Advice on replacing smart TV with Nvidia Shield or similar

So I've been using Jellyfin for a while now. I have a NAS running with a jellyfin server and I watch stuff on my PC or on my TV. This is concerning the TV... As is often the case with these low-to-mid tier smart TVs, the OS is slow and the UX terrible. The network adapter is also bad. Jellyfin and everything else about the UI and OS in general, is slow. The jellyfin client occasionally crashes, and some files sometimes stutter or otherwise struggle when streamed, despite working just fine when streamed on the same network on my PC (wired both).

I was thinking of doing a bit of a brain transplant on my TV here by running my TV needs through Nvidia Shield or similar. Now, as I understand it, of the common options, Nvidia Shield is more or less the ultimate option for this. However, it is somewhat expensive, and I don't really care about anything other than having a responsive UI, support for all the usual codecs, HDR, 4K and preferably also Dolby and Atmos. I also want to be able to use my soundbar. I don't need any of the gaming features, storage space etc. that the Shield also markets...

Are there other cheaper alternatives that would do just as well, or should I just get the Shield?

Update in the comments.

12 comments

You're right about the shield being the most capable box out there and, IMHO, worth splurging on.

On the other extreme, if you're in the U.S., the Walmart "Onn TV 4K" streaming box is only $20. It should have all the stuff you listed and will be way more responsive than the anemic HW the TV makers use. Note: The remote feels a bit chinsy but it has a lots of buttons (many can be remapped with apps available in the Play store).

"Middle" option might be a "Chromecast with Google TV". More than 2x what the Onn box costs but the build quality is noticably better.

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- I second the CCwGTV. 4K in my case. Has, AFAIK, the most recent Android version of just about all the Android dongles/boxes. Has a very clean home screen when you enable Apps Only mode. Sadly doesn't have AV1 support (but the HD model does).
  
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- Hadn't heard of these. Thank you
  
  Still thought rokus and syreaning sticks were the go to. These look much better.
  
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- Plus one here for the Onn 4k box. Just picked one up about a month ago.
  
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I had a similar question recently, and ended up going with the free option as the first thing to try out. I already had a Jellyfin server running on an old laptop. I plugged this into the TV (and actually strapped it to the back of the TV since I was wall-mounting the TV at the same time). I also installed a desktop environment as it was running Ubuntu Server.

Then I installed Kodi, along with the Kodi Jellyfin add on. The add on syncs the Jellyfin database to the Kodi one, so you use the Kodi interface to browse the Jellyfin content. This seems to work great!

I also ordered a PC connected remote control so we can control it with a remote instead of a Kodi app on our phones, but it hasn't arrived yet (ordered from Ali express).

It seems to work well, and there are lots of addons you can install to access your other streaming services through Kodi as well.

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- The downside with the PC approach is support for other streaming apps. Starting Netflix (or any other) via the browser from a remote is not a nice UX. If this is not a needed use case, an existing pc might be a good choice.
  
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  I haven't tested it, but there are Kodi add ones for most streaming apps so I'm hoping it will be smoothly part of the Kodi interface once I get around to setting it up.
  
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- Then I installed Kodi, along with the Kodi Jellyfin add on. The add on syncs the Jellyfin database to the Kodi one, so you use the Kodi interface to browse the Jellyfin content. This seems to work great!
  
  Which Kodi theme are you using? I haven't really found a satisfying fire-and-forget solution that could deal with 6+ different kinds of libraries and also didn't require me to manually set up every menu option over the course of 3 hours.
  Have you found an elegant way to manage multiple different users?
  
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  I haven't branched out much, I'm afraid. Using the default Kodi theme, only split by TV/movies, and I just created a new jellyfin account specifically for Kodi.
  
  However, this page says that you create Kodi profiles for each user, then you can log each one in to jellyfin under their own profile. This lets you use the native Kodi users for switching between jellyfin users. But it does sound like a bit of work to set up.
  
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I got a shield a while back because I was having issues with the built in chromecast on my TV. It worked fine for about a year, but I've been having issues with lag and apps crashing for the past 2-3 years. Meanwhile my girlfriend's cheap roku puck still works fine, and she bought it around the same time I got the shield and it was way cheaper. I wouldn't recommend the shield based on that. The only annoyance is jellyfin on the roku isn't as feature complete, multiple language audio tracks aren't supported, but if that's not an issue for you I'd recommend getting a roku over a shield.

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To give an update, I did end up getting a Shield because I really want enough horsepower to have a proper, smooth experience. I got the non-pro version and saved a little bit with that, since I mainly just need it for streaming media from a NAS.

So far it's been good, though I did also find out that some of the stuttering was probably caused by having subtitles on and using the LibVLC player instead of exoplayer (or automatic selection that was apparently choosing it?). I still had stutter on the Shield when using LibVLC in combination with subtitles, though I think it might have been less pronounced. As soon as I either disabled subtitles or changed to exoplayer, the stutter was gone. It's still a little early to say for sure, though. The general UX and lack of UI navigation lag has been great.

I will also say that I feel like the image is just... different. I think the contrast is bigger and blacks are darker, despite making sure I'm on the same picture mode (from TV settings). I can't really say that it's better, just different. Might just be in my head too, honestly. I should compare the two at some point...

I might come back again even later to do another report. :)

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I've been running a Chromecast with Google TV 4k almost since its launch and I've been happy with it.

Easy less than the shield would've cost me and since it's only for streaming from jellyfin and YouTube it works great

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