We have some exciting news. Over the next couple of months, Media Browser will become Emby.

Our new home will be http://emby.media

Why are we changing the name?

Media Browser has been a great name over the past several years but we feel we have outgrown it. It is no longer descriptive of what we really are and carries with it some preconceptions in the minds of both people who may have heard about or used us in the past and new people who have never heard of us. We want to change that.

So, introducing our new, short, catchy name that still pays homage to our origins (it sounds like "MB" when you say it) but lets us break free and continue to grow into the entire ecosystem that we are becoming. Given our broad presence in all the app stores, and future potential, we wanted to come up with a short and fun name that everybody's wives, kids and grandmothers will be able to remember. We were not looking for a name that describes the project, because that's very difficult to do and, undoubtedly, will end up meaning different things to different people. Short, catchy and unique were really the top requirements.

Why something so odd?

Think "Google" or "Skype" before you knew what they were. That's what we're going for. We don't want someone to hear the name and think they know what it is based on a connotation of that particular word. We want them to hear the name and say "What's that...?". Then, as time goes on, we become the name and the name becomes a synonym for "Awesome Media Server Ecosystem".

Please know that this change has not happened overnight. The process of finding a new name has been going on for months and has been very, very difficult but, we are happy with where we have finally landed and believe it will accomplish the goals we set out when we started thinking about a new name for the project.

What about the website?

The new website address will be emby.media. Securing a domain name was one of the largest constraints in this whole process but we feel emby.media describes what we are and will be a fine home for us going forward. We hope maybe to also get emby.tv but that is currently in use. We are working on it though. In the end, the actual domain name isn't as important as the other goals because people will find us via search engines, not by typing in a web address.

What about the logo?

This is where we are going to want to enlist your help. Watch the forums for a call for submissions on ideas for a new logo to fit with our new name. We will open it up to everyone and consider all ideas. I know you guys can help us come up with a great new look for our new name.

When is all of this going to happen?

The whole process will take some time as a lot of things will need to change. It won't be a single, coordinated date where you see everything change. It will trickle out over all of the different components over a period of weeks and maybe even a few months. We'll take our time and allow developers adequate time to make all of the branding changes necessary.

So, that's it. We on the dev team are very excited about this new direction and the possibilities it opens up for us for the future. Nothing is changing but the branding. The product is still going to be the best darned media solution out there. Welcome to the new ride.