Spyke
lemmy.world

I've been very happy with my Nvidia Shield. It's powerful enough for all 4k HDR media and runs Android so it's customizable but I don't have to think about it.

35
sh.itjust.works

NVIDIA Shield is generally considered the best.

It can also side load other apps like ad free YouTube or custom launchers that won't display ads on your home screen.

9
glitch1985reply
lemmy.world

There is a bigger model that lays flat which has great hardware and then there is a "tube" model similar to the Amazon Fire stick size which is 32 bit only and has hardware issues also.

2
hoyareply
lemmy.ml

I have the tube for years now and can't imagine why would I need the Pro version. 32-bit only? It has the same chip.

2
lemmy.world

I like my Shield but it was a real bummer that I couldn't just plug in a USB drive and play movies on it. It's annoying that I have to setup Plex or Jellyfin or whatever to serve movies to the Shield

4

You can use VLC if you want a simple video player. And XPlore if you want a better file browser

4
hoyareply

I'm also happy with it, but when selecting a media player today, I'd get one with hw AV1 decoding.

Maybe a next-gen chromecast, if there will be a version with an ethernet port.

2

There are definitely more economic options, but I lucked out with a cheap i7 Intel NUC a few years ago that's had no problem running any of my Plex streams. Might be worth checking out

11
lemmy.ml

Verso 4K+ is good, there is a new one as well that supports av1, but it’s not that cheap.

6
lemmy.zip

Well Walmart sells TV boxes for like $20. I'm just waiting for custom ROMs

5
BoofStrokereply
sh.itjust.works

I have a few of them. Not bad with projectivy launcher. I added wired Ethernet, storage, and audio out with otg cables.

2
lemmy.world

If price is no option get a NAS install jellyfin, jellyseerr, radarr, sonarr. Hell you could even use an old laptop and upgrade the storage if you want a cheap start option.

3

Shouldn't there be two devices? One NAS in the closet and a box at every TV to connect to it? What's the simple box to connect to the NAS streaming service?

3

For remuxes, from all cheap tv boxes i have tested all of them have some issues. only shield pro 2019 give me peace of mind. The only bad thing is it can't with av1.

For privacy, you can bypass google account and debloat all google spyware, for apps aurora store and sideload are your friends.

3

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"TV box" reccomandation | Spyke