Nvidia Revamps Shield Android TV Streamer, Introduces New $150 Model (variety.com) 47
Nvidia today introduced a revamped version of its Android TV streaming device, complete with a faster processor and a new remote control. From a report: In addition to a $200 Pro model, Nvidia is also introducing a new $150 version with a home theater-friendly form factor that is meant to cater to a mainstream audience interested in great picture quality and sound. Nvidia Shield has long been a favorite with Android enthusiasts looking for the most advanced streaming hardware. First introduced in 2015, the device doubles as a console for both local and cloud-based video games, and thanks to a powerful processor, it's capable of running a whole bunch of software that wouldn't work on your average Roku or Fire TV streamer. A Shield can be turned into a DVR to record over-the-air television, a hub to control smart home devices and even a Plex server to manage expansive media collections.
The flip side of this has always been the price: The 2017 version of the device started at $180. You could buy 3 Rokus for the same amount, and still have money left over. Still, for its 2019 revamp, the company decided to stay the course, and still aim for the upper end of the market. "We don't look to do easy, cheap products," said Nvidia Shield director of product management Chris Daniel during a recent interview with Variety. Nvidia's goal was to use its expertise in graphics and AI to push the limits of what a streaming device can do, Daniel said. To stay true to that mission, Nvidia based its new generation of Shield streamers on its Tegra X1+ processor, which promises to be 25% faster than the processor used in previous-generation Shield devices.
The flip side of this has always been the price: The 2017 version of the device started at $180. You could buy 3 Rokus for the same amount, and still have money left over. Still, for its 2019 revamp, the company decided to stay the course, and still aim for the upper end of the market. "We don't look to do easy, cheap products," said Nvidia Shield director of product management Chris Daniel during a recent interview with Variety. Nvidia's goal was to use its expertise in graphics and AI to push the limits of what a streaming device can do, Daniel said. To stay true to that mission, Nvidia based its new generation of Shield streamers on its Tegra X1+ processor, which promises to be 25% faster than the processor used in previous-generation Shield devices.
What are the options? (Score:3)
We have an early fire tv stick. But it has three major problems. One, low RAM. Two, slow storage. These combine to make it painful to use until the stream starts, at which point it's ok. Three, it's ad-laden. When you combine this with the first two points, it becomes extra pathetic.
The shield is the only device i know of which has none of these problems, and can also run all of the streaming apps. Even Roku is now showing ads, so that's out. I only want a standalone device, so i don't want a Chromecast. I won't buy another Amazon device. I'm not even slightly interested in an apple tv. So is there anything I'm forgetting, that isn't horribly slow, won't show me ads in the launcher, permits sideloading so I can run Kodi (and any version of it that i want to run) and is cheaper than shield?
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I suppose that's an option, although I'd prefer something easier to drive with the remote from the fire stick when accessing Netflix or YouTube, etc. That's something that Android does pretty well. I plan to keep that remote.
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I've had two of those air mouse keyboard combos and both were crap. The remote from the first fire stick is low on functions, but high on quality. And i never need anything else to control the poky fire tv stick, which is basically what it's got in its favor at this point.
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Does every participant get their own slave? Or is that just for oil sheiks and real estate developers?
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My experience with Bluetooth remotes has not been good. Very responsive but also a 2 week battery life.
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Can you access all the popular streaming services via raspi? Or do some of them not function with the available browsers? That was my understanding.
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My understanding was on certain "noncertified" hardware the streams were limited to 480p. That's one of the reasons I held off on buying one of the millions of $70-$90 Android TV boxes on Amazon. The Shield is the only Android box that can do streaming services in full res.
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The Pi isn't good for streaming services. Kodi has an add-on for YouTube but it's terrible, the UI is extremely basic and very slow. On the plus side there are no ads. I don't think Netflix is even possible.
You can get Android running on the Pi, but since it's not certified Netflix will limit you to 480p.
The Shield will get you 4k on both but you can't block YouTube ads. Well, there is a hacked YouTube app for Android that you can use but it's a pain in the arse.
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Excellent, this all jibes with my understanding. Else I'd have got the latest raspi already. I don't need 4k but I do want 1080.
As for YouTube ads, if I want to watch something long without commercials, I employ youtube-dl with aria2 and snatch it down in a hurry.
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Is it possible to replace the hosts file on the Shield and get rid of some ads that way?
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You can use something like DNS66 but it won't block YouTube ads.
I just hooked an old i5 up (Score:2)
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I don't want to spend more money. I'm trying to find an option that's cheaper than the cheaper shield. Even my main PC only has a pair of 950s in it. (One was a warranty replacement for a 750Ti.) and it actually runs everything I want to run just fine. I used to build a new PC every couple of video card generations, because the whole system was slow enough to piss me off, but once we got up to octocores and SSDs it all became a bit unnecessary. A new PC with a good video card would be literally twice as fas
Look for a computer recycler in your area (Score:2)
This assumes you don't want to spend time on ebay. If that's an option you can snip an old 4000 series i5 and it'll run rings around the shield.
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All this assumes that i want a big PC instead of a tiny silent slab of plastic. It would cost dramatically more than any of the other options, take up more space, and use more power. If I wanted that, I never would have got a fire stick. HTPCs only make sense today if you want to use them as a DVR (and then only barely) or if you want to play hardcore games on your TV. I just want to stream some video.
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We have an early fire tv stick. But it has three major problems. One, low RAM. Two, slow storage. These combine to make it painful to use until the stream starts, at which point it's ok. Three, it's ad-laden. When you combine this with the first two points, it becomes extra pathetic.
The Fire Stick (1080p) is an EOL device support-wise. It's still 32-bit and has been stuck on FireOS 5 for 4+ years now I think. If this is an early Fire Stick its processor is even slower. Did you ever consider updating during the multiple sales Amazon has had on the devices? I'm on a Fire Stick 4K (connected to a 1080p display) and it feels pretty zippy, and I only paid $25 for it. And now they have the second generation Cube out that's even faster.
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I would consider it, so long as it comes with a non-microphone remote, or will work with the remote I've got. But I'd rather have something that won't show me ads in the launcher. I did mention the ads... I haven't noticed any of the sales, which is funny because i not only use the fire tv, but i also visit Amazon several times a week to research products. I guess i usually get there by a search, so i don't see the front page.
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What ever you do, do not trust Nvidia shield TV, the last product was broken by cheap short cuts and requires rebooting every day. Real rubbish, for the price buy a PS4 and be done, for broader internet access and low price Linux box is the way to go, Nvidia shield TV was broken from the get go and they used lying influencers to boost sales, the worst most unreliable tech product I have ever bought. Buy Nvidia shield TV at the peril of your calm because it is anything like the last model, it will piss you o
Re: What are the options? (Score:2)
Every day? It does require rebooting, but I only do it once a week or so, if that. Sometimes a Netflix or YouTube stream will freeze, but most of the time you can just fast forward or reverse and it picks up again.
The most annoying thing is the remote. Sometimes it is fine. Other times it is laggy, like several seconds. The game controller doesn't have this problem.
But the Shield has been lightyears better than the cheap Android TV boxes I've tried. No comparison.
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the last product was broken by cheap short cuts and requires rebooting every day. Real rubbish
The only rubbish is your comment. I'll assume you are being honest about your experience and say you should have returned it as defective. I have three of the 2017 variant and have not had the experience you have. I reboot mine once a week as I do my Android phone. It's just good practice and clears memory of any leaks. It is a rare occasion that I need to reboot and when I do it's usually due to a rogue app that refuses to respond. The only shortcoming I noticed which this refresh addresses is the Dolby Vi
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Every remote is a non-microphone remote if you have a drill and a steady hand... glue can only muffle a mic, but rip out the diaphragm and its surveillance days are over.
Though I completely understand boycotting on principle as well.
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AppleTV 4K? $149 ($89 refurb), plenty of RAM and PCIe SSD, you can play Steam games, iOS games and put on just about any streaming service app.
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I love mine, and there's a ton of additional stuff you won't get anywhere else.
There's lots of free top tier games on G-Force now.
Constant, timely OS updates.
It runs Android TV, and sideloading (even standard Android apps) is possible.
And it's a Chromecast.
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kodi on standard hw?
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Or my go-to recommendation for home theater setups: the AcePC AK1. It's fanless, supports mSATA and 2.5" drives (in addition to its eMMC), and it's only 12.5x12.5x5 cm. It costs about the same as a Shield (~170 iirc), but relative to its competitors in the small/quiet market that Apollo Lake chipset is an absolute beast, with good Linux and W10 compatibility.
Form factor (Score:2)
>"a new $150 version with a home theater-friendly form factor"
Um, no. A home theater-friendly form factor would be a standard, 17" wide rectangle with feet, a flat bottom and flat top, and all front-mounted controls and indicators. But good luck on finding that with anything now.
What they are offering is some strange, non-standard, non-stacking shape. Like the insanely stupid physical design of the TiVo "Bolt". People complained bitterly about it. So now they came out with a new model, the "edge", w
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>"a new $150 version with a home theater-friendly form factor"
Um, no. A home theater-friendly form factor would be a standard, 17" wide rectangle with feet, a flat bottom and flat top, and all front-mounted controls and indicators.
What they really meant was "wall-mounted TV friendly" as they assume you have enough clearance behind to hang it off the back of the panel out of sight. Variety probably thinks 65" and a bluetooth soundbar is a "home theater" now.
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Ah, the good old days...
I can understand why the 17" form factor went out of style - it's dramatically oversized for modern electronics, and the "small and sleek" aesthetic has taken over. Probably fueled in part by the fact that as things went digital it became much cheaper to have a few buttons and an LCD rather than an assortment of knobs, sliders, and other faster, more user-friendly interfaces not to mention a small box can be notably cheaper to make than a big one.
I just wish a smaller standard had
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>"I can understand why the 17" form factor went out of style - it's dramatically oversized for modern electronics, and the "small and sleek" aesthetic has taken over."
But it broke a very important standard. And it isn't just the width, it is the silly shapes and such which make stacking anything impossible.
>"I just wish a smaller standard had taken over instead of the random assortment of shapes. Maybe even 8.5" boxes so you could have two stacks side by side on top of any 17" equipment."
Agreed. Tha
Tried em all (Score:3)
Just buy a computer and be done with it. (Score:2)
200 bucks buys a low end laptop that will do that just fine. Hell that's what I have streaming on my very large monitor right now. More importantly it runs the software I write.
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Sure, that's an option, but that's not for a lot of people. I got annoyed cracking out the wireless keyboard to use my little Minix box all the time so I started shopping around for something with an integrated UI and a remote. Decided on the Shield about 2 months ago, but heard whispers there was going to be a hardware update so I held off till now. Once they're in stock I'll pick one up.
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I used to use a desktop computer but one of the big issues was that it couldn't do automatic frame rate switching. It's particularly bad in Europe were we have a mixture of 50 and 60 FPS content, and of course 24 FPS for movies.
I think Kodi can do it now, but I haven't tried for years. By TV has YouTube and Netflix built in and a Raspberry Pi is better for Kodi as it's silent and integrates with the TV remote over CEC.
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What makes it worse is if you have a 4k TV, you need a device that
1) does automatic frame rate switching
2) does automatic colorspace switching
3) switches to HDR automatically
This is a great thread - in Kodi forums - about which players handles specifically what
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthre... [forum.kodi.tv]
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It's a great idea - but does anyone sell a complete plug-in IR receiver? I mean, I'm a geek with adequate soldering skills and a PC-based home theater - but kludging together an ugly IR receiver just doesn't sound like a particularly satisfying use of limited free time.
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Sure, and I used to have one of those connected to one of the Hauppauge capture cards in my scratchbuilt MythTV box. That worked, and the Myth box had a decent UI for everything. Then my cable company stopped offering analog service so my capture cards were useless and in Canada they're not really forced to offer a digital PC interface alternative because "screw you, that's why" as I learned. So I went to the Minix box and messed around with that for a while, but there wasn't a decent UI for that any lon
Useful emulation device (Score:3)
It's the best (Score:2)
I've tried numerous devices over the years, this is the best for me. Certainly the best Android device - I've been down the path of the cheap android boxes - they have all had software or(usually) manufacturing issues. I got the first gen Shield and literally the only problem I've had was the remote - which for some had a manufacturing issue(the remote mic stopped working due to a contact that had to span the device seal), but I wasn't crazy about the remote anyway and I use Harmony for device control. I
Poor library (Score:2)
Only 2GB of RAM (Score:1)
In my experience, Android needs more than that.
I haven't used it, but I predict this his thing is going to lag in the menu and when switching apps.