names or Windows computer names.
  • An account on the server (username + password). Emby users who sign in through Emby Connect need a local password set on the server for that user.

Step 1: sign in ​

Settings → Online services → Jellyfin · Emby

  1. Add a server and enter the address above as the Server URL. Watch out for full-width colons and dots if you type with a CJK input method.
  2. Enter username and password and press Sign in. On success it appears under "Signed-in servers". You can sign in to several servers.

The sign-in token is stored on the device; Sign out deletes it together with that server's cache.

If one server has several addresses (LAN, public, reverse proxy), add them under its Routes with "Add route" and switch any time; the sign-in works on every route.

Step 2: browse in the "Media servers" section ​

The video library has a Media servers section at the top: server → library → show → season → episode, browsing the server's own folder tree, plus "Search this server". Tap an episode:

  • Direct streaming: no transcoding; the server streams the original file and Fushi's own player decodes it, so HEVC / 10-bit / mkv are all fine;
  • Subtitles: the server's text subtitles for that video (external .srt / .ass, or text tracks inside the mkv) are fetched automatically and loaded as external subtitles — tappable and mineable; PGS-style graphic tracks carry no text and need OCR, see external, embedded and burned-in subtitles. No Japanese subtitle on the server? Import one by hand or let Jimaku match it, just like a local video.
  • Two-way progress sync: the server records where you are (every 10 seconds, like the Jellyfin web client), and Fushi reads the server's resume point — stop halfway in the Jellyfin phone app and Fushi picks up there, and vice versa.
  • Download to this device: to watch offline or to export clips, download the whole file from the card menu; clip export only works on local files.
  • Mining from a stream is slower; "Settings → Card creation → Online video mining" lets you mine in the background or after watching, see the streaming article.

Mixing them with local videos ​

By default media-server items only live in the "Media servers" section. To have them appear alongside local videos on the home, series and all-videos views, turn on Show in video library in the server's settings, then adjust two options if needed:

  • Libraries to list: none ticked = all video libraries. On a big server (tens of thousands of items, or a public one) tick only the one or two libraries you actually watch — mixing in means paging through the server's listing, and enumerating a whole server is slow and can look like abuse to the server.
  • Auto-list items on entering Video: on very large servers turn it off and list only when you pull to refresh in the video library.

Plex ​

Settings → Online services → Plex: Sign in with Plex (authorise Fushi in the browser; reachable servers on the account are added automatically), or Connect manually with the server address and an X-Plex-Token. Then browse it in the same "Media servers" section; playback streams the original file directly without Plex transcoding.

Common situations ​

  • Sign-in fails: first open the same address in a phone / desktop browser to make sure it loads; include the port; behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS use https://; for Jellyfin / Emby the username and password are the server account, not a cloud account like Emby Connect.
  • The list is empty: the library isn't a video type (in Jellyfin the library type must be Movies / Shows / Mixed content); in mixed mode "auto-list" may also be off — pull to refresh.
  • Mixed mode lists only part of the server: servers with hundreds of thousands of items trip the paging circuit breaker, and Fushi tells you the list is incomplete; tick fewer libraries, or just browse in the "Media servers" section.
  • The server rejects the app: some servers only allow specific clients; ask the server's administrator.
  • Don't want to run a server at all: Fushi on your computer can be the host itself, see Fushi interconnect.

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