How to Setup Emby Media Server in an iocage Jail on FreeNAS 11.1

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Abstract

Tutorial on how to setup Emby Media Server in an iocage Jail on FreeNAS 11.1.

Assumptions and Prerequisites

• OS: FreeNAS 11.1-U6
• FreeNAS Host: fn
• FreeNAS Network Interface: igb0
• FreeNAS IP: 10.0.0.2
• FreeNAS Subnet Mask: 24
• Jail Container: iocage
• iocage Version: 1.0 Alpha
• Jail Release: 11.1-RELEASE
• Jail Name: emby
• Jail Network Interface: vnet0
• Jail Network Config: DHCP
• Jail Default Route: 10.0.0.1
• IP Version: IPv4
• Bridge Network Interface: bridge0
• DNS 1: 10.0.0.1 
• Domain: example.com
• ZPool Volume: tank
• Dataset: /mnt/tank/movies
• Emby Server Version: 3.5.3.0
• Setup iocage Jail

Create a Dataset on FreeNAS and Set Permissions

Create dataset 'movies' on FreeNAS as windows type

Set dataset 'movies' user owner as 'mujahid(uid:1000)' and group owner as 'media(gid:8675309)'. And set these permissions recursively.

Mount Dataset in Emby Jail with Read/Write Permissions

root@fn:~ #  iocage fstab -a emby /mnt/tank/movies /mnt/movies nullfs rw 0 0

Installation 

Login/Console into Emby Jail

root@fn:~ # iocage console emby

Go to https://emby.media/freebsd-server.html to look up the instructions and release version on how to install the latest emby package.

Install Dependency packages for Emby Server

root@emby:~ # pkg install mono libass fontconfig freetype2 fribidi gnutls iconv opus samba48 sqlite3 libtheora libva libvorbis webp libx264 libzvbi

Install Emby Server 

root@emby:~ # pkg add -f https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Emby.Releases/releases/download/3.5.3.0/emby-server-freebsd_3.5.3.0_amd64.txz

Create group 'media' with gid:8675309 in the emby jail. Make sure the gid is the same as the gid on the FreeNAS host for the 'media' group. Then add the 'emby' user to the 'media' group on the emby jail as a member. This will make sure emby has group read/write permissions to the 'movies' dataset on the FreeNAS. Note: The group 'media' on the FreeNAS and the emby jail should have the same gid(8675309), otherwise the permissions won't work properly.

Create group 'media' with gid:8675309 

root@emby:~ # pw groupadd -n media -g 8675309

Add user 'emby' to group 'media'

root@emby:~ # pw groupmod media -m emby

Enable Emby to run at boot

root@emby:~ # sysrc emby_server_enable="YES"

Start Emby Service

root@emby:~ # service emby-server start

Run Emby Server Setup Wizard

Open your web browser and visit http://[IP ADDRESS]:8096 to run the Emby Server setup wizard.

Resource Links

• Emby Media Server: https://emby.media
• FreeBSD Installation: https://emby.media/freebsd-server.html

How To Batch Convert/Transcode Videos Using VLC Media Player

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah. The Most gracious, The Most Merciful

Synopsis:

This is a tutorial on how to Transcode and Convert Video Files into MP4 (MPEG-4) format with 1024kbps bitrate using the H.264 Video Codec and the MP3 Audio Codec.

Assumptions and Prerequisites:

• OS: Microsoft Windows 7
• VLC Media Player (Version: 2.0.2) is already installed. 
• Type of Videos: Home Movies.
• User Level: Administrator
• Scripting Language: Visual Basic Script (VBS)
• Working Folder: D:\VLC
• Script File Path and Name: D:\VLC\vlc.batch.transcode.videos.to.mp4.vbs
• Source Folder: D:\VLC\Source
• Target Folder: D:\VLC\Target
• VLC Program Path:  C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC 
• Video Bitrate: 1024kbps
• Video Container: MP4
• Video Codec: H.264
• Audio Codec: MP3
• Audio Bitrate: 128kbps
• Audio Channels: 2 (Stereo)
• Audio Sample Rate: 44100Hz (CD Quality)

Instructions:

1. Download the VLC Script Directory from here and save it on your Computer.

2. Extract the "VLC.rar" file to any Directory of your choice. eg. "D:"

3. Copy the Videos you want to transcode/convert into the "D:\VLC\Source" Folder.

4. Right-Click on  "D:\VLC\vlc.batch.transcode.videos.to.mp4.vbs" file and select "Run with Command Prompt".

5. The new transcoded files will be saved in the Target Folder.

Conclusion:

When the Transcoding is in progress, the VLC Media player window will stay open but no video output will be available and then close after the video has been transcoded. And this will repeat for each video transcoding.

When the Transcoding has been completed, you should see all the video files converted in the Target Folder. Any non-video files (eg. *.JPG) available in the Source Folder will be copied to the Target Folder without any change. When you have verified the files in the Target Folder, you can then go on and delete everything underneath the Source Folder.

If you aspire for  a better video quality, then increase the Video Bitrate(strBitrate) in the D:\VLC\vlc.batch.transcode.videos.to.mp4.vbs file before Transcoding. If you increase the Video Bitrate more than 1024kbps, then you would end up with a larger file size with no significant increase in Video quality and that would defeat the purpose of Transcoding these video files. For home movies recorded with a typical Sony Cybershot or a Canon DSLR camera, the 1024kbps bitrate strikes the perfect balance between quality and smaller file size for the video.

If this Post made your life a lot easier, then please leave a small donation as a token of your appreciation. :-)

Links:

1. http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/12009443/m/516001349831
2. http://wiki.videolan.org/How_to_Batch_Encode 
3. http://wiki.videolan.org/Transcode
4. http://taylor.veltrop.com/software/transcode%201.1%20release.vbs
5. http://www.jaleeltech.com.au/download/VLC.rar