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random_username · (This post was last modified: 2017-08-14, 19:35 by wrxtasy.)

Hi

I've currently got an old self built HTPC running Libreelec on old Nvidia ION hardware - it works well but it's due a refresh and I'm looking at something to replace it...

The main criteria for it's replacement are:

Live TV / Recorded TV - supplied by tvheadend from a different server. So it needs to be able to deinterlace well, and have enough muscle to play MP2 TS streams. TVH can transcode live TV, but won't transcode playback of recordings Sad

4K ready - I don't have a 4K TV at the moment, but I'd like to be future proof.

Reliable Netflix / Prime support - I've played around with the inputstream based addons for Prime when they came out, but now it seems that you need a Leia builds to get inputstream.adaptive, and that Amazon are doing some checks on things like user agents so the addons may not end up being 100% reliable. Both the Netflix / Prime addons can call the respective android apps if you choose, which I imagine will be more reliable as they will always be up to date DRM wise (as long as they don't remove the ability to start on a certain video stream).

Living room friendly - so it needs to be virtually silent, acceptable to the wife etc Smile

At the moment, the ShieldTV is probably the closest (native android apps for Prime / Netflix, good Kodi support, 4K ready etc) - but it looks like the TV side is problematic as the deinterlacing isn't any good... I've got a FireTV 4K box that I currently use for streaming, with Kodi/OSMC sideloaded, but the MP2 streaming causes issues so I can't use it for that Sad

Any suggestions, or am I looking for something that doesn't currently exist??

**sectune** · 2017-08-09, 16:49

I think ShieldTV is the ultimate device for your needs, especially becasue of speed, silence, native netflix/prime and 4k support. For the deinterlacing - it depends how much this is worth to you - there are external video deinterlacer devices available. Depending for what you are looking for they won't be cheap though.

maxtherabbit · 2017-08-09, 19:34

The deinterlacing problem was fixed almost a year ago. NVidia broke it in version 3.2 but fixed it in 3.3. I have no problems with interlaced SD or HD material with Krypton and TVHeadend. The only problem with live tv is that it switches to software decoding when you jump between live channels. That's supposed to be fixed in Leia, though. Netflix and Amazon work very well on the Shield.

jakejm79 · (This post was last modified: 2017-08-09, 20:17 by jakejm79.)

Working Amazon Prime Video is not guaranteed on the Shield, not to say it will ever end, but if you are 100% dependent on now and in the future you will want to keep that in mind. An Intel box running W10 will have Netflix, Amazon and decent live TV performance in Kodi, though the navigation of Netflix/Amazon with a remove may not be the most wife friendly also 4K support on Intel devices can be spotty with the current chipsets.

How far away is the 4K TV purchase, a smart TV will give you excellent Netflix and Amazon performance, couple that with a cheap AML LE box for live TV and its all covered

tredman · 2017-08-09, 20:30

Amazon Prime works fine with the build in app

random_username · 2017-08-09, 21:01

(2017-08-09, 19:34)maxtherabbit Wrote: The deinterlacing problem was fixed almost a year ago. NVidia broke it in version 3.2 but fixed it in 3.3. I have no problems with interlaced SD or HD material with Krypton and TVHeadend. The only problem with live tv is that it switches to software decoding when you jump between live channels. That's supposed to be fixed in Leia, though. Netflix and Amazon work very well on the Shield.

Cool - thanks. We don't tend to use livetv *that* much, so it's more the recordings I'm worried about. LiveTV I can always transcode to MP4 if really needed..

Have you tried the Netflix / Prime via the Kodi addons to call streams from their android apps? I've read somewhere that the Prime one integrates very nicely, but the Netflix native app doesn't work, and you have to sideload the one from the normal android marketplace, which then breaks the remote functionality..

(2017-08-09, 20:16)jakejm79 Wrote: Working Amazon Prime Video is not guaranteed on the Shield, not to say it will ever end, but if you are 100% dependent on now and in the future you will want to keep that in mind. An Intel box running W10 will have Netflix, Amazon and decent live TV performance in Kodi, though the navigation of Netflix/Amazon with a remove may not be the most wife friendly also 4K support on Intel devices can be spotty with the current chipsets.

How far away is the 4K TV purchase, a smart TV will give you excellent Netflix and Amazon performance, couple that with a cheap AML LE box for live TV and its all covered

I'm not 100% dependent on Prime - we use it a bit at the moment, but the AFTV interface is horrendous, and it's a pain having to switch from my HTPC to the AFTV and back again. The current smart TV we have has apps for prime / netflix but it's sluggish and not as nice as an experience as Kodi. What I'd really really like is everything completely seamless from the Kodi interface - so I can click on something in the up next and it doesn't matter where it's hosted - local media, netflix or prime, it just starts playing Smile

jakejm79 · 2017-08-09, 21:45

You are going to have a hard time finding anything that will reliably play Netflix and Amazon content within Kodi at the moment. It's possible in the future on Leia and above and on some platforms that you will some DRM content on Kodi, but I wouldn't ever rely on that, doesn't take much for Netflix or Amazon to bulk at that.

Android TV/Windows devices will allow you to launch the relevant apps for the DRM content, but you are still at their discretion for the interface.

jakejm79 · 2017-08-09, 21:46

(2017-08-09, 20:30)tredman Wrote: Amazon Prime works fine with the build in app

Their is no built in app on the shield, its ripped from the Sony TV and could at any time stop working, like it has in the past.

tredman · 2017-08-09, 21:55

(2017-08-09, 21:46)jakejm79 Wrote:
(2017-08-09, 20:30)tredman Wrote: Amazon Prime works fine with the build in app

Their is no built in app on the shield, its ripped from the Sony TV and could at any time stop working, like it has in the past.

Nope
https://shield.nvidia.com/blog/amazon-video-on-shield

maxtherabbit · 2017-08-09, 22:05

(2017-08-09, 21:01)random_username Wrote:
(2017-08-09, 19:34)maxtherabbit Wrote: The deinterlacing problem was fixed almost a year ago. NVidia broke it in version 3.2 but fixed it in 3.3. I have no problems with interlaced SD or HD material with Krypton and TVHeadend. The only problem with live tv is that it switches to software decoding when you jump between live channels. That's supposed to be fixed in Leia, though. Netflix and Amazon work very well on the Shield.

Cool - thanks. We don't tend to use livetv *that* much, so it's more the recordings I'm worried about. LiveTV I can always transcode to MP4 if really needed..

Have you tried the Netflix / Prime via the Kodi addons to call streams from their android apps? I've read somewhere that the Prime one integrates very nicely, but the Netflix native app doesn't work, and you have to sideload the one from the normal android marketplace, which then breaks the remote functionality..

I haven't tried those addons for Netflix or Amazon because they need Kodi Leia nightly builds to work and I don't want to mess up my main playback device with alpha stage software. I really don't see the need to use any addons on the Shield because the native Android TV apps do the job so well. You can even launch them from Kodi home screen if you add them to the favourites menu.

(2017-08-09, 21:46)jakejm79 Wrote:
(2017-08-09, 20:30)tredman Wrote: Amazon Prime works fine with the build in app

Their is no built in app on the shield, its ripped from the Sony TV and could at any time stop working, like it has in the past.

The official Amazon app has been included in the Shield firmware for six months. Originally it only worked if I disabled automatic location and changed system language to English. Since last month it works with Finnish language and auto location.

jakejm79 · 2017-08-10, 04:07

Well in that case I stand corrected then. Maybe the shield would be suitable for the OP over the long term, tho he will still have to 'suffer' the amazon UI.

random_username · (This post was last modified: 2017-08-10, 17:53 by random_username.)

(2017-08-09, 22:05)maxtherabbit Wrote: I haven't tried those addons for Netflix or Amazon because they need Kodi Leia nightly builds to work and I don't want to mess up my main playback device with alpha stage software. I really don't see the need to use any addons on the Shield because the native Android TV apps do the job so well. You can even launch them from Kodi home screen if you add them to the favourites menu.

The addons themselves work with any version of Kodi AFAIK - but if you want to use the inputstream playback type you need Leia. If you select playback type of Android it passes the relevant android app the stream details and starts it that way. I've played about with it on the AFTV running Krypton - you can add a show to your standard Kodi library, then click play in the 'normal' way, it will start the stream off in the amazon app and off it goes, but it seems to choke sometimes, possibly it's because the AFTV runs low on resources trying to run Kodi in the background and the stream itself..

Reading round it looks like the Shield native Netflix app can't work in the same way as you can't pass it details on what to play Sad

Lindawedi · 2017-08-30, 05:50

(2017-08-09, 21:55)tredman Wrote:
(2017-08-09, 21:46)jakejm79 Wrote:
(2017-08-09, 20:30)tredman Wrote: Amazon Prime works fine with the build in app

Their is no built in app on the shield, its ripped from the Sony TV and could at any time stop working, like it has in the past.

Nope
https://shield.nvidia.com/blog/amazon-video-on-shield

Thats right!