Not asking anything, not even begging for support, just saying if you could please get Roku app Live TV capable by Football Season, then you will save me 150 bux so I don’t have to buy an AppleTV. See, I am an uber geek, and I could care less about football, but we do live in Chicago, and my wife is an insane Bears fan. She would really love the ability to watch them on our TV, as opposed to her tablet.
Anyways, thanx for listening!
Havok
Get a Shield TV, don’t waste your money on an Apple TV.
@kegobeer-plex said:
Get a Shield TV, don’t waste your money on an Apple TV.
I respectfully disagree…I think it depends on your use-case(s).
I do not have Shield TV, so cannot compare to Apple TV 4 from a media consumption perspective…However, I DO have Two ATV4s, a Roku Stick, Two Firesticks, and a Fire TV v2. For media consumption, (comparing these devices), hands down, IMHO Apple TV works the best, and has the best and most responsive user interface (IMHO of course…and also my spouse’s who is the litmus test for usability…ONLY the Apple TV v4 has passed “her” usability rating so far. No joy on getting her to do any kind of lengthy use on the others…but I digress…) Roku is close 2nd. I like the Roku Stick for travel.
In any event, I’m more than pleased with the Apple TV v4 for all our use cases, and it is our “go to” box now for Plex in our Home Theater set-up. We are not 4K here yet, (and won’t be until content catches up), so 1080p with AC3 5.1 is fine. If I REALLY need DTS (and/or 3D), we can break out the Blu-Ray…but we have not done that in a LONG time…
Funny thing is, I was adamant about NOT getting the ATV4, but broke down after the FireTV v2 did NOT live up to it’s specs in my experience…too many issues, especially with AC3 DD5.1 drop-outs (and audio-sync) & a bunch of BS finger pointing between Amazon, Google, and Plex…ticked me off enough to dump it as “primary STB” for the ATV4. I really WANTED to like the FireTV v2…but IMHO Apple has the functionality & user experience down FAR better than Amazon. It was night & day between ATV4 and FireTV v2…and still is today almost 2 years since FireTV v2 came out. Last I checked, DD5.1 issues, (drop outs and audio-sync) have STILL not been fixed with Plex and FireTV v2. At this point I don’t really give a damn WHO’S fault it is…especially when it works just as expected on ATV4. (This is just playing “standard” 1080p Mp4 files with AC3 DD5.1 audio).
AFAICS, the big differentiator with the Shield TV is the support/design/implementation for gaming…which I personally have little interest in at this point…(I used to be an avid RPG & Simulator enthusiast…but for a very long time now, I have not seen but one or two Console, Android, or Apple TV/iOS games that hold much interest for me…which is why I don’t have an X-Box or PS3/4, and have very few games on my iOS and Android devices. So, bottom line is that “gaming” functionality for a Plex box is not really any kind of “use-case” consideration for me. I’m just interested in viewing/listening to media content. That being the case, $30-$170+ is $30-$170+ differential, comparing ATV4 cost to Shield…(Refurb ATV4 32GB is $129, 64GB is $169. Shield 16GB is $199, Shield Pro 500GB is $299!). (Plus Shield Industrial design is the worst of the lot IMHO…ugly, non-stackable (except as on-top stack), and [in vertical mount] too high [6.26in] to fit most entertainment center racks/shelves)
All just my opinion based on observation. If you just need a STB replacement for content consumption, IMHO Shield TV appears to be a little overkill and a little overpriced. If it was even priced with ATV4 (or even better, priced like FireTV v2), then I can see it competing better with the STB only use-case crowd. If you are a gamer, I don’t see why you wouldn’t get an X-Box or PS4 and use that instead for Plex as well?
That all being said, since you CAN run Plex Server on the Shield TV, I can see THAT function being a compelling valid use case for a Shield Pro ($299)…if you don’t have another alternative, or are just getting started. (I run a MacMini Plex server with many TBs of HD space…)
@kegobeer-plex said:
Get a Shield TV, don’t waste your money on an Apple TV.
Agree plus the Shield can run the PleX Server.
I mean I am just saying, I stated I wanted to not spend 150 on the ATV4, so your answer is the 200 dollar Nvidia Shield? And seriously, compared to the 30 dollar Raspberry Pi, and the 35 dollar Roku Stick, both of which are plenty responsive and work perfectly fine, why would anyone want to buy any of the other devices. No thanks, I will wait for RoKu…
Why would you buy a Shield TV? To run more than just Plex for starters. I watch TV, Netflix, HBO, YouTube, Hulu, Plex, various news channels, listen to music, use it to game, it can run the Plex Server…if you want it for just a Plex client it’s totally overkill. If you want a device that can be an entertainment unit, then for my money it’s the best option out there.
My Roku can do all of that already, at a fraction of the cost. I already watch HBO, Netflix, and use it for a Plex Client as well. Why spend $200 for something when 35 seems to be way more than enough? The Roku is responsive, and works quite well, I am not sure why the Shield TV would be considered the best, when the Roku does what the Shield does and costs less as well.
I had no idea the Roku was a full featured gaming console that interfaces with PC games and can also run the Plex server, and have access to many Google apps, and will also get the Google assistant that allows for control of home automation devices. I thought it was just a basic video playback device.
Like I said, if you don’t want or need what the Shield TV has, then a cheap Roku will fit your needs for a basic media playback device.
This thread has turned into crap show. Getting Roku support should be the focus here.
P.S Apple TV sucks and the Shield is the best
Haha, this thread went off the rails quickly!
On-topic: I just purchased a Roku Premiere+ as my secondary streaming box and was surprised to see that native support for OTA channels via HD Homerun is limited without using Plex (or alternative). Count me in as some who is interested in adding Live TV support to the main Plex for Roku app! I have the HDHR Viewer Plex channel installed, which works well enough for now, but the Live TV interface on Android TV is much slicker.
Also, Shield TV is great (couldn’t resist)! Was a huge upgrade over the Nexus Player that the Roku is replacing, which has always been buggy and laggy, and I’m not a fan of Amazon’s Fire TV interface. Shield TV is definitely a premium product, but it’s worth the investment if that’s what you’re looking for.
Yeah went WAY overboard. I believe the initial comment was about getting Live TV on my Roku Plex Client, surely the need to play video games on my television was never even mentioned, so again I mention, why in the world would I buy an NVidia Shield? First if I wanted to play games, I would use my Steam Link, which is also, btw at a fraction of the cost of the NVidia Shield, secondly I DON’T HAVE NEED for this functionality, so the fact that it was even suggested is silly, and a tad ignorant. Dumping 200 dollars on the NVidia Shield just to get Live TV Support which is EXACTLY what I want, and anything extra will likely never be used, and would be a complete waste.
I guess like my good friend whmauer above, I will wait patiently for the support I need, and hope it comes soon.
I agree the Shield isn’t for you, if you dont already know the reason you pay more for it it is probably because many of the things don’t fit your need case or Home theater setup. Things like automatic framereate switching, Auto-passthrough of all Surround mode including TrueHD and DTS HD. Vastly superior codec support for less required transcodes by the server. There are more things to be said. Having said that my wife just wants to watch Plex, Hulu and netflix on a overly simple interface that only plugs into a tv. $30 Roku works well in the bedroom and is perfect. They both have there place, but dont fool yourself the Shield is a far superior device. as to the original request I too look forward to live tv working on the bedroom roku.
LiveTV on Roku is here! So happy!
Now the recording schedule, not a huge deal, but I wouldn’t mind the ability to record stuff on my TV, with my remote, but I can live with what I got, so happy so far!
@Havok115 said:
LiveTV on Roku is here! So happy!Now the recording schedule, not a huge deal, but I wouldn’t mind the ability to record stuff on my TV, with my remote, but I can live with what I got, so happy so far!
Full DVR functionality is coming to Roku 
The big difference between an Apple/Roku and the ShieldTV Plex client is the ability to play back almost any format with needing to transcode on the server. It can also deinterlace itself on the box. This allows for higher quality and of course lower resource usage on the server as well.
This becomes much more important when you get into DVR since much/most of the content will be MPEG2 and all SD or 1080 content will be interlaced.
It may not have the most polished UI but I think it’s one of the best UIs overall of all the clients. Very easy to navigate and it’s quite speedy. Of course it costs more but you get what you pay for.
Carlo
