Best Device to playback 4K MKV full rips with current tech ie Dolby Vision/HDR/HDR+/DTS-HD/Atmos etc ?

Ancient333

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Hi all
My UHD MKV rips work fine on my Windows laptop however...
I'm getting some files that have really Laggy playback , audio and video from UHD full rips/ on my (Standalone) Android box it's an old one and same with Sony Android TV which is around 2 years old, via USB SSD?
I've tried through Kodi and other players like vlc/ mplayer pro etc

Is this down to the type of SSD I'm using?...or will these larger files not play on Android TV/ Android boxes?

Or do I need a specific Android box like Nvidia shield ?

If it is a case of buying a dedicated player, what is the best one that covers all the current spec ie Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR+, DTS-HD, Atmos etc ?
To start with I'll mainly be loading the movies via USB SSD's....at some point I may get a NAS and want to stream the 4K content from there.

Cheers.
 
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Most players are running some flavor of android these days. While it would be easy to recommend a player such as a Zappiti, Dune, Zidoo, or Shield as a great player, it kind of sounds like you might have a different issue. (maybe not Zappiti if you want DV)

How large are these files? Is it specific ones? Perhaps those particular files are poorly encoded. Are you using plex?

More information please
 
the nvidia shield combined with plex is probably the device you want.
this is assuming your problem isn't a source bandwith issue.

the 2 year only sony tv almost certainly isn't powerful enough to play these high bitrate rips
 
Thanks for the input guys.
These are full UHD rips to MKV 50GB, definitely not poorly encoded, I think it's more likely a cpu limit on the Android box and Android TV .....work fine on my 4 year old Dell Laptop.

I am using Kodi and loading the movies via ssd connected via usb.

Thinking about it further, I prefer an Android based system, so I can install other Streaming apk apps.
Does the Shield playback all the current technologies?
Are there advantages to the Dune or Zidoo?
 
Zidoo's line up of media player now all include support for and the ability to play Dolby Vision HDR. The ability to stream Atmos and or DTS:X is nothing new and most players can facilitate this. A media player can predate Atmos and still include the associated metadata within the TrueHD or DD+ audio package. THe player needn't even know that the package is inclusive of such metadata and simply needs to be able to bitstream the TRueHD or DD+ element. There are other dedicated media players that will also do as you want such as those made by Dune for example.

The players onboard TVs don't include audio support for HD formats. You'd be limited to SD formatted audio if usinga TV's own onboard media player.

If also wanting access to streaming apps via the same device then you'd be better catered for by something like the Nvidia Shield.
 
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Thanks for the input guys.
These are full UHD rips to MKV 50GB, definitely not poorly encoded, I think it's more likely a cpu limit on the Android box and Android TV .....work fine on my 4 year old Dell Laptop.

I am using Kodi and loading the movies via ssd connected via usb.

Thinking about it further, I prefer an Android based system, so I can install other Streaming apk apps.
Does the Shield playback all the current technologies?
Are there advantages to the Dune or Zidoo?

i have a shield, and it plays my full remux rips of uhd discs just fine (via plex). With some much bigger than 50GB

it has to be the shield pro though, not the tube version
 
Zidoo Z9X is what I have Think I paid £185.

It meets all your requirements. Shield won't do HDR10+ but it can do streaming Apps.
 
Shield won't do HDR10+ but it can do streaming Apps.

question would be does it need to do HDR10+ with it rarely used apart from a very few select places.
 
question would be does it need to do HDR10+ with it rarely used apart from a very few select places.

The OP wants all format support.

Personally I don't care about HDR10+ but I do believe in Dynamic Metadata when the content exceeds 500 nits. :)

Universal, Warner and few German independent studios are using it.
 
Zidoo Z9X is what I have Think I paid £185.

It meets all your requirements. Shield won't do HDR10+ but it can do streaming Apps.

+1
 
The Zidoo ZX9 does look good...having looked in further, most movies from bluray seem to be DV
Am I correct in saying you can not use the ZX9 as a Plex media Server?

Also does anyone know when a new version of the Shield is due?
 
No player would ordinarilly be used as a server. The server is the device and or hardrive on which the files are stored and has nothing to do with the playback.

You can host a Plex client (player) on a Zidoo player. The server app would need to be hosted on a NAS is wanting to use Plex as the server.

Plex comes in 2 flavours. There's a player client app and a srver app. The client goes on the player and the server goes on the NA or source device.

As far as using Plex goes, I'd personally suggest you'd not need to use it and will probably be better off not using it if using a Zidoo player. There's not really be anything to benefit using Plex if you'd one of the Zidoo players?

Plex doesn't dp anything the player wouldn't be able to do without it.
 
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No player would ordinarilly be used as a server. The server is the device and or hardrive on which the files are stored and has nothing to do with the playback.

You can host a Plex client (player) on a Zidoo player. THe server app would need to be hosted on a NAS is wanting to use PLex as the server.
Cheers...So are you saying no one should use the Shield Pro as a Media Server?...what would be the drawbacks?

That seems like a great feature to me.
My understanding is that the Plex database can also be stored on the external drive / when using the Shield Pro.
 
The NVIDIA Shiels is a player, not a server.


You are confusing two different things with one another. You'll still need a server or an external hardrive on which to host your files on if using the Shield.
 
you've got another thread asking these questions!
 
The NVIDIA Shiels is a player, not a server.


You are confusing two different things with one another. You'll still need a server or an external hardrive to host your files on if using the Shield.

no, the shield pro CAN run plex server too

 
The Zidoo ZX9 does look good...having looked in further, most movies from bluray seem to be DV
Am I correct in saying you can not use the ZX9 as a Plex media Server?

Also does anyone know when a new version of the Shield is due?

no, the shield pro CAN run plex server too



Yes, but isn't exactly yhe firstdevice someone would consider if looking for a server. The Zidoo can act as an SMB server, but I'd not want to use it as such.
 
Yes, but isn't exactly yhe firstdevice someone would consider if looking for a server. The Zidoo can act as an SMB server, but I'd not want to use it as such.

only correcting when you said the shield couldn't be a plex server, when it can.
i agree it's not the advisable choice, but it can still do it.

connect a USB drive to the shield and run both the server and client and it will work. how well will depend on how hard to push it.
 
I don't think the OP really knows what the difference between a server and the player or client are?

He really needs to explain exactly what he is looking for and what he wants it to do?
 
I don't think the OP really knows what the difference between a server and the player or client are?

He really needs to explain exactly what he is looking for and what he wants it to do?

i would tend to agree with that assumption.
the other thread they started about pretty much the same thing goes along the same lines as this one.
 
Sorry Chenks, kinda crossed topics...lets stick with this one.
Yes I know the Shield Pro can run the Plex Server...hence the confusion on dante's post / on his part.

Does the the transcoding get done via Hardware on the Shield Pro?
Also when/if you are transcoding on yours, have there been any issues?
When would it start to struggle ie when x amount of devices are being fed?

I do understand the difference....but The Shield Pro can serve as the Server and the player.
 
When I tried running the Plex server via the shield I would often get "server unavailable" when trying to view on other devices, I assume it shut itself off whilst the shield was sleeping, all in all it wasn't very stable.

Regarding nas, yes that is better imo, cpu grunt of the nas being dependant on transcoding requirements, I ran a server via a £100 readynas junkbox for nearly 10 years, even when 4k came along it had zero issues, network infrastructure and read write performance is far more important imo than cpu, obviously if transcoding is thrown into the mix then things change and on paper the shield is actually a pretty good transcoder as it can decode all the major formats in hardware.

Don't get me wrong I use Plex and its fine, but I serve several clients some of which DO require transcoding, even if its only audio, I also utilise some of the other features such as DVR.

IF I was utilising one box for playback and either a NAS or USB drive for storage I probably wouldn't bother though, creating a share then scan with the front end of your choice is far easier to set up, you are also less prone to the little quirks Plex can sometimes throw up.
 
transcoding, when required, is always done at the server end, regardless where the server is

plex on a shield should be able to direct play almost everything you can throw at it.
when it will need to transcode is if you are playing a 4k source file on a non 4k TV. the server will have to transcode the file down to to suit the TV. and that's when you need the correct CPU in the server (be it a NAS or a PC or whatever). underpowered CPU and you'll get stuttering playback as it isn't capable of transcoding on-the-fly quick enough.

this thread about 4k content and plex is a good read

but essentially, if you can't direct play 4k content then you shouldn't have 4k content.
 
Sorry Chenks, kinda crossed topics...lets stick with this one.
Yes I know the Shield Pro can run the Plex Server...hence the confusion on dante's post / on his part.

Does the the transcoding get done via Hardware on the Shield Pro?
Also when/if you are transcoding on yours, have there been any issues?
When would it start to struggle ie when x amount of devices are being fed?

I do understand the difference....but The Shield Pro can serve as the Server and the player.
You shouldn't require transcoding if using the shield for playback
 

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