So I’ve been using Jellyfin for a while now. I have a NAS running with a jellyfin server and I watch stuff on my PC or on my TV. This is concerning the TV… As is often the case with these low-to-mid tier smart TVs, the OS is slow and the UX terrible. The network adapter is also bad. Jellyfin and everything else about the UI and OS in general, is slow. The jellyfin client occasionally crashes, and some files sometimes stutter or otherwise struggle when streamed, despite working just fine when streamed on the same network on my PC (wired both).
I was thinking of doing a bit of a brain transplant on my TV here by running my TV needs through Nvidia Shield or similar. Now, as I understand it, of the common options, Nvidia Shield is more or less the ultimate option for this. However, it is somewhat expensive, and I don’t really care about anything other than having a responsive UI, support for all the usual codecs, HDR, 4K and preferably also Dolby and Atmos. I also want to be able to use my soundbar. I don’t need any of the gaming features, storage space etc. that the Shield also markets…
Are there other cheaper alternatives that would do just as well, or should I just get the Shield?
Update in the comments.
To give an update, I did end up getting a Shield because I really want enough horsepower to have a proper, smooth experience. I got the non-pro version and saved a little bit with that, since I mainly just need it for streaming media from a NAS.
So far it’s been good, though I did also find out that some of the stuttering was probably caused by having subtitles on and using the LibVLC player instead of exoplayer (or automatic selection that was apparently choosing it?). I still had stutter on the Shield when using LibVLC in combination with subtitles, though I think it might have been less pronounced. As soon as I either disabled subtitles or changed to exoplayer, the stutter was gone. It’s still a little early to say for sure, though. The general UX and lack of UI navigation lag has been great.
I will also say that I feel like the image is just… different. I think the contrast is bigger and blacks are darker, despite making sure I’m on the same picture mode (from TV settings). I can’t really say that it’s better, just different. Might just be in my head too, honestly. I should compare the two at some point…
I might come back again even later to do another report. :)
