I currently have two TVs, one I use an appleTV with and the other with a googleTV HD (device formerly known as Chromecast), but they both have issues.
The jellyfin app on appleTV is messed up, it fucks up audio and subs all the time, and in general has a hard time with media that has multiple audio tracks, not using the audio I select with the remote.
The googleTV just stutters with almost everything, direct stream or transcoded doesn’t matter. All of my library is just 1080p, I have proper wifi to it, all mobile devices stream just fine.
So neither of these provide me with a solution that really works.
What solutions can you recommend, that allows for seamless navigation of jellyfin with my remote? I don’t want anything resembling a mouse/keyboard combo for navigation whatsoever.
Unless you have a commitment to only using open source software, I’d recommend Plex over Jellyfin. Mostly because I’ve found the client software for Jellyfin to be lacking, especially on AppleTV.
For the issues with the GoogleTV, you mention that it’s on WiFi, would it be possible to use a wired connection or get another set top box for it? Some TVs have the WiFi antenna behind the screen causing interference, so even though other devices get a strong signal the TV doesn’t.
Also, how’s the hardware on your server? Is the CPU powerful enough or do you have a GPU for transcoding? Also, is the server on WiFi or wired?
It’s worth noting that a lot of settop boxes have limited codec support, which might be forcing transcoding even if everything should otherwise support direct play.
Just FYI, Infuse is a great jellyfin client for AppleTV
The googleTV dongle doesn’t have any ports apart from usb-C for power and the attached HDMI cable. It’s what was once called a chromecast.
Ah, it’s one of those. I was thinking it was the TV’s OS.
I don’t have a lot of experience with those smaller dongles, but as I understand it they’re fairly low power devices that are more meant for streaming relatively low bitrate media from the internet or from a phone. It may not have the horsepower for playing back high bitrate media from Jellyfin or Plex.
Others may have a solution that’ll work for that device, but my gut response is to say you should consider replacing it with something more powerful.
You can use a USB hub dongle which passes through power via USB C with a Google TV (4K) device. That’s what I do for mine to connect it to the rest of my GbE VLAN via wired ethernet connection and avoid Wi-Fi packet drops when streaming or casting 4K HDR content. A dongle is also handy to connect any USB web cam so I can use the TV for large family video calls with the grandparents in the living room, via Android apps like Google Meet or Zoom.
Here is the one I use that also has a combo headphone jack with GbE Ethernet and passthrough charging, so also nice for Moonlight gaming on modern android 120Hz HDR tablets where I don’t want to use low bitrate HFP Bluetooth for discord calls while also listening to game audio and music. Note, when used with the Google TV, I don’t use the USB Hub’s HDMI, opting for the Google TV’s international cord to maintain Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) functionality.