I completely agree. atmos is not necessary and many people may not even notice.
this thread is generally for those that come here with problems or mis-understandings of how things work.
if a roku or atv 4k is working for them, there should be no reason for them to choose anything else.
I think the original post does a good job of saying “If you want to direct play fancy audio, then: _________.”
I assumed that applied to folks with surround systems that make it worthwhile or meaningful, or an interest in having that level of surround sound.
If you’re happy with TV sound, that’s one of the easiest examples for Plex. Almost any combination of Plex + Player + TV can output “perfectly adequate” stereo.
(Dolphins, bats, and dogs, oh my!)
How is this for a TLDR;
if you are new to 4k, don’t care about the details, and/or just want it to work with the least amount of issues, and direct play (no transcoding), then consider a shield PRO.
it is not the only solution overall, nor is it a perfect system, but it is the simplest solution with the least amount of limitations.
If you already have a 4k solution that is working for you, then you may not have any need for anything else.
If you want fancy schmancy dolby vision and atmos, then currently the shield is the only solution for plex.
@TeknoJunky I like the TLDR.
Well, I liked it before you edited to “only solution”. I think it’s the only “integrated streamer set-top box thing” solution.
I might add “Shield Pro” due to all of the “regular Shield is being lame” complaints, do you agree? I don’t have one. Edit: Oh, hah, you did. Did you do that after the fact? lol.
I think in the big post you might talk about how transcoding audio, when it works, isn’t the end of the world. It’s something a receiver will do automatically anyway.
Do you guys think I should upgrade to gold-plated teflon-braided anti-resonance TV mounting bracket screws, or is it OK to use the metal ones that came with my TV? Sometimes I notice that everything on TV is stupid, and I’m hoping the better screws will help.
it is the only solution for dolby atmos+vision that I am aware of.
AFAIK plex windows/htpc does not pass dolby vision. I can amend to ‘mainstream’ if pleases the masses, but I feel that most people are moving away from HTPC based players, not trying to get into them.
I just amended the OP to mention the difference between PRO and TUBE (I have both).
I personally agree, I just want to sit down and watch, not apply Windows Updates. If Windows/HTPC won’t pass DV anyway, that answers that.
If someone can show a windows (or any other) htpc with a dolby vision logo indicated on the tv, with plex, then I’ll happily make note of it.
The more options available, the better each person can choose what is best for them.
This.
It may be a long while before Windows doesn’t still suck at HDR10 let alone Dolby Vision.
Most importantly this ^^^^
Looking a bit, I don’t think madVR supports DV, which probably means it’s not feasible on Windows yet.
“This application requires Dolby Vision licensed device.” ughghghghg.
another example of why I hope HDR10/+ will make DV obsolete.
it may not happen any time soon, but I can hope.
I was a huge advocate of using an HTPC.
PMP embedded was always my favourite client. Had HDR not come along I would still be going down that path. I still have that HTPC (in a true HTPC case) buried away somewhere.
I look at what it is (and more lately isn’t) capable of and compare it with what a tiny Shield/ATV 4K/Roku is capable of and even a mini PC as an HTPC makes no sense anymore (to me at least.)
The bottom line is we all have different sweet spots.
For some Atmos is all that matters, for others it may be DV. Yet others may not care about either, whilst others will feel that unless they see both that Atmos signal on their AVR and DV logo on their TV then they’re missing out.
No-one is more wrong or right than anyone else and as I have said before (as @TeknoJunky will testify) different eyes different ears, different results.
I get little from Atmos (probably because I’m closing in on 60 and probably going deaf)
I do like DV… BUT I will add I haven’t seen much in HDR10+
So comparing regular HDR10 to DV then maybe 1 in 10 movies, the movie looks better in DV to my eyes.
There is an exception to this and that’s when subtitles (just forced ones in my case) are involved.
In that case, every single movie looks better in DV. I am really curious about how HDR10+ looks with subtitles.
Finally, for me did Atmos change my life. NO
Did DV change my life…NO (unless subtitles are involved)
I will admit that as @scarbrtj has intimated and way back I have no doubt stated more or less the same thing the whole “Rules of 4K” addendum is always something I felt to be a little preachy.
As time moves on I just took the whole thread at face value. ie well-intentioned and pretty accurate.
Most of all though I realized that with this or any other thread on these or any other forums nobody actually died as a result of personal opinions on DV, HDR10+, Atmos, Shield, ATV 4K, Rules of 4K, or Plex latest UNO change on the Roku. I’m pretty sure that many in the real world have far much more to worry about.
Huh, I don’t get any of that. I take it as mildly absurd comedy and referential humor. Taking the wind out of its own sails, actually.
Interesting that we all pretty clearly agree that that there’s a point of diminishing value.
I wonder, with HDR10/+ and DV, what brightness the subtitles are rendered at, and if they take away from other peak brightness areas on screen.
And like everything else we all see/hear/read things differently, and I already inferred it was probably just my initial and obviously wrong perception. I clearly didn’t get it across but what I meant was I took offense and accept I got it totally wrong.
DV in some (and far from all) movies is far darker/lighter in the picture itself… all without the stupidly glaring white subtitles.
Until my latest LG TV I have only ever purchased Samsungs. (I mean had it not been for me browsing the app store of my first Samsung Smart TV back in the day, I may not still have even heard of Plex)
I’m wary that Samsung’s HDR10+ uses algorithms whilst DV is done by hand frame by frame.
Hopefully, those algorithms take the subtitles into account.
I’m truly happy with bog-standard HDR10 except for subtitles.
I really would love to see HDR10+ just to compare subtitles.
I’m really skeptical that every TV manufacturer that initially abandoned DV in favor of HDR10+ either decided to support both or did a u-turn and went back to supporting DV only.
Whichever way it goes i hope it goes the right way. Betamax/VHS seems so many years ago… but then.
this is/was the intent.
any failures to deliver are entirely my failure to adequately eloquate
(big word humor intended)
as for the rules
You know something. Now you brought that link up I recall you mentioning it way back when.
I feel even worse now. 
It probably doesn’t help that as always for me usually. Put two of my favorite actors together in the same movie. Create a blockbuster to the rest of the world and for me a movie I really didn’t like.
On the same subject and to lighten the mood. Back when in the days before Plex as a sad neglected UK resident with a region hacked DVD player who used to import DVD’s from stateside. I just wondered if I really need to bite the bullet and try once more to get all the way through The Matrix?
Does it really need to be on my bucket list? 
I didn’t mean to “correct” your interpretation. Those first reactions happen unconsciously. If anything I’m impressed that you gave the feedback and recognized the content. I think it’s interesting that we all read things differently.
I’ve been a fan of fight club for a long time, so much so that any ‘rules’ I come across automatically remind me of the rules of fight club.
It’s easy for me to forget, that both the book and movie are now over 20 years old, and that the reference isn’t necessarily as popular/well-known/well-remembered as I may have wished for.
(Not trying to imply anything on anyone else)
Thats the weirdest thing though.
Just talking to anyone of my age group from here in the UK
Seminal movies would be Usual Suspects, Highlander Memento, Terminator, T2 and The Negotiator.
I know exactly how badly at least two of those movies rate nowadays. 
some day people will realize the best quality is betamax
Is chromecast with Google tv an alternative for shield?
