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Slowhanded posted:The best home theater solution is to run Kodi off an actual Linux/Windows box, but that's overkill for most people. A refurbished Mac Mini work really well too. It's small and silent. I upgraded mine with an SSD so it could do some more complex stuff in the background and it's been great.
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Dec 19, 2015 23:40
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I think I'd go for an Intel NUC before I went for a Mac Mini. You've got to spend about $100 more than you do for a Shield TV, but running Kodi on a full-fledged PC is just a smoother and more flexible experience.
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Dec 19, 2015 23:54
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Don Lapre posted:Boxee already stopped supporting the bb before they got bought. They released that stupid boxee TV poo poo, those people really got screwed Yep, my Boxee Box is just sitting there on my shelf. So much wasted potential, but when it was new, it was the best thing ever. Ixian posted:It runs Android TV which in the opinion of many beats the poo poo out of FireOS but different strokes for different folks and all that. This, plus the Shield can output 4K (it may upscale too, I think so but not 100% sure) if you have the proper device. I always smile when I see that 2160p indicator on my TV.
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Dec 20, 2015 03:55
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Thermopyle posted:I think I'd go for an Intel NUC before I went for a Mac Mini. You gonna get out with a near silent i5 with 8gb of ram for 409 or whatever including OS license? Honest question, I'd like to look at one possibly for a friend who is building a setup
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Dec 20, 2015 04:34
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Thermopyle posted:I think I'd go for an Intel NUC before I went for a Mac Mini. You've tried one recently? I replaced my NUC with a Shield and honestly, I can't see a difference. Kodi (I used to use Zephyr Exploded, now Titan, with Jarvis) runs just as smoothly for me. I also use the Emby addon. It even handles refresh rate switching and digital passthrough now (in Kodi, some Shield apps that use the built in player are still limited). Add in the fact it can launch Android TV apps right from Kodi and can handle 4k (I use Netflix 4k with all the shows that support it, it's pretty decent), auto-updates, etc. and you have a winner. Believe me, I had not one, but two NUCs for the longest time running OpenElec. For years now nothing came close, certainly not any of the poo poo off-brand Android boxes I tried and sent back. The Shield really does. It's not 100% perfect but nothing is, not even a NUC. And now that Jarvis supports long-press commands so I can map more buttons I am even starting to prefer the Shield remote over my Harmony. It's a hell of a nice little box. Oh, and I hear it even plays games pretty good 
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Dec 20, 2015 04:35
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I feel like we're splitting hairs on the $179 shield vs $99 Fire. They both do 4K @ 60FPS and both run XBMC, which, lets face it outside of Netflix/Prime Video is primarily what they're used for. There's a reason why Amazon has not closed that loophole. I haven't tried playing with anything other than the stock XBMC theme but I honestly have to question how much more responsive the menu system can get. Certainly not $79 more responsive. I have the first gen Fire TV and really can't see how you could improve on that device short of buying a 4K TV to use the 2nd gen model with it. The headphone thing in the remote is pretty cool though, if you watch TV in bed while your SO sleeps, or you have a baby crib in the bedroom, or whatever.
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Dec 20, 2015 05:43
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Hadlock posted:I feel like we're splitting hairs on the $179 shield vs $99 Fire. They both do 4K @ 60FPS and both run XBMC, which, lets face it outside of Netflix/Prime Video is primarily what they're used for. There's a reason why Amazon has not closed that loophole. I haven't tried playing with anything other than the stock XBMC theme but I honestly have to question how much more responsive the menu system can get. Certainly not $79 more responsive. I have the first gen Fire TV and really can't see how you could improve on that device short of buying a 4K TV to use the 2nd gen model with it. Unless something major has changed the FireTV doesn't do 4k @ 60fps, though right now that is something of a moot point as only Youtube offers any videos at that framerate in 4k; Netflix and Prime both show 4k content at 24fps. The Shield is the most capable Android TV device; the FireTV (2nd gen) the most capable FireOS device. I prefer Android TV for a number of reasons but if you are purely in to Kodi and don't mind sideloading Firestarter and keeping up with updates on your own then the FireTV is fine, though I don't believe the 2nd gen supports refresh rate switching yet in Kodi (the Shield does) and there are some lingering issues with DTS. I personally prefer Android TV; Google Play allows Kodi in the store (and on the homescreen) so you don't need to dick around with workarounds like Firestarter (which is as unofficial as it gets as far as Amazon is concerned) and the app/game selection is better. Each to their own though.
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Dec 20, 2015 16:42
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It's also worth noting that unlike the FireTV, the Shield can handle 720p/1080i MPEG2, so if you have an HDHomeRun you can get live TV on it. The Nexus Player also has this capability but like most things the Nexus Player attempts, it works maybe 80% of the time.
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Dec 20, 2015 16:50
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sellouts posted:You gonna get out with a near silent i5 with 8gb of ram for 409 or whatever including OS license? No, but you don't need an i5 for an HTPC. Ixian posted:You've tried one recently? I replaced my NUC with a Shield and honestly, I can't see a difference. Kodi (I used to use Zephyr Exploded, now Titan, with Jarvis) runs just as smoothly for me. I also use the Emby addon. The NUC can do everything the Shield can, but its got a "real" OS. I'm not saying the Shield is bad as a Kodi box...it's every bit as good as you're saying. I'm saying the NUC is better and more capable. Like always, it all depends on the particular users use case, but as a general statement, the NUC (or whatever PC) checks more boxes.
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Dec 20, 2015 19:52
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Does the NUC have a decent remote-driven lean back interface for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, ESPN, etc or do you have to use a web browser like an idiot?
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Dec 20, 2015 20:16
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TheScott2K posted:Does the NUC have a decent remote-driven lean back interface for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, ESPN, etc or do you have to use a web browser like an idiot? I don't know about all of those, but I do know Netflix has what is purported to be a very nice Windows 10 app. Hulu does as well.
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Dec 20, 2015 20:57
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Thermopyle posted:No, but you don't need an i5 for an HTPC. Got it, I was referring to a system that can run the server as well as the client, so transcoding becomes an issue depending on usage.
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Dec 20, 2015 22:29
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Ixian posted:Also has a better CPU and the USB ports are usable for storage. Just want to point out that you can use USB hubs and bluetooth headphones with the Fire TV (although there an issue where you have to manually adjust the audio offset in Kodi since it's a sideloaded app) And the game controller has support for headphones. The gaming edition for $140 isn't a bad deal as long as you don't mind using the controller as a remote. It also comes with Shovel Knight/Ducktales. TheScott2K posted:Does the NUC have a decent remote-driven lean back interface for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, ESPN, etc or do you have to use a web browser like an idiot? Back when I was experimenting with PC, I was triggering Windows 8 apps with shortcuts and custom remote macros. But an Android box is so much simpler and living room friendly. Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Dec 21, 2015 |
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Dec 21, 2015 00:58
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Like I think Android boxes like the Shield are excellent, and everyone should buy one, but I fail to see how one is more living room friendly than a NUC or similar. Heck I've got a multiple year old Ion based nettop running in one room and it runs for months and months with Kodi just there... no one would know if it was an Android box or a PC.
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Dec 21, 2015 03:40
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Thermopyle posted:Like I think Android boxes like the Shield are excellent, and everyone should buy one, but I fail to see how one is more living room friendly than a NUC or similar. They'd know if they tried to run anything besides Kodi - HBO Go, Netflix, Prime, Crackle, whatever. Which, whatever the feelings here, are what a huge majority of people use. Yes, you can use Windows 8/10 apps, and gently caress around with remote macros, "air mice" or whatever, and think to yourself, this is just as good, etc....or you can just use a decent Android TV box, one of which is available right now that isn't from some shitkicker Taiwanese knockoff shop, and not have to deal with any of it. In order to have a NUC with some/most of the same streaming capabilities as a Shield running Android TV you have to run Windows on it and dick around with all kinds of dumb poo poo. I used to do that, I get it. The Shield is better. If all you care about is Kodi and your own downloaded media then...poo poo, the Shield TV is still better/cheaper than a NUC. I have two NUCs, one is collecting dust and I've re-purposed the other, I'm not making blind assumptions here.
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Dec 21, 2015 04:33
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Like I said it all depends on your use case. I use a Fire TV on one of my Tvs, and it's great, but the only thing it has over the NUC is maybe ease of initial setup. After you set it up, it's literally just as easy to do the Netflix app and Kodi on the NUC as it is with the Fire. Anyway, I thought I was having this conversation in the Kodi thread.
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Dec 21, 2015 04:39
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Thermopyle posted:Like I said it all depends on your use case. I use a Fire TV on one of my Tvs, and it's great, but the only thing it has over the NUC is maybe ease of initial setup. After you set it up, it's literally just as easy to do the Netflix app and Kodi on the NUC as it is with the Fire. You don't have to buy the Fire a Windows license, or worry that development on the Fire or Android Netflix app will develop a sudden case of "gently caress it" like the WatchESPN app for Windows and just quit spending resources updating it. I run Windows 10 and have the Hulu, Netflix, WatchESPN, and Plex apps off of the Windows App Store - they're all fine for playing video on a side monitor, but they're not something I'd want to run in my living room. I really wouldn't recommend an NUC to anyone looking to use legal streaming services. If it's all about Kodi and playing Linux ISOs, fine, get a NUC, but there's just no reason to do that if you're doing streaming services when the Android (and AppleTV) boxes are actually made for that and can play back your Linux ISOs anyway. I've been doing this stuff for a long time, and we're really past the point of sperg solutions being worth the trouble. The Shield being so good, the rise of Plex, and MS putting out an OTA tuner for the XBone a lot of people own anyway have made HTPCs kind of pointless.
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Dec 21, 2015 04:52
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Thermopyle posted:Like I said it all depends on your use case. I use a Fire TV on one of my Tvs, and it's great, but the only thing it has over the NUC is maybe ease of initial setup. After you set it up, it's literally just as easy to do the Netflix app and Kodi on the NUC as it is with the Fire. Fair enough. If the question is "I already have a NUC that works perfectly fine for what I like, should I switch it out for a Shield/whatever" then it's different, sure (though that is what I ended up doing). However if you are looking for a new setup I'd say the state of Android TV/apps and devices that support it (that don't suck) has advanced to the point where the standard "buy a NUC that has an i-series CPU for local media because at the very least it will run everything Kodi can throw at it, and use other stuff for streaming" advice has been superseded. More appropriate in this thread than the Kodi one I think but a case could be made for either, sure
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Dec 21, 2015 04:54
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Does anyone know of a way to get Google Play Music on a Roku 3?
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Dec 22, 2015 18:01
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I would think you could install the unofficial Google Play app through Plex, though that is going to be one atrocious interface. Better than nothing I guess.
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Dec 22, 2015 18:44
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Silly Burrito posted:Does anyone know of a way to get Google Play Music on a Roku 3? Switch inputs to your Chromecast
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Dec 23, 2015 04:51
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I am looking to cut the cord and get rid of an expensive bill in favor of streaming options - but I don't know how to do it! The OP of this thread is from 2012, so I'm not sure how current it is. We have two TVs - both smart TVs - and I'm not sure if I need to get an external device or not. Most googling I've done has said "get Sling TV and a Roku," but are there better options? We already have a Netflix account and will probably get a Hulu account as well. I'm looking for an easy way to put video from my laptop onto the TV as well, without having to attach an HDMI cord. Where do I start? I think the only advantage the Sling TV has is that we will be able to get ESPN that way, and we do watch sports. We already have smart TVs (and Xbox1/PS3) that have Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime apps on them already. Having a way to record live TV isn't a must (with all the Hulu streaming options) but it would be nice.
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Jan 2, 2016 05:13
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What sports do you watch? That will definitely determine your options, if any. Live sports is still the #1 reason for a cable/sat subscription.
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Jan 2, 2016 05:23
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Jose Oquendo posted:What sports do you watch? That will definitely determine your options, if any. Live sports is still the #1 reason for a cable/sat subscription. College Football, NFL, NBA, and NHL - not fanatically, but if there's a big game my husband likes to be able to watch his team. Going to a sports bar is also an option, of course, but recording the game and watching it later is usually how we do it. On the other hand, Comcast Sportsnet has had a stranglehold on our local (Oregon) NBA team's games for a while, and his Avalanche have been terrible enough to not make it worth trying to find the games. Budget wise we still really need to make the cut, but if we can figure out how to get some sports it'll be a happier home, if that makes sense. If we just got an OTA antenna for the local channels, what recording options are there for us? I like to record the local news and watch it when it's convenient for me/fast forward to the weather report.
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Jan 2, 2016 05:39
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For the record I just got a pretty decent OTA antenna for Christmas and I'm already having great results with it. It's this one: http://www.amazon.com/RCA-Compact-Outdoor-Yagi-Antenna/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451714376&sr=8-2&keywords=ota+antenna I live on a decent little hump of a hill, and I've got a split level house, so in my living room I'm already higher than most. Just holding the antenna in my hand 3 feet away from the TV I'm already able to pull in a few channels in perfect 720p clarity. It's really impressive how well it was able to retain the signal even with me waving it all over the place and kept it until I practically faced the opposite direction. Even though I most likley plan on putting this in my attic, I want to get up on my roof tomorrow to see what kind of channels I can pull in given ideal conditions. If I'm able to grab some amazing channel from a far away land I'd go the extra mile and roof mount it, if not the attic will be 100x easier and quicker.
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Jan 2, 2016 07:04
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hollylolly posted:College Football, NFL, NBA, and NHL - not fanatically, but if there's a big game my husband likes to be able to watch his team. Going to a sports bar is also an option, of course, but recording the game and watching it later is usually how we do it. On the other hand, Comcast Sportsnet has had a stranglehold on our local (Oregon) NBA team's games for a while, and his Avalanche have been terrible enough to not make it worth trying to find the games. Sling TV has the ESPN channels, including the SEC network, which won't cover quite everything but when combined with local channels will cover all the major sports basis for most people. Sling TV started out terrible, got slightly better, and is currently decent (both in terms of quality and ease of use) and is $20/month. You also get a number of other "cable" networks like AMC, TNT, HGTV, NatGeo, etc. When combined with a local OTA solution and (optional) something like Hulu it will cover the basis nicely (though I sub in Netflix for Hulu). I recommend something like the Shield TV, currently the best Android TV box, which means it is one of the better all in one solutions. There are cheaper options but the Shield just works great overall. Roku is also a decent option, or the FTV (if you like Amazon stuff, a lot) or the new (NOT OLDER) Apple TV. Combine it with either an OTA antenna or, if you want an integrated PVR type solution that works with Android TV (Google's Live Channels app) and has an EPG, get a network tuner - the HD Homerun Extend is one of the better choices, hook your antenna in to that, that in to your home network, and point the Live Channel app at it (this is easier than it sounds). Bang.
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Jan 2, 2016 07:14
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When it comes to cutting cable and sports it really just depends. If you are wanting to watch your local team then buying the specific package from each sport isn't going to work. But if you are a New York Fan living in Los Angeles you will be fine for the most part. For DVR I know a lot of people go with TiVo but that has a subscription. For non subscription look at channel master. I use a Roku to watch Sling TV, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, NHL, NBA, MLB, and HBO. I also have an antenna to watch local TV live.
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Jan 2, 2016 07:37
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Burden posted:When it comes to cutting cable and sports it really just depends. If you are wanting to watch your local team then buying the specific package from each sport isn't going to work. But if you are a New York Fan living in Los Angeles you will be fine for the most part. For DVR I know a lot of people go with TiVo but that has a subscription. For non subscription look at channel master. I use a Roku to watch Sling TV, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, NHL, NBA, MLB, and HBO. I also have an antenna to watch local TV live. Ad-Free Time or Unblock-US DNS services get around these local blackouts, and any national ones on the specific sport packages. Using AFT I bought the non-US NFL Gamepass subscription, even. Combine that with hockeystreams for the NHL and all my sports are covered with no blackouts. Does anyone else with a Shield TV have trouble with it waking up from sleep? Sometimes it just seems to... not, and requires a power cycle.
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Jan 2, 2016 07:55
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Ixian posted:Sling TV has the ESPN channels, including the SEC network, which won't cover quite everything but when combined with local channels will cover all the major sports basis for most people. Sling TV started out terrible, got slightly better, and is currently decent (both in terms of quality and ease of use) and is $20/month. You also get a number of other "cable" networks like AMC, TNT, HGTV, NatGeo, etc. So if I have two TVs on different levels of the home do I need antennas for both of them for the OTA stuff? I'm leaning toward Sling TV because of the sports stuff - I'll have to double check their channels to see if they cover all the ones we actually watch, or not. Not having to get Hulu as well would be good (though still cheaper than our current bill) Thanks for the information, I've got some more research to do now.
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Jan 2, 2016 09:45
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hollylolly posted:So if I have two TVs on different levels of the home do I need antennas for both of them for the OTA stuff? I'm leaning toward Sling TV because of the sports stuff - I'll have to double check their channels to see if they cover all the ones we actually watch, or not. Not having to get Hulu as well would be good (though still cheaper than our current bill) If you go with the network Tuner (HDHR Extend) and your network inc. wireless is decent in your house then you'll just need the tuner. The point of the HDHR is to act as the "master" box for OTA signals, which it then sends out over your network. Then you need a client that can handle them, a task which is much easier these days with Android TV and the Google Live Channels apps (there's an Android app for the HDHR itself but Live Channels is better). Silicon Dust, who make the HDHR, are adding DVR features to their stuff (in beta now) and say they will support those with Google Live Channels, so in theory you could have a complete DVR solution with EPG soon for OTA.
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Jan 3, 2016 00:03
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I'd like to pick up another streaming set-top box for our bedroom, but I'm unsure on which way to go. I already have an NVIDIA Shield TV for the living room, and it's working great. Currently using Hulu, Netflix, Emby for Kodi, and a few other apps without issue. Should I pick up another Shield, or would a ROKU 4 work just as well? While I've had no issues with the Shield, I'm having a hard time justifying the $70 price difference between the Shield and the Roku 4. The Roku 4 also has support for Amazon Prime streaming, while the Shield doesn't. At some point I will probably pick up a HDHomerun as well, so I don't know if that's a consideration in choosing between the two.
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Jan 4, 2016 14:59
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Does the Shield download games from your Steam library? I would like to play Rocksmith 2014 on my TV, can the Shield download it so I have a local version on my TV as well as my PC?
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Jan 4, 2016 15:58
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I haven't used it for anything gaming related yet, but my understanding is you are streaming the game, not downloading a local copy. I need to give it a try with Rocket League or something and see how it works.
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Jan 4, 2016 16:11
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blk96gt posted:I'd like to pick up another streaming set-top box for our bedroom, but I'm unsure on which way to go. I already have an NVIDIA Shield TV for the living room, and it's working great. Currently using Hulu, Netflix, Emby for Kodi, and a few other apps without issue. Should I pick up another Shield, or would a ROKU 4 work just as well? While I've had no issues with the Shield, I'm having a hard time justifying the $70 price difference between the Shield and the Roku 4. The Roku 4 also has support for Amazon Prime streaming, while the Shield doesn't. At some point I will probably pick up a HDHomerun as well, so I don't know if that's a consideration in choosing between the two. Roku is a fine device if you don't care about Kodi (for personal media both the Plex and Emby clients are decent for it, if you have/will set up the server for them). Bumming Your Scene posted:Does the Shield download games from your Steam library? I would like to play Rocksmith 2014 on my TV, can the Shield download it so I have a local version on my TV as well as my PC? There's Gamestream (which literally streams the audio/video from the game on your PC (Steam or otherwise) to your Shield, and works some funky magic with compatible games that allows the controller to work seamlessly with them) and there's also GeForce Now, which is the same concept, except it streams the games from THE CLOUD and is basically a rental type service. Neither one permanently downloads anything to your Shield; the device couldn't run them anyway. There are also quite a few decent Android games that are optimized for the Shield which do download/run off it.
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Jan 4, 2016 19:35
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Ixian posted:Roku is a fine device if you don't care about Kodi (for personal media both the Plex and Emby clients are decent for it, if you have/will set up the server for them). Yeah I realized earlier when I was looking at it that it didn't have a Kodi client. Already have an Emby server running, but would prefer to stick with Kodi for various reasons. Amazon still has the Shield for $175 w/remote so I will probably just pick up another one. Between Hulu and Netflix I don't think I will be missing anything that Amazon has.
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Jan 4, 2016 20:25
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blk96gt posted:I'd like to pick up another streaming set-top box for our bedroom, but I'm unsure on which way to go. I already have an NVIDIA Shield TV for the living room, and it's working great. Currently using Hulu, Netflix, Emby for Kodi, and a few other apps without issue. Should I pick up another Shield, or would a ROKU 4 work just as well? While I've had no issues with the Shield, I'm having a hard time justifying the $70 price difference between the Shield and the Roku 4. The Roku 4 also has support for Amazon Prime streaming, while the Shield doesn't. At some point I will probably pick up a HDHomerun as well, so I don't know if that's a consideration in choosing between the two. Fire TV is on sale for $84.99 today. And you can sideload Kodi on it.
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Jan 4, 2016 20:27
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Call Me Charlie posted:Fire TV is on sale for $84.99 today. And you can sideload Kodi on it. So what does it mean to side load an app? Is it just a matter of installing it, then clicking on a Kodi icon on the home screen to launch?
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Jan 4, 2016 21:55
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blk96gt posted:So what does it mean to side load an app? Is it just a matter of installing it, then clicking on a Kodi icon on the home screen to launch? Pretty much, yeah.
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Jan 4, 2016 22:06
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Bear with me as I talk through this - in theory I could get the HDHR Extend and stream the OTA live channels to a computer with Windows Media Player and use that to record shows which I could then cast to either of my TVs. I can also use my Xbox One for Sling TV for our main downstairs TV (I think). I'm not sure how to record the shows from Sling TV with this set up. I'm not worried about another box for the upstairs, being able to cast video from the computer or using it's built in apps for netflix is probably enough. Sorry, there's just a lot of options and I don't want to spend money on separate boxes and systems that we don't necessarily need. BUT if it makes more sense to get a Roku/Shield and use that to funnel everything through...?  Or if there's a simpler way to facilitate the downloading of content from the internet to a place I can watch it on my TV...
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Jan 4, 2016 22:40
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hollylolly posted:Bear with me as I talk through this - in theory I could get the HDHR Extend and stream the OTA live channels to a computer with Windows Media Player and use that to record shows which I could then cast to either of my TVs. I can also use my Xbox One for Sling TV for our main downstairs TV (I think). I'm not sure how to record the shows from Sling TV with this set up. You won't be able to record shows from Sling TV. There are some that are on demand, but not all of them.
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Jan 4, 2016 23:21
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