Looking for a streaming device : need help / advice

olivpadr

olivpadr

Audiophyte
Hi

I know that the question has been asked before but all the answers I could see leave me quite perplexed with more questions.
So I'm asking it "again" with as many details as possible, wishing to have, maybe, a concrete answer that will clarify all for me.

Before, here is my setup :

1 Panasonic TV ( 4K - HDR - 2 USB Input – 1 optical output – ARC available – DLNA enable ) : doesn't support DTS and HD Audio but 100% compliant with Dolby Digital 5.1 and it's ok for now.
1 Marantz MCR611 ( DLNA enable, 2 optical Input - no DD or DTS decoder ).
1 PC with OpenMediaVault and my movies and music on it ( connected via WiFi ).
Optical OUT from TV is plugged on the Marantz.
TV is directly plugged on the router via ethernet cable.

What I'm currently doing ( movies 30% - music 70% ) :
Listening to my music thru DLNA via WiFi on the Marantz : works #1.
Watching movies from USB : works #1 even BIG 4K movies.
Watching movies thru DLNA, well it's random : some 4K movies play fine but BIG 4K movies I have too much buffering. Same thing for 1080p movies.

What I'm looking for :
I'm looking for the "PERFECT" streaming device
An external HDD with ALL my media library will be plugged on it.
The streaming device will be directly connected on the TV ( HDMI ). So idealy no transcoding/encoding solution ( I used to use a lot the WD Live ).
The streaming device should have idealy an optical output to be plugged in the Marantz for now because in a near future there is going to be an AVR ( maybe a Denon AVR-X3600H or something like this). And this AVR will do all the decoding.
The streaming device should be able to be connected on my router ( WiFi or ethernet cable) so that I can put files from my PC or cellphone on the external HDD.
Of course a 4K streaming device. 8K not necessary..
The streaming device will be able to do the minimal audio decoding ( DD 5.1 - DTS will be nice ) because the optical output will be used at the very beginning. After ALL thru HDMI and the AVR will do the rest.

I tried to be as clear as possible in what I would like this straming device will do.

To conclude, currently, during my research, it seems that these devices could "maybe" meet my needs but when I look in detail if they are really capable I have a doubt : Nvidia Shield Pro, Roku Ultra (the one with optical output), the new Roku Stream Bar.

Thank you for all the help you can give me
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
From everything I have seen, the Nvidia looks to be top dog device right now, so that is the most likely to meet your needs (it is also apparently a nice gaming emulation device, but I have no experience with it).

@panteragstk @PENG
I can't remember, is it one of you that runs a Shield???

But, in your case, why not look for a dedicated and locally connected HTPC? Why not just hook up the HTPC as a direct source and get away from remote streaming altogether? Or, at least use HTPC as the streamer?

If you go this route, there are a number of off the shelf options. Personally, I may be looking at a brew your own HTPC solution.
 
olivpadr

olivpadr

Audiophyte
It is true that I didn't checked this option HTPC.
The Nvidia solution is pretty much on my budget.
I had therefore put aside the HTPC option because I thought it would be above my budget (CPU, RAM, Case etc ....).
I will see if there are any HTPC solutions that allow the movies to be streamed without any decoding (or as little as possible).
I really don't want any buffering because the HTPC is having a hard time transcoding the movie.
I'm going to get some more information for HTPC.
Thank you very much.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
From everything I have seen, the Nvidia looks to be top dog device right now, so that is the most likely to meet your needs (it is also apparently a nice gaming emulation device, but I have no experience with it).

@panteragstk @PENG
I can't remember, is it one of you that runs a Shield???

But, in your case, why not look for a dedicated and locally connected HTPC? Why not just hook up the HTPC as a direct source and get away from remote streaming altogether? Or, at least use HTPC as the streamer?

If you go this route, there are a number of off the shelf options. Personally, I may be looking at a brew your own HTPC solution.
I use the Shield TV, but have an HTPC as well for other stuff. Granted, the Shield fixed the issue that warranted the need for the HTPC so I'll be removing it soon.

The shield supports pretty much everything under the sun and more than an HTPC ever will. It's also cheaper and MUCH easier to set up especially for the WAF if it applies.

Google just came out with a new $50 streamer that looks very interesting. I'll be getting mine today to play around with. That may be the go to device if it performs well.
 

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