Android TV Device Comparisons

[wayner]

Having it built in would be a simpler setup, particularly if you don't use an AVR for sound.

[stanger89]

Well it's a moot point now anyway, I'm getting an LG B7

Guess I finally succumbed to a Black Friday. Though in my defense, it just so happened that stuff I already wanted ended up on sale. Getting my second SVS PB12-NSD today for my HT, and should get the LG next week for the living room.

[TwistedMelon]

LG runs WebOS - and the processors driving the UI are slow AF. But they're still my preferred TV brand today.

IMO, don't waste your time on smart TV features - app support will pale in comparison to a dedicated box. If you want the fastest box, NVIDIA's ShieldTV takes the crown for Android and AppleTV 4 for iOS. No one can buy off the shelf silicon to make anything with higher performance in a similar form-factor.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by TwistedMelon

LG runs WebOS - and the processors driving the UI are slow AF. But they're still my preferred TV brand today.

Yeah, I don't really care about the TV's software, which is why I went with that, I really want to see an OLED, and with the BF pricing they're finally to the price where I can justify satisfying my curiosity for an "auxiliary" TV.

IMO, don't waste your time on smart TV features - app support will pale in comparison to a dedicated box. If you want the fastest box, NVIDIA's ShieldTV takes the crown for Android and AppleTV 4 for iOS. No one can buy off the shelf silicon to make anything with higher performance in a similar form-factor.

Which is why I went with the LG. It will have me covered for the (so far) rare-ish times I want to run Netflix or Amazon in the living room, and I've already got STBs to do everything.

Though it would have been cool to be able to run Sage "natively" (Sony Android TV) on the TV. But for me PQ wins out.

[dstanley]

I have a Sony XBR-55X850D with Android TV - only used the SageTV app a few times - mostly used the Plex App to access my unRaid Plex Server that has a combination of recorded TV and movies.
Although not bad for playback there were a few things that really bothered me with the audio from the Sony TV to a Sony Soundbar. The Android TV will only pass through certain audio to the soundbar. My Plex server would have to transcode the audio and this created playback problems.
I purchased and setup an Odroid C2 with OpenPHT (Plex Home Theatre) loaded onto a high speed SD Card and the result is quite amazing.
http://www.hardkernel.com/main/produ...=G145457216438
This little box, and I mean little, plays 4K Atmos rips with no trouble at all to the 4K Sony. It can pass through all of the audio formats to the soundbar I need. It is fanless and very low power. These rips choke on all my other equipment including a Windows 10 Home Theater machine I built.
That said - I am having some playback issues and audio timing issues with my SageTV recordings - so I have been continuing to use my HD300 for the time being.
The Odroid C2 can be loaded with Android and I assume a lot of people use it for thee Kodi and Libreelec combination. I would be very curious how the SageTV Android Client would operate on this device. It would be nice to retain the SageTV Gemstone environment and play 4K HEVC rips and SageTV recordings with full audio passthrough in one interface.
I need more time to play around - darn working for a living gets in the way of all the fun!

Dwight

[TwistedMelon]

I sold my HD300 this week and next up is the HD200 from the master bedroom. The miniclient is great on the Nvidia Shield, but at the moment I'm pointing Plex at my recording folders and doing all playback that way (no scanners or plugins, just point it at the recording folders and it's working nicely - spaces in filenames with season/episode numbers). The miniclient's IJKPlayer works well enough, but I'm trying to keep everything in sync with Trakt, so...

EXOPlayer in the miniclient works great for files/video besides my recordings, but I don't need to play those via Sage, which is too bad. So at the moment the miniclient is really just for scheduling for the most part. I do also wish it started up quicker as right now it's probably the longest app to start up by a wide margin, due to the time it takes to connect to the server.

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by dstanley

... The Odroid C2 can be loaded with Android and I assume a lot of people use it for thee Kodi and Libreelec combination. I would be very curious how the SageTV Android Client would operate on this device...

I have a C2 with micro SDs each loaded with Kodi (LibreELEC), Android, Ubuntu Mate, and Plex. 4K playback with all manner of multi-channel audio plays perfectly in HEVC or MP4 formats in Kodi. It also supports several CineWide formats. The Android experience is very good, in general, but the Sage miniclient is predictably lacking. Playback is noticeably less smooth and multichannel audio does not seem to work; there's not really a passthrough audio option available. As such, I haven't used the device much as a Sage client, but that's the beauty of the C2: when armed with the right software it's a powerhouse ...

[panteragstk]

I use the sagetv app on my Sony 700d all the time. It has it's quirks, but is generally very good. I haven't really found an Android TV device that doesn't run the mini client well. The only issue I've come across is it randomly closes the mini client after so many hours. Doesn't always happen, but I've noticed it.

[DigiDAD]

Picked up an H96 Pro Plus Android 7.1 box off Amazon for under $100. S912 processor, 2GB/16GB with gigabit Ethernet and AC wireless. Initial tests of the Miniclient with MPEG2 ATSC recordings played flawlessly. UI was quick and responsive, including skip FWD/REV. Very pleased so far.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by DigiDAD

Picked up an H96 Pro Plus Android 7.1 box off Amazon for under $100. S912 processor, 2GB/16GB with gigabit Ethernet and AC wireless. Initial tests of the Miniclient with MPEG2 ATSC recordings played flawlessly. UI was quick and responsive, including skip FWD/REV. Very pleased so far.

This one? https://www.amazon.com/Android-Amlog...us+Android+7.1

[DigiDAD]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

This one? https://www.amazon.com/Android-Amlog...us+Android+7.1

Yeah - different seller but same model. I just wanted a current Android version with gigabit Ethernet and AC WiFi options. Miniclient is perfectly smooth. Hope it lasts.

[wayner]

Any new AndroidTV hardware out? We have been talking about the Shield and MiBox for quite a while now - anything else worth considering?

[uberpixel]

Public Service Announcement...

Nvidia Shield TV with remote is on sale today for $149 pretty much everywhere... if I wasn’t already tapped out from Christmas I would be mighty tempted!

-uberpixel

[wayner]

Thanks for the heads-up. For Canadians it is $199 at Amazon.ca, and perhaps other places.

One question for SageTV - what are the differences between the V1 and V2 of the Shield? Didn't the V2 drop the IR receiver? So for SageTV purposes are we better of buying a used V1 on eBay or a new V2?

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by wayner

Thanks for the heads-up. For Canadians it is $199 at Amazon.ca, and perhaps other places.

You can buy the shield direct from nvidia, on their site. The shield with just the remote is $190 right now (CAD). They also have free shipping, and I can say that their return RMA process is very good (since I've had to use that as well)

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wayner

Thanks for the heads-up. For Canadians it is $199 at Amazon.ca, and perhaps other places.

One question for SageTV - what are the differences between the V1 and V2 of the Shield? Didn't the V2 drop the IR receiver? So for SageTV purposes are we better of buying a used V1 on eBay or a new V2?

wow, a 25% penalty for living in Canada? It’s got even worse since I lived there. I can see 10%, but 25% is just not fair....

[wayner]

That is actually a pretty fair price since the Amazon.ca price is in Canadian dollars and 25% is about the exchange rate differential right now.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by stuckless

You can buy the shield direct from nvidia, on their site. The shield with just the remote is $190 right now (CAD). They also have free shipping, and I can say that their return RMA process is very good (since I've had to use that as well)

Thanks Sean - what about the V1 vs V2 issue? Does that matter?

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wayner

That is actually a pretty fair price since the Amazon.ca price is in Canadian dollars and 25% is about the exchange rate differential right now.

yeah, I guess so. But Canadians generally earn salary in CDN $. Because it’s made in America? Or because the profit ratio is made in America...
If a product is made in China, it’s hard to take when the difference between the U.S and CDN $ is the barometer. Now if Trudeau could renegotiate that...

[wayner]

Electronics like this are generally priced in USD and then converted to local currency - using a 25-30% premium is fair right now. Buying USD would likely cost you at least 1.31 CAD right now as the official exchange rate is 1.287 and they always add a bit of a spread.