H265/HEVC Hardware players like a Roku-type?

[rumplestiltskin]

According to what I am able to glean from the Roku site, their players are not yet capable of playing a H265/HEVC-encoded video/audio stream stored locally (or on a network share) to a connected TV. Up to now I've been transcoding such content into H264/AAC using Handbrake or Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate (both of which do an excellent job). Obviously, I end up with much larger files and my Roku boxes play these converted files well.

Is there a -good-, -reliable- HEVC player that can take the place of my Roku so I can avoid transcoding? The many $40 boxes on Amazon that claim to do this have rather sketchy reviews.

Anyone have actual experience with something that truly works well? I'll throw a monkey-wrench into this by adding that it would be nice to have the ability to add channels like Netflix, Amazon, Sling, Pluto, etc.

Thanks!

Rumple

[rumplestiltskin]

Whups! Looks like Roku now has an "Ultra" model that allegedly supports H265. Guess I buy one from Amazon and report back how well it works. I can always return it if it bites.



Edit: The reviews on Amazon for this unit have many "1-star" reviews. It looks like this is too new a technology so I guess I'll just wait unless someone wants to make any suggestions. Thanks!

[netmask56]

https://www.cloudmedia.com/?product=a-500

[usually_quiet]

The NVIDIA Shield TV 2017 model is probably worth looking at. It has apps available for a lot of paid streaming services. Although it is expensive compared to most Android boxes, it still costs less than the Popcorn Hour A-500. (I don't have a NVIDIA Shield TV, but read a lot of good reports about them.)