I’m looking for an “hardware” client that would be able to display, without requiring transcoding.
Currently, I’ve a nexus Player with Plex on it. Every time I watch a TV show with subtitles, it seems it requires transcoding. With 720p, the server(A NAS) doesn’t seems to have any issue, but when having 1080p, I’ve some “pause” everytime, and the server is unavailable ot transcode. on the other hand, if I watch the same TV show with VLC, with the file on the NAS, everything run very smoothly. So how can I make this work?
I agree, mostly, that the Shield is a superb client. It should be one of the best. However I must temper that with the fact that the client software is still, in a lot of ways, immature. Also it has some clumsiness and lacks basic abilities like the ability to simply press “play” on a poster and have the video play without any further screens or keypresses.
I currently suggest that most folks look at other devices and, if the server is chosen to be powerful enough, not really concerning themselves with the ability to direct play.
As others have said a true computer with an appropriate remote is the most versatile.
But, as far as simple user friendliness goes, I find the Roku family the best. I have multiple playback devices but I am always falling back to my Rokus for regular use. There are some drawbacks such as the lack of direct codec support and a limited number of audio formats supported but I find the Roku so much better in user interaction that those limitations are negated.
If you really need no transcoding then it might be well to consider converting the files into compatible formats.
As usual, @Elijah_Baley gives a great answer.
As someone who has many solutions, including:
Mac Mini connected to TV, several Rokus (including now a Roku stick), a FireTV, 2 FireTV sticks, 2 ATV4s, 3 ChromeCasts, and my Vizio TV I would rank them as follows for the best:
Mac Mini, Rokus, ATV4, Chromecast, FireTV, and finally my Vizio TV.
They all work, but the order listed is the order of best compatibility.
Of course I have my server running on the Mac Mini and can easily handle the transcoding but I also have the WD Passport Wireless Pro now and converted a number of files for use with that (no transcoding capabilities), so his last statement is also on the mark.
I would say there’s one tipping point that skews people one way or another:
Do you have non-techie people using it and/or need a rock solid, no hassle remote control that won’t make you edit XML files? If so, Roku. All day. If not? some form of “PC” be it a mac mini, intel NUC, or other HTPC…and that’s simply because of the codec/direct-play support.