(Repost ish, from Technology), So I just bought a new telly and to my surprise, not, the OS is rather bad and has very limited amount of apps. Therefore I’ll invest further in either Apple TV or the Firestick. Anyone got any recommendations, tips or hot takes on this in terms of pirated content? Which is more accessible and I reckon both support Jellyfin?
An Nvidia Shield Pro is hands down the best but it is much more expensive. Slap a third party launcher over the top and use it for streaming Jellyfin or Stremio or Kodi or whatever floats your boat. Super responsive and is android-based so you can sideload whatever you want. It also has the most compatibility with most codecs so you’ll be able to direct play more through Jellyfin rather than transcode.
Yeah the Shield Pro is amazing, even though the last update was 2019. And even with an earlier version of their AI upscaling, 1080p content looks great on 4k. Hopefully with the Switch’s successor leaks swirling around it means that they’ll do a 2024 update. Probably wishful thinking.
Sorry but that is sth that I cannot answer properly; I have a fullHD TV from 2012 connected, so HDR is not sth I can even test…
I have not experienced any lags or hickuos so far though, just some general problem with fullscreen on newpipe but that has an open issue on Github for six months already. (And downgrading to an old version solved it for now)
Firestick (any work but 4k Max works best) + Stremio + Real Debrid. You will be able to find nearly anything you can think of. Its also the cheapest way and easiest. I’m an iOS guy and would rather not use an Amazon product but it is the best i have found. It also will load Android TV apps so modified youtube apps also exist and other things. Apple tv is locked down and there are jailbreaks for certain OS, if its not in the app store you will be limited.
Stremio + Real Debrid is worth getting something that allows for sideloading apps. Right now, Android TV is the only platform that allows to do that (not counting just running Linux on a Pi).
AppleTV + Infuse = zero transcoding. Add that Apple will be allowing VPN on device with the release of tvOS 17 and it’s pretty much the perfect kit if you’re willing to spend the extra dollars.
My friends who have them are also super satisfied, but obviously anything Android based has the advantage of sideloading apps to consider. Depends on what you want in the end, Apple has Plex and Jellyfin apps which I think is enough for the average pirate.
Fire stick has too many ads and hostile decisions, you can’t even turn it off
A decade ago I had a jailbroken apple TV 2 and it was great with what now is called infuse, it took videos directly via SMB and showed them with a really slick interface.
So between the two… I’d buy an Androidtv (real, not a fake Chinese one, like that "Chromecast with Google TV)
If it wasn’t so expensive I’d buy an apple TV again just for infuse. A decade ago was more reasonably priced compared to the competition, right now…
I’ve got both a fire TV stick 4k and acorresponding Mi tv stick, both mainly for jellyfin, and would recommend the latter. Basically same price, both work fine for the purpose but fire has their ads on the home screen whereas Mi is more clean and has the Google play store, making some things easier to install. The Mi apps you can just disable.
What about Chromecast Google TV 4k? I just got one and loving it. Installed Stremio and SmartTube and works great. Got a custom launcher as the default one focuses a lot on streaming services.
Also tried Kodi but seems worse than my dedicated Vero 4k with OSMC / Kodi.
Ya if you want cheaper this is it. Replaced an old 2015 shield and it does the job fine. Primary tv still 2019 shield pro though as it is simply the best.
I personally use an AppleTV with the Infuse app. Great UI, no lag, and it plays everything including 4K Bluray remuxes. You also get Dolby Vision, frame rate matching, and Jellyfin support.
FireSticks are inherently easier to tinker with. But Amazon bends you over with shoving ads and spyware up your ass at every opportunity. It is baked into the UI design itself. It is very advertising-forward, with everything else designed around ads. And even the 4K max lags at times.
AppleTV really requires an iPhone to set up optimally. And it is locked down with no clear jail break at this time for most people unless you’re willing to solder (or if I’ve missed a new flaw in an update which opened the door programmatically). But Apple TV is fast and smooth, with no inherent ads of its own. It is honestly over powered for its purpose, probably because it can also play a fair number of iOS games.
Chrome Cast with Google TV is a fucking mess. It is severely under powered to the point of lagging. It has half baked ideas like profiles which don’t change anything. And it has ads as the focus of the design just like FireStick.
But you’re going to pay a subscription if you go with Apple TV and want something like Infuse. Jellyfin and Plex, of course, don’t require it.
And despite what people say, Stremio is absolute dogshit on a FireStick because of its mobile-centric UI.
If you plan to use a server like Plex and Jellyfin, all of them work—but Apple TV works best. If you need anything else out of it, probably the fire stick if you use a pihole to stop it from phoning home for more ads constantly.
You can use iWebTV from iPhone and stream right to AppleTV without a subscription. It’s basically just a web browser with a lot of adblocks on it. But I use it all the time.
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An Nvidia Shield Pro is hands down the best but it is much more expensive. Slap a third party launcher over the top and use it for streaming Jellyfin or Stremio or Kodi or whatever floats your boat. Super responsive and is android-based so you can sideload whatever you want. It also has the most compatibility with most codecs so you’ll be able to direct play more through Jellyfin rather than transcode.
Yeah the Shield Pro is amazing, even though the last update was 2019. And even with an earlier version of their AI upscaling, 1080p content looks great on 4k. Hopefully with the Switch’s successor leaks swirling around it means that they’ll do a 2024 update. Probably wishful thinking.
And if you want to go even further: it has active official LineageOS support, I flashed mine two months ago
I still need to de-Google my Shield. How’s the performance of LineageOS on the Shield? HDR and DV content still playing well?
Sorry but that is sth that I cannot answer properly; I have a fullHD TV from 2012 connected, so HDR is not sth I can even test… I have not experienced any lags or hickuos so far though, just some general problem with fullscreen on newpipe but that has an open issue on Github for six months already. (And downgrading to an old version solved it for now)
Firestick (any work but 4k Max works best) + Stremio + Real Debrid. You will be able to find nearly anything you can think of. Its also the cheapest way and easiest. I’m an iOS guy and would rather not use an Amazon product but it is the best i have found. It also will load Android TV apps so modified youtube apps also exist and other things. Apple tv is locked down and there are jailbreaks for certain OS, if its not in the app store you will be limited.
This is exactly my setup. Stremio with Real Debrid and Torrentio is amazing. SmartTubeNext for ad free YouTube is awesome too.
I’m also leaning towards an Apple TV actually
Stremio + Real Debrid is worth getting something that allows for sideloading apps. Right now, Android TV is the only platform that allows to do that (not counting just running Linux on a Pi).
Would a Raspberry Pi not solve your problems? I’m not even into programming and I still have fun with it
They’re great for server side, but personally I wouldn’t use one as a streaming client.
I love the Apple TV. It has a super fast ui. I use infuse on it to play content from a network share, and Plex.
AppleTV + Infuse = zero transcoding. Add that Apple will be allowing VPN on device with the release of tvOS 17 and it’s pretty much the perfect kit if you’re willing to spend the extra dollars.
Like most things when comparing Apples to Androids, the Apple product is typically cleaner and more performant throughout its longer lifespan.
My Apple TV 3 is still doing OK. My Firestick / Android / GoogleTV devices from the same time period (and some even later) are too slow to use.
Im on a First Generation Apple TV 4K. 6 years old and still works flawlessly.
Only reason I might get a newer one is to have another matter border router. Also the new remote looks nicer.
My friends who have them are also super satisfied, but obviously anything Android based has the advantage of sideloading apps to consider. Depends on what you want in the end, Apple has Plex and Jellyfin apps which I think is enough for the average pirate.
Also vlc and infuse.
I use Jellyfin with https://firecore.com/infuse for Apple TV. It is the smoothest experience I can think of.
Fire stick has too many ads and hostile decisions, you can’t even turn it off
A decade ago I had a jailbroken apple TV 2 and it was great with what now is called infuse, it took videos directly via SMB and showed them with a really slick interface.
So between the two… I’d buy an Androidtv (real, not a fake Chinese one, like that "Chromecast with Google TV)
If it wasn’t so expensive I’d buy an apple TV again just for infuse. A decade ago was more reasonably priced compared to the competition, right now…
Thanks!
You can get a used apple tv on eBay for <$50 btw
firetvstick is android based so you can sidelode a lot of apps that aren’t in the store
Chromecast with googletv 4k + stremio + torrentio plugin + debrid subscription
hands down the best experience if you don’t want to meddle with plex and just watch things netflix-style.
More of a Jellyfin kinda guy
I’ve got both a fire TV stick 4k and acorresponding Mi tv stick, both mainly for jellyfin, and would recommend the latter. Basically same price, both work fine for the purpose but fire has their ads on the home screen whereas Mi is more clean and has the Google play store, making some things easier to install. The Mi apps you can just disable.
What about Chromecast Google TV 4k? I just got one and loving it. Installed Stremio and SmartTube and works great. Got a custom launcher as the default one focuses a lot on streaming services. Also tried Kodi but seems worse than my dedicated Vero 4k with OSMC / Kodi.
Absolutely loving ours like this. But we also still use a bunch of streaming services occationally
This is the right answer.
It has all the flexibility, wider compatibility and app support, and simply plays everything.
Ya if you want cheaper this is it. Replaced an old 2015 shield and it does the job fine. Primary tv still 2019 shield pro though as it is simply the best.
if you’re otherwise not in the apple ecosystem I’ve heard you need an iphone to input your password or some other such shit.
if it was a choice between the 2 I’d just install a UPnP media server or hookup a raspberry pi instead.
Chromecast with web video caster app and fmovies. It doesn’t get any easier, just pay for the pro version of the app and no ads.
Firestick 4K is a cheap yet beasty device, and being Android you can install third party apps easily.
Plex/JellyFin, Kodi, Stremio. No need to spend so much on an AppleTV when the firestick is more than enough.
Also apps like SmartTubeNext and SoundTV.
I personally use an AppleTV with the Infuse app. Great UI, no lag, and it plays everything including 4K Bluray remuxes. You also get Dolby Vision, frame rate matching, and Jellyfin support.
How does Infuse do with livestream content?
I don’t think it handles livestreams. It’s just for playing back files in network storage. There are probably other apps for live streams.
It all depends on your tolerance.
FireSticks are inherently easier to tinker with. But Amazon bends you over with shoving ads and spyware up your ass at every opportunity. It is baked into the UI design itself. It is very advertising-forward, with everything else designed around ads. And even the 4K max lags at times.
AppleTV really requires an iPhone to set up optimally. And it is locked down with no clear jail break at this time for most people unless you’re willing to solder (or if I’ve missed a new flaw in an update which opened the door programmatically). But Apple TV is fast and smooth, with no inherent ads of its own. It is honestly over powered for its purpose, probably because it can also play a fair number of iOS games.
Chrome Cast with Google TV is a fucking mess. It is severely under powered to the point of lagging. It has half baked ideas like profiles which don’t change anything. And it has ads as the focus of the design just like FireStick.
But you’re going to pay a subscription if you go with Apple TV and want something like Infuse. Jellyfin and Plex, of course, don’t require it.
And despite what people say, Stremio is absolute dogshit on a FireStick because of its mobile-centric UI.
If you plan to use a server like Plex and Jellyfin, all of them work—but Apple TV works best. If you need anything else out of it, probably the fire stick if you use a pihole to stop it from phoning home for more ads constantly.
Stremio has an Android TV-native UI now. It’s quite great.
You can use iWebTV from iPhone and stream right to AppleTV without a subscription. It’s basically just a web browser with a lot of adblocks on it. But I use it all the time.