Decision help for head-end (dedicated plex player for a (not so smart) TV)

General Discussions
1

Hello, community

Continuing the discussion from Exhaustive list of supported file formats:

I found this post looking for a list of clients and players and what plays what / what needs transcoding, etc… it is indeed a mess // a beautiful collection of diversity. (depends how you look at it, huh?) :wink:

As my TV (Android TV) is getting slower and slower with each update I consider removing network cable for it and buying a dedicated head-end (Roku, Shield or Apple TV) and I can not find out how to compare/decide. Can someone help me with this?
Reddit and posts like this one kinda steer me towards the Shield Pro. My Family kinda vouches for Apple (as they are in Apple’s bubble)

I mostly watch movies that are 1080p and h.264, recently starting to replace those with h.265, most of the time in mkv (As I like subtitles / native audio)
My partner watches a lot series (most of them h.265)
And my kids are into anime (which are the greatest challenge as the codecs there are totally dependent on the release group)

There is no live TV being watched and nothing needs recording so storage is not needed. Netflix/Disney/streaming services are optional but not the point of this.

I considered building a dedicated HTPC/mini-PC for this purpose but as there is no proper plex player for linux this would have to be a windows or apple device so the price factor comes into play. (a mac mini + remote would just do it)
Only requirement: It has to be fanless/silent and be able to play without updating first. I had a OSMC vero 4k+ which was able to play virtually everything but I had to boot kodi and then autostart the plex-for-kodi app which felt just odd…

So currently (by trial and error and asking friends) I am trying to make a decision matrix that compares the playback features of the various clients…

basically I am looking for this list:
https://support.plex.tv/articles/203810286-what-media-formats-are-supported/
But not for smart TVs but for dedicated players/boxes like Apple TV 4K, Roku, Kodi, Shield, Fire etc…

currently the AppleTV 4K oddly seems the most compatible (a friend can direct play most stuff remotely that I have to transcode on my own LAN, that is bugging me) - I have the PS4 player and Android TV (philips) - neither play for example hevc in mkv container using opus for audio. or subtitles… the AppleTV somehow plays it direct, the ps4 requests to transcode.

Is there such a list? I would happily contribute/help just can’t do it alone.

thanks for any input / pointers!

Andreas

2

How often are you using subtitles?

Do you have a surround sound setup?
Are you after the higher-quality surround sound formats?

Personally, I’d recommend the Shield (the Pro, not the “tube” model).

3

Hi

thank you!

Subtitles are on most of the time. (for anime: always)
I am not native English so I tend to miss a lot of context. (except for action/marvel films… those don’t need subs, really) :wink:

I am using a DTS/5.1 setup and want to expand on that in the future (either a soundbar or a dedicated setup/room again) - surround sound is love. So passthrough is a must-have feature.

So the showdown is OSMC vero vs Shield pro vs AppleTV4k ?
Sadly I know no one with a roku…

4

Then you want the Shield.

5

Thanks.

you may just have saved me from buying more apple products :stuck_out_tongue:

Do you have any experience on the shield with codecs such as mkv/h.265 with opus for sound? Android and PS4 doesn’t play this at the moment… forcing a transcode. AppleTV plays it directly.

6

Try the “AI scaler” of the Shield with a (good encode) anime in 720p on a full HD or 4K screen. You’ll miss it in every other player device afterwards :smiley:

7

oooh… here is me being really interested.

I have tested and experienced “upscaling” before

  • Samsung
  • Philips
  • Bang&Olufsen
  • Marantz
  • Kodi/OSMC
    and they all sucked pretty much / made it (a lot) worse.

But that would be a tie breaker for me.

next to:

  • remote finder (!)
  • (re)mappable buttons
  • plays just about everything (I want to see that happen)

Do you work for Nvidia by chance? :wink:

8

Nope, but as a Plex enthusiast I just use that thing myself and have fitted out my family with these as well.

The effect of the nVidia AI scaler can’t be compared to those “sharpness” sliders in regular TV devices. These suck indeed.