R.I.P ZAPPITI... What's The Alternative..? Zidoo.. NVidia Shield.. Dune HD..?
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- čas přidán 3. 10. 2023
- Zappiti announced that they are closing their doors by the end of the year. This is really sad for the employees and owners of the business. So what do all of us Zappiti owners do? I will break down the situation as well as go over some of the possibly options that we can go for such as Zidoo, Dune HD and NVidia Shield TV Pro.
#zappiti #zidoo #hometheater
Links to buy Alternative Media Players:
Zidoo Z9X Pro: amzn.to/3tjXJat
Zidoo Z2000 Pro: amzn.to/45gEOdG
Dune HD Pro: amzn.to/46cCrKc
Shield TV Pro: amzn.to/3Q5sVmM
Link to McBluna's website on Zidoo: mcbluna.net/
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The thoughts and opinions expressed in this video are mine and mine alone. No harm or misinformation is intended on the subject. I wish Zappiti all the best and hope that they do manage to come back bigger and better in the future. As a Home Theater enthusiast, this has been very sad to hear, especially having met one of the people that work and run the business, I know that they are devastated by the outcome. Best wishes. - Věda a technologie
Buy Zidoo Z9X Pro: amzn.to/3tjXJat
Zappitti, better than the shield? does it have app support for FTA etc?
Any special power adapter needed for Australia?
@@RAM_845I prefer the picture and sound from my Zappiti 4K Pro to my Shield Pro.
@@AlanGresham Really expensive here in Australia AUD$3K+ starting
What do you think of the new media players by R_volution? Will you ever be reviewing them on your channel?
Zappiti has NO respect for their previous customers. They have the database of all emails of customers (needed to create an account) and they didn't even send a message some days before cutting servers... and now they ask money to subscribe to their zappiti video app (just rebranded).
Yeah kinda pissed me off too. I didn't even know their bankruptcy was coming around the corner until I got "unreachable servers" on my screen couple of days ago. At first I thought they were doing maintenance and then when it happened several days later again i looked online to see they went bankrupt. I bought into their ecosystem 4 years ago and thought no way they would go out of business and now this! With no heads up unless you were keeping track of their business. Now the remaining guys want to charge a subscription. Piss me off. Moving to Zidoo next year at some point.
I understand the frustration... I have a reference sitiing in my rack too...
Yep, you would've thought an email warning the loyal customer base of what was about to transpire (thus giving them the opportunity to go with an offline collection) would be the very least they could do. Also agree with regard to the new R_video software. created by the same company that gave us Zappiti Video (Groupe Archisoft). The whole thing seems like a massive con to me, a grift to extract more money from it's existing customers.
If you are invested in the Zappiti infrastructure sell it as soon as possible and never buy such a thing again. The cloud is never a solution for something like this, go EVERY time with local, never ever a cloud based service
I agree. I've never understood why people would opt to let someone else manage their data.
It's a matter of choice. I never ran on the Zappiti cloud. I used my Synology NAS to manage my collection which worked faster and reliabily. Although I agree, it is scary when something like this happens - although you don't lose your media like you would if Kaleidescape went bust it would be a different story.
@@BuildMontageyou don’t lose your kscape movies if they are on your kscape server
@@jcreynolds7512 Ive seen some horror stories with Kscape and my comment is more if they close their doors, you won't know how that will affect the purchases you made, and you have no physical disc as backup. Not dissing Kscape - I badly want one but they won't sell here in Australia.
It will become a boat anchor, so why sell someone something they will not be able to use to its fullest.
I have a Zappiti Neo and when news broke I got the Zidoo Z9X Pro to try out and thought worse case scenario I could gift to a family member or get most of my cash back reselling it. The thing rocks! Makes the Zappiti look ancient. So much FASTER than Zappiti and more useful functions.
I've been using Dune HD for over 10 years. My 1st one was was Dune HD Base 3.0 then upgraded to Dune HD Pro 4K Plus and been very happy with it. When I first got it there wasn't many choices for media players as there are now.
Dune is the only one I havent tested yet.
I appreciate your informative video; it proved immensely helpful. As a fellow Zappiti user, I share the disappointment regarding the discontinuation of their services. Nonetheless, I've managed to install KODI on my Zappiti hardware, and it's functioning seamlessly. Here's to hoping our investment isn't entirely in vain!
Thanks for sharing! I might have to try installing Kodi on.
I believe lots of people would like to see a review of Kodi, Plex, Nova or anything that really works on Zappiti@@BuildMontage
Great video and thanks for the 411. I have both Zappiti and Dune. Love them both. Sad to hear about Zappiti.
Thanks for watching!
@@BuildMontage You bet! Looks like I'm gonna invest in another Dune. 😉
I need Plex for remote streaming but I hate that it can’t play iso even at home. Is there remote streaming that plays iso?
Thanks for the video I moved to the Zidoo because of the Zappiti rummers and as I miss the server side management the Ziddoo has been ok so far. I got a Z9X, Z10, and Z2000 Pro cant wait to see what video you do with them
Ive made several Zidoo videos you can find on my channel page. The Z9X Pro will be my next video, where Im going to show some of the new improvements.
@@BuildMontage Sorry that was to say what next video
Thank you!! Very very helpful. I have Zappiti signature . Was 3000
Great way to address. The issue
Everybody is different for sure! When he says most want the cool thumbnails and icons and hates the explorer view, theat doesn't include me. Sure most maybe. I'm are thrilled when these players can reliably play all formats and especially get the audio right. It's hard enough for the manufacturers to get that all updated and correct without also worrying about a cute UI. For me, leave any "cool, cute, colorful effects to the content creators. The quicker and more efficiently I can get to the content the better. Heck, I'll even take a courier text screen if I can quickly get to what I want--diagonal caligraphy across thumbnails just gets in the way. Again that's just me.
definitely everyone has different needs. I love the experience of scrolling around
Glad to find your channel. Being from America I didn't know anybody else even used Zappiti. Lol. I've loved them. Been using since mid teens somewhere when thry were the only thing that would play 4k with Atmos and DTSX. Was pretty sad to hear the news. In fact only found out because I had to do a search when my library wouldn't load. Eneded up going with the Shield Pro. Setting up today. But have owned one before. And returned when wasn't able to play ripped blurays. Zappiti ruled. This was years ago, though. Will Kodi play them now? Or is there a way to play them on the Shield? I remember looking into Zidoos but not that familiar. Considering returning the Shield and going that route after watching this. I think when I first set up my home theater Zidoo was an option. And Dune maybe. But Zappiti won out. Anyway let me know if you happen to see this. And once again glad to come across your channel.
SO glad to find your great summation, had to leave these solid thanks! I'd thought there was a glitch when trying to watch my Zap Mini so I googled for a service fault and followed a link here. Glad I did!
More thanks for saving me having to decide which replacement player to get - I'm not familar enough with them to judge, plus I just want to get something moving quickly and haven't hours to spend researching. So I'm taking your expert advice and getting the Zidoo Z9X Pro! and if you wouild be kind enough to reply I just want to check :
... I have c2,500 films in 3.6TB of a WD 6TB ext Drive. I have a 6TB Seagate external about half full of TVs, plus cpl smaller portables for music and family vids etc. With the Zappiti I just use a 4-bay USB hub in to the 4K Mini but I don't leave everything plugged in all the time, just Movies and TV adding the music drive for example just when I want to listen to something. I only need library/posterwall for the films - the TVs, Music etc are fine just via the folder structure. Any reason this approach wouldn't work fine with the Zidoo too? For me, simple is beautiful!
Many thanks again for jumping in with the facts, I'd still be waiting for the *glitch* to fix itself otherwise!
Glad it helped you. Yes, you should be able to use your drives that way. My advice is turn off the Zidoo before you unplug the drive, and plug it back in before you turn it back on.
@@BuildMontage Thanks for getting back on that, and so soon. Much appreciated!! I've run your vid a cpl more times since and I agree that the homepage is a backward step, so I'll be taking a shot at the McBluna thing you mention when I can identify it among all the stuff on their dazzlingly colourful website lol, and keeping my fingers crossed it is straightforward enough to deal with :) Thanks again, bigly!
I enjoy watching the video clip and it is a sad day for Zappiti. I was waiting a person to show how to rip movie but that did not happen thats why i use apple tv i have all my movies and it is great .
I have a lot of collection of bd3d iso movie files. Which player should I bought for play the bd3d iso files from hdd? Kindly inform.
I would try the Zidoo lineup.
I can not get my shield to sync audio, any ideas how to correct?
Hmm do you mean that the voice and picture are out of synch? I would check your reciever and see if there is a lip synch option.
I use Emby on a QNAP NAS and connect all my devices with Kodi via RPI’s or NUC’s. It’s flawless and does everything I need it to do and far cheaper than a lot of these box options.
Please give your opinion, is the Zidoo UHD5000 inferior in image and sound quality to the Zappiti Reference? Or which Zidoo player is comparable to the Zappiti Reference?
The Zidoo in my opinion is a better experience than Zappiti - but Zappiti is done for anyway. You can't really use it any more in the same way as when it was being sold.
Anyone knows why the Ziddo website is down for a while ?
Does anyone know where I can obtain a restore flash drive for my Zappiti duo I have tried everything thanks in
Unfortunately I don't know. Hopefully someone sees this message and can reply.
If buying zidoo z9x pro from the US do I need a special power adapter? I’m in Australia
Yes you would need an adaptor to convert it from us to au. Or buy a similar power pack here with the same amp and voltage
What is your opinion about 4k upscaling? some Amazon prime content (HD anime) is not great with color banding, I was such streamers with AI upscaling could help (using mainly streaming apps like prime video)
Im not a huge fan of it but its unavoidable from many sources as they do it.
I use a shield I just run a plex server right off the shield and have my hard drives connected to my router and I'm able to add it to my server. It was a bit of a pain to set up but not too bad if you follow the instructions available online. Plus the shield supports truehd atmos, and DTSX
Agree, once you have a NAS setup you can connect many different players to it.
The Zappiti guys became simple thieves. They should be prosecuted and arrested for breach of contractual obligations with all customers.
Imagine any car brand immobilizing all vehicles sold, and demanding a single, monthly or annual payment from customers, to unlock the vehicles...
Is there something better in Shield Pro vs Shield TV for just hometeather purposes? I dont need games and have Kodi and External Nas already?
I can't remember if there was any specific reason other than pure power to go with the Pro. As long as the TV does Dolby Vision and Bitstream you should be fine.
You have more options with the shield pro. They are not actually the same specs the pro and the tv or the tube model. Take it from someone who has both you should get the pro. The pro can also act as a stand alone plex or Emby server and has usb ports so you can add external storage.
You got 1 extra gig of memory (3 instead of 2) which you do notice when juggling with ripped 4K discs. Especially when you got a really high bitrate movie.
We have both 2019 gen players, and it just works a bit more smoothly on the Pro version.
Both are hooked up to gigabit ethernet.
Thank you for the video. I know you reviewed the Zidoo UD3000. Im currently a zappiti owner (regular dual 4K HDR for nearly 5-6 years old with two hard drives). I plan to switch to Zidoo. Would you recommend Zidoo Z9X Pro with NAS set up or Zidoo UH5000 or UH3000 with dual hard drives? I'm new to Zidoo. So Im not sure which one is the latest model. Z9X pro or the UH5000. I appreciate your feedbacks. Thank you!
Definitely NAS setup. Any model with a NAS is *chefs kiss*
That Altitude is on point in your rack!
Haha yeah I'm quite partial to it :)
hi tony ! i'm interested in a zidoo but only if i can plug my intern hard drive , so , whats my options ? a z9x with the drive on the outside (with sata ) or the more expensive z20 pro ? 100 euros more expensive but with intern hard drive ? and how about the remote control ? the zappiti was terrible , if i change i want a good remote ! thanks in advance , from a massive fan of your channel from france !
Hi, the Zidoo will do very well for you. Worth the extra money if you want to have the drives inside the unit - I use a Synology NAS so it's not an issue for me! The remote is much better than the Zappiti remote, but I also use Harmony Elite to control my Zidoo.
It takes Zidoo a while to get new models sorted out. Thinking about upgrading but not switching. Just using it for testing until all the bugs have been addressed. Just get your own NAS or DAS.
The reality for me is that the Z9X and the Z9X Pro feel exactly the same to me... I have tested multiple different Zidoo models and they are all prety similar in experience.
I love your videos
"I have a question, let's see who can help me. I reset my Zappiti player, I've always used it as a player with an internal hard drive. But now, after resetting it, I can't get past the registration or the first initial setup step because it tries to connect to the Zappiti server. But we all know that they are no longer functioning. How could I get past this step and use it as a regular player?"
Been using a Dune 4K Pro for a couple of weeks and it does what I need it to do.
Definitely - it's one of the few dedicated players I'm yet to test out.
Have you noticed any differences in video or audio quality beteeen the shield and zidoo zx9?
I have a shield pro, am considering the zidoo, if theres an improvement in sound or audio.
Seems a lot of people say its mostly the gui thats an improvement.
Everything plays the same. But the user experience is what I love about the Zidoo. I have all of the devices but it’s the one I enjoy using the most
@BuildMontage thank you! To be honest I've also consider getting the zidoo just for an easier user experience. Sometimes kodi and plex give me the shits.
Good video but my question would be.. what would stop from to Zappiti not happen to Ziddo? Thanks in advance
It wouldn’t matter because the Zidoo players don’t rely on cloud servers. They work whether Zidoo is in business or not
did you wver put up a video about putting together ISO files on a hard drive and adding in to the z9x?
Unfortunately I got some legal advice advising me against showing how to break local Australian copyright laws. Hopefully the laws will change soon and allow for a backup of our own discs to be legal like it is in other countries.
I wonder if the new Zidoo devices now play iso files. When I had my Zidoo Z10-Pro it would not play iso files but the Zappiti played them fine. That is when I returned my Zidoo.
@@paulmardis1512 Absolutely it plays ISO files. That's how I rip 99% of my discs. The Zidoo is flawless playback. They spent a lot of time on Home Theater 4.0 app that they have on there now.
@@BuildMontage Cool, Thanks
Hello. I have a request for you, maybe you can give me some advice regarding the following situation: I have a Zappiti 4K Pro UHD Media player and I inadvertently factory reset the device after the zappiti server was closed and zappiti explorer no longer works (the message displayed is that it cannot find the server). In zappiti service the versions displayed are clearly corupt.. I tried to restore the firmware but without any success. Can you give me a suggestion? Thank you in advance.
Unfortunately I don't know what to do in that situation. As it's discontinued, it may be impossible to fix that now. I wish I knew the answer for you but I dont :(
Physical media + a good player gang! Cant take that away from me ....
100% a disc player is a 100% foolproof way to enjoy your movies. I also have that but for me nothing beats browsing around the private library made from the rips of my physical media, so if it does break, I still have my discs :) Hopefully they still sell them and dont stop physical media
Nice video Tony! Do you plan on doing a video on the Magnetar UDP800 or Magnetar UDP900? Also do you plan on doing a video on the new Zidoo UHD5000?
Thanks! No plans on doing reviews on any of these units as you requested - it is possible but at the moment no one from Zidoo has asked for a review on the UHD5000. I do have the Z9X Pro which I may do a review on when I get a chance. It's not much different from the previous model if I'm honest. All the Zidoo products perform very similarly.
Shield with Kodi installed can play isos with full menu support. It is a bit clunky though since the remote is lacking
Lots of options for sure. My personal preference is Zidoo.
Dune HD Pro 4k player here. Works great. Simple and cheap.
I've got Real Vision 4K plus model and same words, works great 👍
Zidoo has an ipad app to scroll all movies?
Yes it has an app and a web interface to browse through and make changes.
Love this support and guide! I thankfully have a Zidoo uhd3000. Did not know about Apple TV Bitstream issue. I have the Nvidia Shield in my bedroom gonna swap it out now. Thx man!
Apple TV is still awesome and you can watch all your Disney+ and Apple TV+ shows in Atmos and it still sounds pretty great, but not as good as TrueHD 7.1
Be nice if you could give the price on these models in Australian dollars, I think the power supply also is different so buying off Amazon USA is probably bit tricky . Maybe suggest a Australian supplier?
Sure Sydney HiFi Monavale sells locally here
@BuildMontage The main issue with the Zidoo devices is that there is no support for DTS-HD/DTS-X whereas running KODI/PLEX on the Shield will do all the uncompressed audio tracks including DTS-HD/DTS-X. I didn't see it mentioned in your video so thought I would point it out here
Huh?? Of course these is support for Dtsx and all other object based sound formats. Where did you hear that it didn’t?
@@BuildMontage DTS-X/DTS-MA decoding support isn’t listed on their product specs page of any of the Zidoo products - whereas Dolby Audio support is listed. It is also mentioned in some other reviews of the Zidoo such as this one (skip to the 17:40minute mark where it is mentioned specifically) czcams.com/video/F8WbjwFaJcM/video.htmlsi=gHyTOzx-g_iABdzN
I am going to check tonight as I know 100% that the Zidoo will pass via bitstream a DTS:X or DTS-HD signal as my Trinnov Altitude processor shows it.. also the meta data itself shows up in the poster wall. I can also upmix DTS:X Pro from DTS:X tracks without any issues. I'm not sure why people are saying it doesn't do DTS - it uses bitstream to pass it through to the processor which does the decoding anyway... ... @@kas2k4
@@BuildMontage that would be great if you could confirm as that's the only thing holding me back from getting one and selling my Shield. Have not been happy with PLEX performance on the Shield in the recent past as resuming from where I left off with any movie takes forever and I've also been getting "network connection the server is not fast enough" buffering issues even though I'm connected to the Shield via Gigabit ethernet to my Synology NAS
I know it does it because I've watched countless DTS enabled movies through it but I will possibly take some photos and IMGUR them here - or join my discord server and I can share them with you... It's NYE here in Sydney so if I get into the room I'll do it!
@@kas2k4
Where on McBluna is the guide? I did it a year ago, but forget how to do it😂
www.mcbluna.net/wp/zidoo/zidoo-ziuicancer-v2-5-2-mcbluna-net/
@@BuildMontage thanks buddy
It will cost 5 dollar a month or 50 dollar for a year, i am using now nova player for zapitti.😢
Video quality ... Is there a difference between the Zappiti and Nvidia Shield?
Audio quality, video quality, user experience, there's quite a few differences but it will come down to what you're after more, smooth user experience or cheap device... they all do the job end of the day :)
Do I understand correctly? The Z9X has the home screen you don't like but the other Zidoo players like Z2000 Pro have a better home screen?
Yes that is correct - however you can mod it to have the upgraded screen.
@@BuildMontage Thanks, I tried the Z9X but didn't like it because I was trying to get NetFlix etc to work on it unsuccessfully. Was ready to trash it! I'm going to give it another try keeping it only for NAS media playback as an alternative to Plex. (I was also trying to put Plex on it). Maybe if I use it for it's intended purpose I'll have better luck:-)
As much as I like my Zappiti player I begrudge paying €50 a year to use it. Got a Z9X Pro arriving today.
I bought the subscription but I will be cancelling it - I am sticking with my Zidoo as well.
It is a sad day indeed for me as I originally had a zidoo z10-pro but had many issues with it back in 2020. I bought the first shipment of the Zappiti Neo and tested it with the Zidoo then returned the Zidoo. Now I regret it as I've heard they fixed all of the bug issues I was having including all movies had subtitles enabled by default on all movies. Weak chassis that you here the HDD spinning when watching a movies. Since I recently purchased the Eversolo DMP-A6 which replaced my BS Node 2i and it is made by Zidoo. I am now looking at the Zidoo z2000-pro or z2600. I seam to like the z2600 better. Which one is better (Z2000-PRO or Z2600)? Once I see a side by side comparison I will retire the Zappitti as I do not want to have to pay for software on a box I use for free. Your Thoughts? Also, have you taken a look at the Eversolo DMP-A6 yet?
Thanks
PM
Some interesting thoughts. My take is a $250 dollar investment into a Z9X Pro is a pretty easy decision - considering how much enjoyment I get from it for the price it almost feels too cheap. I havent tried the Eversolo - my interest lies squarely in home cinema not music at all. I personally don't even listen to music.
@@BuildMontage Cool, Thanks for your input. I researched and found the comparison between the z2000-pro and z2600. The difference is the z2600 has an extra hdmi out (audio only) and it also has a switching and linear Power Supply. I believe that will give you better PQ/SQ but I am not sure. Any ideas?
if I am not mistaken, Zidoo will do dolby atmos ...
100% yes it does pretty much everything on offer - my comments on Atmos were more of a comparison to Apple TV which does do it but from DD instead of TrueHD.
Is it true that Zidoo can’t play BDMV folders?
The Zidoo can yes. I have several rips done that way
My Zidoo 1000 pro plays them no problem.
Problem with the new app though. Meta data will not work with new rips, just the ones you have ripped now.
I havent got the details of the new app - I'm unsure if this is confirmed or not. My understanding is the new app will work similarly to how non-cloud player apps work. Time will tell I guess.
Intel nuc or any other mini pc. You’ll get more functionality and upgrade ability.
Yes many options available to us.
4k blu ray ripper
Which one can play 3D movies properly?
Zidoo can definitely.
They be back. Under a different name
I really hope so and make a better UI
@benkroes4744I hope they fix this with the app they are developing. It could make the experience much better. I don't want to get rid of my Reference - I love how it looks in the rack.
I have three problem considering zidoo 1)Like you not a big fan of home page 2)Loading of the thumbnail on poster wall every single time just seems cheap 3) I’m classic fan ,so if we hit play, it shows movie poster and loading dot , I just don’t like it and I would prefer classic way of just going dim black screen instead of loading preview……
Points 2 and 3 - I am the total opposite. I really like the movie thumbnail and poster and spend heaps of time customising them. I get a lot of enjoyment just browsing around the library and looking at the meta data of the movie, the cast and checking out other movies they have made which I own. There is a simpler interface option though on the Zidoo where you can scroll the list and hit play - also, hitting the play button on the remote from the thumbnail view will skip it and just play the movie - and you can turn off some of what you're talking about as well under the movie settings once the movie is playing.
@@BuildMontagesorry for my English,loading of thumbnail meaning while scroll down zidoo take time to load thumbnails and its keeps empty logo instead of movie thumbnails for a sec and wish they work on improving keeping those thumbnails stable on memory otherwise I love all their customisation
I need a some help
Zappiti still works great still. Regardless of cloud
I agree - I used my NAS as my private cloud to bypass the Zappiti cloud and it works fine.
@@BuildMontage Can you please expand on this idea. If i keep my zappiti player and build a NAS, how do i go about this, bypassing zappiti cloud? Thanks!
Yeah right so you spend 1000 dollars minimum then they make you pay for an app get out of here that sounds like a them problem.the app should be free we bought there products they should compensate us you don’t see Plex or zidoo charging us for data technically
scraper to match our movies
I know where you're coming from, however, they could just leave it and not even do it. If they are experiencing financial hardship and closing their doors, it would be pretty easy to not bother to make the app and just let it be. Depending on what the app can do, I will likely buy it.
dune have 8k
Im yet to try a Dune player.
Kodi + aeon nox = greatest.
Now, if zidoo would let us run pure kodi instead of their version, I'd be content.
I think the appeal of Zidoo is a dedicated device that just turns on and you can play movies fast.
@@BuildMontage
Oh absolutely. It's about as plug and play as you can get.
But the nerd in me wants to tweak it lol
@@mephInc for sure… I have a very nerd setup which I can’t discuss on CZcams :)
Kodi does not support Dolby Vision for ISO
@@camixxx
I'm not using the kodi player. The zidoo player is great, but the UI is garbage imo.
Zappiti is a snail.👊 They use Andriod, a very, very slow programming language, which is a joke in 2023. I bought a Zappiti used, if I had known how slow it was, I wouldn't have paid a dollar for it. So Zappiti is closing? That's right, because the products are just bad and only the good ones prevail.😁 OMG, how do I get rid of my used Zappiti, does anyone want to buy it for $1???😅
Zidoo players also run on android and while not being pc fast, they certainly aren't snails.
What are you talking about??? My 2015 Nvidia Shield runs on Android and is really fast, and it still gets updates!
Zidoo is very fast and punchy by comparison and runs on Android. The new line run on Android TV 11
I’ve got a dollar, let me know
@@BuildMontage 👌👍