New TV being purchased, what's needed to work with media on TrueNAS?

[Stilez]

We are going to buy a new TV, but I'm not much up on TV and smart TV technologies.

At the moment, all media are watched by having a small PC. It accesses files on TrueNAS via SMB/Windows Share, and play them on the TV via VLC and an HDMI port. Clearly not how most people now do it, and I'd like to move to a more modern way.

What's usually done, and what are the alternative options? Do we need specific features in a new TV, or to use specific plugins in TrueNAS?

I'd like to minimise the risk of future issues within TrueNAS, so I'd be quite happy if the TV simply had a way to access SMB shares, but I don't think it's usually done that way, is it? Also we have TVs in multiple rooms, so a client-server streaming approach might be better, allowing people to watch simultaneously on other TVs in future when they change which room they're in, or what device they're watching on.

I'm also a bit concerned about codec issues - the server has a total mix of codecs and containers for media, so do we need the TV to be able to install upgraded players, or VLC or something, to ensure it can handle most media, including codecs in future? (We tend to keep domestic tech many years, so "buy a new TV in future" wouldn't be an answer to that). Also not looking for subscriuption or paid systems.

Help appreciated and thanks!!

 

[HoneyBadger]

I avoid "smart" TVs are they're normally quite limited in their ability to customize their interface/plugins/codecs, and often get abandoned by their vendors in terms spanning months, let alone years.

You could use a media front-end such as Kodi or Plex on your existing PC, or look for a separate (Android-based, usually) box with support for decoding the most common codecs in hardware. My old NVIDIA Shield from 2015 is still chugging along, barely breaking a sweat.

 

[Stilez]

I avoid "smart" TVs are they're normally quite limited in their ability to customize their interface/plugins/codecs, and often get abandoned by their vendors in terms spanning months, let alone years.

You could use a media front-end such as Kodi or Plex on your existing PC, or look for a separate (Android-based, usually) box with support for decoding the most common codecs in hardware. My old NVIDIA Shield from 2015 is still chugging along, barely breaking a sweat.

Sadly this is in part for parents. They want to avoid a separate box and also have it usable years. Are there no solutions? TVs that allow updates to sw like VLC? I mean, I can play most things off a USB stick I have??

Sorry if naive, TV and smart home gadgets really isn't my thing so I'm a bit in unfamiliar territory.....

 

[pschatz100]

I would think your best bet would be something like Plex. You can install the server on your TrueNAS box and install the client on your TV. If it's a maintstream TV, Plex ought to be supported.

Personally, I use Roku's on all my TV's and don't rely on Smart TV functionality. However, Smart TV's are pretty capable these days.

 

[kherr]

Even with a Smart TV" .... I use a Nvida Shield and be done with it ... one remote, no switching HDMI inputs, no worries that a "Must Have" app will discontinued by the TV man. (been there .... done that), both wired and wifi capable ...

 

[jgreco]

In general, you probably want to use Plex or another media server platform. I've been using Plex for more than a decade and it's generally very good, though occasionally a bumpy ride.

The upside to the smart TV's are that the TV remotes can be your single remote. This is generally very desirable. But you can also put the cart in front of the horse if you're careful, and use the streamer's remote, in some cases, with caveats.

Samsung's Smart TV's have a somewhat crappy track record.

I had to get rid of the 2010-era UN46C8000's I had spent about $1500/each on by around 2014. The onboard "smart" TV features rotted very quickly, and the gentleman on the Plex forums who was building the unofficial Plex client was having trouble keeping feature parity with the contemporary client.

The 2012 era UN55F8000 we still have is primarily because it's one of the last models that supported 3D; the Plex client worked on it for many years, but lots of features including Skype were deprecated (Skype was not Samsung's fault though). Today it mainly serves as a panel.

The more recent Tizen based Samsung have been very good, even if I don't use the Plex clients on them. More below.

Feature rot on Smart TV's is absolutely a thing, so it may be best off pretending from the get-go that this has already happened. That used to be impractical, for various reasons, but now is potentially feasible.

Buying a quality TV with HDMI-CEC and ARC capabilities is absolutely worth it, though, and that seems to exclude almost all cheap TV's. When paired with a competent streamer box, your TV and receiver can be controlled by the streamer's remote, and, sometimes, the TV remote can control the streamer.

The best streamer out there seems to be the AppleTV. The various Roku's are full of ad-spam and seem to be intended as a platform to try to sell you new content of their choosing. The nVidia Shield is probably too pricey and lacks some capabilities that I don't recall offhand. The AppleTV, especially latest model, is pretty slick and FINALLY after ATV1, ATV2, ATV3, and ATV4 all with various levels of suck, now the latest AppleTV has a really awesome remote. It's good enough that I actively prefer it over my previously favorite Samsung TV remotes. Unfortunately it cannot access the TV settings menus. (sigh).

By separating the panel from the streamer, you gain the ability to occasionally update the streaming box, which seem to have a 5-7 year lifespan these days, while the TV is good for many years.

The biggest challenge is finding a standardized way to serve media that ideally doesn't require transcoding on the server, which can eat lots of CPU. Wifi is bad; wired ethernet is the way to go for TV's or streamers if you can. Modern content streams can be 50-100Mbps, which can swamp small streamers or built-in smart TV CPU's. The AppleTV's work great with that, and can handle common formats just fine.

 

[c77dk]

As you can see from the other replies there's a lot of options I opted for a Raspberry Pi 4 with LibreELEC connected to a LG smartTV (never using the "smart" parts) - accessing the media via SMB, and is controlled via HDMI-CEC.

 

[pschatz100]

@jgreco's comment is one of the reasons I standardized on Roku. Over the years, I have updated the Roku's so now all of them are capable of playing 4K content. This means my Plex server never has to transcode when watching on my home network because the Roku's natively support all the formats I am using. It also presents a uniform look and feel on all the TV's. I would expect the same benefits with Fire Sticks or Apple TV.

Of course, the system still has to transcode when streaming remotely, but that is a small percentage of my activity.

Every platform has its issues.

 

[danb35]

AppleTV. The various Roku's are full of ad-spam

I like my Rokus (and they're considerably cheaper than the AppleTV), but this is sadly true, and there doesn't seem to be a good way to block the ads.

 

[HoneyBadger]

The nVidia Shield is probably too pricey and lacks some capabilities that I don't recall offhand.

Cheaper than an Apple TV by $30 last I checked. Neither the STV or the aTV can handle hardware decode of AV1 or 12-bit HDR, although I hear the aTV is better at handling high-bitrate 4K+HDR10 content. But then you've given Apple money, so you've got that downside.

 

[jgreco]

I like my Rokus (and they're considerably cheaper than the AppleTV), but this is sadly true, and there doesn't seem to be a good way to block the ads.

And the $#+! of it is, the Roku's Plex interface is on par with the AppleTV. I think I could easily live with the Roku Plex.

You can delete a lot of the Roku opportunistic-preinstalled-apps, but they seem to occasionally reinstall themselves, and new ones appear too.

My folks (Dad is in his 90's) had a pair of AppleTV2's that they were doing really well with for Netflix and Apple content, but they eventually needed something newer, and the Roku Ultra was like $70 compared to ATV4k2's $150. I've regretted it ever since, as they don't really quite "get" the idea that the crap on the main screen is opportunistic purchase clickbait. Once you get into Netflix, Apple, or Plex it's very reasonable. I had to open the frickin' remotes and tape over the PCB for Hulu and Disney and maybe other stuff though, 'cause I kept getting tech support calls about "it won't let me watch X" even though I had removed/hidden the app for X.

But then you've given Apple money, so you've got that downside.

I'm not certain that giving Apple money is a downside. There should be a reward for selling people what they want. iPhones do not come filled with random crap apps. macOS does not come filled with random crap apps. Windows, even Windows "Pro", offers Candy Crush at every opportunity, or Office, or Movies & TV, or Minecraft, or all the other insipid home user crap. Almost every Android device seems to be chock full of the crap too. Roku adds crapps regularly. The only way to get a Samsung SmartTV not to offer the asinine "TVPlus" app seems to be to never to put it on the network to begin with; once you do, you either have to have ads or TVPlus. Oh my God, it's full of spam.

I have mainly gotten happier with AppleTV offerings as they've evolved. The current remote is pricey as hell but all by itself is so worth it I updated some older ATV4's with them. Apple rarely spams my home screens with stuff I don't want and I do not find myself resetting stuff all the time.

I understand that people need to be paid, and I'd prefer that companies be honest about it and bill me rather than trying to monetize me. Cook's got that down pat and that's a big win. Yes, I agree in other ways Apple has some evilness (hi Louis Rossmann and rtr people) but it could be worse.

 

[HoneyBadger]

(hi Louis Rossmann and rtr people)

Hi back. ;)

I think the summary though is "regardless of the platform chosen, you probably want to use an outboard solution" as the built-in ones either stagnate rapidly or are already outdated out-of-the-box.

 

[jgreco]

Hi back. ;)

Assuming you're not Louis Rossmann. But yes Apple needs to do better on right to repair. I watched in sadness as small electronics shops like mine shuttered as repairability suffered after the ... 80's? Mine making a weird transition to server hacking.

I think the summary though is "regardless of the platform chosen, you probably want to use an outboard solution" as the built-in ones either stagnate rapidly or are already outdated out-of-the-box.

Perhaps. However, this isn't universally true. The onboard solution for the UN55F8000 has had nothing matching the awesomeness of its one-remote capability. Not only could the TV run Plex natively, but it also integrated fully with the receiver and a Blu-ray player over HDMI-CEC. Only the CEC-less AppleTV3 was left out of the party. The problem is that this is hard to forecast outcomes, and, as noted, lock-in eventually results in rot, so when the AppleTV4K came along, that became the dominant remote, making control of the receiver and Blu-Ray a two-remote solution. Not because the Samsung remote couldn't control the ATV4K, but because it did so poorly in comparison to the ATV4K Siri remote.

If we wanted to agree on something, I suspect it would be "using a high-end panel with a decent high end external streamer" is something we'd agree is a strategy with a high likelihood of a pleasant outcome. There will be weird carve-outs for particular combinations that work particularly well. Cases where CEC allows both the TV and streamer remotes to perform all normal operations are probably the best outcome.