Getting the most out of streamed video: Netflix and Plex (with NVIDIA Shield Pro?)

Shield Pro is no doubt ahead in regards to feature set.  For example, it has Dolby Vision where the other premium choices don't.

Both the Zidoo and Shield are android based, so I'm assuming the Netflix/Plex experience would be very similar.  

I see advantages for the Zidoo for the high end power supply and other parts.  In the end, not sure how much better this will make the Zidoo sound ?  

Zidoo is apparently heavily geared towards playback using its internal storage.  Is there any benefit to using internal storage vs streaming from another PC on the network (via DLNA/Plex) ?  Seems to me this may be just another step - copying stuff to the box.

Ok, great topic and timely for me.  I am building a theater room as we speak and will stream everything from Netflix, Showtime, HBO, Amazon Prime.  I will have a 4K projector either JVC 9 series or Sony.  I am Apple based.  What are the suggestions for the best audio and video output?  I have been using Firestick.  

Zidoo is apparently heavily geared towards playback using its internal storage. Is there any benefit to using internal storage vs streaming from another PC on the network (via DLNA/Plex) ? Seems to me this may be just another step - copying stuff to the box.

The Netflix and Amazon apps allow you to download movies/shows to your local harddrive.  This allows you to watch the content without having to stream from the internet on the fly.  Other streaming services may have similar options.  You can probably download content from services such as HBO/Showtime/etc.  And, like you indicated, you can always copy your own content files to the media player drive if you want.

I kind of leaned towards Zidoo.  Looking at things now, the Zidoo and Dune top models also include analog outputs.  If you are just connecting to a processor using HDMI, you don't need these analog outputs.  The Zappitti Pro 4K HDR top level doesn't have analog outputs, so you're not wasting circuits/money.  Zappiti does have an "Audiocom" version of the top level which is even a step above, but I doni't see it available in the US.

As far as which is the best, it's hard to say.  All 3 are Android OS based.  All 3 have bugs and problems reported by users.  When I was researching, it seemed that Zidoo was more responsive to bugs and has a larger community forum for posts/threads.  I'm sure all 3 would be a good choice.

I have read that some of the newer Zidoo players support HDR and Dolby Vision, but Dolby Vision is not listed directly on the website.  You may want to email them to make sure.

As far as I can tell, Dune and Zappiti do not have Dolby Vision yet.  These are somewhat small companies (not like Marantz/Denon which have a team of 80+ engineers).  New technology updates are always a challenge to keep up with.  But you should ask yourself the question as to what's more important?  New features and functionality?  Or overall audio/video quality.  A lot of content from Netflix/Hulu/etc. is not going to be in HDR or Dolby Vision anyways.

Just to report back some of my research...

The Zidoo (and other similar players) are purposely designed with local storage and a native menu for playing media.

So to get the most of these devices, you would copy media directly to it, then play. And the quality is supposed to be superior to even the Nvidia Shield for pic + audio.

However, support for other apps is limited and possibly clunky. For example, they currently dont have licensing from Netflix therefore you will only get 480 SD (NOT HD) quality when streaming.

I’m not sure what the limitations are for Plex, but then again, the Zidoo is a replacement for Plex for local network play via ethernet. i.e. it has a nice poster wall for displaying remote media.

Conclusion: for streaming services like Netflix, top choice seems to be Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019. For local media, the Zidoo, Dune and Zappiti are ideal.