PRO features in detail

This page walks through the PRO features one by one: what each one is, what it does for you, where to set it up, and what happens without a license. MAX has every PRO feature too. For the limits and a table of all plans, see Compare plans. What your own server has unlocked is always shown on the License page in the admin console.

One-click subtitle search#

What it is. Search for subtitles from an item's page and download them, saved right next to the video. The server can also fill in missing subtitles in the background.

What it does for you. When you watch a foreign film or an old classic, you no longer hunt for subtitles on a website, download them, rename them and copy them into your library. One click and the subtitle sits next to the video, ready to pick in any player that plays through your server.

How to use it.

1. Open Plugins and set up OpenSubtitles or ASSRT with your own account or token.
2. In the admin console, open an item, choose Find subtitles, pick the languages, choose Search, and choose Download on the one you want.
3. To let the server fill gaps by itself, enter languages under Languages to auto-download subtitles in the library settings and enable the Subtitle auto-fill plugin. It is restrained and will not use up your download quota: by default it downloads at most 10 subtitles a day, stops when the quota your subtitle service reports drops below 5 so the rest is left for you, fills only videos that have no subtitles at all in that language, and accepts only trustworthy matches. Videos with no match are not searched again for 7 days. You can change the daily limit and the quota it holds back in the plugin settings.

Without a license. The official subtitle plugins (OpenSubtitles and ASSRT) can still be installed, set up and enabled. Their page says “This feature needs PRO to take effect”, and searching and downloading are not used. Subtitles you already downloaded and subtitle files you put next to your videos yourself keep working, and it takes effect as soon as the license is back. Subtitle auto-fill can be enabled without a license, but it does nothing.

Details: Subtitles.

Automatic intro and outro detection and skipping#

What it is. The server finds the intro and the credits of your series by itself, and players show a Skip button, or skip automatically. Third-party players such as Infuse can use the marks too. Where detection cannot work, community intro data can fill in.

What it does for you. Kids watching cartoons do not have to press skip on every episode, and a family binge runs from one episode into the next. Where comparing audio is not possible, community data supplies the marks.

How to use it.

1. The Skip intro and outro plugin is already enabled and starts working as soon as the license is active. New episodes are detected automatically once a scan has added them (the Detect automatically switch in the plugin settings covers only this). The whole library is handled by the scheduled task Intro and outro detection in the task center, which by default runs on Sundays between 01:00 and 06:00; you can change the time or turn it off, and run it now from the plugin page. Whether a library is checked at all depends on Intro and outro audio detection in the library settings.
2. For community data, the IntroDB plugin is off by default: enable it under Plugins, then add it under Community intro data in the library settings.
3. For automatic skipping, each member turns on Auto skip in their own preferences and chooses what to skip.
4. Third-party players need no setup. They use the marks with their own skip feature, and whether a button shows depends on the player.

Without a license. Marking by hand and the Skip button in the web player stay free, and marks you set by hand always win. Segments that were already detected are kept. Automatic detection, community intro data, auto skip and skip marks in third-party players need PRO.

Details: Intro and outro.

Name recognition#

What it is. Works out the title, year, season and episode from messy file names, such as release-group naming or anime fansub groups. For names that are truly hopeless, AI can step in as a last resort (BETA).

What it does for you. Files collected from elsewhere do not need renaming one by one. Once the title is right, posters, summaries and cast follow on their own.

How to use it.

1. In the library settings, open the Metadata tab and add a recognizer under Name recognition.
2. To let AI step in (BETA), there are three steps. First set up your own model service under System → AI assist. Then open Plugins → Metadata recognition boost and turn on the AI fallback switch (off by default). Finally, on the same page, choose Allow AI. Only the file name and the names of the folders above it are sent, never the file contents.

Without a license. Scans recognize file names with the basic built-in rules only. An item that was recognized wrongly can still be corrected by hand on its page.

Details: Metadata and NFO.

StrmTool and direct play from your cloud drive#

What it is. A .strm file adds a video from your own cloud drive to your library. StrmTool lets the player fetch the video straight from your own cloud drive (direct links), and adds a direct link cache, link rewriting, a custom User-Agent and Cookie, and pre-reading of media info.

What it does for you. Play a film from your own cloud drive on your phone without the video passing through the server at home, so it does not use your home upload bandwidth. With media info read ahead of time, the first play does not wait a few extra seconds either.

How to use it.

1. Open Plugins, open StrmTool under Built-in features and set the Default delivery.
2. To use a different way for one library, choose it under STRM playback in that library's settings: through the server, direct on the home network and through the server outside it, or direct everywhere.
3. If your cloud drive needs a specific User-Agent or Cookie for direct links, enter it in the StrmTool settings. You can also turn on Pre-read media info.

Casting, playback that needs transcoding (HLS) and reading media info always go through the server. Other playback, when set to direct, is fetched straight from your own cloud drive.

Without a license. .strm files still play, always through the server. Link rewriting and the custom User-Agent and Cookie are not applied, and pre-reading of media info stops. Your settings take effect again as soon as the license is back.

Details: strm and cloud drives.

Auto-fill missing info, episode numbering fix, preferred artwork language#

These three make your library data more complete and more accurate.

Auto-fill missing info#

What it is. On a schedule, it checks recent releases (the last 90 days by default) and fills in what is missing: a summary, a poster, an episode name that is still a placeholder such as "Episode 3", or a poster the server captured itself.

What it does for you. New titles often arrive half-empty. A few days later they are filled in on their own, so your poster wall does not keep gaps.

How to use it. Open Plugins and open Auto-fill missing info. It checks every 3 days by default (the scheduled task Auto-fill missing info in the task center; you can change the time or turn it off) and needs no action. You can also change how far back it looks.

Without a license. The automatic check does not run. Scanning and refreshing by hand still fetch data as usual.

Episode numbering fix#

What it is. When your season and episode numbers differ from the data source's, you set a rule so every episode lines up with the right data.

What it does for you. Some anime and variety shows are split into seasons in your files but numbered as one long run at the source, so summaries and artwork land on the wrong episodes. Set a rule once and the whole show lines up.

How to use it. Open the show's page in the admin console, set the rule and save. The show's data refreshes by itself afterwards.

Without a license. This feature rests, and rules cannot be edited while it does. It continues when the license is back.

Preferred artwork language#

What it is. When a title has several posters or logos in different languages, it decides which language wins.

What it does for you. Want a wall of posters all in your language, or all in the original? No need to swap them one by one.

How to use it. Open Plugins, open Preferred artwork language and choose the original language or the library's language. It applies while scraping.

Without a license. No language preference is applied. Artwork follows the order the data source gives, which is usually already sorted by rating.

Details: Plugins, Images.

Media info cache#

What it is. Stores the media info of every file (tracks, chapters, intro and outro marks) as small files in the server's data folder.

What it does for you. After you rebuild a library, re-import, or switch databases, the server does not have to read every file on your cloud drive again. That saves time and avoids a flood of requests to the drive.

How to use it. Nothing to do. It is on by default after installing. To stop restoring from it for a while, turn off Restore from the cache in the plugin settings. The plugin page shows the number of cached files and the space used.

Without a license. The cache is neither read nor written, so what the server learns about files during that time is not stored. Files already cached are kept, not deleted. Files are read directly when needed, and everything still works.

Details: strm and cloud drives.

Parental controls#

What it is. Decide what a child's member can watch, when, and for how long each day.

What it does for you. Your child signs in as their own member and sees only titles that suit their age. Outside the allowed hours, or once the day's time is used up, playback cannot start, and you do not have to keep an eye on it.

How to use it.

1. Open Members and choose Edit on your child's member.
2. Open Parental controls and turn on Restrict this member.
3. Set the age limit, blocked tags and genres, allowed hours and daily limit, then save. You can also save a set of rules as a template (for example "Toddler" or "School age") and apply it to several members.

Without a license. You can look at parental controls but not change them (templates included). Rules you already set keep being enforced, and the member's other settings save as usual.

Details: Parental controls.

Automatic backup and restore#

What it is. Every day the server backs up its database, settings, keys and member avatars. You can also back up by hand at any time and schedule a restore with a click.

What it does for you. If an upgrade goes wrong, a member is deleted by mistake or a disk fails, you can go back to how things were: members, watch history and settings are all there.

How to use it.

1. Open System → Backup and choose Back up now. You can set a password to encrypt that backup.
2. Automatic backups run at 04:00 every day and keep the latest 7. You can change the time under Task center → Schedule.
3. To restore, choose Restore next to a backup and type the confirmation word; an encrypted backup also asks for its password. A restore does not take effect at once: it is applied the next time the server starts, and the current state is backed up automatically first.

A backup does not include your media files or caches such as artwork.

Without a license. You can open the backup page and download or delete the backups you already have, but you cannot create a backup or restore one, and automatic backups do not run. You can also back up the database yourself with the pg_dump command shown on the upgrade page.

Details: Upgrade and back up.

Higher limits on members, devices and simultaneous streams#

What it is. PRO allows 10 members, 20 devices and 8 simultaneous streams. FREE allows 3, 6 and 3.

What it does for you. A big household where everyone has their own account and watch history, every phone, tablet and TV can sign in, and several people can watch in the evening without being turned away.

How to use it. Nothing to set up. The limits rise as soon as the license is active. The License page shows your current usage. A device that never played anything is cleared automatically after 30 days of not being used, while a device that has played stays, so a device that only signed in once does not hold a slot forever.

Without a license. The limits go back to FREE. Members and devices over the limit are not deleted, but they have to wait until you upgrade or adjust the list you keep. Devices that signed in later can still browse but cannot play.

Details: Members, Devices and simultaneous streams.