Getting the most out of streamed video: Netflix and Plex (with NVIDIA Shield Pro?)
For those of you running audiophile grade surround sound setups, I'm wondering what your approach is to achieving HQ results from either
- Netflix, which will naturally be compressed, lossy
- or Plex, which streams local network media. Depending on your source can be blu-ray equivalent.
For example, when using a smart TV to stream both of these you have 2 choices for connecting audio to your A/V processor:
- HDMI ARC (audio return channel) with limited audio bandwidth support
- Optical with even less audio bandwidth support.
The verdict: Smart TV streaming = bad
The solution: Use an external box to stream the services, which has full HDMI output to A/V processor. Then A/V processor distributes to rest of your system.
Have any of you found a suitable box to stream Plex/Netflix in this way?
On the short list is NVIDIA Shield Pro. Although skeptical due to tiny form factor. comments?