Shield Experience 8.2.3 - Direct Play - Android TV 2.1.14 - DTS:X

[Teddyknuddel 136]

So I also have something positive to report this time. A few days ago I flashed two of my Shields back to 8.2.3. And what can I say? The thing runs like clockwork!  Thanks to the tip from @rbjtech with the NetBIOs name, I managed to get a real directplay connection. Thanks to the path transfer, there's no more jerking, slightly longer loading time at the beginning, but that's bearable. Damn good picture & sound - and above all smooth playback

But I find it weak that the Emby team has no interest in implementing direct path passing for Experience 9.x.x. Plex & Kodi shows us that it is possible. Why not? It's unlikely that Nvidia will grant the Shield Android 12+. No real updates for about 2 years. There has been no new model since 2019, although a new device has been brought onto the market every two years. Plex can even do this without much integration of the server as a network drive in the Shield itself. So why not? It is no longer relevant whether you have a more powerful server - old hardware is sufficient. In Germany this is called sustainability.

I still have one point of criticism regarding Android TV 2.x.xx. DTS:X with the DTS-HD HRA profile remains silent. I have to deactivate the passthrough for DTS-HD or switch to Kodi or an external player. I doubt that this is due to Android 9. But overall I can get over it because I only have 4 films with this soundtrack.

[rbjtech 5284]

I'll leave Eric @ebrto give the official reason but on the new version SE9 (Android 11) permission is also required from the App to allow access to the os shares.  Emby didn't want this as something on the App 'requirements' in the store when the vast majority of users would never use it.  

Also remember the replacement Android App has no such direct play option at all.   

All in all, the market for high end playback has diminished with emby and the only client that seems to 'care' about codecs, stats for nerds, passthrough etc is AndroidTv and that is going - mind you, they said that 4 years ago .. and still its the go to Android and FireTv app ... frustrating as I don't want to use Kodi, its just not family friendly and the JF Android App is very weak but at least its open source.

Edited August 23, 2024 by rbjtech

[Teddyknuddel 136]

More people would use this if it were simpler. The average consumer doesn't mind setting up the network between two computers. I'm no longer up to date with all the network technology (I initially learned with 10 Mbit LAN), but I can manage it. @rbjtech without your important note about the Netbios name, I would still be at the beginning by now. All of this is far too complicated for normal users and laypeople. It should be enough if the network path is stored in the library. It also has to work without me having to enter the server in the shield itself. Plex shows you how to do it. I do have to enter the server again in Kodi using the Emby addon, but anyone who deals with Kodi knows this too.

Again - people use this less because it is quite complicated to implement it this way. And even some experienced users have to struggle with it. That's the only reason. Anyone who uses Emby on their own network would prefer direct file playback with a compatible player!

@rbjtech Kodi is a super good player (except for Omega), it runs absolutely smoothly, but adjusting all the widgets so that you can see the new videos straight away, like with Emby/Plex, is now too much effort for me. If I had to make it family-friendly with certain age groups, I would freak out.

[Teddyknuddel 136]

@ebr seems to avoid this topic like pampered princess avoids a broom. Or has he reached the end of his knowledge and is overwhelmed by the whole subject? Then perhaps he should hand over the reins to someone who can do it better!

I have been able to enjoy direct path playback for over 10 days now. No stuttering, no jerking, absolutely smooth playback. It's a shame that DTS:X --> DTS HD HRA remains muted, but if everything else runs so smoothly, I can live with it. I can finally run a server with older hardware and don't have to make sure that the quality is as low as possible. It is simply incomprehensible that this wonderful option is not being expanded further.

Edited September 2, 2024 by Teddyknuddel

[rbjtech 5284]

2 hours ago, Teddyknuddel said:

@ebr seems to avoid this topic like pampered princess avoids a broom. Or has he reached the end of his knowledge and is overwhelmed by the whole subject? Then perhaps he should hand over the reins to someone who can do it better!

I have been able to enjoy direct path playback for over 10 days now. No stuttering, no jerking, absolutely smooth playback. It's a shame that DTS:X --> DTS HD HRA remains muted, but if everything else runs so smoothly, I can live with it. I can finally run a server with older hardware and don't have to make sure that the quality is as low as possible. It is simply incomprehensible that this wonderful option is not being expanded further.

Considering the Universal App has even less 'AV Enthusiast' functionality than the old AndroidTV App - I really don't see much of a future for Emby in this space.   They are all about a minimal viable product for everyone (hence Universal), not fully functional specialist apps.   

[rbjtech 5284]

2 hours ago, Teddyknuddel said:

 It's a shame that DTS:X --> DTS HD HRA remains muted,

Do you have a sample of this you can ping me via PM ?

[Teddyknuddel 136]

38 minutes ago, rbjtech said:

Considering the Universal App has even less 'AV Enthusiast' functionality than the old AndroidTV App - I really don't see much of a future for Emby in this space.   They are all about a minimal viable product for everyone (hence Universal), not fully functional specialist apps.   

Yes, at some point only for Telesync rubbish with a maximum two-channel soundtrack.

39 minutes ago, rbjtech said:

Do you have a sample of this you can ping me via PM ?

I have send it over PM

[Audiomixer 374]

4 hours ago, Teddyknuddel said:

Yes, at some point only for Telesync rubbish with a maximum two-channel soundtrack.

I have send it over PM

I too would be interested to have a look at your sample.

[Teddyknuddel 136]

3 minutes ago, Audiomixer said:

I too would be interested to have a look at your sample.

I've just sent it to you.

But as I said, it's no big deal. If I've got it right, I only have 4 of about 800 movies with this soundtrack.

[Audiomixer 374]

Every app i use on shield to playback your sample shows DTS:X on my denon x4500. 

[Teddyknuddel 136]

Hm..... I played it with AndroidTV 2.1.14, there was no sound at all on the Denon 1700, and via Kodi, it was played regularly. Do you have a different ATV version?

[ebr 16169]

37 minutes ago, Teddyknuddel said:

Hm..... I played it with AndroidTV 2.1.14, there was no sound at all on the Denon 1700, and via Kodi, it was played regularly. Do you have a different ATV version?

The current release is 2.1.21 but I don't think there is anything different in this regard.

[Teddyknuddel 136]

1 hour ago, ebr said:

The current release is 2.1.21 but I don't think there is anything different in this regard.

From x.14 to x.21? Huge jump - have deactivated the automatic updates in the Shield - must first update on the Shield....

[Teddyknuddel 136]

13 hours ago, ebr said:

The current release is 2.1.21 but I don't think there is anything different in this regard.

Little joker? There is no release newer than 2.1.14 in the Appstore or on Github. And I no longer use your betas...

But as already mentioned umpteen times, there are only 4 movies that have such a soundtrack. If I have the choice between a unreliable engine under HTTP and reliable playback under SMB, then I prefer SMB. HTTP may be enough for FullHD, but it's not enough for 4K if you have material that has higher bit rates.

It's just sad that people are so afraid to make the effort to implement proper adjustments and bug fixes. If I want to sell something, then I also make sure that it works properly. It doesn't matter whether it's only being sold as a part or as a whole item. If I sell a restaurant that is doing badly, I can't expect a good price - if it's doing well, I can expect a lot more.

Edited September 3, 2024 by Teddyknuddel

[ebr 16169]

6 hours ago, Teddyknuddel said:

There is no release newer than 2.1.14 in the Appstore

Not sure why you are not seeing it.  Anyone else?

[Audiomixer 374]

49 minutes ago, ebr said:

Not sure why you are not seeing it.  Anyone else?

When you install fresh from google play store to the shield as i just did, 2.1.14g is what you get. When i install the file from github, 2.1.14g is the current file as well. Last week i got 2.1.16g.

Edited September 3, 2024 by Audiomixer

[CBers 7450]

I installed the Android TV app onto my sister-in-laws CWGTV device last night direct from the Google Play Store, and it installed 2.1.21, so it is available.
 

[Teddyknuddel 136]

No idea - I reinstalled yesterday and was shown 2.1.14. Checked again today and no update was offered.

 

[CBers 7450]

9 minutes ago, Teddyknuddel said:

No idea - I reinstalled yesterday and was shown 2.1.14. Checked again today and no update was offered.

Download the latest version from here.

It is the beta release, but Stable and Beta are at the same version currently.

Stable will overwrite from the Play Store once there is a newer release.

 

[Audiomixer 374]

Just tried it again from google play store on my other shield. Its 2.1.14g. The link @CBersposted for the beta shows 2.1.16g after install. Apparently selectively available.

Edited September 3, 2024 by Audiomixer

[CBers 7450]

5 minutes ago, Audiomixer said:

Just tried it again from google play store on my other shield. Its 2.1.14g. The link @CBersposted for the beta shows 2.1.16g after install. Apparently selectively available.

Very strange.

Hopefully @ebrcan confirm what is going on with the link in the Beta forums, but I downloaded direct from the Google Play Store last night and I got 2.1.21.
 

[Audiomixer 374]

I just VPN’d to UK and no 2.1.21 update. I too am on shield 8.2.3.

[Teddyknuddel 136]

49 minutes ago, CBers said:

Download the latest version from here.

It is the beta release

No more betas - I'm tired of Emby's experiments.

Apart from that, it doesn't matter anyway - apparently @Audiomixercan play my sample correctly with 2.1.14. So 21.1.99 won't change anything for me either. And since they continue to vigorously refuse to adapt direct path playback for Android 11 on the Shield, I don't see any improvement through any updates at the moment.

Edited September 3, 2024 by Teddyknuddel

[Audiomixer 374]

@Teddyknuddelso is that what you expected to see on your avr with your sample? DTS:X? Not DTS-HD HRA?

As far as direct play is concerned i have been through this and have spent much time on this short of spending time on the phone with @FrostByte to figure out what is different with his setup vs mine as we both run synology nas.

Edited September 3, 2024 by Audiomixer

[CBers 7450]

38 minutes ago, Teddyknuddel said:

No more betas - I'm tired of Emby's experiments.

As I said above, Stable and Beta are currently at the same version.