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Playback Device Comparison.md

Playback Device Comparison

Apple TV 4K 3rd Gen (Infuse) [GOOD OVERALL – NO DV P7 FEL]

Pros

  • Supports Dolby Vision Profiles 5 and 8
  • Supports HDR10
  • Provides acceptable SD scaling quality
  • Hardware decodes AVC High 10
  • Provides excellent ASS/SSA subtitle support
  • Delivers perfect playback with no dropped frames
  • Provides reliable refresh rate switching
  • Provides correct VFR playback

Cons

  • Requires a paid player (Infuse)
  • No resolution switching
  • No Dolby Vision Profile 7 (FEL) support
  • SDR content is always output as 8-bit YUV 4:4:4
  • No user control over output pixel format or chroma subsampling

macOS (Apple Silicon / Infuse, Plex HTPC) [GOOD FOR HD – POOR HDR & DV]

Pros

  • Provides acceptable SD scaling quality
  • Hardware decodes AVC High 10
  • Provides excellent ASS/SSA subtitle support
  • Delivers perfect playback with no dropped frames
  • Supports refresh rate switching (Plex HTPC only)
  • Supports resolution switching (Plex HTPC only)
  • Provides correct VFR playback

Cons

  • No HDR support
  • No Dolby Vision support
  • Infuse is paid and inferior to the tvOS version
  • Plex HTPC ships with an outdated mpv build that cannot be replaced
  • No user control over output pixel format or chroma subsampling

Ugoos AM6B Plus (CoreELEC / Kodi) [PERFECT HDR & DV – POOR SD & VFR]

Pros

  • Supports all Dolby Vision profiles, including DV P7 FEL
  • Supports HDR10
  • Delivers perfect playback with no dropped frames
  • Provides proper resolution switching
  • Provides acceptable SD scaling quality (except SD HEVC)
  • Allows user configuration of output pixel format

Cons

  • Inconsistent ASS/SSA subtitle rendering
  • Broken SD HEVC scaling (falls back to bilinear)
  • Requires Kodi
  • Overly complex and frequently changing setup
  • No hardware decoding for AVC High 10
  • Broken refresh rate switching
  • Broken VFR playback
  • Kodi player stack prevents use of modern scalers

NVIDIA Shield TV Pro (Kodi) [ACCEPTABLE HDR10 – POOR SD, DV & VFR]

Pros

  • Supports Dolby Vision Profiles 5 and 8
  • Supports HDR10
  • Provides acceptable SD scaling quality
  • Provides proper resolution switching
  • Offers limited control over output pixel format (inconsistent)

Cons

  • Requires Kodi for serious playback
  • Broken refresh rate switching with Kodi
  • Broken VFR playback with Kodi
  • Poor and inconsistent ASS/SSA subtitle support
  • No hardware decoding for AVC High 10
  • Limited codec support compared to PC based players
  • Periodic dropped frames (often ~45 minute intervals)
  • Dolby Vision P5/P8 red push issue
  • No true Dolby Vision Profile 7 (FEL) support (FEL is ignored and rendered as BL + RPU, equivalent to P8.1)
  • Limited output pixel formats
  • Android + Kodi player stack prevents use of modern scalers
  • Bloated and unstable OS with poor long term reliability

HTPC (NVIDIA GPU / Plex HTPC) [GOOD – NO DV]

Pros

  • Provides best in class SD scaling
  • Plays all formats and codecs
  • Does not require Kodi
  • Provides excellent ASS/SSA subtitle support
  • Provides full control over output pixel format
  • Supports HDR10
  • Provides correct VFR playback
  • Supports resolution switching
  • Open source and highly configurable
  • Delivers perfect playback when locked to 60 Hz and properly tuned

Cons

  • No Dolby Vision media playback support
  • mpv requires manual configuration (gpu-next, swapchain, etc.)
  • NVIDIA driver issues with 23.976 Hz output
  • Broken refresh rate switching due to NV drivers
  • OS level tuning required
  • EDID issues commonly cause periodic frame drops

HTPC (AMD GPU / Plex HTPC) [BEST OVERALL – NO DV]

Pros

  • Provides best in class SD scaling
  • Plays all formats and codecs
  • Does not require Kodi
  • Provides excellent ASS/SSA subtitle support
  • Provides full control over output pixel format
  • Supports HDR10
  • Provides correct VFR playback with minimal tuning
  • Provides perfect refresh rate switching
  • Supports resolution switching
  • Open source and highly configurable
  • Provides stable, drop free playback when properly configured

Cons

  • No Dolby Vision media playback support
  • mpv requires manual configuration (gpu-next, etc.)
  • OS level tuning required

Footnote: OS-Level Tuning Requirements (HTPC Only)

OS-level tuning includes:

AMD GPUs Only (NVIDIA users must leave refresh rate switching disabled)

TV Resolution Configuration (VFR Judder / Stutter Reduction)

Download CRU (Custom Resolution Utility):
https://customresolutionutility.net/

Steps:

  1. Open CRU and select your display
  2. Open the first extension block
  3. Click TV Resolutions then Edit
  4. Delete all resolutions with 30Hz or 29.970Hz refresh rates
  5. Click OK and restart your system
    (or run restart64.exe from the CRU folder)

Why this works:
By removing 30Hz / 29.970Hz resolutions, you force all VFR content to run at 60Hz instead. This ensures the playback framerate is evenly divisible (60 / 30 = 2, 60 / 24 = 2.5), which significantly reduces stutter and judder during framerate transitions in variable framerate content.

Disclaimer

All OS-level tuning steps apply only to Windows-based HTPC setups.
These adjustments do not apply to Apple TV, macOS, Android devices, or other non-Windows platforms.

Guides

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