Images

Posters, backdrops, logos and banners come from several places. This page explains where they come from, how to add fanart.tv artwork, how to prefer a language, and how to replace an image by hand.

Where images come from#

When the server scans an item, it uses these sources in order and takes the first that has the image:

1. Your own images. Poster and backdrop files in the media folder, and images named in NFO files.
2. The metadata plugin. The TMDB plugin supplies posters, backdrops and cast photos.
3. Image-source plugins. The fanart.tv plugin adds logos, backgrounds, discs and banners, which are often more polished than TMDB's.

An episode that has no picture of its own shows the season's picture, then the series' thumbnail, then the series' poster.

Use fanart.tv images FREE#

1. Register at fanart.tv and request a personal key (free).
2. In the admin console, open Plugins, open the fanart.tv plugin and paste the key into its settings. Then enable it.
3. Open Libraries, choose the library, and add fanart.tv under Image sources.
4. Items you scan or refresh from now on pick up these images. For items already in the library, refresh their metadata.

fanart.tv has no images for seasons, so season posters still come from other sources.

Prefer a language for images PRO · MAX#

One title usually has posters in several languages. The Preferred artwork language plugin decides which one is chosen first. It only reorders what the metadata source offers; it never downloads extra images or deletes any.

1. Open Plugins and open Preferred artwork language.
2. Under Prefer, choose one:
   • The work's original language (default): the original-language image first, then your library's language, then images without text.
   • The library's metadata language: your library's language first, then images without text, then the original language.
3. Save and enable the plugin. The choice applies to items scanned or refreshed afterwards.

Limits on saved images#

A title has one backdrop. The other wide pictures that sources offer are kept as stills, and sources can offer hundreds of them. Two settings keep what the server saves in check. Open System settings → Settings → Metadata:

• Most stills saved per title: default 30, from 1 to 200.
• Most photos saved per actor: default 30, from 1 to 200.

Saving a new limit does not start any job. It applies the next time metadata is refreshed (see Metadata and NFO): images from sources beyond the limit are removed. Images you added yourself, and image files in your media folder, are never removed.

Replace an image by hand#

Open an item and use its Images panel. Each slot (Poster, Thumbnail, Logo, Backdrop, Banner, Art, Disc) has Upload or Replace, and Clear. Below them, Stills lists the other pictures. You can add or delete stills, or press Make backdrop on one: the current backdrop then becomes a still, so nothing is lost.

• Accepted files: jpeg, png, webp or gif, up to 20 MiB.
• Uploaded images are stored in the server's data folder, not in your media folders.
• A newer local image file in the media folder can still replace an uploaded image later.
• Clear only removes the image from the server. Image files in your media folder stay and come back on the next scan, and a later scrape may add one again.

Crop an image by hand#

Some sources give pictures in the wrong shape, for example a wide cover whose front sits on the right half. Next to an image in the Images panel (of an item or an actor) press Adjust crop:

• A frame with a fixed ratio sits over the whole picture: 2:3 for posters, 1:1 for actor photos, 16:9 for backdrops and stills. Drag the picture to move it and use the slider (or pinch) to zoom. A preview shows the result; actor photos are previewed as a circle.
• Shortcuts: Right half of the cover, Center, Use the plugin’s suggestion (clears your manual crop and goes back to what the plugin suggested) and Use the whole picture.
• Press Save crop. A picture you cropped by hand is marked Cropped by hand, and a plugin that writes the same picture later does not overwrite your crop.
• The original image is always kept, and apps and third-party players fetch the cropped version.

Download images through a proxy#

If the server cannot reach an image host that a plugin names (for example because the host is blocked where you live), open System settings → Settings, then Advanced settings → Image download proxy. Enter a proxy address (http, https or socks5), and optionally the hosts it applies to, one per line: host names, *.example.com, IP addresses or CIDR ranges. Empty means every plugin image. This only affects images that plugins return. The saved credentials are kept as long as you do not change the address.

Image sizes and caching#

The server serves images in a size that fits the player's screen and caches them, so a second view is much faster.

When a title is scraped, its poster, backdrop, logo, thumbnail and banner from the provider are downloaded to the server's data folder, so they do not depend on the source staying reachable. If a download fails, the server keeps the address and tries again at the next refresh. Stills and actor photos are fetched only when someone looks at them. Players that talk to the server in Emby or Jellyfin mode see one backdrop per title and no stills.