The Ultimate Client

[mrog40]

It seems like every client has some fatal flaw that prevents it from being the ultimate.  If money wasn't a concern and all you cared about was the highest fidelity, supporting the most encodings for video and audio, and having the best interface experience, what would you use for a client and why?

Nvidia Shield?
Apple TV 4k with Infuse?
Fire Stick 4k Max?
Zidoo Z9X?
Dedicated Linux machine?
Dedicated Windows machine?
Xbox Series X with Kodi?

[anthonylavado]

If you don't count Live TV and Music, then an Apple TV 4K with Infuse plays everything you throw at it. There may be some sticking issues for some folks with Dolby Vision files and certain aspects of Atmos, which are platform restrictions from Apple's hardware. I know Infuse (and their parent Firecore) does a lot to make things just work. A key factor is that it doesn't transcode, so it's only best suited for local network use.

[kwm1800]

Nvidia Shield and Xbox Series X are still probably the best bet.

[mrog40]

My best effort at summarizing these devices based on my own research:

Apple TV 4k with Infuse
Pros: Snappy and beautiful UI, Cheaper than most at $130. Supports basically all codecs including AV1.
Cons: It can't bitstream lossless audio. It can't do any Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. Walled garden ecosystem, Apple

Nvidia Shield
Pros: Powerful device that supports a lot of codecs.
Cons: Doesn't have AV1 support. Expensive at $200. Over 4 years old now. Jellyfin Android TV App is not great. Recent updates putting ads on the main screen.

Xbox Series S/X
Pros: Ubiquitous, cheap for what it is
Cons: Videotape app is gone, no official app, Kodi has no HDR on Xbox (basically dealbreakers)