Best Emby player: Zidoo vs Dune vs Shield

Discussion in 'HDD Media player(RTD 1619DR)' started by Mai, Feb 21, 2022.

  1. Mai

    Mai New Member

    Hi,
    I’d like to replace my HTPC/Kodi setup with a dedicated media player. I use Emby to serve the content and would like to hear your opinion on Zidoo (ZDMC with Emby add-on) vs Dune (Kodi with Emby add-on or Emby client) vs Shield (Emby client) as all 3 are highly regarded in different forums. What I’m looking for:
    Great picture quality - can handle refresh rate change, upscaling, colour space conversion, good HDR SDR conversion (I have an old 1080P projector)
    I know Zidoo isn’t perfect as Emby client because I need to use it’s native player to get all the benifits. But does Zidoo provides best Picture Quality comparing to the other 2 options?
    Also I’d like to ask for the differences between Z9X and the higher-end models such as 1000 and 3000. Looks to me they are all based on 1619 chipset so is there any difference in terms of PQ between them? If not I will get Z9X due to its slim size.
    Just to add: I already have Apple TV for streaming content, and also HiFi streamer.
    Any input is appreciated!
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2022
  2. Nicholas Hewitt

    Nicholas Hewitt Active Member

    The Shield is the best with Emby. That's what I use with my Shield, That and an Anime Collection, but if your looking for Dolby Vision then Zidoo is your best option just not with Emby.
     
  3. Mai

    Mai New Member

    Thanks! Look at your signature you have both Shield and Z9X, have you compared the PQ between the two devices? I might live with the inconvenience with Emby but don't want to compromise PQ (for example upscaling, colour space conversion (2020/709) banding issues, HDR/SDR tone mapping etc.).
     
  4. Nicholas Hewitt

    Nicholas Hewitt Active Member

    Nvidia Shield has better upscaling IMO Especially the AI Upscaling, but it is better for anime I find. Picture quality, they both have pretty good picture quality. That said, I would choose the Z9X over the Nvidia Shield If most of your content is 4k.HDR or Dolby Vision. Also, the Z9X has a feature to use the Dolby vision tone mapping for SDR Content that I enjoy. Also if you plan on using streaming apps, the Zidoo does not support any of them. They simply don't work.
     
  5. Mai

    Mai New Member

    Thanks a lot! I plan to use with SDR display, do you know if Shield has good HDR SDR tone mapping comparing to Z9X (VS10 engine)?
     
  6. Nicholas Hewitt

    Nicholas Hewitt Active Member

    The shield has none. Only the Z9X has Dolby Vision for SDR Content
     
  7. AngryVirginian

    AngryVirginian Active Member

    The Shield has HDR to SDR tonemapping. Nvidia added it in a firmware update last year. It only works if the display does not support HDR at all (can't just disable HDR in the Shield or projector settings). I have never used it so can't comment on how well it does it.
     
  8. Mai

    Mai New Member

    I understand with Zidoo I need to use the native player to get best result, what about Shield? With players like Kodi or Emby do they use some sort of "native player" offered by shield? Sorry I'm quite new to this, because you wrote the HDR/SDR tone mapping was added to firmware, and I'm not sure if Emby/Kodi or Nvidia is doing the HDR/SDR tone mapping.
     
  9. Nicholas Hewitt

    Nicholas Hewitt Active Member

    honestly, I doubt the Nvidia shield has better tone mapping considering Zidoo has a chip that handles that. In the end, tone mapping will all be the same in the end, it's how it's executed. Zidoo's tone mapping engine had a problem with crushed blacks and they fixed it recently in an update. now it looks fantastic. Also, I find that the Shield oversaturates some things. I would pic the Zidoo Z9X over the Shield any day it is better in almost every way, but if your main selling point is just how well it upscales 1080p content to 4k, then go with the Shield cause that's the only thing it does better.
     
    AngryVirginian likes this.
  10. Mai

    Mai New Member

    Thank you! In my use case tone mapping is more important than upscaling - I have a 10 years old 1080P projector (SDR) and video files in both HDR and SDR (resolution at least 1080P).
     
  11. Nicholas Hewitt

    Nicholas Hewitt Active Member

    Especially seeing as you have a projector, then I would defiantly go with the Zidoo cause it has a lot of settings specifically for projectors.
     
    Mai likes this.

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