Aside from USB playback, an Apple TV 4K can solve most of this. (I don’t know about Spotify Connect but assume it works with AirPlay if not).

Yeah the USB is the kicker. I want to avoid using some crap like Plex, so unless there's a super simple and reliable way of streaming 4K MKVs over the network it is nice to use the pendrive.

I suppose the TV can still use the pendrive even offline, actually.

What advantages does an AppleTV 4K (£169) have over a Roku Streaming Stick+ (£45)?

I stream 4K MKVs from my phone (an iPhone) to my Apple TV 4K using AirPlay all the time. It used to be a challenge getting the codecs right, but there's broader support now. It took awhile to find a good iOS app that supports this, but once I found nPlayer[0] I've never gone back. It's faarrr better than the VLC iOS app.

It works quite well even when my phone is streaming media that's on cloud storage somewhere (nPlayer supports many). But for optimal playback I download the file to my device first.

Of course if you want Dolby Atmos sound, I think you're out of luck. I think HDR should work but not sure.

[0] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nplayer-plus/id539397400#?plat...

edit: You can also install app on the ATV that accesses files stored over the network/internet as well, like VLC for ATV. Though I've never found a great one.

App to access files over the network. I think Infuse is pretty good. It supports NAS and if your files are well named then pulls in meta/artwork. Can also be a front-end for Ember/Jellyfin/Plex, but for my LAN media I’m currently going with DLNA.

Infuse is fantastic!

Fun fact, Dolby Atmos support is very much pushed now, not sure how long it has been like this but it says it on the box so perhaps a software update?

I did not realize this was an option, thank you for your comment

So what exactly is the system? You transfer the MKVs to your phone via a cable somehow? Is there any quality hit?

I use nPlayer to access my files over the network/sftp/Dropbox/WebDAV/put.io/HTTP and download to my local device. But like I said, streaming directly from the network works too. But for a high bitrate 4k file downloading first is better since the server=>phone=>ATV transfer can be too slow. (Resolution doesn’t matter, it’s all about bitrate. Some 4k HEVCs are lower bitrate/smaller files than 1080p h264s)

Having an excellent with Infuse and macOS inbuilt SMB!

You can get VLC on Apple TV which makes streaming most things on the LAN simple enough but yeah, just using the USB port on the TV would probably work for that use case. The UI is miles better on the Apple TV and the remotes are very good, but you do need to create/use an Apple account in order to download things (like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime etc.) from the App Store.

Not sure about the Plex flack here, 4k is fine if not transcoded and sits happily in its own library.

I own both, and the Roku is slow, buggy and has really horrible UX. It doesn't get used at all.

>streaming 4K MKVs over the network

Isn't that covered by your airplay requirement?

I couldn't work out how to do this. I usually just use IINA and an HDMI cable but it's non-ideal - I figured it would require re-encoding or something and sucking on quality.

If you have a solution I'm all ears!

I use Airflow to stream 1080 to a chromecast from my MacBook . Works flawlessly with a simple UI.

My understanding is that it supports 4k and a range of streaming devices but I can’t say if it handles it flawlessly because I don’t have hardware to try it.

Right, I've bought an Apple TV 4K!

I have a 28.99GB H.265 5.1 Atmos MKV file of Linux tutorials that I would like to play on it, sitting on my MacBook.

What is the most painless way to play it on the Apple TV with no loss of quality (other than the surround, which will be played on 2.0 speakers anyway).

Try AirPlay. Should let you wirelessly share the video from your laptop to the AppleTV unit.

Yeah, I have an Apple TV 4K on my LG dumb TV which does all this (AirPlay also being far superior to Spotify Connect), though it's the dumb TV that will play back anything off a USB stick. Willing to bet this TV outlasts a "smart" Samsung by many years.

I like Spotify Connect as it is easy to transfer from desktop to TV

You can do it all with two streaming devices, an Apple TV, and a Raspberry Pi running LibreElec:

https://libreelec.tv

And the Raspberry Pi is $35 so it's not a hugely expensive addition.

The Pi doesn't support 4K Netflix, 4K Amazon or full fat Airplay.

...that would be why I said that and an Apple TV.

I’m using a Mac mini. Just have a wireless mouse and keyboard. Much more versatile than a streaming device. It’s nice being able to zoom from it with family or coworkers.

Doesn't support Amazon 4K from that list.

That would probably cost you more than the TV itself.

Use it for work at night too. I’m fortunate enough to hardly consider price for my priorities (performance, ad-free, versatility).

As others have said the Apple TV gets you most of the way there—presumably you can do USB playback from the TV without connecting to the network?

I can, shame it doesn't support MKV properly, though!

Third party apps from the App Store, such as VLC, will play MKVs (and other formats) no problem.

I used to re-encode MKVs to MP4s for playback on the AppleTV 3rd gen, but since getting the Apple TV 4K (2nd gen), I simply shuttle over the MKVs to VLC from the web interface.

I'm interested - how do you transfer the 4K MKVs to the Apple TV?

In the VLC app on the Apple TV, you can open up the Network Sharing tab. It starts a local network server and is accessible via a webpage like http://living-room-apple-tv.local. Then I simply drag-and-drop the files from my computer to the webpage. On the AppleTV, they'll be cached indefinitely (at least until storage is available, or you delete VLC). I use this to play one-off/occasional video files.

You can also run a file server on your computer, and tell VLC where to access it over the network.

I believe that VLC isn't the only app on the AppleTV that can play MKVs, but it's the one I use.

In case you're wondering, the AppleTV is powerful enough to stream + transcode the MKV files on the fly. I've never had issues, at least with 1080p files. 4K should be fine, too.

Use Plex

I don't think so, but a Sony Android TV would also meet these requirements.

HN is generally down on integrated TVs, but the truth is that they're honestly fine nowadays, and much more likely to have robust integration of services than boxes are. And if support goes downhill after a while, you can buy a box then when there will maybe be better options.

I think maybe a Roku Streaming Stick 4K will do everything there except the USB? (I don't have one but have been considering one; I have a 5-year-old LG Blu-Ray player that covers USB and DLNA pretty well).

With the exception of AirPlay, the Nvidia Shield seems to fit the bill.

There are AirPlay receivers for the Shield IIRC but they are unofficial and unsupported.

A large amount of Kodi/android based tv boxes support that. For example pentoo devices

Nvidia shield pro should be able to do all that with some finagling for airplay.

Roku, I believe, would be something to look at.

A Windows PC?