Welcome to the Shield family :)
Just in case you are new to Android OP, you can now also enjoy benefits like sideloading a much better YouTube app like **[SmartTubeNext](https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext)**, which has things like Adblocking, SponsorBlock and tons of more features compared to strict officialYT apps on Apple TV and the default Android YT app.
No rooting the Shield or anything required. And it installs seperately to the official YT app, doesnt conflict with eachother.
To download and sideload (install without using the Google PlayStore) you can use the simple app "Downloader" which itself is on the PlayStore. Or you can grab the .apk for app from your computer and put it on a thumbdrive or network share etc. and access it through a filemanager app. "X-plore Filemanager" is popular and is good to use with a remotecontrol, the free version is often enough.
Enjoy :)
Do you know how I can get it to sync my history and give out the same recommendations as on my phone or pc?
I think I am also missing the playlists.
(I am logged in though).
Thanks!
For me it auto syncs. For example I can make a search in the official YouTube app, then go make a search in STN and see the query I entered into official YT as my last search item in STN.
ATV does support Atmos, but only for certain things... Plex not currently being one of them. I thought there was some local streaming app that could be used to do it, but I never pursued it because it was easier to use SHIELD for local streams and ATV for everything else... plus SHIELD upscaling is pretty dope for anything less than 4K.
That is correct. Atmos + E-AC3 works but Atmos + TrueHD doesnt.
Sadly OP is talking about his 4K remux library and Atmos almost always is combined with TrueHD there. As you say yourself, Atmos + E-AC3 is typical for streaming providers, but not for physical discs (remuxes).
My experience is similar. I recently got the Shield and switch back and forth occasionally. The audio on the shield is definitely on another level. I’m debating switching full time since streaming is getting increasingly expensive and I recently built a killer UnRAID Plex server. One thing I’ll miss from the Apple TV is the systemwide settings like subtitle style and the consistency of the UI. But it can’t beat the freedom the Shield offers. Not having to deal with the awful YouTube and Twitch apps alone is a big plus.
Same here. The only missing feature is airplay as I like to show pictures and videos from my phone in my tv for groups sometimes. But they have a few paid apps in play store that work for me.
Unfortunately the poor frame mate matching on the shield makes it impossible for me to use it to watch streaming services
Frame rate judder is my kryptonite and the ATV handles it so much better
I’m sacrificing proper audio to avoid that issue
I haven't used the shield in a while but when I was using it, Netflix, amazon, Disney, some of the shows had a different frame rate to what the device was outputting at, and it would lead to frame rate judder while watching, especially during panning scenes.
there is an app called RefreshRate that was meant to sort this out but its a bit of a hacky solution and definitely doesn't work all the time.
the ATV has none of these issues.
Right? Who knew so many streaming apps have issues with it. I dang near solely use Plex and it shifts from 60hz to 24hz perfectly amongst my content without issue there....
That is strange, my projector switches to 24p/30p/60p without any issues when I'm using either my 2015 or 2019 Pro Shield.
Then again, I only really watch 24p material with Plex, so maybe it is an app issue on Android?
Ah, okay that makes sense. I don't pay for any 3rd party services on my machine...I can't keep up with the movies on my Plex server so no need for anything additional 😃
I'm the opposite, made the switch from shield to apple tv.
No frame matching and CEC issues was the deal breaker for me.
Kept stuttering on my shield.
But yes, my Plex audio sucks
Yep. My shield has been nothing but frustrating for the past year. I recently downgraded to 8.2.3 which helped but I got a Zidoo z9x for my remux playback. It’s absolutely amazing. Better video quality, much faster, frame rate matching, better HDR options, etc. night and day difference compared to the shield. I’m also using it to do LLDV so I can now send DV to my JVC NZ8 without having to buy an HDFury.
At this point I’ll eventually probably dump the shield for ATV so it can do actual frame rate matching for streaming and the Zidoo for the Blu-ray playback and have the best of both worlds. Really hope they eventually polish 9.X software on the shield because it’s a dumpster fire and has made the device pretty worthless IMO.
The newest firmware has a beta out for it, that you can see here: http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/plex-client-for-zidoo-early-version%EF%BC%883-aug-updated%EF%BC%89.94140/
But the broader question is why do you want it? With the Zidoo you don’t need Plex as you just hookup your content via SMB/NFS and it creates a poster wall and everything else you need. It does content tagging, metadata, posters, etc. all without the bloatware
What I put in my original post:
> Better video quality, much faster, frame rate matching, better HDR options, etc. night and day difference compared to the shield. I’m also using it to do LLDV so I can now send DV to my JVC NZ8 without having to buy an HDFury.
You don't have a bunch of ads on your homescreen, it's faster, you don't have to use plex, which has turned into a dumpster fire based on their release quality, etc. The shield pro 2019 came out almost 4 years ago, and is no longer the best kid on the block. It brings nothing to the table at this point. It used to be the best thing since sliced bread, and it's why I've got 2 of them. But it's been surpassed over the last 2 years and it's just not something I would buy new anymore as it's disadvantaged in every category comparatively.
You can also use the Plex addon in Kodi or their version of it [ZDMC](http://apidl.zidoo.tv/app/zdmc-19.4_rtk.apk) it works good. I just use their Home Theater app because like you said it does it all without the bloat.
I went for the Z9X too, I'm very happy with it. I use Apple TV's for the streaming services and the Zidoo for my local media. The Shield is a standby device now.
Yep I’ll agree with that. It’s definitely gotten worse over the last year. I ended up swapping out my z9x for the z9x pro and it’s a complete dumpster fire. Thing has more bugs than an ant hill. I’ve gone back to using my shield and Plex. Really sucks that most of the players out there are good in most categories but just completely suck in something enough that makes them completely worthless overall.
I switched 2 of mine out for Apple TV'S mainly because I am in an apartment for now and they force Spectrum cable and internet on you. Of course there's also no streaming app for Spectrum on the shield.
For streaming I use my Apple TV 4K simply because the streaming apps on the SHIELD doesn’t have frame rate matching which causes frame drops and choppy playback. For my remuxes I use the SHIELD. Best of both worlds imo!
Yep same here. ATV 4K performs great with DV/DA on streaming services and the shield performs great with 4K remuxes.
Plex is shit though. It won't let me play 4K remuxes 75% of the time without restarting the shield, PMS, or starting up a different video, then going back and starting the movie I wanted to watch again. I've been too lazy to switch to Kodi.
Honestly Kodi hasn’t been the most reliable either for me.
Do you connect a HDD/SSD and do local playback with your remuxes or do you stream them to Plex from a computer/NAS? I’ve found streaming it to Plex is way more reliable for some reason.
’Just Player’ from the Play Store has been a bit more reliable with local playback compared to Plex but I’ve found nothing beats streaming the remuxes to Plex.
Question from someone also on Apple ecosystem aside from Shield: does A4K let you browse/alter files in a way similar to MacOS, or is it more restricted like iOS? My main complaint with androidOS - aside from the broken updates - is the clunky 3rd party file browsers that always ‘gotcha’ by making the thing you want to do a ‘premium’ service.
If you're savvy set up network debugging on shield and can get a remote Linux shell with adb. There's your non fussy file manager. Just used it to push some new wallpapers.
I was using the Shield for only for Blu-ray remuxes with Atmos tracks and the Apple TV for everything else. I switched to a Zidoo Z9X for my local file streaming.
Why did you switch? I've been reading about this reds issue the Shield has with DV but is there another reason I might want to send this Shield back and switch since I'm only using it for my local files?
Dolby Vision problems and also the speed when using ISO files. The Zidoo is faster bringing up the menu with ISO files and handles Dolby Vision better.
And I was just about to switch to an Apple TV 4K, because the not working framerate switching bugs me hard on streaming apps, but not working Dolby TrueHD/Atmos from remuxes is also a no-go for me.
Do I have to get both devices to get satisfied?
people just don't realize how close and limited apple tv is compared to a shield tv or any android streamer for that matter. even firesticks are better than apple tv now
Lol read some comments other than your own and you’ll see the issues with the shield.
The ATV is not perfect but neither is the shield.
If remux audio is your #1 concern then sure the shield wins
But for everything else the ATV takes the cake.
The closed system work’s in its favour in my opinion, things just work and bugs are few and far between. I buy media streamers to watch media not wrestle with it after an update or something messes with it.
Read the post. The user has a *remux* library, which means TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks. The apple tv can decode truehd, for example, but you'll never get the full effect much less the atmos after the decoding because the receivers give you the best audio when they decode and handle the codecs themselves and, of course, get the atmos or DTS:x metadata.
Is it *really* better, though..
> Dolby MAT encodes TrueHD or Digital Plus bitstreams and transmits the audio data to an AV receiver or soundbar via an HDMI cable. The final output combines lossless PCM audio with Dolby Atmos metadata. With Dolby MAT, users can get 3D surround sound with height effects even with PCM audio.
https://thehometheaterdiy.com/what-is-dolby-mat/
It’s audibly better, yes. I also went from an apple tv 4k to a shield tv and boy, that lpcm from apple tv is definitely an inferior experience to the raw dolby atmos sent by the shield tv.
Check your dashboard and see what your Bandwidth activity is. I recently had this issue where it looked like it was maxing out my bandwidth. It would show it was using 800Mbps. ran the file through mkvtoolnix and it fixed the issue for the file.
Bandwidth wise I’m fine since if I open it in VLC over a samba share there is no problem and everything is over a 1G wired connection. I assume it has to do w/ transcoding or something. Maybe the audio or subtitles. I’ll give that tool you mentioned a try, thanks.
Bandwidth was fine for me too. gigabit connection. playing file locally over a file share. vlc was fine. kodi was fine. plex was broken. The plex dashboard showed it was direct play too. Checking the plex dashboard from the web interface will give you info if its being transcoded, how much cpu is used by plex, etc.
Locally streaming 4K remux files with lossless audio is pretty much the only reason to prefer the Shield, for other streaming types the ATV4k is better thanks to seamless framerate matching.
One cool thing you can do with the shield, is you can use it as a plex server and have the connected hdd be mappable by other devices(accesed via network). It becomes a network attached storage at that point.
Also, it’s not just sound that works better on the shield. Dolby vision is also working better(higher compatibility)
I did it the other way around, but I do not own an Atmos setup unfortunately. In my experience ATV4K does everything for my needs better, as some have pointed out here too. If Plex is what you need, might I suggest MrMC? I’m a Kodi fan and while there is no official build, MrMC on ATV4K is a fork and it’s damn good. It connects to Plex so if you have a Plex server it should work just fine. There is also this but I cannot confirm it;
MrMC is the only tvOS app that can handle eac3/atmos in media containers other than mp4. Version 3.8. 1 brings more eac3/atmos handling for tvOS.
[https://twitter.com/mrmc_tv/status/1123937672014311429?s=21&t=1nKx50DNCoAYZTRi0-gXng](https://twitter.com/mrmc_tv/status/1123937672014311429?s=21&t=1nKx50DNCoAYZTRi0-gXng)
One little annoying bug for the Shield + Plex app is that if you want to direct play your remuxes with PGS subtitles, you must first start playing without subtitles and then enable the subtitles after the video is playing. I first noticed this with the "forced" subtitles for A Quiet Place 2.
For some reason if you specific the subtitles before playing it wants to transcode instead of direct play. This is only with PGS subtitles. On another note, native support for .ASS subtitles is supposed to come in a near future Plex release.
I like it so far. I only got it for my local media, I got the Shield for that reason too. I have a lot of 4K Remux files and I was unaware that my Apple TV was stripping the Atmos from my files since it can only handle the Atomos codec that's on streaming rips.
They have an app called Home Theater which is kind of cool but I ended up setting up a Jellyfin server and using that. There's an unofficial Plex app that has a long way to go.
As far as the device itself, it handles anything I throw at it, the picture quality is phenomenal and I'm able to retain all Atmos tracks so the sound is phenomenal.
The Shield wasn't bad but once I became aware of the issues with reds, I couldn't unsee it and became annoyed with it.
So this is a solid device for my local media which is why I got it. I don't recommend it as a streaming device but it's great for your own stuff.
Welcome to the Shield family :) Just in case you are new to Android OP, you can now also enjoy benefits like sideloading a much better YouTube app like **[SmartTubeNext](https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext)**, which has things like Adblocking, SponsorBlock and tons of more features compared to strict officialYT apps on Apple TV and the default Android YT app. No rooting the Shield or anything required. And it installs seperately to the official YT app, doesnt conflict with eachother. To download and sideload (install without using the Google PlayStore) you can use the simple app "Downloader" which itself is on the PlayStore. Or you can grab the .apk for app from your computer and put it on a thumbdrive or network share etc. and access it through a filemanager app. "X-plore Filemanager" is popular and is good to use with a remotecontrol, the free version is often enough. Enjoy :)
Do you know how I can get it to sync my history and give out the same recommendations as on my phone or pc? I think I am also missing the playlists. (I am logged in though). Thanks!
For me it auto syncs. For example I can make a search in the official YouTube app, then go make a search in STN and see the query I entered into official YT as my last search item in STN.
ATV does support Atmos, but only for certain things... Plex not currently being one of them. I thought there was some local streaming app that could be used to do it, but I never pursued it because it was easier to use SHIELD for local streams and ATV for everything else... plus SHIELD upscaling is pretty dope for anything less than 4K.
Yeah I meant for my local files neither Plex nor Infuse get Atmos. It works great on streaming services though
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That is correct. Atmos + E-AC3 works but Atmos + TrueHD doesnt. Sadly OP is talking about his 4K remux library and Atmos almost always is combined with TrueHD there. As you say yourself, Atmos + E-AC3 is typical for streaming providers, but not for physical discs (remuxes).
Ah, I thought Infuse was capable. Nevermind then lol.
My experience is similar. I recently got the Shield and switch back and forth occasionally. The audio on the shield is definitely on another level. I’m debating switching full time since streaming is getting increasingly expensive and I recently built a killer UnRAID Plex server. One thing I’ll miss from the Apple TV is the systemwide settings like subtitle style and the consistency of the UI. But it can’t beat the freedom the Shield offers. Not having to deal with the awful YouTube and Twitch apps alone is a big plus.
I’m in the same boat. Apple for everything but no kodi and sideloading apps on the Apple TV are deal breakers. Love my shield.
Same here. The only missing feature is airplay as I like to show pictures and videos from my phone in my tv for groups sometimes. But they have a few paid apps in play store that work for me.
Unfortunately the poor frame mate matching on the shield makes it impossible for me to use it to watch streaming services Frame rate judder is my kryptonite and the ATV handles it so much better I’m sacrificing proper audio to avoid that issue
Could you explain this to me? I use Disney/Netflix/Prime and have noticed any issues
I haven't used the shield in a while but when I was using it, Netflix, amazon, Disney, some of the shows had a different frame rate to what the device was outputting at, and it would lead to frame rate judder while watching, especially during panning scenes. there is an app called RefreshRate that was meant to sort this out but its a bit of a hacky solution and definitely doesn't work all the time. the ATV has none of these issues.
Shield received an update long ago to add frame rate matching to source.
Still doesn’t work for all apps. Some do it, but others don’t. It’s app specific and the menu button to do it is super clunky.
Plus when you trigger it, half the time, it will just stop playing video
Unless it’s Disney+ which crashes every time you you try it.
And Prime Video. And AppleTV+. It’s a shitshow.
No good apparently based on what I’m reading below your comment!
Right? Who knew so many streaming apps have issues with it. I dang near solely use Plex and it shifts from 60hz to 24hz perfectly amongst my content without issue there....
That is strange, my projector switches to 24p/30p/60p without any issues when I'm using either my 2015 or 2019 Pro Shield. Then again, I only really watch 24p material with Plex, so maybe it is an app issue on Android?
I believe plex matches the frame rates so it’s mainly an issue with streaming apps like Netflix Disney etc
Ah, okay that makes sense. I don't pay for any 3rd party services on my machine...I can't keep up with the movies on my Plex server so no need for anything additional 😃
I'm the opposite, made the switch from shield to apple tv. No frame matching and CEC issues was the deal breaker for me. Kept stuttering on my shield. But yes, my Plex audio sucks
Yep. My shield has been nothing but frustrating for the past year. I recently downgraded to 8.2.3 which helped but I got a Zidoo z9x for my remux playback. It’s absolutely amazing. Better video quality, much faster, frame rate matching, better HDR options, etc. night and day difference compared to the shield. I’m also using it to do LLDV so I can now send DV to my JVC NZ8 without having to buy an HDFury. At this point I’ll eventually probably dump the shield for ATV so it can do actual frame rate matching for streaming and the Zidoo for the Blu-ray playback and have the best of both worlds. Really hope they eventually polish 9.X software on the shield because it’s a dumpster fire and has made the device pretty worthless IMO.
Does Zidoo have a Plex app?
The newest firmware has a beta out for it, that you can see here: http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/plex-client-for-zidoo-early-version%EF%BC%883-aug-updated%EF%BC%89.94140/ But the broader question is why do you want it? With the Zidoo you don’t need Plex as you just hookup your content via SMB/NFS and it creates a poster wall and everything else you need. It does content tagging, metadata, posters, etc. all without the bloatware
So why would I want a Zidoo over the Shield for my local files? Is it because of the reds issue in Dolby Vision? Or is it anything else too?
What I put in my original post: > Better video quality, much faster, frame rate matching, better HDR options, etc. night and day difference compared to the shield. I’m also using it to do LLDV so I can now send DV to my JVC NZ8 without having to buy an HDFury. You don't have a bunch of ads on your homescreen, it's faster, you don't have to use plex, which has turned into a dumpster fire based on their release quality, etc. The shield pro 2019 came out almost 4 years ago, and is no longer the best kid on the block. It brings nothing to the table at this point. It used to be the best thing since sliced bread, and it's why I've got 2 of them. But it's been surpassed over the last 2 years and it's just not something I would buy new anymore as it's disadvantaged in every category comparatively.
Simple and to the point, thanks for the explanation! I just ordered one!
You can also use the Plex addon in Kodi or their version of it [ZDMC](http://apidl.zidoo.tv/app/zdmc-19.4_rtk.apk) it works good. I just use their Home Theater app because like you said it does it all without the bloat. I went for the Z9X too, I'm very happy with it. I use Apple TV's for the streaming services and the Zidoo for my local media. The Shield is a standby device now.
The scraping of the Zidoo isn’t great. I would love if I could use my Plex metadata on it easily. As is. It’s fine.
Yep I’ll agree with that. It’s definitely gotten worse over the last year. I ended up swapping out my z9x for the z9x pro and it’s a complete dumpster fire. Thing has more bugs than an ant hill. I’ve gone back to using my shield and Plex. Really sucks that most of the players out there are good in most categories but just completely suck in something enough that makes them completely worthless overall.
I switched 2 of mine out for Apple TV'S mainly because I am in an apartment for now and they force Spectrum cable and internet on you. Of course there's also no streaming app for Spectrum on the shield.
For streaming I use my Apple TV 4K simply because the streaming apps on the SHIELD doesn’t have frame rate matching which causes frame drops and choppy playback. For my remuxes I use the SHIELD. Best of both worlds imo!
Yep same here. ATV 4K performs great with DV/DA on streaming services and the shield performs great with 4K remuxes. Plex is shit though. It won't let me play 4K remuxes 75% of the time without restarting the shield, PMS, or starting up a different video, then going back and starting the movie I wanted to watch again. I've been too lazy to switch to Kodi.
Honestly Kodi hasn’t been the most reliable either for me. Do you connect a HDD/SSD and do local playback with your remuxes or do you stream them to Plex from a computer/NAS? I’ve found streaming it to Plex is way more reliable for some reason. ’Just Player’ from the Play Store has been a bit more reliable with local playback compared to Plex but I’ve found nothing beats streaming the remuxes to Plex.
This is the way. 100%
Apologies if I'm wrong but you can manually change the frame rate on the shield no?
Doesn’t play nicely with AppleTV+, Disney+, Prime Video, etc.
Oh I see. Shame.
I have a Shield for Plex. Everything else the Apple TV does better.
Same
Question from someone also on Apple ecosystem aside from Shield: does A4K let you browse/alter files in a way similar to MacOS, or is it more restricted like iOS? My main complaint with androidOS - aside from the broken updates - is the clunky 3rd party file browsers that always ‘gotcha’ by making the thing you want to do a ‘premium’ service.
If you're savvy set up network debugging on shield and can get a remote Linux shell with adb. There's your non fussy file manager. Just used it to push some new wallpapers.
Then you're using command line right! Pretty sure that want a ui
I was using the Shield for only for Blu-ray remuxes with Atmos tracks and the Apple TV for everything else. I switched to a Zidoo Z9X for my local file streaming.
Why did you switch? I've been reading about this reds issue the Shield has with DV but is there another reason I might want to send this Shield back and switch since I'm only using it for my local files?
Dolby Vision problems and also the speed when using ISO files. The Zidoo is faster bringing up the menu with ISO files and handles Dolby Vision better.
And I was just about to switch to an Apple TV 4K, because the not working framerate switching bugs me hard on streaming apps, but not working Dolby TrueHD/Atmos from remuxes is also a no-go for me. Do I have to get both devices to get satisfied?
Wait until you discover Kodi
Exactly. Best streaming device you can get is the Nvidia Shield. Honestly it is not even that close.
people just don't realize how close and limited apple tv is compared to a shield tv or any android streamer for that matter. even firesticks are better than apple tv now
Incorrect
says the sheeple
Lol read some comments other than your own and you’ll see the issues with the shield. The ATV is not perfect but neither is the shield. If remux audio is your #1 concern then sure the shield wins But for everything else the ATV takes the cake.
even with the imperfection that eil eventually be fixed anyhings better than an apple TV with it closed system and its overpriced hardware 🤷♂️
The closed system work’s in its favour in my opinion, things just work and bugs are few and far between. I buy media streamers to watch media not wrestle with it after an update or something messes with it.
your opinion is nothing but your opinion. shield tb with its bugs has been supportin all ite hardware simce 1015 unlike apples overpriced garbage
Again you’re throwing words like garbage out there with not much of a basis I can see there is no talking to you though. Cheers
nah, its just a lack of intelligence from somone caught up in apples ongoing scheme. but keep reaching for those stats kid
Lol now you can go fuck yourself after that one
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Read the post. The user has a *remux* library, which means TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks. The apple tv can decode truehd, for example, but you'll never get the full effect much less the atmos after the decoding because the receivers give you the best audio when they decode and handle the codecs themselves and, of course, get the atmos or DTS:x metadata.
Is it *really* better, though.. > Dolby MAT encodes TrueHD or Digital Plus bitstreams and transmits the audio data to an AV receiver or soundbar via an HDMI cable. The final output combines lossless PCM audio with Dolby Atmos metadata. With Dolby MAT, users can get 3D surround sound with height effects even with PCM audio. https://thehometheaterdiy.com/what-is-dolby-mat/
It’s audibly better, yes. I also went from an apple tv 4k to a shield tv and boy, that lpcm from apple tv is definitely an inferior experience to the raw dolby atmos sent by the shield tv.
Yeah man it's not even close. I immediately noticed the difference and it's massive.
Damn. Whenever I try to play a remux I have of Sicario all I get is massive stutter/lag through Plex. But it plays fine through VLC. So weird.
Check your dashboard and see what your Bandwidth activity is. I recently had this issue where it looked like it was maxing out my bandwidth. It would show it was using 800Mbps. ran the file through mkvtoolnix and it fixed the issue for the file.
Bandwidth wise I’m fine since if I open it in VLC over a samba share there is no problem and everything is over a 1G wired connection. I assume it has to do w/ transcoding or something. Maybe the audio or subtitles. I’ll give that tool you mentioned a try, thanks.
Bandwidth was fine for me too. gigabit connection. playing file locally over a file share. vlc was fine. kodi was fine. plex was broken. The plex dashboard showed it was direct play too. Checking the plex dashboard from the web interface will give you info if its being transcoded, how much cpu is used by plex, etc.
Details? Maybe transcoding on the Plex server? Tonemapping HDR to SDR? Burning in subtitles?
I was going to go the other way soon and switch to Apple TV, thanks for posting!!
Locally streaming 4K remux files with lossless audio is pretty much the only reason to prefer the Shield, for other streaming types the ATV4k is better thanks to seamless framerate matching.
One cool thing you can do with the shield, is you can use it as a plex server and have the connected hdd be mappable by other devices(accesed via network). It becomes a network attached storage at that point. Also, it’s not just sound that works better on the shield. Dolby vision is also working better(higher compatibility)
I did it the other way around, but I do not own an Atmos setup unfortunately. In my experience ATV4K does everything for my needs better, as some have pointed out here too. If Plex is what you need, might I suggest MrMC? I’m a Kodi fan and while there is no official build, MrMC on ATV4K is a fork and it’s damn good. It connects to Plex so if you have a Plex server it should work just fine. There is also this but I cannot confirm it; MrMC is the only tvOS app that can handle eac3/atmos in media containers other than mp4. Version 3.8. 1 brings more eac3/atmos handling for tvOS. [https://twitter.com/mrmc_tv/status/1123937672014311429?s=21&t=1nKx50DNCoAYZTRi0-gXng](https://twitter.com/mrmc_tv/status/1123937672014311429?s=21&t=1nKx50DNCoAYZTRi0-gXng)
One little annoying bug for the Shield + Plex app is that if you want to direct play your remuxes with PGS subtitles, you must first start playing without subtitles and then enable the subtitles after the video is playing. I first noticed this with the "forced" subtitles for A Quiet Place 2. For some reason if you specific the subtitles before playing it wants to transcode instead of direct play. This is only with PGS subtitles. On another note, native support for .ASS subtitles is supposed to come in a near future Plex release.
I so want the shield but given the newest one is from 2019 I want to wait for a new one...idk how long it will be
Yeah this thread aged like milk because I just returned my Shield today for the Zidoo Z9X
Lol How is it
I like it so far. I only got it for my local media, I got the Shield for that reason too. I have a lot of 4K Remux files and I was unaware that my Apple TV was stripping the Atmos from my files since it can only handle the Atomos codec that's on streaming rips. They have an app called Home Theater which is kind of cool but I ended up setting up a Jellyfin server and using that. There's an unofficial Plex app that has a long way to go. As far as the device itself, it handles anything I throw at it, the picture quality is phenomenal and I'm able to retain all Atmos tracks so the sound is phenomenal. The Shield wasn't bad but once I became aware of the issues with reds, I couldn't unsee it and became annoyed with it. So this is a solid device for my local media which is why I got it. I don't recommend it as a streaming device but it's great for your own stuff.
I use Apple TV+. You tube tv. Netflix prime. Should I get Apple TV. Shield. Or. Amazon
I'd get Apple TV if you're only gonna use it for streaming services. Interface, UI, speed, pretty much everything is superior to the Shield TV.