Network media player recommendations

[Blondie88]

Bit of a thread revival but I’ve finally stood down my Nvidia shield TV. Had it since launch and it’s sterling job since then.

I’ve replaced it with a Vero 4K + which arrived yesterday. Initial thoughts weren’t overwhelming positive. The packaging felt a bit cheap, as does the device. It’s tiny as well. Plugged it in. Booted in a flash and setup was easy. Added all my films and tv series from my NAS. All good.

The OSMC skin that it boots with looks a bit naff as well. But it’s easily replaced.

the important bit. It plays everything flawlessly. The PQ seems noticeably better than the shield and HDR films finally look right. No longer overly dark.

I’ve kept the shield as it plugged in next to the NAS in the office as I’m just using it for a Plex server now for the kids TV upstairs.

Can heartily recommend the vero 4K + though. Great little device with fantastic PQ.

Hey do you mind if I ask you about your experience with these two devices? It would be a big help..

I have been looking for a media player to stream large 4K movie files from my Plex server on my iMac over my home network to watch on my Optoma UHD40 projector.
My main criteria is that I want the best audio quality possible - ie bitstreamed so I can play remux files and have full Atmos and TrueHD for my 5.1.4 setup.
The only other thing I need it for is Netflix and Amazon Prime, also with Atmos.

I was previously using an Xbox1X and was very pleased with it for the streaming and picture quality, but alas, no bitstreamed atmos..

Which lead me to the Nvidia Shield TV 2019. Everything was perfect and the streaming of large 70mbps files were playing perfectly over my home network, until I noticed a red tint to skin tones in some files. This lead me to dig deeper and I found that although Netflix on both my Xbox and Shield display at 10 bit on my projector, a 10 bit movie played though Plex on the Shield would only display on my projector at 8 bit (even though the Shield says it is outputting 10 bit) and the same file played through Plex on my Xbox was still displaying correctly at 10 bit.

I then noticed that files with red skin tones would display at bt 709 4:2:2 on the Shield, but the same file played the same way displays at rec 601 RGB on the Xbox with perfect skin tones.

Some people said it was the fault of my projector, but how can it be if it is displaying the Xbox files correctly?

Just as I began to think a perfect device playing bitstreamed atmos with no trouble handling colours, and 10 bit HDR did not exist... I saw this post. Can you tell me please, is the Vero 4K the device I'm looking for? Why have I never heard of it before if it has all the answers? From my needs, do you think I would be happier with it over the Shield?

 

[Combat Fighter]

got 2 shield tv boxes now. Work fantastic. Best part is i dont have to rely on dlna transcoders like plex and serviio etc since it connects directly to windows shared drives and folders so you get full quality without transcoders being involved. Kodi for playback.
My 2nd shield was a 2015 pro 500gb hdd one which i swapped out the drive for a old 60gb ssd. Now its far faster than the 2017 16gb one i got.
Newest 2019 shields were disappointing. Dont get why nvidia stuck with tegra x1 when they have 3 newer generations of tegra already, the x2, xavier and now orin.
Worst part is they charge more for the newer units than old ones which included gamepad

I’ve got a 2017 Shield and a 2019 Shield Pro.

The massive difference for me is the upscaler on the 2019 edition. It’s a night and day difference over the older shields and well worth the premium if you have a 4K tv. Also the new remote is vastly improved and DV support is welcome.

My 2017 is now plugged into a 1080p tv in the bedroom.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

There is a thread on xda forums working on back porting the upscaling in 2019 shield to the older ones since the hardware is the same it should work fine.

 

[b00merang69]

^^ I will need look that up, TY.

 

[kidloco]

Hey do you mind if I ask you about your experience with these two devices? It would be a big help..

I have been looking for a media player to stream large 4K movie files from my Plex server on my iMac over my home network to watch on my Optoma UHD40 projector.
My main criteria is that I want the best audio quality possible - ie bitstreamed so I can play remux files and have full Atmos and TrueHD for my 5.1.4 setup.
The only other thing I need it for is Netflix and Amazon Prime, also with Atmos.

I was previously using an Xbox1X and was very pleased with it for the streaming and picture quality, but alas, no bitstreamed atmos..

Which lead me to the Nvidia Shield TV 2019. Everything was perfect and the streaming of large 70mbps files were playing perfectly over my home network, until I noticed a red tint to skin tones in some files. This lead me to dig deeper and I found that although Netflix on both my Xbox and Shield display at 10 bit on my projector, a 10 bit movie played though Plex on the Shield would only display on my projector at 8 bit (even though the Shield says it is outputting 10 bit) and the same file played through Plex on my Xbox was still displaying correctly at 10 bit.

I then noticed that files with red skin tones would display at bt 709 4:2:2 on the Shield, but the same file played the same way displays at rec 601 RGB on the Xbox with perfect skin tones.

Some people said it was the fault of my projector, but how can it be if it is displaying the Xbox files correctly?

Just as I began to think a perfect device playing bitstreamed atmos with no trouble handling colours, and 10 bit HDR did not exist... I saw this post. Can you tell me please, is the Vero 4K the device I'm looking for? Why have I never heard of it before if it has all the answers? From my needs, do you think I would be happier with it over the Shield?

Unfortunately what your after just doesn't exist, the perfect device I mean.

The Shield is great because it a very good media player, plus it has all the apps (Netflix, Amazon etc). It does have some issues though which from the reading I did cant be fixed with software. Overall though, if you dont have a Smart TV and want the apps. Its still the best 1 box solution. You just need to be mindful that the colour processing just isnt quite right.

The Vero 4k + is a far more focused device. It boots straight to Kodi, so no Netflix, Youtube etc. This isn't a problem for me as I use the apps on my LG TV, I always preferred them over the Shield anyway. All my media is stored on a Synology NAS. Its a mix of stuff from old DVD rips to 4k ISO files. The Vero 4k + plays them all and plays them spot on. The picture is noticeably better than the sheld when playing the same movie file. But you dont get all the other apps or voice control etc.

 

[Combat Fighter]

since the hardware is the same it should work fine.

It’s similar but definitely not the same.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

Tegra x1+ is 16nm where older one was 20nm. Thats all the difference showing up still same cpu and maxwell gpu.. Looks like new shield also has licence for atmos.

 

[BeelzebubUK]

Another vote for the Vero 4k+ as a dedicated movie/TV media player.

Myself and a friend have been using one for over a year now. I just needed a media player that would play everything thrown at it at the best quality (ie 4k UHD HDR Remux files with Atmos) and it has been spot on. I use it connected to a NAS over Gigabit and my friend uses his with a USB external drive. The guy who sells them is based in the UK and offers excellent support too as he's genuinely passionate about it. There are a few things it does not support such as Dolby Vision (as that requires a licence), Bluray Menus and I don't think it supports 3D either. For the price it's an absolute steal.

 

[oHUTCHYo]

Another vote for the Vero 4k+ as a dedicated movie/TV media player.

Myself and a friend have been using one for over a year now. I just needed a media player that would play everything thrown at it at the best quality (ie 4k UHD HDR Remux files with Atmos) and it has been spot on. I use it connected to a NAS over Gigabit and my friend uses his with a USB external drive. The guy who sells them is based in the UK and offers excellent support too as he's genuinely passionate about it. There are a few things it does not support such as Dolby Vision (as that requires a licence), Bluray Menus and I don't think it supports 3D either. For the price it's an absolute steal.

Funnily enough I'm planning on buying one today, but first took steps to email the owner (Sam) to ask in no uncertain terms if I could return it if I failed to successfully connect my Harmony Hub to it. I previously tried the Vero 4K (non+) and had to sell it on ebay as wouldnt maintain stable connection.

Ive just sold a Shield TV 2019 Pro as my Harmony remote felt really sluggish compared to the included one, despite playing with all variable settings in the Harmony app. Plus in honesty, Id prefer like some of you guys just too boot in to Kodi and continue using the other apps on my LG TV dashboard.

 

[BeelzebubUK]

Yep I have an LG C8 so use the inbuilt Netflix and Youtube apps on it. I'm not sure what it's like with the Harmony. It does work with CEC so the LG remote works with it although there's no info button on the LG remote so I tend to use the Vero remote anyway.