What is the ultimate streaming machine?

[Pho3nix]

Yeh, I think I'm gonna go that way. Gonna sell some ebucks on carb and have asked Scottulus for a quote on shipping etc. as well.

It ships to SA though?

 

[faniebraai]

It ships to SA though?

It does yes

 

[DukeofHouse]

Plex + Chromecasts throughout the house.

Unbeatable.

Also running this setup.
Can recommend this after trying both a Raspberry Pi and big 'ol HP Microserver connected to the TV.
UI is better, minimal installation, good WAF*, much more versatile - we use it to show pictures from our phones to family/friends, monitor the kids play room with the camera streamed to the lounge TV, etc.


*Wife Acceptance Factor

 

[faniebraai]

Plex + Chromecasts throughout the house.

Unbeatable.

How does this beat my requirements?

 

[Ancalagon]

I still think that a PC (with a 1050ti or RX550) connected to a TV is the best solution.

Not for streaming.

I have a PC connected to my TV with an RX480 graphics card, which is powerful enough for 4K gaming in older games.

The problem is that, for streaming, you won't get the best quality in anything. Netflix won't work in 4K on anything but an Intel graphics card, and you won't get surround sound out of anything except Netflix. You might not even be able to get 4K from Amazon and Google Play Movies although I'm not sure about that.

The reason for this is at the companies that provide the content won't allow their content to be streamed in 4K unless they are fairly certain it cannot be intercepted. So, streaming 4K is out of the window unless a careful certification process is followed.

Surround sound won't work from within a browser, so anything that can only stream through a browser on PC (such as Amazon or Google Play Movies) will not work with surround sound. Maybe iTunes will stream surround sound because it is an app.

Therefore, the best thing to buy is something like a Roku which will be certified to support 4K streaming and surround sound. It just works, because it is proprietary and not as open as either Android or Windows.

If you do get an Android streamer, it must be an Android TV product - ie not a cheap box from China. Nvidia Shield or Mi Box (I know it is from China) will work.

 

[Neoprod]

^, as far as I know, a Kaby Lake cpu will do 4K for Netflix either through the app or browser...no graphics card required.

I do agree that a dedicated appliance designed from the ground up for the 10 foot interface is best...while a PC offers flexibility, you have to put some work in to simplify things for non-technical people. For example, you can stream music from a PC somewhere else to your HTPC \ receiver set-up but it requires set-up. And then debugging when something goes wrong.

Another plus is that a dedicated appliance will sip power when in use...not much a concern for some maybe but burning 75W-100W just to get a signal to the TV is a bit much for me. My Roku does that for like 5W or something.

 

[crackersa]

Plex + Chromecasts throughout the house.

Unbeatable.

How rich are you?

 

[CamiKaze]

^, as far as I know, a Kaby Lake cpu will do 4K for Netflix either through the app or browser...no graphics card required.

This.

I do agree that a dedicated appliance designed from the ground up for the 10 foot interface is best...while a PC offers flexibility, you have to put some work in to simplify things for non-technical people. For example, you can stream music from a PC somewhere else to your HTPC \ receiver set-up but it requires set-up. And then debugging when something goes wrong.

Well, I must state that it was easier for me as I had components laying around and just built 3 computers will all of those components. I installed Elementary OS on all 3 and Kodi works perfectly on all.
I don't use Netflix but if I really wanted 4K, then that will be Sonarr and SabNZBD's job in the background, during nightsurfer time.

As for surround sound, my receiver processes sound like it's supposed to, or am I missing something?

My point is, that I will rather use a device that can do a lot of other things as well instead of just streaming stuff.

 

[Datura]

What do you want to stream and how much do you want to spend?

 

[Datura]

I am pretty happy with my Apple TV (3rd Gen) but it has a lot of stuff that annoys me.

 

[Soul Assassin]

Of those listed the NVIDIA SHIELD TV is the best by far.

It comes to about R3500 total to get it in SA.

 

[Ancalagon]

As for surround sound, my receiver processes sound like it's supposed to, or am I missing something?

Depends upon the application and the source.

Torrents - varies by media file and by player.

Amazon Prime - only if you run it from an Amazon Prime application, such as from an Amazon device (but not an Android device), Roku, or Smart TV app. Or Xbox or PS4 I believe. Not from a browser, or from Android, or from anything running on Linux.

Netflix - only from a Netflix app such as the Windows store app or a Netflix Smart TV app. Probably not Android but I'm not sure.

 

[faniebraai]

Of those listed the NVIDIA SHIELD TV is the best by far.

It comes to about R3500 total to get it in SA.

Agree. I have placed my order with Amazon, and decided to go with their shipping option. 3 weeks is going to feel so long

/requests thread closure

 

[Soul Assassin]

Agree. I have placed my order with Amazon, and decided to go with their shipping option. 3 weeks is going to feel so long

/requests thread closure

I doubt that it will be three weeks, the last time I ordered something on Amazon was during Christmas time from a third party seller and that took about three weeks.

If I had to guesstimate I would say you'll be watching stuff by next weekend.

 

[Jared_k7]

I am pretty happy with my Apple TV (3rd Gen) but it has a lot of stuff that annoys me.

Annoying how? I am about to purchase the 4th gen one. I have a Chromecast which i love, but not user friendly for the kids.

At least with the ATV4 i know it

• is easy to use
• support HD Netflix unlike the Android devices i looked at
• supports showmax

Just need a remote cover before it gets smashed

 

[Datura]

Annoying how? I am about to purchase the 4th gen one. I have a Chromecast which i love, but not user friendly for the kids.

At least with the ATV4 i know it

• is easy to use
• support HD Netflix unlike the Android devices i looked at
• supports showmax

Just need a remote cover before it gets smashed

Very easy to use. I have to do a hard reboot every now and then as thumb nails stop showing (Netflix). I still haven't managed to pair it with my iPhone but I suspect that it is more a case of ID-10-T than anything else. The remote goes missing a schitload.

 

[Superjakes]

Annoying how? I am about to purchase the 4th gen one. I have a Chromecast which i love, but not user friendly for the kids.

At least with the ATV4 i know it

• is easy to use
• support HD Netflix unlike the Android devices i looked at
• supports showmax

Just need a remote cover before it gets smashed

All of this is true. And the ATV4 Plex app is the shizzle.

 

[Thor]

How does this beat my requirements?

Virtually no wires and it works flawlessly at a fraction of the price.

 

[faniebraai]

Virtually no wires and it works flawlessly at a fraction of the price.

Can I install Kodi?
Can I install Netflix?
Does it support HEVC?

 

[Soul Assassin]

Can I install Kodi?
Can I install Netflix?
Does it support HEVC?

He uses Plex so how ever fast the server hardware is is what it supports.

I don't really like the Chromecast because it's not a standalone device, you can't use it without your phone/tablet or PC.