Seeing that Roku and Amazon are releasing new 4K capable units I figure slowness will not be a problem but here is my wishlist, I am hoping someone can suggest a device that will fit some or all of these.
Required:
Fast (Vizio is a bit sluggish loading as is my old roku 2)
Must also have native/Supported Netflix (this eliminates raspberry pi and Kodi based options)
Should reliably direct play most h264 video without aspect ratio issues an hanging (Major Vizio app problem)
No pure casting devices, it needs to be controlled via a remote. Not everyone in the house has a device to cast from even.
Wish list:
5Ghz / Wireless AC support (2.4Ghz N doesn’t cut it sometimes I have amazing coverage in my house)
HDMI CEC Control (I would like to use one remote and maintain nearly all the ease of use)
Powered by HDMI / Small (looks like the Amazon 4K might work this way)
Support Plex Auto Bandwidth (I might want to ship devices as gifts to family)
Amazon Prime Video Canada (Vizio is missing this in Canada for some reason)
Crave TV Canada support (Apple and Android should be supported)
Local playback when the internet / Plex Auth is down would be a plus but I don’t think is an option anymore.
Not an option:
Not interested in using consoles I have two TVs and one has no place for a big console unit
NO HTPC (as far as I can tell the remote netflix experience is still horrible on Windows / linux)
I have been using the Vizio app since it was releases, at first I was much happier with it but it seems to go through updates that screw up its reliability (hanging when fast forwarding) and its seemingly random aspect ratio issues forced me to use trans-coding nearly all the time… I recently tried to do direct play again and found it would not direct play anything anymore. Not sure what is going on but all the Opera based SmartTVs seem to be mostly lumped together and have similar issues. I would be happy if it could direct play SOME of my content reliably and simply didn’t hang so often.
@timberwolfsc@sc.rr.com said:
Nvidia Shield? very small, powerfull but pricey.
I was thinking that as well, the only issue I saw was some users complaining about rebooting them weekly or worse. How has stability been for you?
Apparently some early batch gen 1 Shields had issues with the 500GB hard drive that has long since been fixed. If you’re not looking to use the Shield as a PMS, the new smaller (and less expensive when bundled without the gaming controller) gen 2 16GB Shield should work out well for you. Check it out here (scroll to the bottom). It ships October 18 and is $179 with the remote-only bundle.
Thanks, I will keep an eye out… I was also keeping an eye on the new 4K amazon fire TV but I am not sure if it will be available in Canada anytime soon… Amazon is strange with Canadian releases.
Thanks, I will keep an eye out… I was also keeping an eye on the new 4K amazon fire TV but I am not sure if it will be available in Canada anytime soon… Amazon is strange with Canadian releases.
Amazon never released their FireTV in Canada, so I wouldn’t wait on that.
I own 3 ShieldTVs, first Gen. The gamepads are sometimes a bit finicky (but we’re changed in the 2nd gen) but the device itself is awesome and hasn’t required reboots for us. They also have an Amazon video app.
@timberwolfsc@sc.rr.com said:
Nvidia Shield? very small, powerfull but pricey.
I was thinking that as well, the only issue I saw was some users complaining about rebooting them weekly or worse. How has stability been for you?
i had a few issues when i first got it (year ago). signed up for the preview insider builds and its been fine since. i got the base version and use it as a player only. it runs android tv OS and has its own playstore so every android apk wont work. it has the standard netflix/hulu type stuff and you can find hacked apks that will run on the android tv OS.
I tried to standardize to Xbones, but my wife and daughter resisted. Roku won out for them - the Roku Ultra is small, delivers great quality, no lag or other performance issues… using a Harmony Remote and life is grand. Their Streaming Stick + might do the trick if you don’t want a small box, although it looks like it requires USB power. Bottom line: if you’re judging the Roku line based on the 2’s performance, you should check out the Ultra - performance hasn’t been an issue for us.
@wh006529 said:
I tried to standardize to Xbones, but my wife and daughter resisted. Roku won out for them - the Roku Ultra is small, delivers great quality, no lag or other performance issues… using a Harmony Remote and life is grand. Their Streaming Stick + might do the trick if you don’t want a small box, although it looks like it requires USB power. Bottom line: if you’re judging the Roku line based on the 2’s performance, you should check out the Ultra - performance hasn’t been an issue for us.
So it moves through menus fast and plex poster art loads or quickly? I don’t plan on returning to Harmoney remotes, we destroyed 2 of them when I was last using Roku, they arn’t very durable with a 4yr old in the house. This is why I am interested in HDMI CEC control, the Vizio original remote is generally more durable and surprisingly cheap to get on Amazon as a replacement.
@lazybones said:
So it moves through menus fast and plex poster art loads or quickly? I don’t plan on returning to Harmoney remotes, we destroyed 2 of them when I was last using Roku, they arn’t very durable with a 4yr old in the house. This is why I am interested in HDMI CEC control, the Vizio original remote is generally more durable and surprisingly cheap to get on Amazon as a replacement.
I would say it is the “slickest” in terms of performance. It glides through vertical scrolling of poster art like butter. Depending on your design preferences, it may not be your favorite as it follows the Android TV UI design spec. Now, the Apple TV has improved a lot since initial release, but it’s clear the beefier hardware in the Shield translates to smoother UI performance. If you were to compare the Shield to an embedded Android TV, such as that of a Smart TV, this one would be noticeably faster.
I have a Harmony Elite that I use with the Shield as my primary remote control. No complaints there in everyday use. If you want durability (and I’ve got little kids in the house, too), you might want to check out Harmony’s replacement remote. No screen, but a beefier design. Oh and its a lot cheaper if it does need replacing at some point.
So it moves through menus fast and plex poster art loads or quickly? I don’t plan on returning to Harmoney remotes, we destroyed 2 of them when I was last using Roku, they arn’t very durable with a 4yr old in the house. This is why I am interested in HDMI CEC control, the Vizio original remote is generally more durable and surprisingly cheap to get on Amazon as a replacement.
Performance: I just ran through my Movies and TV libraries on the Ultra - everything loads in under 1 sec as far as I can tell. I have a low tolerance for perf issues, and I’ve never griped at my current Roku devices inre: performance. My harmony remote, on the other hand… yes. But not Roku.
CEC: The interwebs lead me to belive a few recent Roku models support CEC - but it also looks like their implementation is Roku remote > TV, e.g. using Roku remote wakes up TV, controls volume, etc. Not your preferred config.
Harmony: Yup, totally get it re: Harmony - a surprisingly PITA platform all around considering the cost, imho.
@wh006529 said:
CEC: The interwebs lead me to belive a few recent Roku models support CEC - but it also looks like their implementation is Roku remote > TV, e.g. using Roku remote wakes up TV, controls volume, etc. Not your preferred config.
One remote is still the main goal… Since streaming is really the ONLY TV function we use on the smart TV using the Roku remote as the primary remote would not be too bad, although they tend to be more expensive and on the small side.
Well I was all set to pull the trigger on the Apple TV 4K after finding out you can program it to respond to ANY IR remote (basically reverse learning the box instead of the remote), however the forums are full of fairly significant issues.
Back to watching for sales on the Nvida Shield TV… Even on sale it is more explensive than the Apple TV 4K locally.
I have been using a variety of Rokus and they mostly work ok (can’t comment on the latest models). I just got an Apple TV 4K for Xmas and so far it has worked flawlessly (wired connection) and the remote supports HDMI CEC (I have not tried this yet) and also controls the receiver volume. It also works well with the harmony 650, which we use (not what you wanted, but I thought I would mention it). I have yet to run into any of the problems mentioned in the ATV forum, it plays live TV without a problem, along with all the apps like Hulu, Netflix and sling tv. Load times are just a few seconds for movies and shows stored locally, but that is going to be more dependent on the server, storage system and network speed.
@KarlDag said:
Nothing wrong with Google devices, they’re just not sold on Amazon.
I still recommend the Nvidia ShieldTV running AndroidTV to anyone serious about Plex.
I am still thinking about it however we have Prime and would like to get some use out of Prime Video in our living room.
Well as far as I’m aware Amazon Prime is available on the shield.
An old link but probably still relevant unless anyone can so otherwise.
I have never used a Shield cos I have a dedicated HTPC purely for Plex Media Player, but i do know that the Shield will future proof you if you go high end and you get into 4K, HEVC etc…
EDIT NVIDIA SHIELD TV 4K HDR So despite the tit for tat nonsense between Google & Amazon you should still be golden.
