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Nvidia vs TV built in Android TV


DarS23

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Hi,

Im about to receive the new Sony x900h that comes with Android TV. 

I was wondering if it will ne better to buy a Nvidia shield. I play all me media trought Emby and I'm starting to collect more 4K content

 

Thanks for your feedback

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GrimReaper

Don't know about those new Sonys and their CPUs, have few years old XD85 Android TV with all the bells and whistles - and my Shield attached to it. They're not even in the same league. Playback wise - had no issues whatsoever, but the interface sluggishness and reaction time was a bummer. And WiFi gimmicks, although that was my particular setup, hardlining it would probably be hassle-free. And to be fair, it should be noted that I'm huge Shield fan, and as far as I'm concerned - nothing beats it, regardless whether it's a TV set or standalone box. My 2c.

Edited by GrimReaper76
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PenkethBoy

i have a A85 2020 model and its faster than my 2017 shield night and day over my 2015 sony

get the tv then decide if you need a shield

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Gilgamesh_48

While it is good advice to test the TV and then decide it is also generally true that "smart" TVs are generally a bad idea. The first drawback is that TV manufacturers are quite bad at providing updates throughout the life of the TV which is often over 10 years. If you use an attached box then it is much less expensive to keep the streaming hardware up to date.

I have a "smart" TV and I use no part of its smarts. I use attached clients and find that very easy. Also a few years ago when my bedroom TV failed I simply got a new TV and hooked up its boxes and there was no other setup to do. If I had been using the TV's smart apps I would have had to setup everything again for the new TV.

Many times a "smart" TV is actually cheaper than a dumb one but there is nothing that says you have to use the often inferior smarts in the TV.

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FrostByte

Check the audio codecs which the Sony supports for streaming.  A lot of TVs manufacturers (Samsung, LG, etc) have dropped DTS-HD or even DTS all together.  The Shield supports just about any audio format you can put into a mkv.

 

https://helpguide.sony.net/tv/gusltn2/v1/en-003/04-01-03_03.html

Edited by FrostByte
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RanmaCanada

As others have said, if you have a full home theatre setup, you are going to need a Shield.  Until mfg's realize that people want all the bells and whistles and actually update their software from time to time, an external dedicated box is your best bet for maximum enjoyment.  The Shield is miles better than any device, and I say that as someone with a Roku TV, several Android boxes, and an Apple TV 4 (biggest mistake ever).  

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PenkethBoy

Having used my new Sony TV (A85) a 2020 model from June this year - for a week now - i currently am very happy with using Emby ATV directly on the TV - the experience is the same as using a Shield (2017) and if anything the tv is snappier than the Shield i tried initially.

One reason i believe this is the case is that Sony are using the full ATV from Google (or only very slight modifications as Nvidia have done to the shield) - and will be upgraded for the next 5yrs as new versions appear from Google.

So my current view is that with Sony, at least, that a Shield is not necessary with this TV as it will not give you anything extra over what the TV can do - for watching media - games etc - probably diff story - but not of interest to me and not why i got a shield.

When i was choosing this TV - it was clear that the other brands were still modifying ATV to a greater or lesser extent with their own app stores etc which was not very attractive to me - so i would probably still be using my shield if i had gone for a different brand.

Prior to this Tv i would have said something similar that smart TV's are limiting based on my 2015 Sony tv - but things have moved on a lot in the 4-5yrs since i bought that - so check out the tv you want to buy in detail and in person (when you can with cov-19 restrictions) so you wont be disappointed.

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FrostByte
3 hours ago, PenkethBoy said:

Having used my new Sony TV (A85) a 2020 model from June this year - for a week now - i currently am very happy with using Emby ATV directly on the TV - the experience is the same as using a Shield (2017) and if anything the tv is snappier than the Shield i tried initially.

One reason i believe this is the case is that Sony are using the full ATV from Google (or only very slight modifications as Nvidia have done to the shield) - and will be upgraded for the next 5yrs as new versions appear from Google.

So my current view is that with Sony, at least, that a Shield is not necessary with this TV as it will not give you anything extra over what the TV can do - for watching media - games etc - probably diff story - but not of interest to me and not why i got a shield.

When i was choosing this TV - it was clear that the other brands were still modifying ATV to a greater or lesser extent with their own app stores etc which was not very attractive to me - so i would probably still be using my shield if i had gone for a different brand.

Prior to this Tv i would have said something similar that smart TV's are limiting based on my 2015 Sony tv - but things have moved on a lot in the 4-5yrs since i bought that - so check out the tv you want to buy in detail and in person (when you can with cov-19 restrictions) so you wont be disappointed.

Are you getting TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X when playing from an app on the SOny?   

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I'll give it a try before ordering a Shield. I have got a Sony Dolby Atmos soundbar that will be plug in eArc, I hope that I can send TrueHD audio, if not, I think I'll have to buy a Shield.

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raven-au
On 11/17/2020 at 8:01 PM, DarS23 said:

I'll give it a try before ordering a Shield. I have got a Sony Dolby Atmos soundbar that will be plug in eArc, I hope that I can send TrueHD audio, if not, I think I'll have to buy a Shield.

 

Maybe things have changed with the newer Sony TVs but I have found that TrueHD and DTS-HD (and obviously neither the object variants, TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X) are not passed from TV apps to receiver or soundbar over ARC (as expected) or eARC. If I had shows with DD+ Atmos I'd expect that to pas through but can't check.

 

However eARC will passthrough these formats from connected devices to a receiver or soundbar over eARC, just the apps don't do it.

Seems like either they deliberately don't do it, perhaps it's an arbitrary decision, perhaps by Google Android developers, don't really know.

Edited by raven-au
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PenkethBoy

i dont use a soundbar with my new TV as it uses the screen as a speaker - Acoustic Surface Audio - as my lounge is not huge its more than adequate for surround sound etc - at 100% its a bit painful :)

As and when i get a Shield Pro (if needed - as TV performs well with Emby directly installed) - i might see a difference with DoVi and sound reporduction

for anybody thats interested https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/televisions/a85-a87-a89-series#sound

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I received the new tv yesterday, and I got to say that I'm impressed thus far as how flawless it is working. Everything is direct playing and the interface is really quick.

For the time being, I don't think I need to buy the Nvidia Shield

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I got the Sony x900h 55inch. Pretty good for the price I think. I have an apple tv on my other tv, and for my experience, Emby is way better on Android. I'm really satisfied. 

 

I have using Plex a couple month ago, I happy to have made the switch. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
bakes82
On 11/21/2020 at 12:12 PM, DarS23 said:

I got the Sony x900h 55inch. Pretty good for the price I think. I have an apple tv on my other tv, and for my experience, Emby is way better on Android. I'm really satisfied. 

 

I have using Plex a couple month ago, I happy to have made the switch. 

Everyone I know with apple tv uses infuse over plex or emby apps.  pretty sure it has dv support and atmos.

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  • 2 months later...
Alestew09
On 11/21/2020 at 6:12 PM, DarS23 said:

I got the Sony x900h 55inch. Pretty good for the price I think. I have an apple tv on my other tv, and for my experience, Emby is way better on Android. I'm really satisfied. 

 

I have using Plex a couple month ago, I happy to have made the switch. 

Have you been able to watch Dolby Vision in mkv or m2ts? I'm trying to watch it on the X900H tv with plex and it doesn't go well, I get mirco stuttering, with Emby it goes smooth?

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hstamas

I get smooth playback with an MKV+DV file on my 2019 A9G.

The only thing I am seeing that makes a Shield possibly superior is with Android on my TV I have an issue with apps staying in memory. If for instance I have Kodi running in the background and I use the Netflix app when I return to Kodi it needs to relaunch. I don't remember that being an issue on my 2017 Shield?

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