[Chalklands]

Hi,
Hope somebody can offer suggestions/advice.
I currently have a Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019.
Fine. but keeps freezing (Currently have Super fast internet and have tried changing cache settings so I think it is the Shield) . Any alternatives worth considering in 2024? Looking for something that has access to streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix or others but with better performance than the Shield (no freezing, which is probably due to 3GB RAM or processor?).Needs to be connected to TV/AV Receiver so require HDMI connection to receiver and remote control. Local content stored on Synology NAS. 
Any advice? Thinking about micro PC but the have no idea what is best as there seems to be so many choices. UK market, don't want to spend extortionate amount. Happy to consider building from scratch is necessary if it provides future upgradeability.

[hdmkv]

Freezing with Netflix/Prime or local content from your Synology? With Shield TV Pro, shouldn't be happening. It's a powerful box & network performance is excellent. Assume you're wired & not using wi-fi?

[Chalklands]

Freezing with Netflix/Prime or local content from your Synology? With Shield TV Pro, shouldn't be happening. It's a powerful box & network performance is excellent. Assume you're wired & not using wi-fi?

Hi,
I should have elaborated. Netflix/Prime or other VOD services aren't freezing, just local content from the NAS. Connected via ethernet.
Probably due to the skin (Arctic fuse) which is widget heavy. I assume there are probably too many widgets in my setup of the skin which is eating up all of the memory etc. Just wondered if there was a more powerful alternative with more memory etc?

[hdmkv]

I use Artic: Zephyr. Don’t know how it compares to Fuse. I replaced 3x Shield Pro’s I had with 3x Fire TV Cube 3’s. Have been happy with snappy performance, plus HDR10+ support, which Shield lacks.

[maxcovergold]

Morning. Just wondering whether the Cube 3 supports "Proper TV-led DV Profile 7 FEL playback"? Also, if I have a DV TV, am I right in saying Dolby VS10 support is of little value as the big benefit is mapping DV to 10+?

Deciding whether the replace my Vero 4k+, which has been doing a good job with HDR and Atmos for years, but really feeling that itch by missing out on Dolby Vision, having watched Dune Part 1 again on my UHD Blu-ray player.

Frustrating that all the options seem to be compromises one way or another.

[Toad King]

Morning. Just wondering whether the Cube 3 supports "Proper TV-led DV Profile 7 FEL playback"? Also, if I have a DV TV, am I right in saying Dolby VS10 support is of little value as the big benefit is mapping DV to 10+?

Deciding whether the replace my Vero 4k+, which has been doing a good job with HDR and Atmos for years, but really feeling that itch by missing out on Dolby Vision, having watched Dune Part 1 again on my UHD Blu-ray player.

Frustrating that all the options seem to be compromises one way or another.

Only the Fire Cube Gen 2 supports FEL playback with the current CoreELEC changes.

[haxrune32]

I brought a tox3 but have no idea what corelec version to use.  I have searched the coreelec forums but couldn't find which version is stable.

I tested a generic build but had lots of issues.

any advise would be great, thanks.

[clarkss12]

I brought a tox3 but have no idea what corelec version to use.  I have searched the coreelec forums but couldn't find which version is stable.

I tested a generic build but had lots of issues.

any advise would be great, thanks.

What issues did you have??  Almost all of the versions work except the "NO" versions.  Give the 20.5 Nexus stable version a try.

Edit:  That is one of my favorite boxes.  Stays cool and plays everything under CE.  Great purchase for you.

[goddevil]

I brought a tox3 but have no idea what corelec version to use.  I have searched the coreelec forums but couldn't find which version is stable.

I tested a generic build but had lots of issues.

any advise would be great, thanks.

What issues did you have??  Almost all of the versions work except the "NO" versions.  Give the 20.5 Nexus stable version a try.

Edit:  That is one of my favorite boxes.  Stays cool and plays everything under CE.  Great purchase for you.

I just ordered Tox3 box. What are the differences in using Kodi on default Android in the box vs installing CE and then using Kodi?

[clarkss12]

I brought a tox3 but have no idea what corelec version to use.  I have searched the coreelec forums but couldn't find which version is stable.

I tested a generic build but had lots of issues.

any advise would be great, thanks.

What issues did you have??  Almost all of the versions work except the "NO" versions.  Give the 20.5 Nexus stable version a try.

Edit:  That is one of my favorite boxes.  Stays cool and plays everything under CE.  Great purchase for you.

I just ordered Tox3 box. What are the differences in using Kodi on default Android in the box vs installing CE and then using Kodi?

That is a very good question.  Been awhile since I used the "stock" firmware, so I can't remember what items it is missing using Kodi.  I instead use the Slimbox ATV  firmware and dual boot into CoreELEC. 

With the Slimbox ATV firmware (Android), it plays all of the audio and video codecs (except the VC-1 video codec), and it supports automatic framerate and resolution switching, using Kodi.  https://slimboxtv.ru/tox3/

Dual boot into CoreELEC and it is purely a media player, that plays EVERYTHING.

This is a video showing the Slimbox ATV version running on my TOX3.  Hope this helps answer your questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rZH38mq-aA

[Cinephile]

I am looking at replacing my aging Shield TV Pro with a Cube 3. Would I be able to copy the Kodi data folder from my Shield TV over to the Cube, so as to avoid the need to start over?

[hdmkv]

Yes, you will be able to. Once you've done so and restarted Kodi, you'll need to go into Kodi settings and make sure or choose the right audio passthrough option is selected (Kodi IEC packer). As FTV has an audio synch firmware bug, you'll also need to copy over the second advancedsettings.xml described here.

Another consideration: while using an USB ethernet adapter with Cube 3 helps significantly with streaming from a NAS or other network share, you'll get the best results with HTTP as opposed to SMB or NFS. If you decide to use this, then you'll need to edit each source, rescan libraries, and also do a clean-up under Settings > Media > Library.

Sharing my FTV advancedsettings.xml and keyboard.xml if they might be helpful.

[Cinephile]

Yes, you will be able to. Once you've done so and restarted Kodi, you'll need to go into Kodi settings and make sure or choose the right audio passthrough option is selected (Kodi IEC packer). As FTV has an audio synch firmware bug, you'll also need to copy over the second advancedsettings.xml described here.

Another consideration: while using an USB ethernet adapter with Cube 3 helps significantly with streaming from a NAS or other network share, you'll get the best results with HTTP as opposed to SMB or NFS. If you decide to use this, then you'll need to edit each source, rescan libraries, and also do a clean-up under Settings > Media > Library.

Sharing my FTV advancedsettings.xml and keyboard.xml if they might be helpful.

Great insight, thanks.

How come HTTP has the best results if an ethernet adapter provides 2-3x the bandwidth of even the most demanding 4K remux? I currently run NFS shares if that helps.

I also find that Shield TV Pro struggles with uncompressed 4K artwork, which is my go-to via advancedsettings.xml:

<imageres>9999</imageres>
<fanartres>9999</fanartres>

Do you have hands-on experience on the Cube with a similar setup?

[hdmkv]

Cube 3 is limited by its USB 2.0 port, even with a gigabit ethernet adapter attached to it. With Cube 3 having wi-fi 6E however, if you have a 6E router/MESH system, speeds are significantly better. I use SMB & NFS with my other Kodi boxes (Ugoos w/CoreELEC, a HTPC & a Dune HD), but with Cube 3, HTTP works best using webDAV to pull from my Synology NAS.

On artwork, my folders/posters are all 400x600, and all fanarts 1280x720. With the Artic: Zephyr skin & its views I use, even on a 150" projected display, I find the artwork good enough.

[mindedc]

Hi,
Hope somebody can offer suggestions/advice.
I currently have a Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019.
Fine. but keeps freezing (Currently have Super fast internet and have tried changing cache settings so I think it is the Shield) . Any alternatives worth considering in 2024? Looking for something that has access to streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix or others but with better performance than the Shield (no freezing, which is probably due to 3GB RAM or processor?).Needs to be connected to TV/AV Receiver so require HDMI connection to receiver and remote control. Local content stored on Synology NAS. 
Any advice? Thinking about micro PC but the have no idea what is best as there seems to be so many choices. UK market, don't want to spend extortionate amount. Happy to consider building from scratch is necessary if it provides future upgradeability.

This is going to sound really dumb, but I saw a youtube video and I eventually did this with my Shield because it was sluggish in Android OS. This fixed all of my performance problems/freezing/studdering and restored my Shield to like new performance:

Open it up and clean the fan. Seriously. Open it up with a screwdriver, pull the heatskink/fan assembly out and clean it with canned air or a brush. You then need to get some alcohol and clean off the crusty thermal compound from the CPU and the heatsink (there may be more chips cooled by the heatsink, I can't remember. Those would need to be cleaned too) and replace it with a dab of heatsink compound you like. The CPU is small so you don't need much. Reassemble it and you're done. There is a youtube video someone did, search for it if you're not comfortable opening electronics up. 

I wish you the best on finding a new platform as we all will sooner than later, but you can at least have a decent experience for the cost of a drop of thermal compound, 1/2 ounce of alcohol, and 20 mins of your time.