[mrnubbins]

I use plex media server on my pc and currently use the samsung app on my smart tv which I got in 2016. There are 2 things I want to be able to do that I currently can't: Watch ad-free youtube videos on my tv and play local mp4 and mkv files on my PC with increased playback speed.  I can't do this with plex. I have an ethernet connection from my router to my TV but my TV is too far from my PC to run an HDMI cable.

I found that with the newpipe app on my phone there is an option to cast to Kodi, which is what brought me here.  From what I read you can also adjust playback speed with kodi (is this correct?). I see there are many devices that can run Kodi. I was looking closely at firestick but I really hate amazon and want to avoid it. Now Im looking at the nvidia shield but I'm wondering if there would maybe be a better and possibly cheaper solution.

[mulderfox]

I use plex media server on my pc and currently use the samsung app on my smart tv which I got in 2016. There are 2 things I want to be able to do that I currently can't: Watch ad-free youtube videos on my tv and play local mp4 and mkv files on my PC with increased playback speed.  I can't do this with plex. I have an ethernet connection from my router to my TV but my TV is too far from my PC to run an HDMI cable.

I found that with the newpipe app on my phone there is an option to cast to Kodi, which is what brought me here.  From what I read you can also adjust playback speed with kodi (is this correct?). I see there are many devices that can run Kodi. I was looking closely at firestick but I really hate amazon and want to avoid it. Now Im looking at the nvidia shield but I'm wondering if there would maybe be a better and possibly cheaper solution.

There are many many android TV boxes in the market. Most of them are Chinese junk. But there are some manufacturers (mostly located in Hong Kong) that are considered somewhat better than the others. They are not cheap though: Himedia, Zidoo, Ugoos, Minix to name a few. I currently use a TV box in a similar setup with access to my video library on my PC via the router (requires you to setup the sources via SMB or NFS protocol). It works great.
You can check some of my reviews to get an idea about these boxes (just search "Review") here: https://www.eyalo.com

[ontap]

Would may be helpful to tell us which TV Box you currently use ? 
Am always looking for good advice.
I had a look on your site , but you have only reviewed one box since 2020 as far as I could see.

[mulderfox]

Would may be helpful to tell us which TV Box you currently use ? 
Am always looking for good advice.
I had a look on your site , but you have only reviewed one box since 2020 as far as I could see.

Actually I've done two reviews on 2020 - ugoos am6 plus and minix u22-xj which are both still relevant (as flagship chipsets for TV boxes don't come out that often. Budget ones do)
The box I use day to day is the minix u22-xj but with coreelec on SD card - to allow me the full potential of the box - in regards to audio formats support.
This year I've already done ugoos ut8 pro (rockchip rk3568 based) review and soon the ugoos x4 pro. Both are good but pretty different under the hood.

[mrnubbins]

Are there any advantages to using these kodi boxes over the nvidia shield?

[mark2gp]

Mi box s /4k might well suit your purpose.

[calev]

For ad free youtube what i've been doing is using a INVIDIOUS instance I have running in my house and just use a web browser from a android tv box. I use a cheap x96 max from ali express. Works fine. 

The INVIDIOUS addons for kodi doesn't seem to work very well. I would really like a set up where INVIDIOUS is running on the same box as kodi and kodi can just read from the INVIDIOUS api and display thumbnails just like local media. That way I can build up my playlist in the INVIDIOUS url and they show up in kodi. But for now just running a web browser works really well.  INVIDIOUS is made by some of the same people that made newpipe I believe.

[mark2gp]

Check out smart youtube app (from aptoide store)
Without ads and most functions work well.