My only slight worry is that it's running on Android TV, so there's always a chance google bans something.

I switched from Roku to Shield when the first Shield came out in 2015. That device is still going strong, still plays everything I throw at it, has excellent support with Kodi and Plex and every single catch up TV app is available for it.

6 years later, and NVIDIA is still issuing regular Android updates for it. The only Android device that's getting official support from OEM 6 years after release.

highly recommend.

I used to run various PC based home theatre bits of software, but they're all inevitably a pain to manage, don't work right, and require fiddling.

Got the Shield TV pro 2019(?) version, pointed Plex at my NAS, and it plays content flawlessly. Youtube, Amazon Prime, Netflix all work well too.

In theory it also plays games - but Nvidia's game service isn't launched here in Australia, and I've not found a game on the Google Play store that's isn't outright terrible. Steam Link theoretically works, but none of the games in my Steam library are suited to play with a controller. Theoretically there's emulators for various consoles which I've seen people saying is excellent, but I've never been able to make any of them work.

Like just about any modern device - it does need to be rebooted occasionally, but for the most part it's just turn on and go.

If I'm going to play those sort of games I'd rather just go sit at my desk. Not really a good way to use those on my lounge.

I got a controller for the Shield with the idea that I could play more console-y type games.

I've basically disabled everything on my Shield, just leaving Netflix, Disney+, etc. activated and it's made it much more responsive and stable. I had the feeling some of my slowdowns were occurring as apps polled back home to see what content they should be displaying on the home screen, downloading thumbnails, etc. and sure enough, it's now zipping along like the old days.

Just to add to everybody else, I've had this box for nearly 6 years and it's as good as the day I bought it and has kept up with technology in an amazing way. 4K HDR with whatever surround format you throw at it is incredible. Especially as it acts as a Plex server in the background with no major power consumption. I seem to remember only paying £125 for it on an Amazon deal as well. One of my best tech purchases of all time.

But to be honest I miss Amazon's voice search. It worked much better to find thing from the Netflix and Prime Video catalogs than Google assistant does now.

And on the other hand I actually would like to get the new Google TV interface of the most recent Chromecast. It looks way prettier than the plain Shield home screen and its universal watch list sounds very useful.

[1] https://www.numerator.com/

Yours and responders' enthusiasm puts the shield on my list for if my roku stops seeing youtube.

But the assistant isn't always listening, you need to push a button to turn it on. Considering the remote runs off a couple of AAA batteries which last over a year, it would be impossible for it to be always listening.

> I don't know why they couldn't just raise prices and sell a device

This comment is exactly my feeling , and why for most products , is an unfortunate outcome of the reoccurring rev model.

https://lee-phillips.org/tcDebian/

Is that really a nice and clean UI compared to Windows which most people are familiar with?

I love my HTPC, but its role has changed over the years in my living room.

I think this speaks to the opportunity ahead for TVs rather than an argument for attaching a PC. Why can't all these HDMI sticks just be virtual devices? Provide an app store that gives you a Roku or Firestick. Why is identifying me and signing into all my streaming services still so difficult and full of friction? There is so much runway for simply a better TV. Start with good hardware. Build up a modern operating system that is smooth and just works. Don't even have a built in remote. Start with the assumption that all my interaction will be with 3rd party remotes and make them all work with zero/one touch. When I start interacting with a remote, the TV should know what I am trying to do (PS4, Xbox, Roku, Apple TV, etc) and simply respond with the interface. The core HW operating system should be nearly invisible. Stay out of the way. No Ads. no app stores. No crap. Build all of that in layers on top.

Imagine a specific example:

1. I purchase a Roku _remote_.

2. I unbox the remote and point it at my TV.

3. My TV downloads the Roku virtual stick and starts giving me the Roku interface. In the background. As a user, I don't care about any of that crap.

4. Roku accesses a touchid or faceid to load my account.

5. Roku installs all my apps I use automatically.

6. The apps on Roku call Roku APIs to identify me and sign me into these apps automatically (Netflix, Hulu, etc).

With the right TV and _hardware_ OS, the TV experience could be so much better.

EDIT: I would also add some "pre" and "post" concept around events. This could hook social media into the TV. Every app from Clubhouse, Twitter, Live podcasts, etc. could plug into a pre or post show for key events they cover.

> 5. Roku installs all my apps I use automatically.

Maybe I'm missing something that should have been implied, but whose Roku is this (and how does it know), and why should your remote have any say about which apps (read: remote code execution) it installs?

But my TV has Roku built-in and it's smooth as silk for the most part. Most of the issues I encounter are app-related. Like HBO Max is really clunky, but Netflix is rock-solid.

I personally use one with an integrated mouse and its very convenient https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Keyboard-Control-To...

Example: By the time the Netflix app is open in Roku I will have already found the show and have it playing on my Linux desktop in Firefox.

Not only that but the apps are severely limited in functionality compared to what you get on the websites for the same provider. Even just scrolling through shows/movies is a bazillion times faster and good luck trying to find a specific place in the middle of a show using a regular remote control! haha. With a mouse I can just click right in the middle of that progress bar and be done.

Then there's things like Funimation: Their apps all suck so bad that the website seems like a dream in comparison even though the website is so awful it makes web developers visibly gag. The benefit the computer has is that it's trivial to load up those same shows on pirate sites when Funmation stops loading/playing videos again (on any given day you could have about a 5% chance of a Funimation video actually playing).

- A wireless keyboard and web browser - Ads being mercilessly shoved down your throat

edit: As pointed out below, Windows is implementing DRM via decoding in hardware, which WideVine (Google’s DRM layer) on desktop Linux doesn’t / can’t do, so there’s no special exemption here.

However, Amazon Prime on the same setup gets me 720p at most. (This is a regression because I _know_ I used to watch the first few seasons of The Expanse in 1080.)

Which add-ons allow you to watch Prime in 1080p on Linux? I wasn't able to find them.

At one point I experimented a bit with making an addon myself, and it's possible to intercept the requests and spoof the UA/platform to get URLs for the HD streams, but then it goes to VMP/widevine and is a bit beyond my abilities. Best I could get was for the HD quality option to appear in the UI, but with a complaint that it wouldn't work because I needed to update or use a different browser.

Now pretty much the only time I use Prime video is for the occasional watchparty, and I'll just pirate the stuff I want to see in HD.

I'm running KDE and have it configured to disable the compositor when an app goes full screen. Maybe that's your issue? Try turning off desktop effects and screwing around with your compositor settings.

Edit: I want to point out that since my GPU can't handle 4k the desktop resolution is limited to ~2k (whatever the highest was that it can handle at 60Hz--I forget now haha).

Edge on Windows also gets HD from Netflix and Amazon, because it uses the same DRM pipeline as the app does (Microsoft PlayReady).

There's no exemption from the DRM rules here, Edge and the app implement hardware backed DRM systems.

I guess Windows streaming is going via PlayReady then.

(Well, Widevine actually is also present for a site to use if you really want to, but other than being too lazy to have two license servers there's very little reason why you would.)

Microsoft have not ported PlayReady to other OSes, so Edge for Mac/Linux does use Widevine and gets Level 3.

The LG C9 processor is quite powerful and extremely snappy. My HTPC is almost always an inferior option on that front. I would rather recommend someone buy something like the nVidia shield instead of an HTPC if they mainly consume content via streaming services. I still like my HTPC for other uses and it is also great for Zoom/Skype calls with friends and family from my living room.

[edit] by "audio" I mean, in particular, sending the right codecs to get surround sound for a particular source, when you ought to have it.

For 30~50 I can get a Fire TV that can plays for all the sources that I use (Netflix, Amazon Video, and Diskey+), and save on the electricity bill.

Chromecast with Google TV doesn't have TrueHD support, ethernet, 6/8ch PCM HDMI output, automatic frame-rate switch, game streaming (yes this is an obvious troll, but still it is true). nVidia Shield have those, and more.

Also, the Nvidia Shield is truly a lot better in terms of hardware and application support. Quite a lot of Chromecast "apps" are inferior to the Android TV versions that also run on the Shield.

I think you're misinterpreting the meaning of the location permission: it's probably requesting that to connect to the Chromecast via WiFi Direct or Bluetooth. Android buckets that into location because you can figure out a user's location by looking at nearby WiFi networks/Bluetooth beacons.

[0] https://9to5google.com/2020/11/25/google-tv-netflix-dropped/

[1] https://9to5google.com/2021/03/11/netflix-directory-comes-ba...

The Netflix app has been working the entire time on the "Chromecast with Google TV" device, which is what cprecioso recommended.

I'm at the point where not only are the various set-top boxes and smart devices trash, but the content is as well.

I don't want to watch recycled stories from my childhood, but darker and grittier. I imagine good content exists, but honestly I just can't be bothered to hunt it down anymore, and then wade through the literal sea of ads required to watch it.

Finding great stuff is hard - but the less you watch the longer the good stuff lasts! The Office USA has been great for wind down entertainment.

I imagine every language has the same unique stories and content that will never be translated well enough.

The ad industry is a cesspool these days.

Might consider going back but we don't look at family pics that often and vlc works well enough.

I cut those buttons off with a knife because I kept accidentally pressing them just by picking up or holding the remote, which would exit whatever I was currently watching.

I bought an LG OLED CX this past November. I was planning to hook a roku up to it. My experience with smart tvs in the past has been hugely underwhelming to downright unusable. But I've been more than happy with just using the apps on the LG tv. Your mileage may vary, but I have a good picture quality and I'm pretty happy with the remote. It allows me to program the keypad to hard-press them to launch an app of my choice. Additionally, they have their own channel offerings similar to Pluto.

I have heard great things about the Shield as well. That is probably the closest you can find to without building your own HTPC.

--

Yeah accidentally switching that one caused some grief the first week as I fumbled for the "right" button to dismiss it. But Having to use it is not my experience. Does the previous generation insist you use it?

We generally use the same 3 or 4 apps. Embarrassingly it took us a couple months to figure out we could program the keypad and hardpress the button to launch custom apps. Not its merely telling the other to "turn on 2" etc.

> . I guess I'm the only one who still sometimes watches linear TV but the on-screen program guide is basically unusable; it takes literally a full minute to load 2 hours'

--

That is a fair complaint. I've not really had that experience, but I don't watch much linear tv. But I doubt you are not the only one to watch tv this way.

We chose this TV after our Roku TV broke after 2 years. Surprisingly enough Amazon gave us a full refund for the broken TV. Even gave us an extra $30 to purchase a TV box.

You're right, it can be dismissed that way. I looked for a way to disable it completely and quickly found that wasn't possible, but I did discover the right-arrow trick you mentioned. But it doesn't make it disappear for long, and I never managed to build up the reflex of pressing it regularly (it's kind of non-obvious, you have to admit), and to be honest I'd mostly forgotten right-arrow did that. But thank you for reminding me, I may have to try to work on that muscle memory.

They're publicly traded, so selling only hardware makes their business model too predictable and 'low-growth' for Wall St. Also competitors could eat their lunch considering that their hardware isn't any more complex than a $50 Android TV box you can get at a flea market.

In order to create a moat to stave off competition, you make your business model all about 'services', with an increasingly less important hardware component.

I assumed it was the opposite: Roku decided, instead of merely selling neutral hardware, they'd make themselves some extra money by charging streaming services.

And that naturally means services disappearing - if Service A is paying you $1/user/month and you'd like them to pay you $2/user/month you gotta remove their app until they cough up.

Frustrating that the new ones don’t have an ethernet jack on them. WiFi in a condo or apartment building is unreliable and slow.

EDIT: Nevermind, they have official ones built into the power bricks! https://store.google.com/collection/accessories_wall?compati...

Netflix only supports 720p on Linux, and I believe Amazon Prime is limited to SD as well.

Disney+ doesn't support Linux, but works for me right now with a spoofed user agent, and claims to be 1080P. YouTube TV works fine without any spoofing, and also claims to be 1080P.

I don't know if Hulu works now, I haven't tried it in years. Vudu doesn't support Linux and I didn't try to work around it. Not sure about any of the other new services like HBO Max, or the CBS or NBC streaming services.

I believe Amazon currently is restricted to SD/480p, at least, that's all I can get with Firefox right now.

Moved to FireTV which has plesk as a downloadable, that allows me to view photos off my local network as I was doing before ... Plex is awful now, the UX is terrible for me (it's geared to viewing Plex's content, which I have never used nor wanted), so I moved to just using VLC (clunky for photo viewing but good enough).

We only use Netflix, Youtube and free catch-up channels and only have 1080p, but FireTV was/is way better than the Roku device was.

What's garbage about FireTV?

I've gotten used to it, and now that the new AppleTV is out, I probably won't even bother upgrading. Or if I do, I'm on the fence about it.

The Roku interface is easily the worst of the bunch.

Because "everyone else is doing it."

It's the reason that the entirety of the tech industry seems to be getting worse, not better. Outside of the people who get profiles in the Wall Street Journal, there are no real leaders, only followers now. And with the bloating of middle-management ranks, reliance on consultants, and fear of leaving the comfort of mediocrity, the lack of leadership only gets worse.

Amazon has the same business model as Roku with the Fire.

They don’t raise prices for a few reasons

1. People are cheap

2. Most of their installed based is now coming from cheap low margin TVs with Roku embedded.

3. Selling a device that people only replace once every 5 years isn’t sustainable.

There is only one company selling streaming devices at a profit - Apple. Have you noticed that every streaming provider is on AppleTV day one even though it has the lowest market share by far?

Streaming providers can just download Xcode, follow a few simple requirements (not link to their website for payments) and submit an app.

Before I get the standard replies, no streaming providers are not required to go through in app purchases and many don’t - including YouTube Live TV.

Also before I get the other retort. Yes they do have to work with Apple to be integrated into the TV app. Which is an app on iOS devices.

>1. People are cheap

This is always the answer. Or rather they can not raise prices, because then sufficient number of consumers will not buy the product.

Given a choice, I would rather have an AppleTV and pay more for a better user experience than pay less for a Roku.

That being said, we have multiple Roku TVs throughout our house and they are good enough. But the two I use most frequently also have ATV4Ks. I also couldn’t in good conscience recommend that most people get ATVs at their current prices.

Not many companies can survive with Apple's business model, but without the luxury Apple brand.

The fire tv and android tv both have ads/recommendations that take up more space, at least roku ads get in the way less.

I wish there was a kindle like option to pay and remove ads on all these devices.

This is indeed annoying. But it's easy enough to fix with pihole. That just leaves 1/3 of the home screen being wasted space.

P.S. They made the homescreen button goback to A the Apple TV app a while ago. This behavior can be changed go make it go back to the home screen.