I have an old Vizio Smart TV that I’m running Plex on but it’s really starting to show its age. The app never updates, Plex runs really slowly on it, it just gets to be more and more of a pain each day. I really loved the convenience of having my Plex just on the Smart TV so I didn’t have to manage another remote, didn’t have to boot up another device just to start streaming my media, but it’s becoming less and less of a viable option by the day.
If I were to buy a new device to attach to my TV primarily for Plex, what are some of the best options out there? Roku? Amazon? What has the processing power to actually handle Plex (and Plex’s transcoding and 4K content) well and stay updated?
Nvidia Shield Pro 2019. It is the only device that will passthrough TrueHD audio. It also direct plays PGS, VOBSUB, & SRT subtitles. Note that if the audio is transcoding and you enable subtitles, then the video will also transcode. This happens with any AndroidTV device.
If you do not care about TrueHD + Atmos audio then also consider the AppleTV 4K and Roku. The AppleTV decodes TrueHD to PCM, which is also lossless, so there is no sound degradation. However, Atmos information is lost in the process. I believe the Roku does the same.
My setup: Shield Pro 2015 ↔ Denon 4300 ↔ LG B7 OLED
PMS runs on a Synology DS918+
Everything direct plays. The Denon handles all the audio formats and the LG handles all the video formats.
I do watch a lot of subtitled content so it sounds like I’ll always need to be dealing with transcoding?
Either way though thank you for the suggestion! Is there enough of a difference between the Nvidia Shield and Nvidia Shield Pro to justify one over the other, given that they are already pretty expensive at $150/$200 respectively?
With the Shield, as long as the audio direct plays then subtitles won’t be a problem. When the audio transcodes then using subtitles causes a video transcode.
You can control this by choosing audio tracks that direct play. All TVs should direct play AAC, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital Plus audio.
I’m not sure what would happen if you connect a Shield directly to a TV and choose a TrueHD audio track. It might transcode on the Plex Server or the Shield might decode it itself (on the Shield) to a supported format.
Regarding the Shield vs Shield Pro:
From a Plex client point of view there is not much difference.
The Shield Pro can run Plex Media Server (Info). The non-Pro cannot.
Early on, there were problems running Plex on the non Pro. Those seem to be fixed. I have not seen any such forum posts in quite some time. The problems were apparently due to the Shield having less RAM than the Shield Pro (2 GB vs 3 GB). Plex pushed out updates that resolved the problem.
The Shield Pro has 16 GB storage vs 8 GB for the non-Pro. Not an issue for Plex.
That Roku you passed right over for $60 is running the best Plex app ever developed - ever. It curb-stomps the Plex app on Shield and if you can use Subtitle Edit you can save about $150 AND be running the flagship of the Plex Apps.
I don’t know the differences because a Shield will never darken my door.
I do have a FireTV Plex hasn’t been able to develop an app for - since I’ve had it.
Android and Plex, apparently, are in a Mexican Standoff situation making developing an app for Android that’s worth a dam impossible.
All I know is the app on that FireTV is an embarrasment - and I’m afraid Plex is actually proud of themselves.
If you want to scramble to the store to drop over $200 on an app that doesn’t even have a list of actors, much less their picture, and hasn’t for as long as that feature request above has been alive - and ignored - go right ahead.
I know which app and device I’ll be using - I’ve used the best already - can’t go back now - no matter what I have to do - it’s worth it.
For Plex to do anything on that Shield they have to work hand in hand with Nvidea - like if an astronaut had to change a light bulb on Mars - with a robot - from Earth - with instructions relayed with a CB Radio.
My UNO App on my Roku gets an update RIGHT NOW if necessary - and anyone thinking an update right now would be a great idea - probably has a FireTV with no actor list, or picture - for 6 YEARS!
Here you go - this ‘update’ is less than 36 hours old and before that one is able to walk - there will be another one - 'cause I’ve got two bug reports on file - and under investigation as we speak - the repair of same to hit this update thread soon - and I don’t mean a few years from now:
Armed with that info you can rush right out and buy a Shield if you want to.
Be sure to hold back about $70 so you can buy a Roku - then in a few minutes toss that $200 boat anchor in the closet. Once you use the Roku - it’s over.
Plex has lost the war 'cause they just can’t compete with a user that’s seen the light and can’t stop from wanting to walk into it.
I know that app on my FireTV is the most hated thing in my existence. I mean more hated than the basil cell carcinoma on my nose that’s waiting - and growing - while we wait for the Governor to let my doctors cut it out in an outpatient procedure - before it or ‘The Virus’ kills me.
One never hears about anything else when Shield fans are in the thread - now they have. It’s good to be well informed - before you buy something costing 3 times more than the device running the best Plex app ever developed. <—and if you had one - you’d agree with me. <—that I am certain of. <—'cause “Loyalty” only goes so far.
Incidentally - I do know what to do when the Roku doesn’t do something I need done - I fire up PMP - problem solved <—and PMP also has most everything my Roku has and Plex Shield App does not.
I have a Shield 2019 and multiple Rokus (Premiere+).
Roku app is better but Roku is limited by the 10/100 NIC and slow wireless for UHD remuxes. I can also pass Dolby Atmos and DTS:X streams via the shield. The Android TV app is inferior, though.
In my experience, the Roku app seems to get newer or better features more often. It also almost always plays any format content flawlessly, including UHD Blu Ray remuxes. The only problem with Roku for me has been the gimped NIC (only has 10/100, not gigabit) which causes high bitrate movie files to stutter and crash. Shield can play them without hiccups.
The Shield uses Android TV version of the Plex app. Things like the UI, playlists management, UHD playback, etc. has sporadically worked for me over the past number of months. Things improved when I upgraded from the 2017 shield to the 2019 tube. Some of these issues may be related to the device (AndroidTV ecosystem or the Shield firmware itself).
Couple of minor issues I have found…
I remuxed my Lord of the Rings Extended edition Blu Rays to my plex server for easy playback across devices. Each movie has two discs. The Roku client recognizes them and autoplays the second disc once the first one ends. Android TV app does not even show the second part and just bounces back to the main screen.
The Android TV app sometimes crashes when trying to start my UHD blu ray remuxes. Not sure if it is memory or device issues or the Plex app itself. Roku has no problem.
Big benefit for me for the Shield would also be the ability to pass full lossless Dolby Atmos streams to my receiver. My Roku TVs and client can’t do that. It is mainly an HDMI issue, though.
Moral of my story is if the Roku had a gigabit NIC and could pass back lossless audio streams, that is the winner HANDS DOWN. I only really use these as media streamers so gaming isn’t really a differentiator for me.
the biggest take away anyone should have reading this thread and many others is;
all ‘smart tvs’ and streaming devices are designed primarily and/or ONLY for low bitrate commercial streaming services (netflix et al).
they are not designed for direct playback of high bitrate ripped bluray/4k content.
the shield was built with enough horsepower (cpu and gpu and network) to cope, and it even supports HD audio and many subtitles, which are the primary issue with most all other devices.
for anything other than 4k remuxes with hd audio, a wide variety of devices are quite capable of plex.
as with almost all things in life, sometimes you get what you pay for.
a $50 fire/roku/whatever device, probably won’t be as good as something more expensive with more ram/storage and better cpu etc.
and most ‘smart tvs’ are obsolete (software wise) before they even ship.
Thanks @FordGuy61@JuiceWSA@Psuhammer for your inputs which I find highly valuable
I’ve been looking forward to owning a Pro model ever since I got introduced to Plex and started using Plex on Roku first. And having done all the research and analysis, i went for the Pro mainly because of its ability to act as a server.
Fast forward a couple of months to now when i finally get my own shield pro - i was actually quite aghast when i tried setting up Plex server for the first time on the Shield - after multiple factory resets and finicky access (can see the shield server but not always) - i’ve resigned to ultimately end up using it as a client only - i do have another plex server running on my NAS (thankfully)
I stumbled upon this thread and now i am wondering if I made the right choice forking out extra for the pro model. As you rightly pointed out the roku seems to be rock stable as a plex client (also from my personal experience)
