Looking for the ultimate hardware client...advice needed

[Revv23]

Hey all - trying to flesh out the absolute best way for JF and my TV to get along, and haven't been able to wrap my head around it.


I'm currently running Roku's, and while they work fine (thanks roku team!) they are feature limited. No previews, no suggestions, etc.

I look at android solutions it seems to me they are mostly spyware boxes these days, including the nvidia sheild?

Apple i've heard works OK but I am not the apple type

As far as I can tell the absolute best client is the Jellyfin media player on windows/ linux desktops. so OK perfect, I'll get a few mini PC's! Heck I could even use them for some other homelab stuff... Awesome. Except...

How to control it? I could use a bluetooth game controller but then having to wake & pair every time we turn the TV on? Does jellyfin even support controllers? I'd probably have to run it through steam?  I can handle that but my family not so much. So I'm back to square one


TL: DR -
1. Does anyone have advice for making a HTPC as user friendly as any other streaming box
 OR 
2. Does anyone recommend a different hardware setup that works like a roku/android but is open source & secure & a fully featured client?


Edit - I posted this later in the thread, but in case someone is coming in late - for anyone else going through the same thing. for anyone else going through the same thing. I have since tried an android streaming device and it has same feature limitations as Roku, on the whole Roku is a better experience than android TV app.

* This means that the only clients that I know of that are fully featured are the following:

1. Desktop Client
2. Web Client
3. Android Mobile Client (Not android TV)
4. IOS client (Haven't verified Apple TV)

My only Unknown is Apple Client, I haven't tried it and its my understanding you have to subscribe to other software to get it working.

[TheDreadPirate]

Only the no name Chinese Android boxes have the malware that is being widely reported. The Nvidia Shield is a frequently recommended Android TV client for Jellyfin. I've had good experiences with my Chromecast with Google TV 4K. Either of these come with a controller.

[Deleted User]

i wish there were an 'ultimate' device but sadly, everything has a downside so far as i have discovered

i primarily use a FireTV Cube Gen3

pros
supports almost all video formats including profile 5,7,8 of dolby vision (not VC1 but what does?)
support audio passthrough on TrueHD+EAC3 Atmos

cons
it has an issue with DTS Audio where the sink gets stuck and freezes so i have to transcode to EAC3 (which sounds fine on my not high end audio equipment)
wireless can have issues at times
ads on the home screen (unless you root and use ATVLauncher)
USB is 2.0 only so basically useless unless you use it for a wireless controller or some such


i have also used a Rocktek G2 which is just 1 variant of SEI hardware, there are more such as a Nokia and a Homatics but same boards

pros
supports all audio formats including audio passthrough on TrueHD+EAC3 Atmos, DTS:X

cons
does not support Dolby Vision profile 7


and i have also used an HTPC

pros
supports just about everything except Dolby Vision

cons
does not support Dolby Vision
requires additional hardware such as a universal remote
no widevine streaming for Hulu, Disney+ or Netflix so you will still need another device to play those


with using android i can avoid changing sources on my devices, which eliminates a universal remote and everything runs via HDMI-CEC on the device's remote
that plus the streaming plus dolby vision is why i choose android

[abpjf]

How to control it? I could use a bluetooth game controller but then having to wake & pair every time we turn the TV on? Does jellyfin even support controllers? I'd probably have to run it through steam?  I can handle that but my family not so much. So I'm back to square one


TLR -
1. Does anyone have advice for making a HTPC as user friendly as any other streaming box
 OR 
2. Does anyone recommend a different hardware setup that works like a roku/android but is open source & secure & a fully featured client?

Get one of these to control it, works essentially like the LG Magic Remote - I have a couple I use for my HTPCs and they work great! (other than not being very ergonomic)

https://www.amazon.com/W10-GYRO-Keyboard...078NT49MJ/

Repurpose (or buy) a laptop to use as an HTPC, iGPUs as far back as 3 generations ago support AV1 HW decoding; plus they're low-profile, quiet, low-energy consumption. Better yet, depending on the iGPU, you can set resolution on your display device as high as 4K 120hz (assuming your display can support that). I find that using 120hz on the display is far better than fiddling with the various judder settings on the display, for motion smoothing.

[Revv23]

Only the no name Chinese Android boxes have the malware that is being widely reported. The Nvidia Shield is a frequently recommended Android TV client for Jellyfin. I've had good experiences with my Chromecast with Google TV 4K. Either of these come with a controller.

I said Spyware - not Malware. The Shield specifically has completely filled it's reddit sub with questions on how to fix the home screen back to how it used to be before they loaded it down with bloat & ads. I dont anticipate offbrand versions to be much better?

I haven't used a chrome cast before - does it have all the same features as the desktop client?

i wish there were an 'ultimate' device but sadly, everything has a downside so far as i have discovered

i primarily use a FireTV Cube Gen3

pros
supports almost all video formats including profile 5,7,8 of dolby vision (not VC1 but what does?)
support audio passthrough on TrueHD+EAC3 Atmos

cons
it has an issue with DTS Audio where the sink gets stuck and freezes so i have to transcode to EAC3 (which sounds fine on my not high end audio equipment)
wireless can have issues at times
ads on the home screen (unless you root and use ATVLauncher)
USB is 2.0 only so basically useless unless you use it for a wireless controller or some such


i have also used a Rocktek G2 which is just 1 variant of SEI hardware, there are more such as a Nokia and a Homatics but same boards

pros
supports all audio formats including audio passthrough on TrueHD+EAC3 Atmos, DTS:X

cons
does not support Dolby Vision profile 7


and i have also used an HTPC

pros
supports just about everything except Dolby Vision

cons
does not support Dolby Vision
requires additional hardware such as a universal remote
no widevine streaming for Hulu, Disney+ or Netflix so you will still need another device to play those


with using android i can avoid changing sources on my devices, which eliminates a universal remote and everything runs via HDMI-CEC on the device's remote
that plus the streaming plus dolby vision is why i choose android

Thank you for your analysis, at the end of your post you say that you choose android. What hardware are you running?

[Deleted User]

Thank you for your analysis, at the end of your post you say that you choose android. What hardware are you running?

i primarily use a FireTV Cube Gen3

using FireTV Cube Gen3, default player Exoplayer (android built-in)
everything except VC-1 (not AV1, the old Microsoft Mpeg4) will direct play as far as video
everything except DTS* will direct play as far as audio (the sink gets stuck due to firmware bug, potentially fixed in the next firmware but i am rooted and cannot update yet)


and using the fork from t0mas to transcode DTS* -> EAC3 (sound quality is more than acceptable and to my ears there is no difference other than volume level)
- there is a PR https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-and.../pull/3110
- fork is here https://github.com/t0mas/jellyfin-androi...references
- the expectation is the PR will be reworked when niels is able to finish his rewrite and integrated after that

edit:
sidenote, when i decided to consolidate from a cube+htpc i eliminated a harmony elite, a sony uhd-bd player and an hdmi switch so that's what i am referring to when i said htpc requires extra equipment

[Playing4Peanuts]

I would suggest either running Kodi with the Jellyfin for Kodi and/or Jellycon add-ons. Or get an Apple TV 4k and get the Infuse app. These are the best two client solutions I have found for jellyfin playback.

EDIT: Please note that Infuse does cost money to get the full features of it!

[Deleted User]

i went ahead and updated this FireTV Cube Gen3, 7652->7664

initially i was going to report no change in DTS* support however with the Audio settings (in fireos) set to PCM instead of Best Available it does appear to be working, i have only barely tested but it does seem good


regarding the post above mine, the Apple TV 4K won't have Dolby Vision at least in Kodi, they are not supporting anything above HDR on that device

it might have it in official apps like Disney+ or Netflix, I am not familiar with that aspect (but this is not the disney+ or netflix forum any way)

[Revv23]

Thank you for your analysis, at the end of your post you say that you choose android. What hardware are you running?

i primarily use a FireTV Cube Gen3

using FireTV Cube Gen3, default player Exoplayer (android built-in)
everything except VC-1 (not AV1, the old Microsoft Mpeg4) will direct play as far as video
everything except DTS* will direct play as far as audio (the sink gets stuck due to firmware bug, potentially fixed in the next firmware but i am rooted and cannot update yet)


and using the fork from t0mas to transcode DTS* -> EAC3 (sound quality is more than acceptable and to my ears there is no difference other than volume level)
- there is a PR https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-and.../pull/3110
- fork is here https://github.com/t0mas/jellyfin-androi...references
- the expectation is the PR will be reworked when niels is able to finish his rewrite and integrated after that

edit:
sidenote, when i decided to consolidate from a cube+htpc i eliminated a harmony elite, a sony uhd-bd player and an hdmi switch so that's what i am referring to when i said htpc requires extra equipment

Ahh sorry I get it now - by the time I got to the end of your post I had forgotten the beginning. When you said android I didn't think to pair that with firestick. I assume firestick is rooted for privacy? I need to learn more about this path!

Thanks

---

i went ahead and updated this FireTV Cube Gen3, 7652->7664

initially i was going to report no change in DTS* support however with the Audio settings (in fireos) set to PCM instead of Best Available it does appear to be working, i have only barely tested but it does seem good


regarding the post above mine, the Apple TV 4K won't have Dolby Vision at least in Kodi, they are not supporting anything above HDR on that device

it might have it in official apps like Disney+ or Netflix, I am not familiar with that aspect (but this is not the disney+ or netflix forum any way)

+Apple is  the one solution I said I wasn't interested in. I am sure they are fine products but I'm not interested in playing in their overpriced walled garden.

[Deleted User]

fire cube*, not stick, the stick is basically crap imo and plenty of issue reports with it

rooted because they lock you into their home launcher which is filled with ads
and no option to change screensaver so you have to use theirs, which is loaded with ads

i only prefer it because of the hardware but i am not a fan of FireOS and their separate market - no Google at all (probably competing for ad space)


been using a cube since gen 1 in 2018-2019, i continue to try other devices in hopes i can replace it but they always fall short

i refuse to overpay for a shield, especially now that it's a 2019 shield in 2023 and they still want the same price for old hardware


follow up -

the cube gen3 set to use 'pcm' does in fact make DTS* work, however, breaks TrueHD surround at least for my hardware

so the best option is still the fork listed above to allow DTS to be transcoded to EAC3, unless you want to change the setting each time you want to watch something

trying to do the opposite in favor of DTS (transcode all TrueHD->EAC3) still does not work, when PCM is selected only DTS* is played in true surround