Perfect Home Theatre finally: Nvidia Shield, PLEX, SiliconDust tuner
Finally, a home theatre system that does everything and only one remote. I have been playing with home theatre and music for about 50 years and finally have a system that does everything I want without switching between multiple boxes and many remotes.
I can watch live TV, stream commercial services like Netflix, Prime or Stan, stream my own movie, TV show, music and photo content, watch catch up TV, such as ABC iview, SBS on demand and many others, and casting from IOS devices.
The system uses the TV/projector as an HDMI monitor and a theatre amplifier for sound making it easy to replicate across two systems, one in the lounge and the other in the sunroom. As such, both have the same interface, getting around the nightmare of different interfaces to remember.
https://www.nvidia.com/en-au/shield/
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Connect Duo/Quattro network free to air dual/quad TV tuner, DVB-T and most other standards.
https://www.silicondust.com/product/hdhomerun-duo/
PLEX media server on a Windows PC with stored video, music and photos.
https://www.plex.tv/en-au/#
Panasonic 65" 4K OLED TV and Onkyo home theatre amplifier.
The Nvidia Shield connects to a network, wired is usually best. Then HDMI to the home theatre amplifier, then to the TV. The TV or projector is used as a monitor.
The small remote is very good and works with an on-screen keyboard for text as needed. A useful IOS app is available for the Nvidia Shield, including a keyboard. A Bluetooth or wired keyboard can be used but not that much better.
The Nvidia Shield is an Android media streamer, thus able to run most apps from the Google Play store. Default apps of interest to me include Netflix, Stan, Prime video streaming, Australian catch-up TV for ABC, SBS, and commercial stations.
Casting to the Nvidia Shield works well.
Phones and tablets can be used as a remote control, for content sources and content searching.
The TV guide onscreen is alight but not great. I use the IOS AusTV to find a show, then change stations with the remote.
I have used many media players, Apple TV, Telstra boxes, FetchTV to name a few. Before this, the Western Digital TV media player was a favourite but struggled with network connectivity under Windows 10. This system is way better than any of them!
Nvidia Shield home page.
Two tuners are needed for recording while watching and for two TVs, as is my case. I probably should have bought the two tuner model, but don't record anyway. The tuners are allocated as needed, rather than being dedicated.
Literally a black box with connections for power, antenna and network.
The animation library with automatically added artwork. Selecting a movie than gives plot, actors and the like.
I can watch live TV, stream commercial services like Netflix, Prime or Stan, stream my own movie, TV show, music and photo content, watch catch up TV, such as ABC iview, SBS on demand and many others, and casting from IOS devices.
The system uses the TV/projector as an HDMI monitor and a theatre amplifier for sound making it easy to replicate across two systems, one in the lounge and the other in the sunroom. As such, both have the same interface, getting around the nightmare of different interfaces to remember.
The main hardware of the system:
4K Nvidia Shield TV Android media streamer.https://www.nvidia.com/en-au/shield/
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Connect Duo/Quattro network free to air dual/quad TV tuner, DVB-T and most other standards.
https://www.silicondust.com/product/hdhomerun-duo/
PLEX media server on a Windows PC with stored video, music and photos.
https://www.plex.tv/en-au/#
Panasonic 65" 4K OLED TV and Onkyo home theatre amplifier.
Nvidia Shield TV
The heart of the system is a 4K Nvidia Shield TV Android media streamer, about AU$230. I just use the small remote. If games are needed then the game controller can be used, but extra AU$100.
The small remote is very good and works with an on-screen keyboard for text as needed. A useful IOS app is available for the Nvidia Shield, including a keyboard. A Bluetooth or wired keyboard can be used but not that much better.
The Nvidia Shield is an Android media streamer, thus able to run most apps from the Google Play store. Default apps of interest to me include Netflix, Stan, Prime video streaming, Australian catch-up TV for ABC, SBS, and commercial stations.
Casting to the Nvidia Shield works well.
Phones and tablets can be used as a remote control, for content sources and content searching.
The TV guide onscreen is alight but not great. I use the IOS AusTV to find a show, then change stations with the remote.
I have used many media players, Apple TV, Telstra boxes, FetchTV to name a few. Before this, the Western Digital TV media player was a favourite but struggled with network connectivity under Windows 10. This system is way better than any of them!
Nvidia Shield home page.
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Tuner
The HDHomerun is a network tuner. Just connect it to an antenna and network then open the HDHomeRun webpage to set it up. It automatically does most things, like tuning and finding Nvidia Shield. The main thing is to edit out station duplicates and SD to cut scrolling for content. It is the preferred tuner for Nvidia Shield.Two tuners are needed for recording while watching and for two TVs, as is my case. I probably should have bought the two tuner model, but don't record anyway. The tuners are allocated as needed, rather than being dedicated.
Literally a black box with connections for power, antenna and network.
Tuner screen, showing controls and station guide.
Plex media server on Windows PC or NAS
I have all my video, music and photo content on a PC with mirrored disk arrays for backup. Plex brilliantly organises video content in movie or TV series modes as long as they are in separate folders on the PC. In TV series mode it expects episodes and series. We like animated movies, so there is an animation library based on the movie format, as in a single file.
Plex, especially the paid premium version, downloads artwork, descriptions, song titles and the like, As such, searching libraries is very similar to paid streaming services like Netflix. Alphabetic searching is good where there is a lot of content. I think it is possible to search by attributes such as genre. Amazing!
The Plex server on the PC needs to be selected as the Plex source on the Nvidia Shield. The Plex server navigates the PC network well, even giving remote access anywhere on an iPhone or similar.
I think Plex works with a NAS but I don't use one. I have tried NAS, but they are really just another PC; why run two?
The Plex main screen with the main libraries.
The animation library with automatically added artwork. Selecting a movie than gives plot, actors and the like.
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