apple tv or nvidia shield?

Mo
superczar said:
Kodi was never properly forked for atv.
There is a sad fork called mrmc but it's useless for all practical purposes.

There are several alternatives though, some better on some fronts, some worse..
I was a heavy Kodi user myself till about 2015/16 or so.
Now I can't stand using it on any platform.

All i would say is explore other options beyond kodi regardless of your choice of platform or box
Click to expand...
Plex or infuse are nowhere near kodi in terms of community support, flexibility, scale etc. Yes if you are an apple user you've to forget kodi and look for alternatives but that doesn't mean you dis kodi... Sounds like sour grapes just coz you chose a restricted platform where kodi can't work properly
 
Plex app is horrible on Apple TV. Don't buy it for Plex. There is inconsistent audio delay depending on the video. Other than Plex, it is perfect for OTT. Nothing comes close. Shield is so laggy compared to Apple TV.
 
animishticomb said:
Mo

Plex or infuse are nowhere near kodi in terms of community support, flexibility, scale etc. Yes if you are an apple user you've to forget kodi and look for alternatives but that doesn't mean you dis kodi... Sounds like sour grapes just coz you chose a restricted platform where kodi can't work properly
Click to expand...
I use a dune homatics box,fire cube , fire stick and atv 4K.
I wouldnt use kodi on any.
Used kodi extensively in the 2000s and 2010s. Even built a couple of custom HTPCs for it and also evangelised kodi the way you are doing now :p

It has way too many issues now , esp with newer requirements ( dynamic range switching in particular) for it to be of any use for me now.
I keep giving it a spin once every few years in the hope that it would have improved- the last attempt being on a fairly decent mini PC earlier this year
But it is simply not comparable any more to the far more modern alternatives out there.

Maybe some of you may have edge use cases that it can serve - for pretty much everything else, Kodi is simply archaic now

codwapeace said:
Plex app is horrible on Apple TV. Don't buy it for Plex. There is inconsistent audio delay depending on the video. Other than Plex, it is perfect for OTT. Nothing comes close. Shield is so laggy compared to Apple TV.
Click to expand...
Try Vidi if you use Tor**nt streaming. Vidi on its own is excellent. And killer if paired with Infuse
 
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superczar said:
I use a dune homatics box,fire cube , fire stick and atv 4K.
I wouldnt use kodi on any.
Used kodi extensively in the 2000s and 2010s. Even built a couple of custom HTPCs for it and also evangelised kodi the way you are doing now :p
Click to expand...
what are you using these days? Jellyfin has really improved a lot compared to even just a few years ago, all my main gripes with it are mostly solved now
 
My favorite is JioSTB because of convenience. No need to login into any OTT as they auto login due to the OTT subscriptions being bundled from their Internet plan.
 
TinTinSnowy said:
My favorite is JioSTB because of convenience. No need to login into any OTT as they auto login due to the OTT subscriptions being bundled from their Internet plan.
Click to expand...
I already have Airtel BB and STB but problem is some streaming apps i use that are not available on Jio/Airtel STB only available on android and apple.
 
nikola said:
I already have Airtel BB and STB but problem is some streaming apps i use that are not available on Jio/Airtel STB only available on android and apple.
Click to expand...
It's sad to see there is a lot of gap in this area. Successor of Nvidia Shield is yet to be seen. Mi Box 4K successor never landed in India. We don't have a good 20 USD device like Walmart's Onn Box. It's aftv and then straight jump to shield and apple tv. Those options are not fulfiling also.
 
altair21 said:
what are you using these days? Jellyfin has really improved a lot compared to even just a few years ago, all my main gripes with it are mostly solved now
Click to expand...
For any kind of local streaming needs, I have shifted almost entirely to Stremio + RD on Android and Vidi + Infuse on ATV (Infuse is optional but Vidi can't di atoms passthrough )

For one off playback of LAN only files, I use Infuse on ATV and plex on droids

TinTinSnowy said:
It's sad to see there is a lot of gap in this area. Successor of Nvidia Shield is yet to be seen. Mi Box 4K successor never landed in India. We don't have a good 20 USD device like Walmart's Onn Box. It's atv and then straight jump to shield and apple tv. Those options are not fulfiling also.
Click to expand...
FTV 4K Max, cube and ATV tick pretty much all the boxes. The pricier options do give you more fluid interface but the 4K max is also pretty decent
I also quite like the Dune homatics box but its pricier than It should be .
What do you find amiss with the current options?
 
TinTinSnowy said:
It's sad to see there is a lot of gap in this area. Successor of Nvidia Shield is yet to be seen. Mi Box 4K successor never landed in India. We don't have a good 20 USD device like Walmart's Onn Box. It's aftv and then straight jump to shield and apple tv. Those options are not fulfiling also.
Click to expand...
Yes, In USA you have many cheap options for everything. And technology gap btw ATV and other streaming box is big.
 
superczar said:
Kodi was never properly forked for atv.
There is a sad fork called mrmc but it's useless for all practical purposes.

There are several alternatives though, some better on some fronts, some worse..
I was a heavy Kodi user myself till about 2015/16 or so.
Now I can't stand using it on any platform.

All i would say is explore other options beyond kodi regardless of your choice of platform or box
Click to expand...


I used Kodi extensively when I was in US and wanted access to Indian content. The reason I still use Kodi is because I don't have any cable / dth connection at home at all. Everything is streamed. I watch shows on Jio Cinema (which actually come on colors etc) but using Kodi addon as I can control playback speed (we tend to watch at about 1.3x) and get no ads. For the 2-3 Live TV channels we watch (MTV Beats and Zoom) that too only on weekend morning for songs, I use the JioTV addon in Kodi.

I also don't have any OTT subscriptions and even my prime is the shopping edition.

For any others shows, it is all the "rr" apps suite + transmission + jellyfin on my RPi4.
 
raksrules said:
I used Kodi extensively when I was in US and wanted access to Indian content. The reason I still use Kodi is because I don't have any cable / dth connection at home at all. Everything is streamed. I watch shows on Jio Cinema (which actually come on colors etc) but using Kodi addon as I can control playback speed (we tend to watch at about 1.3x) and get no ads. For the 2-3 Live TV channels we watch (MTV Beats and Zoom) that too only on weekend morning for songs, I use the JioTV addon in Kodi.

I also don't have any OTT subscriptions and even my prime is the shopping edition.

For any others shows, it is all the "rr" apps suite + transmission + jellyfin on my RPi4.
Click to expand...
trackers or usenet?
 
raksrules said:
I used Kodi extensively when I was in US and wanted access to Indian content. The reason I still use Kodi is because I don't have any cable / dth connection at home at all. Everything is streamed. I watch shows on Jio Cinema (which actually come on colors etc) but using Kodi addon as I can control playback speed (we tend to watch at about 1.3x) and get no ads. For the 2-3 Live TV channels we watch (MTV Beats and Zoom) that too only on weekend morning for songs, I use the JioTV addon in Kodi.

I also don't have any OTT subscriptions and even my prime is the shopping edition.

For any others shows, it is all the "rr" apps suite + transmission + jellyfin on my RPi4.
Click to expand...
Fair enough.
No cable here either, been years since we stopped dth Subs

My usage was about 90% OTT and 10% ahem up until recently
But with quality of streams dropping on all services barring Netflix and TV+, it is now 50:50

The only major difference is that I stopped using local download (manual/ radarr/sonarr etc) and local storage altogether.. The *arr setup was good but still needed some work as compared to the standard browse and watch method

Now Using Torrentio and RD for real time browse and stream instead
 
superczar said:
FTV 4K Max, cube
Click to expand...
Lack of Google Play Store with them. I had a basic ftv in the past where I flashed a custom rom which allowed running Google Play. But the hardware was really not smooth enough for me.

superczar said:
ATV
Click to expand...
It's fine in most aspects. Superior quality apps for popular service and great hardware. But I feel the hardware is not fully justified due to lack of many options available in Google Play and outside (sideloading). I am not into Apple ecosystem to take benefit of most stuff.

superczar said:
Dune homatics box
Click to expand...
This one seems to be new and ticking all the boxes but pricier as you say.

I am sticking with JioSTB until I find a solution for 4-5K (Mibox price range) with good hardware and Google play store. Right now the hardware (JioSTB) is through Jiofiber, therefore they will replace it even if it goes kaput and no investment for me. Walmart's 20 usd player also support Google play and the hardware is decent enough for most uses cases. I am not really into high fidelity audio or high bit rate picture quality. Happy with good content on average 1080p/1440p/2160p quality with audible enough audio.
 
TinTinSnowy said:
Lack of Google Play Store with them. I had a basic ftv in the past where I flashed a custom rom which allowed running Google Play. But the hardware was really not smooth enough for me.


It's fine in most aspects. Superior quality apps for popular service and great hardware. But I feel the hardware is not fully justified due to lack of many options available in Google Play and outside (sideloading). I am not into Apple ecosystem to take benefit of most stuff.


This one seems to be new and ticking all the boxes but pricier as you say.

I am sticking with JioSTB until I find a solution for 4-5K (Mibox price range) with good hardware and Google play store. Right now the hardware (JioSTB) is through Jiofiber, therefore they will replace it even if it goes kaput and no investment for me. Walmart's 20 usd player also support Google play and the hardware is decent enough for most uses cases. I am not really into high fidelity audio or high bit rate picture quality. Happy with good content on average 1080p/1440p/2160p quality with audible enough audio.
Click to expand...
you get what you pay for ..

A 4-5K box will always have compromises on
a) SoC - making the user experience less fluid that soon turns annoying
b) Low Memory - Higher end boxes typically have adequate memory to allow switching between active apps without reload .. so you can flip between NF/ Local playback
c) MOst importantly, the certifications required for a typical STB are large in number and are expensive.. so many cheap boxes skimp on that leading to , eg lack of HDR (particularly DV) support on some apps.. or being limited to 1080p on others

Now add the fact that STBs last a long time.. Your current TV or audio may not make the right use of HDR10+/DV or atmos but your next one likely will.
so I am not sure limiting the budget to the bottom most end is a very good idea, especially since newer TVs anyway have UX comparable to the low end boxes.

BTW I tried the cheap walmart box at a store earlier this year - it is and feels like a cheap box.. An improvement over the base FS 4K for sure, but that isnt saying much.
The FS 4K max is a much better option at only a slightly higher price point

PS: 4K max and cube have fairly decent SOCs, the only compromise is less RAM so flipping between active aps is iffy. EVerything else works fine though
 
superczar said:
you get what you pay for ..

A 4-5K box will always have compromises on
a) SoC - making the user experience less fluid that soon turns annoying
b) Low Memory - Higher end boxes typically have adequate memory to allow switching between active apps without reload .. so you can flip between NF/ Local playback
c) MOst importantly, the certifications required for a typical STB are large in number and are expensive.. so many cheap boxes skimp on that leading to , eg lack of HDR (particularly DV) support on some apps.. or being limited to 1080p on others

Now add the fact that STBs last a long time.. Your current TV or audio may not make the right use of HDR10+/DV or atmos but your next one likely will.
so I am not sure limiting the budget to the bottom most end is a very good idea, especially since newer TVs anyway have UX comparable to the low end boxes.

BTW I tried the cheap walmart box at a store earlier this year - it is and feels like a cheap box.. An improvement over the base FS 4K for sure, but that isnt saying much.
The FS 4K max is a much better option at only a slightly higher price point

PS: 4K max and cube have fairly decent SOCs, the only compromise is less RAM so flipping between active aps is iffy. EVerything else works fine though
Click to expand...
Haven't used a Fire TV for the past 2 years, but it was a relief switching to CGTV. The app ecosystem on the Play Store is much better and the versions are much higher than the equivalent app on Fire TV. The recommendations on Google TV are also much better.

Also Fire TV never gets a version upgrade and uses an old Android version, which more recent apps stop supporting due to lack of modern API versions.

But middling SoC, low RAM and storage are deal breakers. The Google TV streamer does better in that regard but not worth spending 10k on an imported one.
superczar said:
For any kind of local streaming needs, I have shifted almost entirely to Stremio + RD on Android and Vidi + Infuse on ATV (Infuse is optional but Vidi can't di atoms passthrough )

For one off playback of LAN only files, I use Infuse on ATV and plex on droids


FTV 4K Max, cube and ATV tick pretty much all the boxes. The pricier options do give you more fluid interface but the 4K max is also pretty decent
I also quite like the Dune homatics box but its pricier than It should be .
What do you find amiss with the current options?
Click to expand...
Also switched to Stremio with RD. When outside home, was using my arr setup over Tailscsle, so doing so with RD also makes no difference. The main thing is RD requests should come from the same IP range.

Apparently WebDAV can be accessed from other IPs, so playing back the cached files without proxy is also fine.
 
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t3chg33k said:
oHaven't used a Fire TV for the past 2 years, but it was a relief switching to CGTV. The app ecosystem on the Play Store is much better and the versions are much higher than the equivalent app on Fire TV. The recommendations on Google TV are also much better.
Click to expand...
I did get the ccwgtv (puck style model .. it was not as badly ad infested as ftv but had to sell it off soon.
It had issues with SDR/HDR/DV auto switching and that made it a complete deal breaker for me.

had to be (in all likelihood) a software issue .. can you please check if its resolved now?
Just set output to sdr and enable range matching
then play a DV (or HDR) title on NF (or rip on stremio) and see if the TV output switches to DV or HDR as needed
 
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