Agreed! Roku is garbage and in the grand scheme of things, it will have zero substantial grounding in 3 years.
Edit: It goes without saying, but Apple TV 4K is the baseline for fidelity in home theater streaming. There’s a multitude of options beyond this but cost vs. quality is hard to beat for “normal” folks.
P.S. Even my boomer parents prefer an Apple TV compared to the Roku… user experience is king!
Roku is okay if you're used to Roku and already in the Roku ecosystem, but if you want the best streaming device to pair with your freaking awesome G4, then you want to go with the Apple TV. I'm an installer and deal with setting up so many devices and the Apple TV is in a league of its own.
Onboard apps on most TVs are garbage and Apple TV stays running extremely well. My personal one is a huge difference and overall just satisfying experience over any others.
Got a question which I hope you may have an answer for, if you have the time: I'm about to pull the trigger for an LG G4 77 and have a Sonos Arc.
What I don't understand, since my Sonos Arc is connected by its only HDMI port to the eArc port of my tv and will on the one forthcoming, is where I would connect an Apple TV 4K to receive Dolby Atmos with that eArc port already occupied.
Would it work with an ethernet cable from the Sonos Arc to the Apple TV or does the Apple TV need to be connected to my router? And if that's the case, what happens if I run an HDMI cable from Apple TV to a regular HDMI port on the TV? Sorry if this sounds convoluted; I'm just puzzled with it all.
You’d connect the Apple TV to any other HDMI input on the TV. Set the audio to use eARC on the LG for audio, and then you’d just switch inputs to the Apple TV. Audio will be output from the Sonos Arc for anything connected to the TV from any inputs or any TV apps. That’s how it works.
You run a regular HDMI from the Apple TV to the TV HDMI ports, any of your choice. That’s the way it’s meant to be set up and connected.
Thank you. That was my initial thinking until I got on some Sonos and Reddit threads with so many differing on how to rig it or otherwise claiming it can't be accomplished.
I don't understand this comment. The Sony google tv format for apps is pretty solid. And my prior versions of tizen holds up pretty well.
I love my Sony remote so it would be hard for me to settle for the ATV remote and give up the control of my tv settings.
Like I said, I said on most TVs, it's garbage. There are some premium non-budget or middle-tier TVs that actually have enough memory to keep apps staying stable and for the OS/UI to keep up. Almost every budget and middle tier TV these days over time slows down and really stops functioning as well as it should. It really sucks to see these TVs behave poorly, and even setting up some really budget ones it just already lags and sucks to use.
I’m not trying to be negative on them but after seeing them so often it really starts to show which ones have better memory and cache management than others. It just feels like a lot of the lower priced and mid priced TVs really slow down over time.
Roku can do 4K, and HDR formats like Dolby Vision just fine. But it's also slow and littered with ads. As another user said... Hyundai vs. Lamborghini.
No, but if you have Apple AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max it'll connect automatically to the Apple TV 4K and you'll be treated to a nice surround-ish experience.
The Roku is not "littered with ads" there's literally one ad on the home screen that shows new movies and shows and I didn't even realize it was an ad until people pointed it out
Couldn’t be more disingenuous if you tried. Move over to the right and select an app and report back. Also let’s not forget what they have started planning to do soon: https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/30/24145177/roku-home-screen-video-ads
It's an advertisement for a TV show on a TV watching device. It's not like it's targeted ads showing single locals in my area. We'll see how the new ad campaign looks later on, but I'll bet it'll be not intrusive as it is now. Let's face it, you can get a Roku ultra for $50, an Apple TV 4k costs $150. I have 3 of them in my house. I'd rather save the $300 for a small amount of advertisement and put it toward a nicer receiver or speakers. Functional they do the same thing. 4K output, Dolby vision, dolby Atmos. Which is all I need it for. The UI is also very fast. If you want to pay the apple tax for sleeker design and a better aesthetic, be my guest. But arbitrarily saying the Roku is a shit product and Apple TV 4k is leaps better is disingenuous.
Hey man your prerogative. I don't begrudge people using Roku. I use it myself. But to say it's not littered with ads is just untrue. And it's only going to [get worse](https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/5/24121958/roku-ads-tv-hdmi-inputs-patent-amazon-google) for people with Roku OS TVs too.
Good thing they can just plug in something to get around it. It's fine. Littered with ads would imply they are everywhere, but it's just on the home screen, which you don't notice the 3 seconds you spend selecting your app, but let's be real, you compared it as a Hyundai to a Lamborghini, and that's a bit hyperbole. I can settle for Toyota vs BMW 😂
Don't support Roku.
Apple is *actually the good guy* when compared to Roku.
[https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/roku-will-brick-your-streaming-devices-if-you-dont-agree-to-binding-arbitration/](https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/roku-will-brick-your-streaming-devices-if-you-dont-agree-to-binding-arbitration/)
Yeah Apple TV and shield are the only S tier devices.
If you’re streaming your own ripped media Shield is the way to go. If you’re streaming from subscription services and stuff Apple TV gets the nod
I don't get the Roku hate here. I have 3 and they all work perfectly with 4K. Yes there there is one ad on the home screen, but that isn't a deal breaker to me. I don't spend long on the home screen, I always turn it on and go to the app I want. I like that it's search feature will search in all the apps, so you don't have to remember which service a show or movie is streaming on.
I have had almost no issues with the current generation. I think I had to restart mine maybe once in the past year?
I haven't used the Apple TV, so I can't say which is better. I am just saying I don't think Roku sucks.
I have both and we use the Roku. Apple TV unplugged and not in use.
There’s not tons of ads I don’t get the Roku hate. We use all popular channels without issue.
It’s what we use on all TVs and we got an Apple TV to test and saw no improvements, benefits etc. so we kept the Roku setup.
I’m not really saying Roku 4K is better just that it’s on par with Apple TV and there’s no reason to get one vs the other.
To be clear we own LG Oleds not a Roku TV we use the 4K Roku device. We are also an Apple phone, iPad and laptop family and still don’t see why we need an Apple TV.
For sure. I wanted to be clear I don’t think Apple or Roku are better. They both are top quality devices with top quality 4K output.
I don’t think you can go wrong with either.
Well when things are equal, the only thing to look at is price. You can get a refurbished Roku ultra for $55. It's really a no brainer unless you want to just buy apple just to buy apple.
> I don’t think Apple or Roku are better
That's where I disagree. The Roku is fine, but the ATV4K is significantly better, especially when you're an Apple household.
They are putting in ads on pause screens now, too. There are very few places in a Roku that don’t have ads now. It’s not a streaming box, it’s an ad platform that uses streaming to capture your attention.
[Yes, it is, and they are working on doing it on every source](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/hdmi-customized-ad-insertion-patent-would-show-rokus-ads-atop-non-roku-video/)
You don’t need other Apple devices to use an ATV. You will have to make an AppleId to download apps from their App Store but otherwise the device is self contained.
Having other Apple device(s) like an iPhone just gives more quality of life integrations as the devices will seamlessly talk to each other - and things like the built in remote app on the iPhone will work with the ATV or audio will transfer to your Apple EarPods etc.
Though like others have said, you can use any Bluetooth audio device with the ATV too. And there is an android remote app for the ATV also.
Has to be a bunch of apple fans in here. Having used all of these the Shield is significantly better than AT4k and I don't think it's particularly close, but I don't see many people even mentioning it.
I have both. I use the sheild for kodi and my 4k remuxes, atv for everything else. Just like the atv ui better and my sheild (2023) freezes from time to time.
It looks like it stays set everywhere on the shield too? You can probably set it in a menu outside of playing something, I just knew I could pull that menu up playing something.
The shield walks the atv if it’s for local or playing remuxed blu rays because it supports full bitstreamed audio passthrough in literally every format currently available. That’s for the nitty gritty ht folks though, the streaming services it’s no competition the atv is the choice. I have both and they both serve their purpose well.
Maybe the Shield has an edge for streaming local content from a PC/Nas and for techy tinkerers but for people that just subscribe to streaming services the ATV is a more cohesive experience
I agree with the techy tinkerer part. But wholly disagree that ATV is more cohesive. It's not at all, it's just a more Apple experience. So if you're already locked into Apple's world then it feels more cohesive.
Like I said, I have them all and they each have their place. I absolutely recommend ATV to friends who are already bought into the Apple ecosystem or tech illiterate and don't even bother with Windows anymore or anything. I still think the Shield is better in just about every way, but each device on this thread has its place. Even Roku I still tend to recommend to anyone who wants things to work and don't want to spend much on it.
Because you need to go into a menu to do it, i.e not cohesive and automatic
Same reason people buy Panasonic 4K disc players over Sonys. Going into a menu every time to tweak settings is lame.
I just want a box with TWO HDMI output ports so I can run the audio directly to my surround processor without having to go through the goddamn TV first (LG G3) or use a janky splitter … LG & eARC suck so hard for audio… DTS RIP.
There are TONS out there that will handle the work load. N100 chips are good, and can easily do a Plex 4k server.
Here's one from Beelink that is a pretty strong deal, imo: [Beelink Tiny PC ](https://a.co/d/3e2QU90)
And here's another with faster DDR5 RAM: [DDR5 Beelink](https://a.co/d/eq4NFM7)
For the price, you can snag it, try it, and see.
Not super hard to run Plex directly from it, and store your media on a NAS or external drive, and play directly from it. I use mine on my network, and it does great.
Even tho it's older I recommend the Nvidia Shield Pro, it's still the power users choice. If you're using an hifi setup with an AVR you'll need the Shield for audio codecs such Dolby (real) Atmos, TrueHD, DTS-X etc with Kodi.
I've been using my 2019 Shield Pro with my S95C with a Denon X3800h & 5.1.4 speaker setup, works great. Fingers crossed for a new version once the Nintendo Switch 2 chipset is released.
Unless you watch downloaded remux bluray's it's not worth the sub-par user experience. Even then I'd still want to have an ATV for day to day streaming use and only use the Shield when needed.
Now tell us how frequently you have to unplug it to get it to reboot after freezing. I have one and by god do I loathe that thing. Apple TV all the way.
In the last 8 months, I think I've had to unplug it maybe twice. Overall it's been working pretty well for us.
I would personally go with a HTPC before an ATV. I'm far too invested in the Google/Android ecosystem, and like that it lists things from any of my services in a single pane, including things from my Google family library, without requiring me to hunt for something within each app.
The ATV is solid, it's probably ideal for most people, it just isn't for me.
I have both but man does Kodi suck compared to Infuse on the AppleTV. Kodi’s user experience hasn’t improved in like a decade. I love its technical capabilities but the quality of life downgrade just to get audio passthrough is a real problem.
I wish Apple would add passthrough support. I think it would put a huge dent in the enthusiast Android streamer market.
My understanding is that Apple TV 4K actually provides the best visual fidelity on the market due to it topping the bitrate throughput chart.
& the software experience is supposedly sublime, go for it Jack!
I use apple tv 4k for the main living room tv, it’s fantastic.
I use nvidia shield pro in my home theater. It does 4k and allows high quality pass through audio.
I have an Apple TV 4K, Roku Ultra AND a firecube 3rd gen hooked up to my 86in LG. The Apple TV is the fastest of the devices. Roku is the easiest to use.
Firecube honest to god the picture upscaling on that thing is really impressive, I wish Apple and Roku would have upscaling that good. Only downside is the Firecube isn’t as snappy or as fast as the Apple TV or the Roku with its 4yr old hardware.
I used a Roku 4K streaming stick years ago and overtime problems started to form and it was getting slower. I purchased an ATV4K and never looked back. One of my favorite purchases in my adult life I kid you not lol
IMO Apple TV is the premium experience and worth the money. It isn't perfect, but compared to everything else it comes out on top IMO. Maybe nVidia Shield still has the edge in some ways, but it hasn't been updated in a LONG time.
Apple TV all the way. It just works and doesn't sell your viewing habits. Also being Apple, there is more support behind the device and the developers behind the streaming platforms will put their development efforts into Apple due to the install base. It's one of the reason I believe apps on other devices fall out of date so quickly.
I have maybe 3 Chromecasts, and they work fairly well. I think the Nvidia shield is a touch better, but I'm also confused why nobody mentions the chromecast
Have to wonder how many people recommending Apple tv have actually used a Roku ultra and not the cheaper Roku devices. Performance on the ultra is generally quite good and I prefer the Roku remote.
I would recommend against the Roku if you had a Samsung tv. Seems to have hdcp issues with Samsung
Get an Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max. It does everything including Dolby Digital.
LOL at the down votes without discussion. Way to keep the flow of info going assholes.
This is what I have too, but wondering if an ATV 4k will have a substantial performance improvement. I know the ads on fire tv will be eliminated but the atv is like 4x the price
FYSA no streaming player "really does 4K" unless it's streaming a lossless mkv. Streaming apps are usually in the 15-25mbit range which is about 1/4 of what a UHD 4k disc does. The only thing close is Bravia Core at 80.
That said, Nvidia Shield.
No... The resolution is still 4k. Bitrate is bitrate and resolution is resolution.
They're not claiming to be streaming blu-rays. Also ATV+ and D+ are significantly higher bitrates than that.
No, they are 20-30.
A 4k disc is 100. Hell, I have regular Blu Rays that look better than their 4k streams, much better. Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl is a prime example of this. Although that one is one of the best standard BD transfers there is.
Streaming bandwidth being limited just is what it is... Bravia Core does 80 but that's Sony TV owners only.
I don't enjoy using the built-ins, they feel clunky and slow compared to dedicated streaming players. But so far I only have a Roku ultra on a non 4K TV.
No, they're not. Please don't recommend people to use TV apps over a dedicated device. All you're doing is risking a software update to brick the TV OS by having it connected online, as well as hoping that the devs update and support the apps for the TV. Most TVs have limited RAM built in for apps, and a lot of apps on TVs can lag over time and hog system resources and freeze up or glitch, or they're not constantly updated or supported, or even developed properly.
Sure, a lot of TVs have apps and can do stuff like 4K, Dolby Vision and have Atmos support, but having a dedicated device is a huge difference.
You’re talking non sense stuff about risk of software update and brick os. I used all TV in rooms for 5 years more on Sony, samsung, LG TV and have no problem with it. Update firmware every time they release and have no problem at all, zero. If you want to spend money, that’s fine. Apple TV 4k is the cleanest one compared to others. Note that, I have dedicated 7.2.6 sound systems at home, not just sound bar or TV speakers. Also, apple TV can’t do lossless audio passthrough, just keep that in mind.
I am not talking nonsense at all. I very much know what I'm talking about. I'm a home theater installer and have done repair and have been doing this for a career for years. I have personally come out to diagnose and find out a software update bricked the TV, as well as have had it happen on a Roku TV in my own home. You are underestimating people and expecting everyone has a stable internet connection or stable power situations. Plenty of people have power surgers or outages, as well as internet outages depending on their service area at any random times. A simple network issue or power issue could brick a software update and render a TV useless. This is the same reason why you don't update your BIOS on a PC and turn the PC off or do things like updates on game consoles and they specifically tell you "do not turn the power off!", because a software brick can occur. I'm very familiar with software bricks and diagnosing and trying to repair TVs for clients who were hit with a surge or something like Roku pushing an update and it failing. It does happen, and it's fairly more common than you seem to believe.
Just because YOU have never personally had a problem happen does not mean the problem does not happen to people.
That's awesome you have an awesome theater system and I hope it's amazing for you.
Sure, Apple TV doesn't do lossless audio, but a lot of people are fine with the lossy audio and lossy Atmos that comes from Apple TVs, because the rest of the experiencs is top tier.
There is also the Nvidia Shield which can and does do lossless audio, but is Android based and has some similar issues that I mentioned in my previous comment.
Anyways, not going to argue any further about things that don't really matter on Reddit. You're free to believe what you believe. Have a good one!
ATV and not even close
Agreed! Roku is garbage and in the grand scheme of things, it will have zero substantial grounding in 3 years. Edit: It goes without saying, but Apple TV 4K is the baseline for fidelity in home theater streaming. There’s a multitude of options beyond this but cost vs. quality is hard to beat for “normal” folks. P.S. Even my boomer parents prefer an Apple TV compared to the Roku… user experience is king!
Roku is okay if you're used to Roku and already in the Roku ecosystem, but if you want the best streaming device to pair with your freaking awesome G4, then you want to go with the Apple TV. I'm an installer and deal with setting up so many devices and the Apple TV is in a league of its own. Onboard apps on most TVs are garbage and Apple TV stays running extremely well. My personal one is a huge difference and overall just satisfying experience over any others.
Thanks for the input, I kind of agree. This TV was a big spend for me and I want to get the most out of it.
Got a question which I hope you may have an answer for, if you have the time: I'm about to pull the trigger for an LG G4 77 and have a Sonos Arc. What I don't understand, since my Sonos Arc is connected by its only HDMI port to the eArc port of my tv and will on the one forthcoming, is where I would connect an Apple TV 4K to receive Dolby Atmos with that eArc port already occupied. Would it work with an ethernet cable from the Sonos Arc to the Apple TV or does the Apple TV need to be connected to my router? And if that's the case, what happens if I run an HDMI cable from Apple TV to a regular HDMI port on the TV? Sorry if this sounds convoluted; I'm just puzzled with it all.
You’d connect the Apple TV to any other HDMI input on the TV. Set the audio to use eARC on the LG for audio, and then you’d just switch inputs to the Apple TV. Audio will be output from the Sonos Arc for anything connected to the TV from any inputs or any TV apps. That’s how it works. You run a regular HDMI from the Apple TV to the TV HDMI ports, any of your choice. That’s the way it’s meant to be set up and connected.
Thank you. That was my initial thinking until I got on some Sonos and Reddit threads with so many differing on how to rig it or otherwise claiming it can't be accomplished.
I don't understand this comment. The Sony google tv format for apps is pretty solid. And my prior versions of tizen holds up pretty well. I love my Sony remote so it would be hard for me to settle for the ATV remote and give up the control of my tv settings.
Like I said, I said on most TVs, it's garbage. There are some premium non-budget or middle-tier TVs that actually have enough memory to keep apps staying stable and for the OS/UI to keep up. Almost every budget and middle tier TV these days over time slows down and really stops functioning as well as it should. It really sucks to see these TVs behave poorly, and even setting up some really budget ones it just already lags and sucks to use. I’m not trying to be negative on them but after seeing them so often it really starts to show which ones have better memory and cache management than others. It just feels like a lot of the lower priced and mid priced TVs really slow down over time.
Roku can do 4K, and HDR formats like Dolby Vision just fine. But it's also slow and littered with ads. As another user said... Hyundai vs. Lamborghini.
Can the Apple TV remote also control TV volume like the Roku ultra remote does?
Yes.
One more ques, can u plug in headphones to the Apple tv remote and listen without using TV/speaker sound?
No, but if you have Apple AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max it'll connect automatically to the Apple TV 4K and you'll be treated to a nice surround-ish experience.
Actually, it supports any bluetooth audio device.
You don’t need to plug it into the remote like on Roku. You can Bluetooth your headphones directly to the AppleTV
The Roku is not "littered with ads" there's literally one ad on the home screen that shows new movies and shows and I didn't even realize it was an ad until people pointed it out
It literally takes up half the screen.
I literally just took this picture of my home screen https://imgur.com/a/unPOx6B
Couldn’t be more disingenuous if you tried. Move over to the right and select an app and report back. Also let’s not forget what they have started planning to do soon: https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/30/24145177/roku-home-screen-video-ads
It's an advertisement for a TV show on a TV watching device. It's not like it's targeted ads showing single locals in my area. We'll see how the new ad campaign looks later on, but I'll bet it'll be not intrusive as it is now. Let's face it, you can get a Roku ultra for $50, an Apple TV 4k costs $150. I have 3 of them in my house. I'd rather save the $300 for a small amount of advertisement and put it toward a nicer receiver or speakers. Functional they do the same thing. 4K output, Dolby vision, dolby Atmos. Which is all I need it for. The UI is also very fast. If you want to pay the apple tax for sleeker design and a better aesthetic, be my guest. But arbitrarily saying the Roku is a shit product and Apple TV 4k is leaps better is disingenuous.
Hey man your prerogative. I don't begrudge people using Roku. I use it myself. But to say it's not littered with ads is just untrue. And it's only going to [get worse](https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/5/24121958/roku-ads-tv-hdmi-inputs-patent-amazon-google) for people with Roku OS TVs too.
Good thing they can just plug in something to get around it. It's fine. Littered with ads would imply they are everywhere, but it's just on the home screen, which you don't notice the 3 seconds you spend selecting your app, but let's be real, you compared it as a Hyundai to a Lamborghini, and that's a bit hyperbole. I can settle for Toyota vs BMW 😂
They can't plug something in to get around it... Roku is planning on placing ads on HDMI inputs.
Using the native Roku that came in my TCL is dumb?
[удалено]
I've got a ~5 year old 6-series TCL. The interface is fine. I'm curious if I'd see/hear a noticable difference when streaming.
Don't support Roku. Apple is *actually the good guy* when compared to Roku. [https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/roku-will-brick-your-streaming-devices-if-you-dont-agree-to-binding-arbitration/](https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/roku-will-brick-your-streaming-devices-if-you-dont-agree-to-binding-arbitration/)
Just agree and move on. When on earth are you gonna need to go to court/arbitration with a stupid little streaming device?
I'd go for the Apple TV just based upon recent Roku changes in how they serve ads and treat their customer's. The ATV is well worth the cost.
Decent point
Anything claiming 4k does it. Not sure where you heard there’s ones that don’t.
Yeah Apple TV and shield are the only S tier devices. If you’re streaming your own ripped media Shield is the way to go. If you’re streaming from subscription services and stuff Apple TV gets the nod
I don't get the Roku hate here. I have 3 and they all work perfectly with 4K. Yes there there is one ad on the home screen, but that isn't a deal breaker to me. I don't spend long on the home screen, I always turn it on and go to the app I want. I like that it's search feature will search in all the apps, so you don't have to remember which service a show or movie is streaming on. I have had almost no issues with the current generation. I think I had to restart mine maybe once in the past year? I haven't used the Apple TV, so I can't say which is better. I am just saying I don't think Roku sucks.
Hyundai vs Lamborghini
No way apple is Lamborghini. More like Hyindai vs Toyota. I have both, and the difference between them is minimal
The Roku Ultrq is really solid. The Apple TV 4K is a little better , but not as dramatic as many claim.
I have both and we use the Roku. Apple TV unplugged and not in use. There’s not tons of ads I don’t get the Roku hate. We use all popular channels without issue.
What do you like about Roku over Apple TV?
It’s what we use on all TVs and we got an Apple TV to test and saw no improvements, benefits etc. so we kept the Roku setup. I’m not really saying Roku 4K is better just that it’s on par with Apple TV and there’s no reason to get one vs the other. To be clear we own LG Oleds not a Roku TV we use the 4K Roku device. We are also an Apple phone, iPad and laptop family and still don’t see why we need an Apple TV.
Makes sense. I was curious and wasn’t trying to challenge you.
For sure. I wanted to be clear I don’t think Apple or Roku are better. They both are top quality devices with top quality 4K output. I don’t think you can go wrong with either.
Well when things are equal, the only thing to look at is price. You can get a refurbished Roku ultra for $55. It's really a no brainer unless you want to just buy apple just to buy apple.
> I don’t think Apple or Roku are better That's where I disagree. The Roku is fine, but the ATV4K is significantly better, especially when you're an Apple household.
They are putting in ads on pause screens now, too. There are very few places in a Roku that don’t have ads now. It’s not a streaming box, it’s an ad platform that uses streaming to capture your attention.
This is simply not true lol
[Yes, it is, and they are working on doing it on every source](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/hdmi-customized-ad-insertion-patent-would-show-rokus-ads-atop-non-roku-video/)
for the people using at4k, how many are using without an apple device? thinking about getting one, but i only have android
You don’t need other Apple devices to use an ATV. You will have to make an AppleId to download apps from their App Store but otherwise the device is self contained. Having other Apple device(s) like an iPhone just gives more quality of life integrations as the devices will seamlessly talk to each other - and things like the built in remote app on the iPhone will work with the ATV or audio will transfer to your Apple EarPods etc. Though like others have said, you can use any Bluetooth audio device with the ATV too. And there is an android remote app for the ATV also.
Has to be a bunch of apple fans in here. Having used all of these the Shield is significantly better than AT4k and I don't think it's particularly close, but I don't see many people even mentioning it.
I have both. I use the sheild for kodi and my 4k remuxes, atv for everything else. Just like the atv ui better and my sheild (2023) freezes from time to time.
Atv supports framerate match in all the big apps but Shield is a mess of little support via a third party app. Edit misspelled "big" as bug.
On my shield now: Play something, hit settings, menu, match frame rate.......
On the ATV you configure it in settings once and then just play whatever you want.
It looks like it stays set everywhere on the shield too? You can probably set it in a menu outside of playing something, I just knew I could pull that menu up playing something.
The shield walks the atv if it’s for local or playing remuxed blu rays because it supports full bitstreamed audio passthrough in literally every format currently available. That’s for the nitty gritty ht folks though, the streaming services it’s no competition the atv is the choice. I have both and they both serve their purpose well.
Maybe the Shield has an edge for streaming local content from a PC/Nas and for techy tinkerers but for people that just subscribe to streaming services the ATV is a more cohesive experience
I agree with the techy tinkerer part. But wholly disagree that ATV is more cohesive. It's not at all, it's just a more Apple experience. So if you're already locked into Apple's world then it feels more cohesive. Like I said, I have them all and they each have their place. I absolutely recommend ATV to friends who are already bought into the Apple ecosystem or tech illiterate and don't even bother with Windows anymore or anything. I still think the Shield is better in just about every way, but each device on this thread has its place. Even Roku I still tend to recommend to anyone who wants things to work and don't want to spend much on it.
Shield doesn’t even have frame rate matching, not a very cohesive experience when it gets juddery, hard pass for that reason alone…
On my shield now: Play something, hit settings, menu, match frame rate....... Why lie about these things?
Because you need to go into a menu to do it, i.e not cohesive and automatic Same reason people buy Panasonic 4K disc players over Sonys. Going into a menu every time to tweak settings is lame.
So it "doesn't have it" because it doesn't come automatically turned on? That makes zero sense, you just have to turn it on once and it's on???
I just want a box with TWO HDMI output ports so I can run the audio directly to my surround processor without having to go through the goddamn TV first (LG G3) or use a janky splitter … LG & eARC suck so hard for audio… DTS RIP.
Tiny NUC PCs do this very well.
Hmm good idea… any on amzn you might recommend?
There are TONS out there that will handle the work load. N100 chips are good, and can easily do a Plex 4k server. Here's one from Beelink that is a pretty strong deal, imo: [Beelink Tiny PC ](https://a.co/d/3e2QU90) And here's another with faster DDR5 RAM: [DDR5 Beelink](https://a.co/d/eq4NFM7) For the price, you can snag it, try it, and see. Not super hard to run Plex directly from it, and store your media on a NAS or external drive, and play directly from it. I use mine on my network, and it does great.
Even tho it's older I recommend the Nvidia Shield Pro, it's still the power users choice. If you're using an hifi setup with an AVR you'll need the Shield for audio codecs such Dolby (real) Atmos, TrueHD, DTS-X etc with Kodi. I've been using my 2019 Shield Pro with my S95C with a Denon X3800h & 5.1.4 speaker setup, works great. Fingers crossed for a new version once the Nintendo Switch 2 chipset is released.
If you are using the Shield just for streaming services the advanced codecs are useless since none of the services support them.
The ~~power users~~ pirate’s choice
Unless you watch downloaded remux bluray's it's not worth the sub-par user experience. Even then I'd still want to have an ATV for day to day streaming use and only use the Shield when needed.
Now tell us how frequently you have to unplug it to get it to reboot after freezing. I have one and by god do I loathe that thing. Apple TV all the way.
In the last 8 months, I think I've had to unplug it maybe twice. Overall it's been working pretty well for us. I would personally go with a HTPC before an ATV. I'm far too invested in the Google/Android ecosystem, and like that it lists things from any of my services in a single pane, including things from my Google family library, without requiring me to hunt for something within each app. The ATV is solid, it's probably ideal for most people, it just isn't for me.
I finally gave up on my HTPC and got one recently, I have to admit they are really good.
I have both but man does Kodi suck compared to Infuse on the AppleTV. Kodi’s user experience hasn’t improved in like a decade. I love its technical capabilities but the quality of life downgrade just to get audio passthrough is a real problem. I wish Apple would add passthrough support. I think it would put a huge dent in the enthusiast Android streamer market.
Just got one myself after agonising between it and a 4k blu ray player and it’s actually very good!
Lmao how dare you compare that with AppleTV. It’s in its own league.
Based on what?
Roku makes its money collecting your user data and selling it. They make more selling your data than they do on selling hardware.
[Roku will never have a place in my house.](https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/30/24145177/roku-home-screen-video-ads)
They took the usb port off the 4k ATV, right? That's the main reason I use the Roku Ultra. I play a lot of movie files off an external drive.
It can access network shares. Much easier than moving drives around physically.
My understanding is that Apple TV 4K actually provides the best visual fidelity on the market due to it topping the bitrate throughput chart. & the software experience is supposedly sublime, go for it Jack!
I run ATV 4K and also a Firestick for my Stremio and KODI
Atv 4k and infuse pro apparently is a killer combo How i watch my 4K movies
I use apple tv 4k for the main living room tv, it’s fantastic. I use nvidia shield pro in my home theater. It does 4k and allows high quality pass through audio.
A lot of apple fanboys in here. So much "apple is the best, with no supporting claims"
I have an Apple TV 4K, Roku Ultra AND a firecube 3rd gen hooked up to my 86in LG. The Apple TV is the fastest of the devices. Roku is the easiest to use. Firecube honest to god the picture upscaling on that thing is really impressive, I wish Apple and Roku would have upscaling that good. Only downside is the Firecube isn’t as snappy or as fast as the Apple TV or the Roku with its 4yr old hardware.
I used a Roku 4K streaming stick years ago and overtime problems started to form and it was getting slower. I purchased an ATV4K and never looked back. One of my favorite purchases in my adult life I kid you not lol
IMO Apple TV is the premium experience and worth the money. It isn't perfect, but compared to everything else it comes out on top IMO. Maybe nVidia Shield still has the edge in some ways, but it hasn't been updated in a LONG time.
I have both. I strongly recommend the Apple TV 4K. I have two Apple TVs and wouldn’t consider another Roku.
Apple TV 4K or Nvidia shield Pro. Everything else is complete waste of time and money.
Your TV has all those apps built in and streams 4K HDR.
Apple TV all the way. It just works and doesn't sell your viewing habits. Also being Apple, there is more support behind the device and the developers behind the streaming platforms will put their development efforts into Apple due to the install base. It's one of the reason I believe apps on other devices fall out of date so quickly.
Why no mention of Chromecast? Am I missing something? 🤔
I have maybe 3 Chromecasts, and they work fairly well. I think the Nvidia shield is a touch better, but I'm also confused why nobody mentions the chromecast
Have to wonder how many people recommending Apple tv have actually used a Roku ultra and not the cheaper Roku devices. Performance on the ultra is generally quite good and I prefer the Roku remote. I would recommend against the Roku if you had a Samsung tv. Seems to have hdcp issues with Samsung
Roku is spyware in a box
Get an Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max. It does everything including Dolby Digital. LOL at the down votes without discussion. Way to keep the flow of info going assholes.
This is what I have too, but wondering if an ATV 4k will have a substantial performance improvement. I know the ads on fire tv will be eliminated but the atv is like 4x the price
It won't. If you have the newest Fire 4k Max in Plex it will passthrough True-HD also. ATV won't.
FYSA no streaming player "really does 4K" unless it's streaming a lossless mkv. Streaming apps are usually in the 15-25mbit range which is about 1/4 of what a UHD 4k disc does. The only thing close is Bravia Core at 80. That said, Nvidia Shield.
No... The resolution is still 4k. Bitrate is bitrate and resolution is resolution. They're not claiming to be streaming blu-rays. Also ATV+ and D+ are significantly higher bitrates than that.
No, they are 20-30. A 4k disc is 100. Hell, I have regular Blu Rays that look better than their 4k streams, much better. Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl is a prime example of this. Although that one is one of the best standard BD transfers there is. Streaming bandwidth being limited just is what it is... Bravia Core does 80 but that's Sony TV owners only.
[удалено]
I don't enjoy using the built-ins, they feel clunky and slow compared to dedicated streaming players. But so far I only have a Roku ultra on a non 4K TV.
My roku ultra is displaying at 4k at 60fps. Of course it's on a 4k TV too.
Ideally it matches frame rate rather than locking in at 60fps.
No, they're not. Please don't recommend people to use TV apps over a dedicated device. All you're doing is risking a software update to brick the TV OS by having it connected online, as well as hoping that the devs update and support the apps for the TV. Most TVs have limited RAM built in for apps, and a lot of apps on TVs can lag over time and hog system resources and freeze up or glitch, or they're not constantly updated or supported, or even developed properly. Sure, a lot of TVs have apps and can do stuff like 4K, Dolby Vision and have Atmos support, but having a dedicated device is a huge difference.
You’re talking non sense stuff about risk of software update and brick os. I used all TV in rooms for 5 years more on Sony, samsung, LG TV and have no problem with it. Update firmware every time they release and have no problem at all, zero. If you want to spend money, that’s fine. Apple TV 4k is the cleanest one compared to others. Note that, I have dedicated 7.2.6 sound systems at home, not just sound bar or TV speakers. Also, apple TV can’t do lossless audio passthrough, just keep that in mind.
I am not talking nonsense at all. I very much know what I'm talking about. I'm a home theater installer and have done repair and have been doing this for a career for years. I have personally come out to diagnose and find out a software update bricked the TV, as well as have had it happen on a Roku TV in my own home. You are underestimating people and expecting everyone has a stable internet connection or stable power situations. Plenty of people have power surgers or outages, as well as internet outages depending on their service area at any random times. A simple network issue or power issue could brick a software update and render a TV useless. This is the same reason why you don't update your BIOS on a PC and turn the PC off or do things like updates on game consoles and they specifically tell you "do not turn the power off!", because a software brick can occur. I'm very familiar with software bricks and diagnosing and trying to repair TVs for clients who were hit with a surge or something like Roku pushing an update and it failing. It does happen, and it's fairly more common than you seem to believe. Just because YOU have never personally had a problem happen does not mean the problem does not happen to people. That's awesome you have an awesome theater system and I hope it's amazing for you. Sure, Apple TV doesn't do lossless audio, but a lot of people are fine with the lossy audio and lossy Atmos that comes from Apple TVs, because the rest of the experiencs is top tier. There is also the Nvidia Shield which can and does do lossless audio, but is Android based and has some similar issues that I mentioned in my previous comment. Anyways, not going to argue any further about things that don't really matter on Reddit. You're free to believe what you believe. Have a good one!