Nvidia Shield TV or Apple 4K TV

[Guest asrequested]

Emby makes everything, better

[Hitsville 37]

Emby makes everything, better

Yeah funny you mention that... after my last reply and bearing in mind the topic of this thread, it really got me thinking.

Obviously you yourself are big on ET on an HTPC (as am I now), @@CBers has a love for the Shield, and others have a love for Emby on tvOS.

 

They're all equally good in their own way.

Coming from Plex where I actually had 7 available clients and I spent most of my planned viewing time trying to find one that decided it wanted to work at that particular moment.

 

[emoji3]

 

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[Guest asrequested]

Yeah funny you mention that... after my last reply and bearing in mind the topic of this thread, it really got me thinking.

Obviously you yourself are big on ET on an HTPC (as am I now), @@CBers has a love for the Shield, and others have a love for Emby on tvOS.

 

They're all equally good in their own way.

Coming from Plex where I actually had 7 available clients and I spent most of my planned viewing time trying to find one that decided it wanted to work at that particular moment.

 

[emoji3]

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

You should check out some of the 'spinning rims' that I'm playing with on Theater, in the testing area.

[Hitsville 37]

What the hell are spinning rims?[emoji3]

 

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[Guest asrequested]

What the hell are spinning rims?[emoji3]

 

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lol, maybe that bit of Americana is too esoteric.

 

Extra bits?

[Hitsville 37]

Cool. Haven't even got as far as investigating the testing area. Will take a look when I get home from work.

 

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[Carlo 4330]

Curious for you guy who love the HTTP vs stand-alone devices.

 

Are you building one trick ponies?  For example an HTTP dedicated to Emby?

What do you do for Netflix, Amazon (if you use them).

How about apps?

 

I was a long time lover of HTTPs and had a canned setup with automatic updates that worked well in it's day but I'd much rather now use a Shield TV as it does everything I want/need and has good app support and is much cheaper.

 

Granted I live in Emby 99% of the time but it's nice to have other apps to use that work just as easily with the remote as Emby and this is a sore spot with many HTTP setups.  DRM can also be problematic as well.

 

Frankly for roughly $150 US for the non pro version I don't know a better/easier way to run Emby that just works once setup properly.

 

BTW, what were you guys talking about here earlier about Emby on the Shield being Horizontal?  I couldn't stand that with 11K Movies and love the vertical listings in the libraries.  I do however wish Emby could take better advantage of the pop-out left menu (when you get deep nested).

 

Carlo

[Guest asrequested]

Well, in my case, it isn't exclusively an HTPC. I do everything on mine. I get bored when only doing one thing. So I'll be watching TV, while researching mpv options, looking at scripts, general web surfing etc. I don't use streaming services. I don't have the patience to use them lol. But as for playing my media, I just can't find anything else that comes close to what I can do with my HTPC. I'm just not a set it and forget it kinda guy. I have specific requirements for playing different media. AC3 encoding for music/music videos etc. And I'm now also using mpv profiles for different media.

[Hitsville 37]

In my case my HTPC is purely for Emby Theatre. [emoji16]

 

I still have my Shield and Apple TV4K for other stuff.

 

And yeah currently unlike all other Emby apps the Shield is horizontal scrolling only...But being looked into.

 

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Edited September 14, 2018 by Hitsville

[Carlo 4330]

In my case my HTPC is purely for Emby Theatre. [emoji16]

 

I still have my Shield and Apple TV4K for other stuff.

 

And yeah currently unlike all other Emby apps the Shield is horizontal scrolling only...But being looked into.

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

Sorry don't know what I was thinking with that comment.  I've complained numerous times myself about the horizontal scrolling in Movies which I also despise.  This is one feature I really like that Plex had.  Vertical scrolling on the Shield TV as well as the letters A through Z on the far right side.  Made jumping to any part of your list quite simple.  It wasn't a filter but a jump to that section.  So if you had a movie called "SZZ" you could jump to T then scroll up and it would be right there.  So easy to use.

 

I don't mind it as much as on some devices however because I use voice search on the Shield TV a lot to find movies.

 

I currently use SMALL icons on the Shield TV which allows me to scroll faster than normal which helps but is no substitute.

 

I dislike horizontal views on all devices that use it.  Lists to me should ALWAYS be vertical. Screw Netflix for implementing the horizontal scrolling that everyone copied. (personal opinion of course)

Edited September 14, 2018 by cayars

[Hitsville 37]

Sorry don't know what I was thinking with that comment. I've complained numerous times myself about the horizontal scrolling in Movies which I also despise. This is one feature I really like that Plex had. Vertical scrolling on the Shield TV as well as the letters A through Z on the far right side. Made jumping to any part of your list quite simple. It wasn't a filter but a jump to that section. So if you had a movie called "SZZ" you could jump to T then scroll up and it would be right there. So easy to use.

 

I don't mind it as much as on some devices however because I use voice search on the Shield TV a lot to find movies.

 

I currently use SMALL icons on the Shield TV which allows me to scroll faster than normal which helps but is no substitute.

 

I dislike horizontal views on all devices that use it. Lists to me should ALWAYS be vertical. Screw Netflix for implementing the horizontal scrolling that everyone copied. (personal opinion of course)

So I have to ask, knowing how much you have put into Plex over the years.

 

Are you just browsing or are thinking about switching over to the light side as I have just done? Sorry I'm just being nosey. [emoji3]

 

EDIT..

Scratch that I just saw your post count so clearly not new to Emby.

 

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Edited September 14, 2018 by Hitsville

[Carlo 4330]

No biggy at all and it's not nosey.  I've been running Emby/Media Browser for years but really didn't post here much.  When I was a Plex Ninja I sort of wanted to keep my profile a bit more low key. 

However, it was never a secret and even in the op post of my epic long Cayars Thread I mentioned running both systems at the same time.

 

What really pushed me over the edge and out of the "closet" so to speak was my disdain for the way Plex was doing DVR and lack of for thought they were putting into the product. I didn't care for the direction of the new clients (type first) as well which I think is much more confusing. I had already been using Emby for DVR/Live TV anyway so that was sort of the last straw.  Plex is spun up in to many directions these days IMHO with Plex Cloud (now defunct as of 11/30), PlexAmp (10 years to late to the music scene), VR, PodCasts, News and what not.  I just want to put my effort and hopes on a product that stays true to the core of what we use it for and that's serving up our local media.

 

I still run Plex as well and have family members who use it but I myself basically live in Embyland. LOL

Carlo

Edited September 15, 2018 by cayars

[Hitsville 37]

Thanks for the insight.

 

I'm more or less in the same situation. I personally now only use Emby but I haven't got as far as porting the people I share with over to Emby. They seem happy enough but needless to say none of them use clients that have been "infected" with the new UI.....yet!

 

Though the server side of Plex I was fairly happy with, not withstanding the rubbish stuff like news, podcasts etc. The clients with one exception sucked badly. For me it spoke volumes when a certain Plex employee stated they installed infuse for members of their family to use as a Plex client.

 

The really saddest indictment though... If I had to name anything that I really missed since switching from Plex, there's only one thing.

Tautulli. Yeah I really miss a 3rd party app. From Plex itself nothing at all. [emoji3]

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest asrequested]

I should add that shield isn't able to play half of my HDR media (because of CUDA), and that the CUDA decoder adds too much contrast. It makes shiny parts, too shiny. I can confirm that when comparing cuda-copy to every other decoder, on my HTPC with a GTX 1050. I've come to dislike CUDA as a decoder. It has some large problems. Nvidia really needs to get it's s**t together.

[Carlo 4330]

The really saddest indictment though... If I had to name anything that I really missed since switching from Plex, there's only one thing.

Tautulli. Yeah I really miss a 3rd party app. From Plex itself nothing at all. [emoji3]

Tautulli is/was very cool and I still miss that as well!

I always loved it when Tautulli had information that differed from the admin panel and Tautulli was the one correct.

 

Emby has some of this functionality with it's statistics addin and Playback Reporting but it's not even close to being the same thing.  The same type of program could be made for Emby and even Tautulli could be ported by someone to work with Emby.  Maybe someday a brave soul will do something like this!

[Carlo 4330]

I should add that shield isn't able to play half of my HDR media (because of CUDA), and that the CUDA decoder adds too much contrast. It makes shiny parts, too shiny. I can confirm that when comparing cuda-copy to every other decoder, on my HTPC with a GTX 1050. I've come to dislike CUDA as a decoder. It has some large problems. Nvidia really needs to get it's s**t together.

I don't think CUDA has anything to do with it as the Shield TV has dedicated decoders built in.  I'm certainly not saying or implying your wrong as I don't know how the hardware is programmed or what it leverages on board.

 

I know on my Samsung 75" TV I get different looking video depending on what device is plugged into that HDMI port.  On my TV I can adjust/calibrate the picture for each HDMI source.  Have you done similar on your set?

 

Once properly adjusted I get good calibration results and my colors, shades and contrast are where they should be on reference material.  I myself haven't experienced HDR issues but I do know many people have problems playing HDR material on non HDR displays and get washed out pictures due to lack of tone mapping. Out of curiosity have you checked lately to see if there is any firmware updates available on your TV itself?

 

Probably my biggest gripes about the Shield TV would be AC3 audio support and the way banding comes through during rendering when low bit rate/quality files are used.

 

All devices have issues in some form or another and usually some compromise is made in the system as a whole to compensate.  There's no perfect device, just as there's no perfect car.  It's just a matter of finding the one that best suits YOU and your use for the $ you want to spend. LOL

 

PS what color space and refresh rate do you have setup on your Shield TV when playing these files?

 

My hope is that when they release their next model that "replaces" the Shield TV they have "fixed" some of these known issues.

Edited September 15, 2018 by cayars

[ebr 14913]

Probably my biggest gripes about the Shield TV would be AC3 audio support

 

?

[CBers 6771]

Probably my biggest gripes about the Shield TV would be AC3 audio support

?

[Carlo 4330]

The Shield TV doesn't decode AC3.  You can pass it through but can't decode it since nvidia didn't license it.

 

So if you use a monitor vs a TV set you can't play AC3 tracks.

Edited September 15, 2018 by cayars

[ebr 14913]

So if you use a monitor vs a TV set you can't play AC3 tracks.

 

You can with Emby!

[Guest asrequested]

I don't think CUDA has anything to do with it as the Shield TV has dedicated decoders built in. I'm certainly not saying or implying your wrong as I don't know how the hardware is programmed or what it leverages on board.

 

I know on my Samsung 75" TV I get different looking video depending on what device is plugged into that HDMI port. On my TV I can adjust/calibrate the picture for each HDMI source. Have you done similar on your set?

 

Once properly adjusted I get good calibration results and my colors, shades and contrast are where they should be on reference material. I myself haven't experienced HDR issues but I do know many people have problems playing HDR material on non HDR displays and get washed out pictures due to lack of tone mapping. Out of curiosity have you checked lately to see if there is any firmware updates available on your TV itself?

 

Probably my biggest gripes about the Shield TV would be AC3 audio support and the way banding comes through during rendering when low bit rate/quality files are used.

 

All devices have issues in some form or another and usually some compromise is made in the system as a whole to compensate. There's no perfect device, just as there's no perfect car. It's just a matter of finding the one that best suits YOU and your use for the $ you want to spend. LOL

 

PS what color space and refresh rate do you have setup on your Shield TV when playing these files?

 

My hope is that when they release their next model that "replaces" the Shield TV they have "fixed" some of these known issues.

I've confirmed that it is CUDA, and have explained that in several threads. You're assuming that when I say it won't play some of my HDR media that I mean tone mapping. What I actually mean is what I said. It can't play them. I get a few blocks of pixels and the rest is a black screen. I sent an example to Nvidia and they reproduced the issue. If I play the same file with my gtx 1050, using CUDA, it's the same result. If I use any other decoder, it plays perfectly. On the shield, if I use another app, such as MX, it plays. The CUDA decoder has a problem.

 

As for the perfect device, I've dialed my HTPC in to be perfect. It plays EVERYTHING and plays exceptionally well.

 

I've tried multiple colorspaces on the shield. The refresh rate is default, 59Hz. Refresh rate switching is horrible, I never use it.

Edited September 15, 2018 by Doofus

[Allan Cameron 40]

I would actually avoid the shield if you can, I have owned it twice. Both the original model and the second smaller one. Both times was a horrible experience and constant freezing of the system UI. Almost daily having to unplug it to reset and having a do it again just hours later. Always sent them back for refund. I have the Apple TV 4K and it has been absolutely flawless. It does have its shortcomings as all media players do but what does work works as it should. Performance is fantastic.

[CBers 6771]

I would actually avoid the shield if you can, I have owned it twice. Both the original model and the second smaller one. Both times was a horrible experience and constant freezing of the system UI. Almost daily having to unplug it to reset and having a do it again just hours later. Always sent them back for refund.

One bad experience doesn't mean it's a bad device.

 

I have 3 Shields (2x 2015 models and 1x 2017 model) and i have never had a problem with any of themm.

 

I would, and do, recommend them to anyone looking for that sort of device.

[Guest asrequested]

I will say that if it weren't for the decoding issue that I have, the shield is a good device. If Nvidia fixes it or simply starts using nvdec instead of cuda, then I would start using mine, again. Of course I also need to get a different remote, but that's not a big deal.

[Allan Cameron 40]

One bad experience doesn't mean it's a bad device.

I have 3 Shields (2x 2015 models and 1x 2017 model) and i have never had a problem with any of themm.

I would, and do, recommend them to anyone looking for that sort of device.

If you re-read my post you would realize it’s 2 bad experiences, in a row about 1 year apart. What’s even worse is it’s both the models they offer. It’s actually pretty common if you go to their forms you can read about the issue yourself. I really can’t recommend the shield to anyone, just a heads up buyer beware. I have also had other Android TV streamers such as the Nexus Player and the Mi box. Both of those boxes did not have this issue and we’re pretty flawless. If you do decide to go with the shield, just make sure you buy it somewhere you can get a refund easily. Edited September 15, 2018 by Allan Cameron