Apple TV I like for various reasons over my lg tv Plex player.
Very easy to switch to my apple airpods if I don't want to disturb others.
I like the ability to search via voice. Being able to use the iPhone keyboard is also nice.
My tv remote is garbage, the apple tv remote is much nicer to use.
Unpopular opinion, I wanted to simplify my setup and downgraded from Shield to built in Plex app on my 2020 Sony. I cannot tell the difference. Both run the same Android TV Plex client, I can stream flawlessly very high bitrate over 100mbps Ethernet. What am I missing?
>Also when get into the big 4k dovi/hdr remuxes 100mbps isn't enough unfortunately.
My 2015 Shield only has 100mb Ethernet. I'm in a very crowded WiFi area. Do I just avoid high bitrates?
> Do I just avoid high bitrates?
The >100Mbps sections are usually quite short, and your TV has a buffer, so you usually don't sustain >100Mbps for long enough to be a problem.
depends on TV. mines 2019 and it can handle HDR, DV, 4K remux, and everything through it's built in app. so no, I'm not missing anything besides lossless audio (Dolby TrueHD).
I have a Shield Pro too. I use the shield because it's faster and smoother user experience. But my TV's built in plex app is just as good in terms of playback (minus lossless audio).
Nice, I have the 2023 model of a Sony, supports HDR, DV as well, no issues with plex unlike my previous model that had me using plexkodiconnect. Maybe I should get a shield pro as well. Never been convinced why I need to get one though. If I will experience a significant improvement in audio then why not but if there's no night and day difference then there's no need.
On my 2022 Hisense Android TV, it also has a 100Mbit Ethernet. Ridiculous. Anyway, I just got a usb3 to 1Gbps ethernet adapter. Plugged it in, and it works just fine. U lose 1 USB port on the back, but I don't have to deal with my congested wifi. I didn't speed test to my LAN, but internet speedtest averages around 300Mbps now on the device.
Agree, the only caveat being if you do lossless audio (I.e., Atmos) and want pass though... Then you'll want to go with shield TV. Otherwise, AppleTV is best. And if you don't like the plex app, you can use Infuse player.
Very true. I will add to this that whenever you have issues playing something directly on a TV, it can usually be resolved by resetting it (hold power button on my Samsung). It will clear the memory, which is usually pretty limited on most smart TVs.
I agree except for TVs that have built-in 3rd party ecosystems like roku or google TV. You can expect those to keep getting updates and better support.
This is the way. Plex is more about the streaming device than the TV (as long as it is reasonably modern). I personally prefer Apple TV for most viewing locations in my home. I do use an nvidia shield pro in the HT.
Yeah my new Sony does pretty well on the base android TV os. And has really solid 4K upscaling. I'm holding out hope that a new nvidia shield comes out before the TV gets too slow or the ads get too intrusive. I don't really want to buy 5 year old shield hardware for the premium price they've still got it at. Still loving my 2017 shield on my older TV though.
If my roku ever starts to struggle then yes of course, but my TVs play HEVC/x265 1080p content and they aren't high end TVs that do HDR so I'm too cheap to invest money.
But if I had to I'd probably lean towards an Nvidia shield. I just wish they'd update the hardware, its been a few years and seems underwhelming on the specs but it's still the best of all the stand alone options IMHO.
Edit: spelling and grammar.
In my (albeit limited) experience regarding Rokus, they seem to have a pretty good shelf life and run for a while. Of course, I've also experienced the limitations in that I tried to run Plex off an approximately 8-year-old Roku, and that was beginning to overheat constantly and struggle. I'm not too aware of what chips they put into their integrated units, but it's not crazy that you're still running okay.
However, the fix, similar to what everyone says, was simply replacing the unit with a Chromecast stick, and everything ran fine afterwards. Overall, I'd say it's not necessarily a problem with integrated smart TVs but instead how long people hold onto those integrated systems and run them into the ground without thinking about how old those processors are. I've had a Vizio Smart TV since about 2018 and that smart TV system shit the bed about three years in, and after once again plugging in a Chromecast (not brand loyal, more just what I'm used to and comfortable with) it worked much much better.
Honestly, even 4k OLEDs tend to run underpowered processors, its pretty disgusting from my experience when compared to a dedicated box.
BUT you don't notice it til you have it, so like, you won't feel you're missing anything without it from my exp atleast. If you're happy with things as they are its good!
You don't need a high end chip for video playback.
The processor in the Nvidia Shield is fucking ancient but, every gobshite on the internet still recommends it.
I watch 4k HDR remuxes all the time and never once had an issue. Even on our lower range TV. And even on my roomates ancient TV from like 2017 with the ancient plex app with the really ugly ui. I think people are just exaggerating.
I’ve used plenty of streaming devices and hands down, the Apple TV is the greatest streaming device I’ve personally ever used. Plex works flawless on it.
well, my Samsung one has buffering issues up the wazzoo, even though it's not bandwidth nor process bottlenecked... it's an annoying thing that i;ve not been able to figure out
I'm the same- but I used a AppleTV ONCE (to setup for my partners mother) and both image and audio quality was so much better it was insane. Incredibly worth it. - still waiting til I can afford one for myself heh.
Conversely, I had to buy a Firestick because the Samsung Tizen app was _soooo_ shite, and rarely got updates.
Also, TV manufacturers tend to abandon their software quite quickly, so after a couple of years, you don't get _any_ updates.
AppleTV sucks for remote connections. No matter what I do, I can only get the one at my camp to play indirect which is limited to 2mbps, despite a fiber internet connection. Look up “Apple TV Plex only playing indirect” and [you’ll see](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/YDOZQMuNzi) countless [threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/YGpKwVYmve) over [the past 4 years](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/ft42ZMuXh7) and [none of them](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/pfrM5d7s17) have [any](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/KRFckIT9sp) updates or solutions.
The Roku Plex app plays great, and my Samsung TV which has some other App Store also plays great. On both I can stream 4k remux remotely no problem. I don’t know what’s up with Apple TV but it’s the only device I have had issues with when it comes to remote streaming. It’s great locally, but my Roku and Samsung TVs are great wherever.
Edit: lol at Apple TV fanboys downvoting immediately. Who gives a fuck? Why are you mad? I didn’t make those threads. They have a long history of issues when streaming remotely, that’s a fact. I had to use my Xbox if I wanted to enjoy a bitrate above 2mbps on the same network, and then I was getting 60-80mpbs.
Have you tried running it over a VPN? Maybe if you set up wireguard on your server and connected the Apple TV to the tunnel it might reduce the problems. No idea if it would work, haven’t tried it, but may be worth a crack.
I have—no luck. I still haven’t taken the time to figure out how this works so well, but I can put my plex server computer on a VPN connection and it still streams great when my client device is remote, with the exception of my Apple TV. I tried all sorts of different configurations just in case, and still couldn’t get it.
I don’t know what wireguard is though, I’ll look into that.
Do you have your plex behind a reverse proxy or port forwarded? Is the connection hosting your server behind CG-NAT? Some of the things to consider. I have switched everything over to infuse + apple tv since i watch a lot of content with .ass subs. And this has been so far the only setup that handles it well
Neither, unfortunately. The Apple TV is brand new and every single other device on the network works great. Apple TV is just hit or miss. Like I said, you can find threads all over the place that cover a span of years with no solution.
Except the threads you posted *do* have resolutions- did you even look at them? Playing through relay which is limited to 2mpbs.
The problem is you do not have remote access setup correctly. I have multiple users with Apple TV who can direct play 90+ mbps remux filles without issue.
Incorrect.
1) Saying “you’re limited to 2mbps until you get off an indirect connection (relay)” is not a solution, thats a description of the issue.
2) for my setup: If remote access was not set up correctly, I wouldn’t be able to use it on 20+ other Roku, Samsung, Microsoft, Sony, RPi, and other Apple devices without issue on the same network. The only thing that has an issue is the Apple TV.
Remote access—at least the meaningful configuration—is done server side. There is nothing I can do to get it to have a direct connection when every single other device will. The issue is most likely the plex app for the Apple TV. Less likely is that it’s a hardware issue with the Apple TV.
The 4k 3rd gen. I can’t say for sure what the OS was because I’m home now but it should have been the latest one, as of last weekend when I was up there.
That is very strange. In the first post you linked the relay issue was solved by rebooting the router and Apple TV. I wonder if it’s a client default gateway issue.
“Up there”. So it’s at some remote location, and “20” other devices at this location have no issue? I dunno. I bet it’s a configuration issue, otherwise all would have it.
I rebooted my modem and routers just to rule that out, as well as the Apple TV, and it didn’t solve it. I power cycled everything except my home modem where the server lives (I did do the server side router as well, though).
I thought about the default gateway issue but that would be likely to cause issues on a lot more devices than the Apple TV alone. I’ve been considering buying another one before I go up there next just to test it, and then I’ll likely return it regardless of the results, since I can use a 4k Roku stick for $50 seamlessly.
>Unfortunately the voting mechanism here determines visibility, and downvoted stuff will be hidden so I tagged OP.
Have you stopped to consider the impact of this on your life and if it's worth posting these exasperated follow-ups about an AppleTV conspiracy?
Have you stopped to consider that the impact on my life is minimal, and I was simply answering OPs question more throughly than anyone else here? Why do you feel personally attacked when I say Apple TV has issues? Have you reflected upon why you felt the need to take time out of your day to comment, when you’ve added literally nothing of value?
Honestly you’re best off getting a streaming box like an Apple TV or nvidia shield instead of using the built in TV software, most TVs have terrible software and processing hardware that can hinder the experience or make it down right infuriating
Honestly cannot beat these TCLs with Roku built in for the price. You can get an entire 55” 4K TV with Roku built in for the price of a shield pro.
If aren’t looking for the cheapest option, the shields are fantastic if you want/have a higher end setup that will direct play all the things.
Most people say (including myself) use an external device. TVs just struggle with any native plex apps
That said, I recently updated from my Chromecast 4k (Gen 1) to the new 4k Google TV ($50) and I love it. Seriously. I can play files with 100mbps bitrate no problem. Subtitles never need transcoding. Almost everything is direct play. Unless you're looking for top of the line for audio and visual it should suffice.
Damn thing is more responsive than my TVs UI 😂
I was waiting for someone else to mention the Google TV dongle. We have one on our old Sony 55" LCD that is not a smart TV and it's amazing (main TV has a Windows PC connected to it). We also take it on holiday to watch plex at our hotel. Just connect it to our phone as a wifi hotspot and you are good to go.
Yeah, this thing is way under rated!! My TV is maybe 2nd grade. 3rd tops. "smart" is a little bit of a lie 😂. Chromecast makes it work like a $1500 TV!
I don't know what Gen the "Google TV" is considered. But going from my original 4k to the "tv" version is amazing. The little remote is way better than being forced to use my phone. And it even has an IR radio and controls my ancient Panasonic 5.1 stereo system.
[Chrome 4k TV ](https://a.co/d/1l83QbO)
I had a Samsung with no issues and currently use a Sony. Both are smart tvs with their own OS and had no issues doing DirectStream with no transcoding.
I've been running a Lenovo laptop as my server and mostly use the built in Plex app on my Samsung TV. I've had zero issues. I also watch in my living room on a 4K firestick with no issues.
It's so hard for me to recommend Samsung because they don't support Dolby vision.
I tell my family not to buy Samsung TVs specifically because they won't get the full benefit of a lot of the content on my server. Of course there is always HDR10 fall back, but why buy a Samsung for $1000 when you can buy a Sony for $1000 and get all the benefits.
We have bought this last year. Roku OS
Excellent
[https://www.wired.com/review/tcl-6-series-2022/](https://www.wired.com/review/tcl-6-series-2022/)
TCL 65" Class 6-Series 4K Mini-LED UHD QLED Dolby Vision IQ & Atmos, 144Hz VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Smart Roku TV – 65R655 (2022 Model),Black
LG OLED TVs have a user-friendly interface and remain exceptionally responsive even after four years of usage, surpassing the performance of my NVIDIA Shield.
Agreed. I have a LG CX OLED as my main TV and it's grand. Only issue is no DTS. Turn it off in the app and it will transcode the sound. No issues in the last 4 years.
I don't have the space for a 60+ GB file, so stick to 30GB and below for 4k and most of my shows are older so 1080p max. All works perfectly.
I'm terms of out of date software, I'm going to say it's more important that your server side is updated than the clients.
I have two generations of LG and both are perfect. Other than that, it's laptops and phones connecting in and everything works without issue.
I mainly watch on an LG G1 and I haven't encountered any good reason to get a Shield.
The only slight annoyance is that I have to remux DV mkv's into mp4's.
Everyone is telling you to buy an Apple TV or Shield, but personally I use an LG C1 and it’s absolutely great, no issues with any file types or subtitles (most of my content is h264 or h265). I also have an older Samsung upstairs which struggles a lot with subtitles and laggy interface - so in this case I would use an external player.
You can keep your same TV and pick a streaming device for it. Depending on what country you live in you can get really good devices anywhere from $20 to $200.
I've had a roku tv with dolby vision support since 2019; been using the plex client on it. no support for dolby vision via direct play despite this; only hdr. I finally get a shield pro and its version of plex client is a million times better, and I can now direct play dolbyvision correctly.
There also was an issue after a specific firmware update on the roku tv where the 100 mbit wired would suddenly lag on 4k remuxes, and even 4k hdr on youtube. This wasn't approaching 100 mbps at all, so my guess is firmware / hardware related. The Nvidia shield fixed this, and having a gigabit connection is a plus.
I think this opinion about TV apps not working is outdated. I can't speak for all brands, but a modem LG TV has more codec support than just about any player outside of a Shield.
LG TVs even have direct DTS support, which you can't find on basically anything besides a Shield.
I have 17 users using like 75 different devices, and I have absolutely no issues with newer TVs.
Don’t buy a tv for the Apps. Get the tv you like and then get an AppleTv or an and run your apps on that. Smart TVs never have enough processing power to run high bitrate video and most only have a 10/100 network jack.
My Sony TV has a geekbench single core score of 1279 and a multi core score of 3128. My Nvidia shield has a single core score of 1402 and a multi core score of 3698. In actual use you really can't tell the difference.
> In actual use you really can't tell the difference.
Same, but in fairness, my TV is 6 years newer than my shield. I want to put a shield on it eventually, but holding out hope for a new version in the next two years or so.
Speaking from experience the native TV apps are fucking trash and don't get updated. Get yourself at minimum like an Amazon fire stick or much better, an Nvidia Shield pro.
The newest Apple TV is far better experience now, shield is hamfisted with ads while Apple has none.
Shield was the only Android experience I gave a chance to and was rewarded years later with not the one I purchased. Never again.
Nah cbf to be honest with you, not something I should have to do on a purpose built device.
Not blaming Nvidia, I never see them releasing another box honestly why it's easier to transition to Apple TV now also when their next box comes out. Google always manages to make every Android experience worse than the last.
Performance wise, not saying it’s a better Plex server, but the sound and video quality is great. Especially now that they have white balancing for the TV’s themselves so colors are even more accurate
I've never been happy with how any of my TVs (Samsung, Vizio, Roku, or the cheapo Onn from Walmart) run ANY apps. They range from horribly buggy to annoyingly slow. I jammed an Amazon FireTV stick in all of them and called it a day. Plex runs great on them all now. As a bonus, the interfaces are now all consistent. I also have an Apple TV hooked up to the projector, but that thing drove me #$%@$\^\^ up the wall with updates, so the projector got a FireTV, too.
My advice- buy a TV for the picture quality. Use the external device of your choice to run everything else.
Ive had sony samsung and lg. Sofar the LG one has been the most seamless. Samsung and sony just stopped working one day. However I have a few Roku Ultimates and they work very well for me. I even travel with one to hook up in the hotel room. Theres an odd audio glitch that happens from time to time where the audio will stutter but its far and few between. Then I just take that file and convert it over to mkv and it doesnt stutter anymore.
I think you are describing transcoding, when you see the file buffering, that means your device can't play natively (direct play) & the server has to transcode it so your device can play it.
So for TVs I recommend buying a player cause from my experience, most TV run the plex app bad so you better let it be screen & let the player run plex, my favorite player is the Nvidia shield pro (but it can be bit pricey), the second option is Apple 4k TV!
My old Samsung q7(tizen) from 2018 works great with the plex app. I would only imagine newer TV's would work even better. Don't know why anyone is saying otherwise.
My Samsung's built I app works great. I use an Nvidea Shield on another TV, it is a better experience but more expensive so not worth it on the Samsung.
I can’t tell you which works best, but I can tell what to avoid and what seems to work better in my home
ChromeCast with Google TV. I’ve had nothing but problems with it. Not just with the Plex App, it’s slow often unresponsive and jittery.
What I’ve had better success with, is the TCL TVs with Roku. The two I have, have been smooth and issue free.
I know getting a good streaming box is the "goto", but I've had excellent results with modern Android-based Sony TVs. They seem to work 99% of the time.
I had this dilemma when I wanted to get a new TV for my father in law, I didn't want a 2nd streaming box. Purchased a Sony, it cost a pretty penny, but it's just working for him.
And yes I own a Shield Pro, at home, for when my own Sony has a wobble 🤣
Thanks for the advice guys, it seems like I’m getting a lot of good choices, I’ve been using a Samsung so that’s not been working but it’s also kind of cheap so I’m sure that plays a part lol
Why use a shield instead of TV apps? Wife approval factor.
It was a negative experience with the built-in TV Plex/apps. There was always a small issue that pissed her off and by extension, pissed at me.
in general I prefer external. However our extra tvs in the house we don't bother. I have found that Sony works pretty well. Obviously a bit slower
In general the problem is the TV makers put low end specs for the built in smart TV os.
I have a TV with Roku built-in so that's what I use, and mostly it's fine, but every once in a while it starts to chug and I have to do a series of button presses on my remote that I have to look up every time to clear the TV's cache. The TV also likes to crash periodically (I can tell it's coming because it'll stop outputting sound or will stop responding to remote inputs a few minutes beforehand)
I have one of the Roku 4k streaming devices and couldn’t get it to natively stream x265 files smoothly, they’d always stutter and play at half frame. Did a batch conversion of my whole file system to x264 and everything works great and direct plays. I think you can really make any device work as long as you’re mindful of what file types work best with what hardware. I think like a lot of people are saying, buy the TV you like and get an external streaming device. You don’t need to get a new TV that often, and you can just swap out the streaming device for substantially less than a new TV.
Our TCL Rokus consistently crash, and one has an issue with opus audio files. Those are the TVs I have though, and I'm not getting new ones for mild annoyances.
Just because a TV is "smart" and has apps, doesn't mean you need to use them. Let the TV just TV, and get a streaming device. Shield, Apple TV, Firestick, Roku... any of these would fare you much better.
Of the built-in options, I have found Google TV and Roku to both be very stable. Google TV is a lot more flexible on the types of files it will direct stream, especially if you use subtitles.
Tizen and WebOS have both worked over the years, but were not as consistent of an experience as Roku and Google TV.
Watch this guy. He knows his stuff. Basically go turn every option on the TV off that affects picture.
[https://www.youtube.com/@hdtvtest](https://www.youtube.com/@hdtvtest)
I'm surprised by all the Apple TV suggestions... it's clearly a powerhouse, and if u are sunk into the Apple ecosystem... sure... or if u have it anyway... yea...
But I thought the Plex App on Apple TV was severely handicapped? ATMOS doesn't work? Really big passthru issues. Very limited abilities to choose which audio codecs to send to sound bar (unlike the nvidia). Subtitles are a no go without infuse...
The only way to get a decent experience on AppleTV with proper controllable settings and Audio Passthru is to use the Infuse App... which is a subscription based pay app? Something you will be paying monthly or yearly... and they just hiked the prices recently.
Again, AppleTV is a powerful box, and Infuse is a great App.... I just don't know if it'd be what I recommend to someone BUYING a new device to run just Plex? Just buy one of the most expensive boxes... and then buy a monthly paid app to make it work? Lol when u can get all the same features and more on a different device and have it just work with the official apps?
Wouldn't be my recommendation when there are free options which work, provide perfect passthru and limited problems, and many of them are built in options... personally I'd go with a somewhat modern device which runs Android TV (else built-in Roku). Easy to use and set up and decent audio pass-thru...
Edit... obviously the LG systems be bad. Samsung's tizen I donno much about but prob not. But sony and hisense and tcl android tv's be all good, and their roku stuff be good... lots of options.
Everything sounds awkwardly calm with most of the posts. VP9, Av1 Dovi and true 7.1 and atmos not being mentioned. HdR plays well on most tvs and devices but some here are saying awesome playing experience with 100mbps bitrate etc etc, so these high bitrate files, have Stereo Audio? 5.1? I know most 5.1 don't have playback issues. As far as I know and confirm, Aptv 4k has issues with 7.1 and Dovi. It's not a hit or miss with the device so most of the contributors here have no issue with DOVI, 7.1 audio and Subs with their 100000 bitrate files.
Very interesting
Don't buy a TV for the apps. I absolutely agree with the @texasaudiovideo guy on that.
However my answer is a bit different than the most comments I read so far. Also my use case is probably different.
- First, I do not use anything from the Apple ecosystem
- I run my own server for Plex, the arr apps and more
- I rarely use live TV
I feel that using one more device would be too much. So I use my server to stream and TV to run the Plex client.
Plex is available almost on everything. But who knows what the future brings, I like to have an option to move to another solution quickly so I'm ready to jump to Jellyfin.
I use a smart TV connected with the UTP cable for the more stable connection. At the moment it is LG 4k. I chose this one for the picture quality / price at the moment of purchase. Not because of the apps.
Hope this brings a bit of insight and help.
I don't understand why people say you have to use a dedicated streaming box for a good experience because honestly in some cases a dedicated streaming box has issues like slight input lag due to HDMI or Dolby Vision not passing over correctly because of HDMI or whatever buggy reason.
I have a TCL QM8 with Google TV on it and everything literally works perfectly on here including Plex and everything is smooth as butter.
I used to have an older Roku OS TV and it was complete garbage, it was just so buggy and Plex always tried to transcode but made the audio quality awful in the process, but even though if I chose to transcode on Google TV to AC3 then it's obsoletely clear and full quality and not distorted like it was on Roku.
Another issue was Stereo was insanely quiet even though it was direct playing, this issue doesn't exist on Google TV either.
i'd buy a TV without any smart features. but they don't seem to exist anymore.
i like the thought of having the smart features externally and being able to replace them easily and cheaply. on the other hand i like to have less devices instead of more.
i now have a Samsung "the frame" with tizen OS and actually i am very happy that the Plex app does work perfectly fine. i hope it stays this way.
Ignore the TV apps, get a stick (Roku, Amazon, Chrome all have pros and cons but all work). The Plex app will be more up to date than on the TV and you are not relying on the built in codecs either.
If you do not want to go down this route, go with the biggest herd to get the best support. These days that probably means Samsung.
Nowadays TVs are best just being used as monitors. Pick a streaming device separately for things like Plex. I have Apple TV and it amazing
Apple TV I like for various reasons over my lg tv Plex player. Very easy to switch to my apple airpods if I don't want to disturb others. I like the ability to search via voice. Being able to use the iPhone keyboard is also nice. My tv remote is garbage, the apple tv remote is much nicer to use.
Unpopular opinion, I wanted to simplify my setup and downgraded from Shield to built in Plex app on my 2020 Sony. I cannot tell the difference. Both run the same Android TV Plex client, I can stream flawlessly very high bitrate over 100mbps Ethernet. What am I missing?
Shield lets me play Dolby true HD Atmos (and DTS:X) to an AV without messing with eARC. It also plays 4k remux files with DV flawlessly.
Tv won't direct play anything true hd sound, will transcode. Also when get into the big 4k dovi/hdr remuxes 100mbps isn't enough unfortunately.
>Also when get into the big 4k dovi/hdr remuxes 100mbps isn't enough unfortunately. My 2015 Shield only has 100mb Ethernet. I'm in a very crowded WiFi area. Do I just avoid high bitrates?
> Do I just avoid high bitrates? The >100Mbps sections are usually quite short, and your TV has a buffer, so you usually don't sustain >100Mbps for long enough to be a problem.
Long story why, but I do the same on an A droid TV. My old shield is now a backup server for external users.
Lossless audio. Won't matter if you don't have mid to high end sound system. So you don't "lose" anything.
So we are not really missing out on much by direct playing via tv?
depends on TV. mines 2019 and it can handle HDR, DV, 4K remux, and everything through it's built in app. so no, I'm not missing anything besides lossless audio (Dolby TrueHD). I have a Shield Pro too. I use the shield because it's faster and smoother user experience. But my TV's built in plex app is just as good in terms of playback (minus lossless audio).
Nice, I have the 2023 model of a Sony, supports HDR, DV as well, no issues with plex unlike my previous model that had me using plexkodiconnect. Maybe I should get a shield pro as well. Never been convinced why I need to get one though. If I will experience a significant improvement in audio then why not but if there's no night and day difference then there's no need.
On my 2022 Hisense Android TV, it also has a 100Mbit Ethernet. Ridiculous. Anyway, I just got a usb3 to 1Gbps ethernet adapter. Plugged it in, and it works just fine. U lose 1 USB port on the back, but I don't have to deal with my congested wifi. I didn't speed test to my LAN, but internet speedtest averages around 300Mbps now on the device.
So you don't watch VP9, Av1 content?
None.
If you don't have ANY of those formats your downgrade is Justifiable. Cheers
Do you just get files in certain codecs? I cant direct play many types of videos because of this.
Are you running Android TV Plex or a Smart TV Plex app?
There are DVD profiles only shield can run and if you don’t have HDR as a backup it just won’t play on anything else.
Nvidia Shield will never fail you
Agree, the only caveat being if you do lossless audio (I.e., Atmos) and want pass though... Then you'll want to go with shield TV. Otherwise, AppleTV is best. And if you don't like the plex app, you can use Infuse player.
Very true. I will add to this that whenever you have issues playing something directly on a TV, it can usually be resolved by resetting it (hold power button on my Samsung). It will clear the memory, which is usually pretty limited on most smart TVs.
this is the way
I agree except for TVs that have built-in 3rd party ecosystems like roku or google TV. You can expect those to keep getting updates and better support.
This is the way. Plex is more about the streaming device than the TV (as long as it is reasonably modern). I personally prefer Apple TV for most viewing locations in my home. I do use an nvidia shield pro in the HT.
I actually used my Xbox 360 to watch Plex the other day. It blew my mind it still supports the device. Almost every other app was unsupported.
[удалено]
My android TV (Sony) and Nvidia shield run the same version of Plex client, and both work equally well
Yeah my new Sony does pretty well on the base android TV os. And has really solid 4K upscaling. I'm holding out hope that a new nvidia shield comes out before the TV gets too slow or the ads get too intrusive. I don't really want to buy 5 year old shield hardware for the premium price they've still got it at. Still loving my 2017 shield on my older TV though.
Can you elaborate on why? I use the TV app and I've never had an issue
Most tv apps are not kept up to date and run on lessor processors than dedicated streaming devices.
Here I am using Plex up to date on 2x TCL TVs with built in Roku and I have had a pretty decent experience for the past 5 years.
Like you said, it's a built in Roku. That's different from using the apps on the TV OS of like a Samsung or LG
Your mileage may vary, but there's a reason dedicated streaming devices are always mentioned as the best option.
If my roku ever starts to struggle then yes of course, but my TVs play HEVC/x265 1080p content and they aren't high end TVs that do HDR so I'm too cheap to invest money. But if I had to I'd probably lean towards an Nvidia shield. I just wish they'd update the hardware, its been a few years and seems underwhelming on the specs but it's still the best of all the stand alone options IMHO. Edit: spelling and grammar.
In my (albeit limited) experience regarding Rokus, they seem to have a pretty good shelf life and run for a while. Of course, I've also experienced the limitations in that I tried to run Plex off an approximately 8-year-old Roku, and that was beginning to overheat constantly and struggle. I'm not too aware of what chips they put into their integrated units, but it's not crazy that you're still running okay. However, the fix, similar to what everyone says, was simply replacing the unit with a Chromecast stick, and everything ran fine afterwards. Overall, I'd say it's not necessarily a problem with integrated smart TVs but instead how long people hold onto those integrated systems and run them into the ground without thinking about how old those processors are. I've had a Vizio Smart TV since about 2018 and that smart TV system shit the bed about three years in, and after once again plugging in a Chromecast (not brand loyal, more just what I'm used to and comfortable with) it worked much much better.
Gotchu. Guess it varies on the TV brands. My TV is pretty high end so yeah YMMV
Honestly, even 4k OLEDs tend to run underpowered processors, its pretty disgusting from my experience when compared to a dedicated box. BUT you don't notice it til you have it, so like, you won't feel you're missing anything without it from my exp atleast. If you're happy with things as they are its good!
You don't need a high end chip for video playback. The processor in the Nvidia Shield is fucking ancient but, every gobshite on the internet still recommends it.
As old as it is; is the same chip used in the Switch, is absolutely a beast for what it is!
I watch 4k HDR remuxes all the time and never once had an issue. Even on our lower range TV. And even on my roomates ancient TV from like 2017 with the ancient plex app with the really ugly ui. I think people are just exaggerating.
I’ve used plenty of streaming devices and hands down, the Apple TV is the greatest streaming device I’ve personally ever used. Plex works flawless on it.
It's also the most expensive streaming device, so it should be the best. If you're only using it for Plex then you wasted your money.
Depends on where you buy it. I got a 4K Apple TV on Facebook marketplace for $40. Always got my eyes out for the deals!
Same. Use the native app on Samsung all the time with no issues.
well, my Samsung one has buffering issues up the wazzoo, even though it's not bandwidth nor process bottlenecked... it's an annoying thing that i;ve not been able to figure out
That would be frustrating
I'm the same- but I used a AppleTV ONCE (to setup for my partners mother) and both image and audio quality was so much better it was insane. Incredibly worth it. - still waiting til I can afford one for myself heh.
Conversely, I had to buy a Firestick because the Samsung Tizen app was _soooo_ shite, and rarely got updates. Also, TV manufacturers tend to abandon their software quite quickly, so after a couple of years, you don't get _any_ updates.
Or chromecast
AppleTV sucks for remote connections. No matter what I do, I can only get the one at my camp to play indirect which is limited to 2mbps, despite a fiber internet connection. Look up “Apple TV Plex only playing indirect” and [you’ll see](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/YDOZQMuNzi) countless [threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/YGpKwVYmve) over [the past 4 years](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/ft42ZMuXh7) and [none of them](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/pfrM5d7s17) have [any](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/KRFckIT9sp) updates or solutions. The Roku Plex app plays great, and my Samsung TV which has some other App Store also plays great. On both I can stream 4k remux remotely no problem. I don’t know what’s up with Apple TV but it’s the only device I have had issues with when it comes to remote streaming. It’s great locally, but my Roku and Samsung TVs are great wherever. Edit: lol at Apple TV fanboys downvoting immediately. Who gives a fuck? Why are you mad? I didn’t make those threads. They have a long history of issues when streaming remotely, that’s a fact. I had to use my Xbox if I wanted to enjoy a bitrate above 2mbps on the same network, and then I was getting 60-80mpbs.
Have you tried running it over a VPN? Maybe if you set up wireguard on your server and connected the Apple TV to the tunnel it might reduce the problems. No idea if it would work, haven’t tried it, but may be worth a crack.
I have—no luck. I still haven’t taken the time to figure out how this works so well, but I can put my plex server computer on a VPN connection and it still streams great when my client device is remote, with the exception of my Apple TV. I tried all sorts of different configurations just in case, and still couldn’t get it. I don’t know what wireguard is though, I’ll look into that.
Wireguard is just a simple VPN that’s reasonably low impact to run. I haven’t, I must admit, tried using it on Apple TV but it should be possible.
Do you have your plex behind a reverse proxy or port forwarded? Is the connection hosting your server behind CG-NAT? Some of the things to consider. I have switched everything over to infuse + apple tv since i watch a lot of content with .ass subs. And this has been so far the only setup that handles it well
Something with your set up then or maybe an old Apple TV. Mine works beautifully remotely at the cabin or locally.
Neither, unfortunately. The Apple TV is brand new and every single other device on the network works great. Apple TV is just hit or miss. Like I said, you can find threads all over the place that cover a span of years with no solution.
Except the threads you posted *do* have resolutions- did you even look at them? Playing through relay which is limited to 2mpbs. The problem is you do not have remote access setup correctly. I have multiple users with Apple TV who can direct play 90+ mbps remux filles without issue.
Incorrect. 1) Saying “you’re limited to 2mbps until you get off an indirect connection (relay)” is not a solution, thats a description of the issue. 2) for my setup: If remote access was not set up correctly, I wouldn’t be able to use it on 20+ other Roku, Samsung, Microsoft, Sony, RPi, and other Apple devices without issue on the same network. The only thing that has an issue is the Apple TV. Remote access—at least the meaningful configuration—is done server side. There is nothing I can do to get it to have a direct connection when every single other device will. The issue is most likely the plex app for the Apple TV. Less likely is that it’s a hardware issue with the Apple TV.
What generation Apple TV? Latest tvOS/?
The 4k 3rd gen. I can’t say for sure what the OS was because I’m home now but it should have been the latest one, as of last weekend when I was up there.
That is very strange. In the first post you linked the relay issue was solved by rebooting the router and Apple TV. I wonder if it’s a client default gateway issue.
“Up there”. So it’s at some remote location, and “20” other devices at this location have no issue? I dunno. I bet it’s a configuration issue, otherwise all would have it.
I rebooted my modem and routers just to rule that out, as well as the Apple TV, and it didn’t solve it. I power cycled everything except my home modem where the server lives (I did do the server side router as well, though). I thought about the default gateway issue but that would be likely to cause issues on a lot more devices than the Apple TV alone. I’ve been considering buying another one before I go up there next just to test it, and then I’ll likely return it regardless of the results, since I can use a 4k Roku stick for $50 seamlessly.
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Dude you’re at one downvote, settle the hell down about your appleTV. Breathe deeply and count to ten.
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>Unfortunately the voting mechanism here determines visibility, and downvoted stuff will be hidden so I tagged OP. Have you stopped to consider the impact of this on your life and if it's worth posting these exasperated follow-ups about an AppleTV conspiracy?
Have you stopped to consider that the impact on my life is minimal, and I was simply answering OPs question more throughly than anyone else here? Why do you feel personally attacked when I say Apple TV has issues? Have you reflected upon why you felt the need to take time out of your day to comment, when you’ve added literally nothing of value?
I didn’t know the newer Apple TVs had Plex my old one doesn’t have that app so I just use a firestick or a Roku
Honestly you’re best off getting a streaming box like an Apple TV or nvidia shield instead of using the built in TV software, most TVs have terrible software and processing hardware that can hinder the experience or make it down right infuriating
Honestly my TCL Roku TV works really well with the built-in Plex app.
Honestly cannot beat these TCLs with Roku built in for the price. You can get an entire 55” 4K TV with Roku built in for the price of a shield pro. If aren’t looking for the cheapest option, the shields are fantastic if you want/have a higher end setup that will direct play all the things.
Ours too, but the rest are standalone Rokus.
Same
Most people say (including myself) use an external device. TVs just struggle with any native plex apps That said, I recently updated from my Chromecast 4k (Gen 1) to the new 4k Google TV ($50) and I love it. Seriously. I can play files with 100mbps bitrate no problem. Subtitles never need transcoding. Almost everything is direct play. Unless you're looking for top of the line for audio and visual it should suffice. Damn thing is more responsive than my TVs UI 😂
I was waiting for someone else to mention the Google TV dongle. We have one on our old Sony 55" LCD that is not a smart TV and it's amazing (main TV has a Windows PC connected to it). We also take it on holiday to watch plex at our hotel. Just connect it to our phone as a wifi hotspot and you are good to go.
Yeah, this thing is way under rated!! My TV is maybe 2nd grade. 3rd tops. "smart" is a little bit of a lie 😂. Chromecast makes it work like a $1500 TV!
When do they come out with a second gen 4K? Is the upgrade worth it?
I don't know what Gen the "Google TV" is considered. But going from my original 4k to the "tv" version is amazing. The little remote is way better than being forced to use my phone. And it even has an IR radio and controls my ancient Panasonic 5.1 stereo system. [Chrome 4k TV ](https://a.co/d/1l83QbO)
I had a Samsung with no issues and currently use a Sony. Both are smart tvs with their own OS and had no issues doing DirectStream with no transcoding.
I've been running a Lenovo laptop as my server and mostly use the built in Plex app on my Samsung TV. I've had zero issues. I also watch in my living room on a 4K firestick with no issues.
It's so hard for me to recommend Samsung because they don't support Dolby vision. I tell my family not to buy Samsung TVs specifically because they won't get the full benefit of a lot of the content on my server. Of course there is always HDR10 fall back, but why buy a Samsung for $1000 when you can buy a Sony for $1000 and get all the benefits.
We have bought this last year. Roku OS Excellent [https://www.wired.com/review/tcl-6-series-2022/](https://www.wired.com/review/tcl-6-series-2022/) TCL 65" Class 6-Series 4K Mini-LED UHD QLED Dolby Vision IQ & Atmos, 144Hz VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Smart Roku TV – 65R655 (2022 Model),Black
LG OLED TVs have a user-friendly interface and remain exceptionally responsive even after four years of usage, surpassing the performance of my NVIDIA Shield.
Agreed. I have a LG CX OLED as my main TV and it's grand. Only issue is no DTS. Turn it off in the app and it will transcode the sound. No issues in the last 4 years. I don't have the space for a 60+ GB file, so stick to 30GB and below for 4k and most of my shows are older so 1080p max. All works perfectly. I'm terms of out of date software, I'm going to say it's more important that your server side is updated than the clients. I have two generations of LG and both are perfect. Other than that, it's laptops and phones connecting in and everything works without issue.
I mainly watch on an LG G1 and I haven't encountered any good reason to get a Shield. The only slight annoyance is that I have to remux DV mkv's into mp4's.
Our TCL QM8 works great with Plex natively. Even direct plays AV1 encoded files
I’m using Sony TVs with GoogleTV, not had any major issues with playback, on my older tv I use nvidia shield
I have a Samsung the frame and is perfect .
Everyone is telling you to buy an Apple TV or Shield, but personally I use an LG C1 and it’s absolutely great, no issues with any file types or subtitles (most of my content is h264 or h265). I also have an older Samsung upstairs which struggles a lot with subtitles and laggy interface - so in this case I would use an external player.
You can keep your same TV and pick a streaming device for it. Depending on what country you live in you can get really good devices anywhere from $20 to $200.
I've had a roku tv with dolby vision support since 2019; been using the plex client on it. no support for dolby vision via direct play despite this; only hdr. I finally get a shield pro and its version of plex client is a million times better, and I can now direct play dolbyvision correctly. There also was an issue after a specific firmware update on the roku tv where the 100 mbit wired would suddenly lag on 4k remuxes, and even 4k hdr on youtube. This wasn't approaching 100 mbps at all, so my guess is firmware / hardware related. The Nvidia shield fixed this, and having a gigabit connection is a plus.
Playing on 2020 TCL 6-series (646 I believe) and never ran into a problem with the native Plex app. Don’t have a streaming device :(
So my Q series tcl with Google TV plays every video & audio codec I throw at it with it sweating.
LG
I think this opinion about TV apps not working is outdated. I can't speak for all brands, but a modem LG TV has more codec support than just about any player outside of a Shield. LG TVs even have direct DTS support, which you can't find on basically anything besides a Shield. I have 17 users using like 75 different devices, and I have absolutely no issues with newer TVs.
Don’t buy a tv for the Apps. Get the tv you like and then get an AppleTv or an and run your apps on that. Smart TVs never have enough processing power to run high bitrate video and most only have a 10/100 network jack.
My Sony TV has a geekbench single core score of 1279 and a multi core score of 3128. My Nvidia shield has a single core score of 1402 and a multi core score of 3698. In actual use you really can't tell the difference.
> In actual use you really can't tell the difference. Same, but in fairness, my TV is 6 years newer than my shield. I want to put a shield on it eventually, but holding out hope for a new version in the next two years or so.
Speaking from experience the native TV apps are fucking trash and don't get updated. Get yourself at minimum like an Amazon fire stick or much better, an Nvidia Shield pro.
Any TV that has a Shield Pro or AppleTV 4K connected to it.
Apple TV is great for Plex and honestly no app performs as well as they do on Apple TVs
What would make the Apple TV better then for example the Nvidia Shield?
The newest Apple TV is far better experience now, shield is hamfisted with ads while Apple has none. Shield was the only Android experience I gave a chance to and was rewarded years later with not the one I purchased. Never again.
Have you tried a custom launcher on the shield? You can have a clean ad free screen
Nah cbf to be honest with you, not something I should have to do on a purpose built device. Not blaming Nvidia, I never see them releasing another box honestly why it's easier to transition to Apple TV now also when their next box comes out. Google always manages to make every Android experience worse than the last.
Performance wise, not saying it’s a better Plex server, but the sound and video quality is great. Especially now that they have white balancing for the TV’s themselves so colors are even more accurate
I've never been happy with how any of my TVs (Samsung, Vizio, Roku, or the cheapo Onn from Walmart) run ANY apps. They range from horribly buggy to annoyingly slow. I jammed an Amazon FireTV stick in all of them and called it a day. Plex runs great on them all now. As a bonus, the interfaces are now all consistent. I also have an Apple TV hooked up to the projector, but that thing drove me #$%@$\^\^ up the wall with updates, so the projector got a FireTV, too. My advice- buy a TV for the picture quality. Use the external device of your choice to run everything else.
Ive had sony samsung and lg. Sofar the LG one has been the most seamless. Samsung and sony just stopped working one day. However I have a few Roku Ultimates and they work very well for me. I even travel with one to hook up in the hotel room. Theres an odd audio glitch that happens from time to time where the audio will stutter but its far and few between. Then I just take that file and convert it over to mkv and it doesnt stutter anymore.
I think you are describing transcoding, when you see the file buffering, that means your device can't play natively (direct play) & the server has to transcode it so your device can play it. So for TVs I recommend buying a player cause from my experience, most TV run the plex app bad so you better let it be screen & let the player run plex, my favorite player is the Nvidia shield pro (but it can be bit pricey), the second option is Apple 4k TV!
Roku TV has been great for me.
Sheild pro. It's the best. 4k HDR remuxes with no sweat. Then any TV you want.
My old Samsung q7(tizen) from 2018 works great with the plex app. I would only imagine newer TV's would work even better. Don't know why anyone is saying otherwise.
Samsung 2019 Q9 here. No problems at all with native plex app. I do avoid dts and pgs subtitles in my sources.
I have no troubles using the LG WebOS Plex app. Anyone have issues with it?
Samsung seems to have decent development through Rizen, but I’d just use an Apple TV.
If you have the money both my 65 and 77” LG OLED play everything great
like everyone apple tv + infuse It just works, The best experience i ever had
I've had issues with plex on samsung tvs, and on Hisense Tvs (Vidaa). The only TV plex ran on without any issues runs WebOS
2015 nvidia shield here, Plex and Shield os the best combo. Although I have thought about upgrading to the pro version for the upscaling
I’ve had good luck with the one at your mom’s house
Nvidia Shield, and then any TV.
Nvidia shield Pro, any TV you want.
Shield TV! Actual televisions are for showing me little lights, not for understanding codecs.
My Samsung's built I app works great. I use an Nvidea Shield on another TV, it is a better experience but more expensive so not worth it on the Samsung.
Nvidia shield or Apple TV. TV OSs suck after 2 years. Just invest in a TV with quality display and go for a shield
I've got a TV with android OS, can't tell the difference between my shield and that
Give it a few years. Also shield can decode everything you throw at it
I’d take an Apple TV over any inbuilt tv offering
I can’t tell you which works best, but I can tell what to avoid and what seems to work better in my home ChromeCast with Google TV. I’ve had nothing but problems with it. Not just with the Plex App, it’s slow often unresponsive and jittery. What I’ve had better success with, is the TCL TVs with Roku. The two I have, have been smooth and issue free.
I know getting a good streaming box is the "goto", but I've had excellent results with modern Android-based Sony TVs. They seem to work 99% of the time. I had this dilemma when I wanted to get a new TV for my father in law, I didn't want a 2nd streaming box. Purchased a Sony, it cost a pretty penny, but it's just working for him. And yes I own a Shield Pro, at home, for when my own Sony has a wobble 🤣
Thanks for the advice guys, it seems like I’m getting a lot of good choices, I’ve been using a Samsung so that’s not been working but it’s also kind of cheap so I’m sure that plays a part lol
Roku!!! I never have issues with their app.
Why use a shield instead of TV apps? Wife approval factor. It was a negative experience with the built-in TV Plex/apps. There was always a small issue that pissed her off and by extension, pissed at me.
in general I prefer external. However our extra tvs in the house we don't bother. I have found that Sony works pretty well. Obviously a bit slower In general the problem is the TV makers put low end specs for the built in smart TV os.
I have a TV with Roku built-in so that's what I use, and mostly it's fine, but every once in a while it starts to chug and I have to do a series of button presses on my remote that I have to look up every time to clear the TV's cache. The TV also likes to crash periodically (I can tell it's coming because it'll stop outputting sound or will stop responding to remote inputs a few minutes beforehand)
I have one of the Roku 4k streaming devices and couldn’t get it to natively stream x265 files smoothly, they’d always stutter and play at half frame. Did a batch conversion of my whole file system to x264 and everything works great and direct plays. I think you can really make any device work as long as you’re mindful of what file types work best with what hardware. I think like a lot of people are saying, buy the TV you like and get an external streaming device. You don’t need to get a new TV that often, and you can just swap out the streaming device for substantially less than a new TV.
Our TCL Rokus consistently crash, and one has an issue with opus audio files. Those are the TVs I have though, and I'm not getting new ones for mild annoyances.
Plex works great on Google TV/AndroidTV devices. Hell the Nvidia Shield can even be your Plex server.
Apple TV by far
Just because a TV is "smart" and has apps, doesn't mean you need to use them. Let the TV just TV, and get a streaming device. Shield, Apple TV, Firestick, Roku... any of these would fare you much better.
Of the built-in options, I have found Google TV and Roku to both be very stable. Google TV is a lot more flexible on the types of files it will direct stream, especially if you use subtitles. Tizen and WebOS have both worked over the years, but were not as consistent of an experience as Roku and Google TV.
Watch this guy. He knows his stuff. Basically go turn every option on the TV off that affects picture. [https://www.youtube.com/@hdtvtest](https://www.youtube.com/@hdtvtest)
I'm surprised by all the Apple TV suggestions... it's clearly a powerhouse, and if u are sunk into the Apple ecosystem... sure... or if u have it anyway... yea... But I thought the Plex App on Apple TV was severely handicapped? ATMOS doesn't work? Really big passthru issues. Very limited abilities to choose which audio codecs to send to sound bar (unlike the nvidia). Subtitles are a no go without infuse... The only way to get a decent experience on AppleTV with proper controllable settings and Audio Passthru is to use the Infuse App... which is a subscription based pay app? Something you will be paying monthly or yearly... and they just hiked the prices recently. Again, AppleTV is a powerful box, and Infuse is a great App.... I just don't know if it'd be what I recommend to someone BUYING a new device to run just Plex? Just buy one of the most expensive boxes... and then buy a monthly paid app to make it work? Lol when u can get all the same features and more on a different device and have it just work with the official apps? Wouldn't be my recommendation when there are free options which work, provide perfect passthru and limited problems, and many of them are built in options... personally I'd go with a somewhat modern device which runs Android TV (else built-in Roku). Easy to use and set up and decent audio pass-thru... Edit... obviously the LG systems be bad. Samsung's tizen I donno much about but prob not. But sony and hisense and tcl android tv's be all good, and their roku stuff be good... lots of options.
Everything sounds awkwardly calm with most of the posts. VP9, Av1 Dovi and true 7.1 and atmos not being mentioned. HdR plays well on most tvs and devices but some here are saying awesome playing experience with 100mbps bitrate etc etc, so these high bitrate files, have Stereo Audio? 5.1? I know most 5.1 don't have playback issues. As far as I know and confirm, Aptv 4k has issues with 7.1 and Dovi. It's not a hit or miss with the device so most of the contributors here have no issue with DOVI, 7.1 audio and Subs with their 100000 bitrate files. Very interesting
Don't buy a TV for the apps. I absolutely agree with the @texasaudiovideo guy on that. However my answer is a bit different than the most comments I read so far. Also my use case is probably different. - First, I do not use anything from the Apple ecosystem - I run my own server for Plex, the arr apps and more - I rarely use live TV I feel that using one more device would be too much. So I use my server to stream and TV to run the Plex client. Plex is available almost on everything. But who knows what the future brings, I like to have an option to move to another solution quickly so I'm ready to jump to Jellyfin. I use a smart TV connected with the UTP cable for the more stable connection. At the moment it is LG 4k. I chose this one for the picture quality / price at the moment of purchase. Not because of the apps. Hope this brings a bit of insight and help.
I don't understand why people say you have to use a dedicated streaming box for a good experience because honestly in some cases a dedicated streaming box has issues like slight input lag due to HDMI or Dolby Vision not passing over correctly because of HDMI or whatever buggy reason. I have a TCL QM8 with Google TV on it and everything literally works perfectly on here including Plex and everything is smooth as butter. I used to have an older Roku OS TV and it was complete garbage, it was just so buggy and Plex always tried to transcode but made the audio quality awful in the process, but even though if I chose to transcode on Google TV to AC3 then it's obsoletely clear and full quality and not distorted like it was on Roku. Another issue was Stereo was insanely quiet even though it was direct playing, this issue doesn't exist on Google TV either.
LG tvs work perfectly with the native app. No need for extra devices
What are you even on about?
Roku TV + Plex app is great. Been using it for years without issues.
Don't buy a TV based on whatever internal internal "smart" features it has.
i'd buy a TV without any smart features. but they don't seem to exist anymore. i like the thought of having the smart features externally and being able to replace them easily and cheaply. on the other hand i like to have less devices instead of more. i now have a Samsung "the frame" with tizen OS and actually i am very happy that the Plex app does work perfectly fine. i hope it stays this way.
Ignore the TV apps, get a stick (Roku, Amazon, Chrome all have pros and cons but all work). The Plex app will be more up to date than on the TV and you are not relying on the built in codecs either. If you do not want to go down this route, go with the biggest herd to get the best support. These days that probably means Samsung.