Symfonium can build a music library from media servers, files on your device, network shares, and cloud storage. The metadata and server features available in Symfonium depend on what each provider exposes.
Use the tables below to compare metadata, playlists, and transcoding. For connection instructions, see the media provider setup guides.
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”Music servers supply metadata through their APIs. For file providers, Symfonium reads the audio files with its custom tag parser.
File providers in the tables means Local device with the Symfonium parser, SMB, WebDAV, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and pCloud. These providers share the same tag parser and metadata support.
Artists and track details
Section titled “Artists and track details”Multiple artists means separate artist entries linked to a track. A single artist name containing several names is not the same as multiple artist support.
| Provider | Multiple artists | Multiple genres | Composers | Track BPM | Track comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kodi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Plex | - | Yes, with fallback | - | - | - |
| Emby | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| Jellyfin | Yes | Yes | - | - | - |
| Subsonic | - | - | - | - | - |
| OpenSubsonic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audiobookshelf | Authors | Yes | - | - | - |
| File providers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Plex genres: Symfonium uses track genres when supplied, falling back to the album genres when they are missing.
Albums and classification
Section titled “Albums and classification”Album type describes the release, such as an album, single, or EP. Tags / collections refers to provider metadata imported into Symfonium, rather than tags you assign to a local playlist.
| Provider | Album mood | Album style | Album type | Tags / collections | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kodi | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| Plex | Full sync | Full sync | Full sync | Yes | - |
| Emby | - | - | - | Yes | - |
| Jellyfin | - | - | - | Yes | - |
| Subsonic | - | - | - | - | - |
| OpenSubsonic | Yes | - | Yes | - | - |
| Audiobookshelf | - | - | - | Yes | Yes |
| File providers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Provider notes
Section titled “Provider notes”- Plex: enable Full sync in the provider settings to import the additional album metadata shown above. See Plex configuration.
- Subsonic / OpenSubsonic: support varies by server and the extensions it implements. An OpenSubsonic connection does not guarantee every field in the table will be supplied. See Subsonic / OpenSubsonic configuration.
- Audiobookshelf: authors are imported as artists, and books as audiobook albums. Track metadata comes from the book, including its genres, tags, and language. See Audiobookshelf configuration.
- File providers: styles, moods, languages, and tags must be present in your files. See the supported tags and format mappings.
Local device scanner modes
Section titled “Local device scanner modes”Local device metadata support depends on the scanner selected when adding the provider:
| Scanner mode | Metadata support |
|---|---|
| Android (Media Store) | Uses Android’s metadata. |
| Symfonium (Files - SAF) | Uses Symfonium’s tag parser on the folders you select with By folders / SD Card. See the file provider rows above. |
See Local device configuration for setup and access differences.
Playlists
Section titled “Playlists”Importing a playlist and pushing edits back to its source are separate capabilities. The table describes provider playlists and playlist files. You can also create local playlists in Symfonium.
| Provider | Import playlists | Push playlist edits to provider |
|---|---|---|
| Kodi | Yes | - |
| Plex | Yes | Yes |
| Emby / Jellyfin | Yes | Yes |
| Subsonic / OpenSubsonic | Yes | Yes, depending on the server |
| Audiobookshelf | Yes | Yes |
| Local device | Yes | - |
| SMB, WebDAV, and cloud file providers | M3U / PLS files | - |
Automatic playlist import imports music server playlists as Online first, or Read-only when editing is unavailable. For file providers, it imports M3U and PLS files as Read-only. On Local device, automatic file import requires By folders / SD Card mode.
See Import / Sync media provider playlists for automatic import, manual import, and sync instructions.
Transcoding
Section titled “Transcoding”Transcoding converts audio to another format or bitrate. Where the conversion happens determines whether it can reduce network traffic.
| Provider | Server transcoding |
|---|---|
| Plex | Yes |
| Emby / Jellyfin | Yes |
| Subsonic / OpenSubsonic | Depends on the server and its configuration |
| Audiobookshelf | Yes, for streaming |
| Kodi | - |
| Local device, SMB, WebDAV, and cloud file providers | - (conversion on the phone) |
Server transcoding can reduce the bitrate before audio reaches your phone, which can help on a slow connection. It depends on the server’s capabilities and your playback settings.
On-device transcoding can make audio compatible with a playback target, but the original file still has to reach the phone. It does not reduce the bandwidth needed to read a remote file.