[noggin]

Also I guess that Android is the only way to go if you need Netflix 4K? That makes Shield really tempting.

Apple TV 4K works better than the Shield TV for Netflix, Prime, Disney+ and Apple TV+ in my experience (HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio support on both platforms - but frame rate support is superior on the Apple TV)  

The Shield TV doesn't do dynamic refresh rate switching based on the content being played automatically in any of the DRM apps - at best you have to use a hotkey kludge once the video is playing to get the box to switch between 23.976, 24, 25/50 and 29.97/59.94 output. On the Apple TV 4K this happens with no user intervention.  To an end user, frame rate switching on the Apple TV 4K 'just works'. On the Shield TV it feels like a workaround still.  You DO get automatic refresh rate switching in Kodi on the Shield TV - other apps just haven't been coded to take advantage of this on the Shield TV, whereas they have on the Apple TV 4K.

This seems to be an issue with apps across Android TV / Google TV platforms - the OS supports it, the apps don't.  (Ditto with Fire OS on Fire TV sticks - where last time I checked only Prime video supported Amazon's frame rate switching API)

I long since gave up trying to find 'one box' for all my media playback needs.  The Shield TV comes close - but it's just not quite good enough for me.

As a result I use my ATV 4K v2 (the new remote is great!) for DRM stuff - and occasional media playback in MrMC (a fork of Kodi with limited add-on support), and AMLogic devices running CoreElec are my main local media playback boxes.

[Zuikkis]

Apple TV 4K works better than the Shield TV for Netflix, Prime, Disney+ and Apple TV+ in my experience (HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio support on both platforms - but frame rate support is superior on the Apple TV)  

The Shield TV doesn't do dynamic refresh rate switching based on the content being played automatically in any of the DRM apps - at best you have to use a hotkey kludge once the video is playing to get the box to switch between 23.976, 24, 25/50 and 29.97/59.94 output. On the Apple TV 4K this happens with no user intervention.  To an end user, frame rate switching on the Apple TV 4K 'just works'. On the Shield TV it feels like a workaround still.  You DO get automatic refresh rate switching in Kodi on the Shield TV - other apps just haven't been coded to take advantage of this on the Shield TV, whereas they have on the Apple TV 4K.

This seems to be an issue with apps across Android TV / Google TV platforms - the OS supports it, the apps don't.  (Ditto with Fire OS on Fire TV sticks - where last time I checked only Prime video supported Amazon's frame rate switching API)

I would be mostly using everything through Kodi, so maybe it's not an issue then?

To my understanding Shield has better Kodi support than Apple TV? I read that AppleTV needs to have Kodi reinstalled every 7 days or something?

My current HTPC is also used for Steam games. It seems I could use GeForce Now on Shield TV to play my Steam games from the cloud. That sounds super if it works. GeForce Now subscription is included for free with Shield TV.

About the "Shield bad quality 4K / HDR", I found some explanation, at least for Kodi use:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/for...hdr-issue/

SOLUTION: MediaCodec(surface)" MUST be enabled (Settings/Player/Videos)
I have no idea why it was disabled however it fixed my problem.

About the refresh rate changing, have you tried this app:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/for...ogle-play/

It claims to change refresh rates automatically?

[noggin]

Apple TV 4K works better than the Shield TV for Netflix, Prime, Disney+ and Apple TV+ in my experience (HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio support on both platforms - but frame rate support is superior on the Apple TV)  

The Shield TV doesn't do dynamic refresh rate switching based on the content being played automatically in any of the DRM apps - at best you have to use a hotkey kludge once the video is playing to get the box to switch between 23.976, 24, 25/50 and 29.97/59.94 output. On the Apple TV 4K this happens with no user intervention.  To an end user, frame rate switching on the Apple TV 4K 'just works'. On the Shield TV it feels like a workaround still.  You DO get automatic refresh rate switching in Kodi on the Shield TV - other apps just haven't been coded to take advantage of this on the Shield TV, whereas they have on the Apple TV 4K.

This seems to be an issue with apps across Android TV / Google TV platforms - the OS supports it, the apps don't.  (Ditto with Fire OS on Fire TV sticks - where last time I checked only Prime video supported Amazon's frame rate switching API)

I would be mostly using everything through Kodi, so maybe it's not an issue then?

No - if you are just using Kodi for local media replay, or supported add-ons within Kodi, then you'll be OK.

To my understanding Shield has better Kodi support than Apple TV? I read that AppleTV needs to have Kodi reinstalled every 7 days or something?

Kodi can only be installed on an Apple TV via local installation - and I think there is a 7-day limit for this on basic developer accounts. Kodi can't be installed via the Apple apps store as it's not compliant with App Store policy. However MrMC - which is a fork of Kodi - can be installed permanently via the App Store. It has removed the Python Add-ons to be compliant, but you do get some binary add-ons like PVR Front-ends for TV Headend etc.

For local media playback (i.e. over your LAN) - the Apple TV 4K with MrMC is pretty good.

One advantage of the Shield TV is that it has USB 3.0 ports to allow you to connect external storage for playback of media, rather than requiring it to be accessed over a LAN connection as the ATV 4K does.

My current HTPC is also used for Steam games. It seems I could use GeForce Now on Shield TV to play my Steam games from the cloud. That sounds super if it works. GeForce Now subscription is included for free with Shield TV.

I don't do gaming I'm afraid - so no comment on that. The Shield TV was originally envisaged as a gaming platform and used to come bundled with a game controller (the media remote was an extra).

The Apple TV is more oriented around Apple Arcade and App Store games I think - so may not work for you.

About the "Shield bad quality 4K / HDR", I found some explanation, at least for Kodi use:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/for...hdr-issue/

SOLUTION: MediaCodec(surface)" MUST be enabled (Settings/Player/Videos)
I have no idea why it was disabled however it fixed my problem.

Yes - I've heard that - but there are also persistent complaints about DV 'red push' etc. - so I'm not 100% sure all picture quality reports are from a single source (and some aren't restricted to Kodi)

About the refresh rate changing, have you tried this app:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/for...ogle-play/

It claims to change refresh rates automatically?

Many apps do. They then don't work reliably in some DRM services. (Prime Video was a problem with a number I tried.).

This isn't a fault of the nVidia Shield TV - it's the apps that run on it. Android TV has support for refresh rate switching (just as tvOS on the Apple TV does), app developers just aren't using it. The bolt-on apps and OS workarounds are just hacks - app developers are the real issue here...

[Zuikkis]

Kodi can only be installed on an Apple TV via local installation - and I think there is a 7-day limit for this on basic developer accounts. Kodi can't be installed via the Apple apps store as it's not compliant with App Store policy. However MrMC - which is a fork of Kodi - can be installed permanently via the App Store. It has removed the Python Add-ons to be compliant, but you do get some binary add-ons like PVR Front-ends for TV Headend etc.

Hey thanks for this, I didn't know. It might be enough for me. I am using VDR plugin for satellite TV, it seems that one is available for MrMC as well.
 

For local media playback (i.e. over your LAN) - the Apple TV 4K with MrMC is pretty good.

One advantage of the Shield TV is that it has USB 3.0 ports to allow you to connect external storage for playback of media, rather than requiring it to be accessed over a LAN connection as the ATV 4K does.

Well, I would use LAN with Shield TV too, I have the VDR box running 24h with big hard drive.
 

This isn't a fault of the nVidia Shield TV - it's the apps that run on it. Android TV has support for refresh rate switching (just as tvOS on the Apple TV does), app developers just aren't using it. The bolt-on apps and OS workarounds are just hacks - app developers are the real issue here...

Yeah. It's the same with Chromecast. Super annoying. Completely useless product because of that.

Anyway, I think I try Shield first, but good to know AppleTV is an almost equal alternative. Local store (Gigantti) has 50 days return policy (no questions asked) so there's plenty of time to try it out. Actually I could buy both of them and return which one is worse...

[noggin]

Anyway, I think I try Shield first, but good to know AppleTV is an almost equal alternative. Local store (Gigantti) has 50 days return policy (no questions asked) so there's plenty of time to try it out. Actually I could buy both of them and return which one is worse...

Make sure you get the v2 version of the Apple TV 4K, the new remote is SO much better than the old one...