Hi everyone I'm new here. Been digging and searching through the forums and there's a ton of info but unfortunately but some of it can be very confusing so hopefully I can get some insight. I recently purchased a Sony A80J (which does DolbyVision) and my current media player is the nVidia shield but the 2017 version which doesn't do DV. I use it primarily for playing MKVs hosted on OpenMediaVault on an HP MicroServer. I thought this wouldn't be a problem as I could use eARC and just use Kodi on my TV which works fine until I hit two snags, the first is that it's only 100mbit ethernet (solveable with a USB gigabit ethernet adapter apparently) but more importantly it won't send HD Audio via eARC for apps on the TV. So I nearly pulled the trigger on the newest nVidia Shield and stumbled upon 1) that is has this red shift issue with DolbyVision and then 2) this whole confusing mess about TV Led DV vs Player Led DV vs different profiles and layers and MEL vs FEL. I don't want this to become a debate about those various standards, just want to make sure I'd be making the correct purchase. So basically: 1) I understand that the Z9X can support DV and while it doesn't use the full information in FEL it does use part of it. If I understand this is irrelevant to me because my TV is a 10-bit panel anyway so I'm happy either way as long as the files play properly. From what I gather (red shift issue aside) it's DV support is better than the shield which completely ignores the FEL layer. 2) Given the limitations of the Z9X and my TV and DV, is it even an upgrade from the normal HDR I'm getting from the nVidia Shield (2017) or am I better off waiting for newer hardware where it makes a difference. 3) Can I connect the Z9X to my receiver and then receiver to TV and still get full DV or would I need to connect the Z9X to the TV and then use eARC? My receiver is a Denon X4500H which supports DV but I have no idea what this means with respect to player led, tv led, MEL, FEL etc. 4) I can't find any info on whether my TV is player led DV or TV led DV, does this even matter? I assume not but presumably the Z9X would just detect what the TV is capable of and do its thing. 5) Is there any word or indication of a newer model in the pipeline, I'd hate to buy the Z9X only for a Z10X or whatever to come out in a month. I can get the Shield locally in my country but not the Z9X which is why I'm being extra cautious before importing it. I wouldn't want to go through all the hassle and expense just to discover it doesn't suit my needs or that I may as well have gotten the Shield (okay, maybe there is some bias here in the forums given it is a zidoo forum but from what I've seen in most threads people here can be pretty objective). Just want to make sure I'm getting the best out of my TV without the luxury of being able to test various players and compare. I'd probably be happy with the Shield but it seems like there won't be a fix for the red shift so would rather get something that works.
First off let me say I have an Nvidia Shield 2019 and a Z9X in my cinema and I use the Shield for streaming services (Netflix et al) and the Z9X for local 4K content - a mix of SDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision Profile 5, 7 and 8. I would never consider using the Shield for local content - the HDR options are too restrictive and it's just not robust enough. So to answer your questions: 1. The Z9X uses the HDR10 base layer plus the RPU from the enhancement layer. It only ignores the video element of the enhancement layer and this is no great issue as long as you have a correctly mastered DV title (all are these days!). DV support is light years ahead of the Shield. 2. Yes, it's definitely an upgrade but whether it's worth waiting for new hardware to arrive is up to you to decide. My view is life's too short already 3. Yes, with that receiver you can go Z9X > Denon > TV and get full DV support and that's exactly the best way of doing it. 4. I believe the A80J is Player Led only but I stand to be corrected. The A90J is both, but I'd need an EDID from an A80J to tell you for sure. And no, it doesn't really matter. 5. All I can tell you is that I'm not aware of any successor to the Z9X at the moment, and given what I do know I suspect it's not on the cards for a while. But I don't know for sure. Given that you will have to go to some trouble to import the Z9X I will say this - BD Menus are not its strong point, so if you want to use BD Menu then we need to have further conversation (just being honest). However - If we are talking MKV rips then I have absolutely no qualms whatsoever in recommending this player to you - Excuse my indulgence, but my Z9X cost about 1/30 the cost of my center speaker, 1/45 of the cost of my projector and 1/60 the cost of my screen and yet I absolutely would not chose any other player at any cost for SDR, HDR and DV playback in my home cinema.
Thanks for the prompt reply and you confirmed my initial thoughts. Might I ask though why you still use the Shield for streaming services? I'd probably just use the TV apps for streaming since the built in Netflix app supports DV anyway. And yeah, it's only for MKVs, I'm not really fussed about BD menus and extras etc. I just like having a media wall, not fussing with discs, slowness of BR players etc. My pet peeve is that I can't just buy Blu-Ray quality digital files. I wouldn't wait for any new hardware that might be available at some indefinite point, I guess I was just curious whether there is something around the corner that covers all bases but happy with what is available. There are lots of great media players but all seem to have one or other short-coming (like cannot stream HD Audio) and Dolby Vision is just a minefield when it comes to understanding what a player can an cannot do (same with Atmos, it is never clear whether it only supports DV and Atmos in streaming apps like Netflix or whether it can actually do DV and Atmos at Blu-Ray quality). As for importing, well, it's not a major hassle per se, Amazon will ship it to my country, but obviously returns and warranties get a bit more complicated especially if I find it isn't up to snuff.
The reason I use a Shield is to get streaming apps onto a big screen with a projector - I completely agree with you about using a TVs streaming apps - I have a 75" Samsung in my den and again that has a Z9X for local content and I use the built in apps for streaming and that works perfectly. I think we have the same opinion here - menus are just time vampires and people who know me well will be rolling their eyes at this point, but the reason I started using media players (nearly 20 years ago!) was to get rid of menus - first DVD, then Bluray and now UHD BluRay - I just don't see the point of wasting so much time - I much prefer to watch movies!
Yeah, completely with you. After having my Mede8er I can't go back to messing around physical discs and menus (that took forever to load) not to mention being able to access stuff from more than one room (well sure you could cart your discs up and down and around, then misplace one, open up your Blu-Ray of whatever and find the disc to Frozen 2 inside, by which point I give up).
