Advice for a 4k streaming box

[Treynolds416]

Hey everybody

I recently purchased a dumb 4k tv (as opposed to a "smart" 4k tv). I'd like some more streaming capabilities since there are none included with it, but I can't figure out what to do.

My list of must haves:
- Ability to mirror my pc to my tv without using cables. My phone as well, although that's less important
- Capable of delivering content at 4k@60Hz
- Bare minimum app support is youtube, amazon prime video, hbo, and netflix. More apps would be nice but are not a necessity.

My options as I see them are the following:
1) NVIDIA Shield TV: This can do everything I want, but for $200 I feel like I can get what I want for less money. I have zero need to play android games on my couch as I would just stream them from my pc instead. I also don't want to pay for the bundled controller.
2) Roku 4: cheaper than above, lots of channel options, can stream with plex or some other application. Not super-high ratings on amazon though, due to some slowness and some people having a loud fan.
3) Amazon Fire TV: Cheaper than the roku box and can still stream at 4k. Even though I have a prime account, I don't really want to deal with an Amazon-centric ecosystem and a lot of people have expressed their unhappiness with ads and hidden auto-enroll gotchas. Edit: Fire TV can only do 4k@30Hz, so it's off the table
4) Build my own htpc: Much more expensive than all the other options, but if it's something that's going to last me a while and I can make use of other advantages like an integrated blu-ray player, it might be worth it.
5) Wait a few months to see what else comes out. I'm perfectly fine waiting a while and then buying something that I know is going to last, that I won't have to upgrade because it isn't adequate. I'm not buying this so I can start consuming 4k content immediately, I'm buying something that can do everything I need and is 4k so it isn't immediately outdated.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[funboy6942]

HURRY!!! $160 shipped and it also comes with a controller! Its really your best option as you said....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/In-box-NVID...264553?hash=item21085d79e9:g:5qcAAOSwoydWj1N4

 

[giantpandaman2]

Maybe just wait until March to see what the 4k BD players can do?

I wouldn't be surprised if they could do all of what you require.

 

[npaladin-2000]

The SHIELD is great but won't do Amazon Prime. Your only platform options so far for that are Roku and FireTV, they don't support any other streamer box platforms. Probably the Roku is a good fit for you, though I don't like what I've heard about the first gen Roku 4. You may want to wait a while and see what pops up with the next generation of 4k streamers.

The SHIELD controller makes an excellent remote, don't knock it. It's a very powerful device, but it's definitely a little overkill if you don't plan on doing ANY gaming with it. On the other hand, if you have an Android phone it may be a good investment, since any apps you buy for the SHIELD will probably work on your phone too.

Regarding desktop/phone casting, you've got two options. Rokus support the Miracast protocol, I've gotten that to work with phones but haven't had much luck getting it working with PCs. AndroidTV (the SHIELD) supports Chromecasting, which you can use to cast the screen from a PC (using a Chrome addon) or select Android phones (generally the Nexus line, Samsung's Galaxy S line, and select HTC, Moto, and LG flagships).

Regarding using Blu-Ray players as simple streamer boxes...they work but the experience sucks, they're generally underpowered and laggy and the apps don't get updated all that frequently.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I read on AVS Forums that some services are not allowing 4k streaming from PC. The videos aren't available, just the 1080p version. So I don't know if a HTPC will be a worthwhile option for 4k streaming. Might want to look into that a bit deeper before you decide on that route.

 

[giantpandaman2]

Regarding using Blu-Ray players as simple streamer boxes...they work but the experience sucks, they're generally underpowered and laggy and the apps don't get updated all that frequently.

While definitely true for 1080p BD players, I imagine the 4k ones will have substantially more processing power. Hard to know for sure until they're out, though.

 

[boomhower]

For what's available at the moment the Roku seems the best bet but not a perfect device. With the lack of content at the moment I wouldn't stress it to much right now and see what comes out during the year when you have a solid selection of content to watch.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I think the Shield is the clear winner, especially if you ever plan to play any local content or games.

 

[Treynolds416]

To add some perspective, the steam link would be the perfect device for me if it supported 4k. $50 isn't that much to blow, so I'm honestly considering just buying it for now and then waiting for a better device to do what I need. The main reason I want this thing is for easily streaming from my pc to my tv for games, and I guess it doesn't need to have app support if I can stream amazon/hbo/youtube from a web browser