TIBBL vs Emby
Emby is a full media server with years of maturity behind it: movie and TV libraries, music, photos, live TV, and clients for most devices. Credit where due — Emby ships free TV guide data for the US, UK and Canada out of the box, which most self-hosted servers do not.
TIBBL is a DVR with a library, not a media server. It records antenna TV through an HDHomeRun tuner, puts IPTV playlists in the same guide, and keeps recordings on your own disk. The differences below come down to what sits behind the paid tier and how remote access is set up.
Where they differ
Only the differences are listed. Where the two work the same way, there is nothing to compare.
Works away from home out of the box. No port to forward, no VPN, no reverse proxy, no extra subscription.
Reaches your server through your router: automatic port mapping via UPnP, or manual port-forward rules in your router configuration if that is disabled.
Recording programmes and whole series is part of the one subscription.
DVR scheduling — individual and series recordings — requires an Emby Premiere subscription.
Up to four channels on screen at once, on Fire TV, Android TV and the web. Each channel on screen uses one tuner.
No built-in multiview.
Live scores on games in the guide, and game recordings extend automatically when a game runs into overtime.
Not built in.
$6 a month or $60 a year, with the first 30 days free.
The server is free to run; Emby Premiere is $54 a year or $119 once, and unlocks the DVR, offline downloads and hardware transcoding.
Who should choose which
Choose Emby if you want a media server for a large personal collection — films, music, photos — with live TV on the side, and you do not mind a bit of router configuration for access from outside the house.
Choose TIBBL if live TV is the point: antenna and IPTV in one guide, recording included in the base $6 plan rather than a premium tier, remote viewing with nothing to configure, and up to four channels on screen at once.
Either way you supply the aerial hardware: over-the-air TV needs an antenna and an HDHomeRun network tuner, plus a computer that stays on. TIBBL’s apps today are Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV and the web browser; Apple TV, Roku and iOS are coming soon.