Playback

Choose your source and shape your desktop workspace.

Watch your way

The current macOS and Windows desktop prototypes include these playback controls. Open Settings > Universal > Playback. Under Playback memory & sessions, choose what Alkemyo remembers: speed, picture shape, sharpening, audio and subtitle timing, and selected tracks. Each has its own scope: Do not remember keeps a choice for the current session only; Global uses it everywhere; Library keeps it within one library; Title or series saves it for a movie or an entire series. Resume position stays with the server copy you watched.

To set preferences for a series, open its details or menu and select the Playback settings gear. Choose audio, subtitles, speed, maximum volume, or an available episode-order option, then select Save. These choices apply to the whole series, including future episodes. A movie’s settings apply across its server copies. Select Use inherited defaults to clear the title or series override. Title and series choices take priority over provider settings, which take priority over Universal defaults. Alternate TVDB and TMDB episode orders are not available yet.

For longer jumps, set Long seek distance in Playback memory & sessions. While the player has focus, press Shift+Left or Shift+Right, or choose Long seek backward/Long seek forward in Advanced Player Controls. To rewind briefly when resuming a video, set Rewind when resuming in the same section.

To use a sleep timer, set Default sleep duration, then choose Start sleep timer or Cancel sleep timer in Advanced Player Controls while watching. Set the duration to zero to turn off the default timer. When the timer ends, Still watching? appears over a blurred, dimmed picture, or over a plain dim background if your system reduces transparency. Choose Yes to keep watching or No to stop.

To choose where a title plays from, select Playback servers beside Play. The list opens attached to the button and shows each source's server, version, and quality. The source you choose is the one that plays.

To preview subtitles, open Settings > Universal > Playback > Subtitles. Adjust the background color or opacity and margins, then check Subtitle preview. On suitable media, try Normal, SDH, and Forced tracks; confirm an explicit track choice stays selected.

During playback, open the subtitles menu and choose Search subtitles…. The search starts with the playing title already filled in, and you can edit it. Choose a language and a Subtitle type: All, SDH, or Forced. All includes results whose type is not reported. Results appear when the subtitle service has them; otherwise the reason is shown. The subtitle track that's playing doesn't change until you choose a result.

To change the look, open Settings > Universal > Customization > Themes. Under Built-in theme, choose Cinema or Laboratory. Turn on Use theme highlight to apply the selected accent color. Cinema is the standard look; Laboratory is a development theme for checking spacing, typography, and shapes. Themes apply everywhere, including menus, the player, and picture in picture, and switching doesn't interrupt playback. Your system's contrast, reduced motion, reduced transparency, and text size settings always take priority.

To change the language, open Settings > Universal > General and choose App language. The sidebar, menus, and common library names change right away, without restarting. On Windows, when App language follows the system, a change to the Windows display language appears the next time you open Alkemyo.

For maintenance, open Settings > Universal > Advanced. There you can choose Clear artwork cache or Reset app preferences…, open Dependency licences, and Check for updates; Updates also shows the installed build. Read each confirmation, and cancel if you are unsure. Use disposable app data for any reset check.

Settings > Universal > Troubleshooting contains Start fresh… and, in testing builds, Prototype build testing. Choose Open Build Testing Guide… to start or reopen the guide; a minimized guide comes back with Resume testing. The guide records only the outcomes you report and shows only the checks for your platform.

To share feedback about the current view, choose Feedback in the sidebar. On Mac, you can also choose Feedback > Capture Feedback… in the menu bar. Write a note, then optionally choose Take screenshot for the whole window, Capture region and drag over an area, or Attach image to add a picture you already have. Your note stays while you use Retake screenshot or Remove screenshot. Video may be missing from screenshots during playback, so review the image before exporting. Choose Export feedback to save a local file, then Open feedback folder to find it. Nothing is uploaded.

Compatibility is still being verified

The current renderer outputs SDR. HDR and Dolby Vision preservation, Atmos and DTS:X passthrough, and other advanced output capabilities remain separate validation work. Successful decoding does not establish those capabilities.