Thoughts on using both Apple TV 4K and Nvidia Shield TV.
Disclaimer: By no means i'm a professional reviewer, just figured i'd share my thoughts on these two players... been debating which to get and ended getting both as they both have their strengths and weaknesses. apologies in advance if i get my terminologies mixed up. Also if some experts may notice i'm doing something wrong or there's a workaround for what i mention here, feel free to correct me
Both players are plugged on my Atmos-capable Yamaha receiver with these specs: HDMI 2.1 with HDCP 2.2 (4-in/1-out): 4K Ultra HD, HDR10, Dolby Vision, Hybrid Log-Gamma and BT.2020
Then the receiver is plugged on my Sony Triluminos 4K HDR TV via HDMI arc
Advantages of Apple TV 4K:
Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos via Netflix. Works flawlessly on 50mbps fiber connection.
Airplay 2 - my homepod, iphone and ipad can easily connect to the apple tv
Advantages of Nvidia Shield:
Plays bitstream audio, unlike apple tv which processes it via PCM. Some say there is negligible difference but watching a couple of movies it is noticeable, not much to be a deal breaker but i notice audio to be clearer, especially the dialogue on Nvidia shield.
Shield has google assistant built-in via the controller so you can turn on/off the TV via voice.
Nvidia plays atmos movies via server and hard drive connected. This is such a deal breaker for Apple TV. While netflix plays atmos, dolby vision, etc, its only for streaming services like netflix and itunes movies, so take note of this when buying the apple TV 4k. There's this app called infuse which is very popular on ios which is like plex and you can use the app to play files on a network (i use it to stream 50gb-80gb files no problem) but so far no clue yet if they will eventually play movies that have atmos audio. So for now, Nvidia shield has this advantage.
Bottomline: As far as compatibility is concerned i think i will be keeping both for awhile, and just wait which one catches up with the other. I go to Apple TV for Netflix since it has atmos, dolby vision, hdr, then shift to the shield when i will watch using my local files.
As for similarities:
1. Both players are fast, no UI lag at all.
2. Both can access my airport time capsule which serves as my network drive.
3. Plex works great on both with Nvidia getting Kodi as bonus. Apple tv has Infuse app though and that one is also a solid player (except for non compatibility with atmos so far) so ios users should check out that app, just quite pricey but using it the past 3 years and they have been very solid, just pay once too and get it on all your devices.
4. Remote: the apple tv has the better remote but nvidia also has the controller and hands free google assistant.
Extra notes on smart home functions:
1. Amazon alexa works on the yamaha receiver for basic functions like on/off volume up/down, skip songs on tidal/spotify
2. If you have an old apple express around, repurpose it as an airplay 2 receiver... i used mine and connected it via optical, works great and i'm not sure why but it sounds better than airplay 1 (built-in yamaha). Since the express is now connected to my receiver via airplay 2, i can instruct the homepod to play songs on the yamaha, and correspondingly, play skip rewind songs on apple music that are streaming on the receiver
If you have any questions, just fire away