* Apple Watch in-store only at HN; $0 delivery to metro areas at Officeworks.
2 price drops from HN But get to OW quick to get extra 5% Off :) Edit: OW Have price matched both.
Harvey Norman
Officeworks
If you want it purely for PLEX have you considered using a Raspberry Pi with RasPLEX installed?
This one doesn't do 4K.
Plex experience on the Apple TV is great.
the ONLY caveat is that if you have h.265 content on your server, you should get the Apple TV 4K, as the non-4K model does not natively support h.265 video. This means Plex server has to transcode on the fly, which depending on your server hardware may not be possible.
Playback on my Apple TV's has been really bad lately. It's actually starting to shit me off. My Telstra TV has been outperforming it completely, and I'm considering converting to a Nvidia Shield.
I have the 4K variant, and it will hang after every single episode, so I have to quit out and then restart the ep to get it playing again. On my non 4K variant it will constantly pause in the middle of episodes or straight up kick me out of the episode and start the next one. Beenn happening for the last 2 months now. (my server is an i5-4460/gtx970 combo, so it is not this causing the problem). All direct play. works fine on my Samsung TV/Telstra TV.
Pros of the Shield over Apple TV when using Plex (2019 Shield model should be available in Oz next month):
…plus I believe you need Plex Pass on the Apple TV to play all file formats (not needed on the Shield).
Apple TV 4K definitely does resolution switching and 24fps. Also supports Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, although I’m not sure if Plex on there does.
As an aside, I switched from a Shield (2017) to Apple TV 4K mainly because of the poor selection of Australian TV apps on the Shield.
There is no Dolby Vision or Atmos or resolution switching on Plex on the Apple TV (it has refresh rate switching though, like the Shield).
The Apple TV outputs all 24fps content at 23.976 across all apps (including Netflix), so you will see frame drops.
The Shield has all native FTA catch up apps now, plus live FTA with guide/EPG via Kodi or Live Channels using Matt's apps (as well as Foxtel Go and Foxtel Now etc):
I’ve got two of this model Apple TV (non 4k) in my house used solely to play plex and never had a problem with any file, 4K or HEVC, 265 etc. works flawlessly.
NVIDIA Shield can do 4K but the Apple TV 4th gen can only do full HD.
I have both and I set up all my drives attached to the Shield as the "PLEX Server" and then I use Infuse (Apple TV app) and point it at the Shield/PLEX Server. Infuse works a lot better than PLEX I find and will direct stream most stuff including 4k HDR with no lag. It does require a subscription but it's 100% worth it.
Or you could just use a shield and not pay an extra subscription fee.
Certainly an option but I much prefer the UI of the Apple TV and I find it freezes far less than the Shield.
However, I'm aware this is a personal preference and I pay for the "privilege".
@[Deactivated]: I don't mind, I am happy to pay more for it if it works well. I like the Shield too, great little box, but it's nice to have something that I don't have to "fiddle" with.
However, I agree that Apple stuff is very expensive.
The current model shield should be compared with the Apple TV4K, they tend to be similar priced too.
Works fine.. but this is the 4th Gen not the 5th Gen 4K.
The Apple TV is fine for Flex… and it has the advantage of some options like Pi's as not being open to vulnerabilities.
I actually prefer to run Apple TV's instead of smart TV's so I don't get the Android security risks.
Infuse is better than plex, but plex works fine too. I’d get the 4K version so you can play back 4K Blu-ray rips.
How does this compare with say an Amazon TV Firestick? Mainly looking to use it for things like Netflix, Disney + and Foxtel Now as well as services like TenPlay etc. We don’t have much video content purchased through iTunes so wondering if this could be overkill for what we need
I've got the Fire TV box 2nd and 3rd Gen both plays all formats, supports H.265 and 4K with no issues. Watch Netflix, Amazon TV, etc. I have no idea why Amazon doesn't sell the Fire TV box here in Oz. They only have the Fire TV stick here which is awful as I run a network cable straight into my Fire TV box and never have issues with streaming.
Yeah I have had that issue with our Firestick from time to time. I might look into the Fire TV Box and pick one up next time I am in the USA
Are your saying that Australian Amazon prime works on your US purchased fire tv box?
Yes. When setting up your Amazon TV (regardless of where you bought it) you can select your region/country. So even a US purchased Amazon TV will work in Oz. And when you login with your Oz Amazon Prime account, you can watch Oz Prime TV, etc on it. Latest season of Jack Ryan, The Boys, The Expanse, etc.
i need a small box (device) like this, cheap, to be used to play YouTube, NetFlix, play from Portable HDD and to be connected to TV via HDMI cable … what exactly do I need?
Nvidia shield
If you want something cheap this is probably a good option. Just need to check if it can playback from USB but pretty sure it does: Vodafone TV - $72 Delivered @ Vodafone - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/466660
voda is great for netflix, you tube, playing off usb , what it doesn’t out of the box is amazon prime app .. browser only, might be a side load app which becomes hassle for non tech people.
seems voda is google tv which is different playstore than normal android eg like phone playstore ?
Prime now allows playing video via chromecast on Android tvs. If I am not wrong the Voda TV has a built in chromecast.
It's very easy to download and manually install the Prime Video app. However the Android app is garbage in my opinion. It often has issues with streaming, when Netflix and YouTube and even some US streaming apps such as Sling TV work fine.
You can't play from a portable HDD on an APPLE TV.
You can stream to it though from a device with your HDD attached.
(not a winner, but a compromise)
Good price for the watch?
Or is this model too old?
The model works fine. It's not as fast using third party apps as the Series 4 or 5, but it is perfectly capable and has a great battery life compared to the newer gen.
Love how the sale starts today, no stores, including both HN and OW, except one far away has any stock in Perth
No more Apple Watch Series 3 GPS?
Wow, both OW and HN had the Apple TV 4K 32GB for $225 yesterday (I bought the last one off the shelf), and now are magically at $246 again.
So ya better be quick with that OW 5% discount match!
This just shows the new version is on its way soon. Good price though.
My wife got onto OW and they price matched the apple TV over the phone, but only charged me $129 delivered. Should have grabbed 2 at that priced. See if it comes before they realise their mistake.
Online price already been updated to $177.
They did realise their mistake and got it for $168.05 delivered same day
Pro tip. Pay a bit extra and get the Apple TV 4K so you are future proofed. Don't be confused by the name Apple TV 4th gen, as this does not have 4K.
Looks to be the cheapest price yet on the apple watch
Those that are interested Apple TV 4K 64GB was for $241 at Costco Casula on Sunday when I visited the store, not sure if the price is still the same. You need a membership for costco purchase.
Did they have the 32 gb version.
I am not sure.
No Stock of apple watch at Harvey Norman and Officeworks refused to match the price.
Watch is on backorder - Officeworks won't match backorder prices, unfortunately!
OW will best these guys for anyone after ATV 4K.
https://www.studioproper.com.au/products/apple-tv-4k
Can the atv 4th gen non 4k playback 4k hevc files? Even high bit rate ones?
Not a fan of Apple or their eco system
I'm waiting for Aussie release of the shield tv pro 2019
In the market for a 4K smart TV. Do I need the apple TV ? Bit of a newbie to this. anyone ?
I am looking for the Apple Watch S3 in 42mm. Unfortunately no deals on them lately.
Thanks!!! I asked them on chat yesterday and they didn't have it in stock.
Yeah but other stores will price match hopefully, just show them the price online and do not show them its out of stock, most sales ppl will just look at the webpage price and go ok but try officeworks first for the 5% price beat
@TRENT86: I will probably end up getting a Galaxy Watch Active 2, assuming that I get a Galaxy S11/S20 when it comes out - waiting for February 11!
Apple Watch (have one reserved at Officeworks) is for my wife. :P
(I still have a Microsoft 950XL - neither of those watches works with my phone! In fact, my phone doesn't even work with my phone! lol)
@TRENT86: Yeah I tried doing that and they didn’t have it in stock either. But then I hit a jackpot. They had a display stock which they gave me for $200. Thanks so much! Wouldn’t have been possible without your comment.
How does an Apple TV compare to a Nvidia Shield when using it purely for PLEX? I'm leaning towards an Apple TV, any reason not to? I'm sick of using the Samsung Plex app on my TV as the interface is slow and unresponsive.