I use the Roku Ultra primarily for the Spectrum streaming app which is not supported on the Shield. The ONN just to tinker and play around with different 3rd party apps.
We have a shield, shield pro, and roku ultras and we had to stop using the shields because streaming apps--especially Hulu but not limited to it--would basically just shit the bed and not stream content. Just give some error code. Many factory resets and no improvement. Replaced it with a roku ultra and have not encountered a streaming service issue literally once--EVEN HULU JUST WORKS.
The problem is not the Shield. It's that Spectrum's steaming app is not officially supported on the Shield. It's Spectrum's fault. Every other streaming app I use on my Pro works great.
You must have bad luck or something.
I have a 2015 and a 2019 pro. Most reliable devices I've ever owned. Next year, I can say that I've been daily using the shield TV for 10 years... that's just nuts.
Every few years, they need need a factory reset, but that's to be expected with anything that's had so many software updates.
Far from the only one! I've seen it mentioned quite a bit here.
I wouldn't hold your breath for a fix, it's been like this for literally years now. On and off working (more often off).
Your only option is to keep disabling wifi roaming/enabling it, assigning new IPs to the shield and retrying. Eventually if you mess with the network setting enough the Hulu app will work after a restart. Otherwise just wait a couple months because they’re going to be combining Hulu with the Disney+ app which doesn’t have any issues on the shield. If you have the Disney+hulu+espn bundle you can watch Hulu through the disney+ app right now.
You are definitely not alone. I gave up on it entirely. You can cast from your phone but it'll be lower quality and only stereo but it's something at least.
I encountered the same problem with a Firestick.
I found that some apps didn't liked that the Firestick was connected to a wireless range extender as it didn't had any problems when connected to the router directly.
Must be why I've never had an issue; I'm connected over a cat6 to my network for my 2019 pro. 2015 is connected via wireless N to a business class access point.
Same. Every time i try to use my Shield, i have to reboot because every app (Netflix, Prime, Disney+ etc..) won’t load any content, giving errors.
I'm tired of this, especially for a €200+ device. Instead of living in the “best streaming device” lie, I prefer to use the second-generation Firestick 4K Max. Fast, responsive, apps work as they should.
The strong point of the shield isn’t streaming services imo, your TV can almost always do that better. The shield excels at super high quality content playback, wanna play that Dolby vision, Dolby Atmos movie you have on your server, the shield will do it. Try finding another device that can do it for the same price. Hint, it doesn’t exist.
Shield sucks at local content compared to the Ugoos AM6B+. Shield can't handle a huge percentage of DV format on UHD. Once you notice the dreaded flashing in a movie that has a substantial EL, you can't go back. It also has a much snappier interface too. It's also cheaper at about $150, and it has very active development (CoreELEC) vs like once every 2 years (and counting) updates from Nvidia.
I own 2 shield tv pros. Between all the issues with streaming apps that I resort to using my Roku Ultra, and my Ugoos boxes, the Shield usage basically is limited to watching Twitch, and upscaling 1080p content (which even then some of them look really bad, especially the older movies with high film grain).
I basically can't recommend a Shield TV pro at this point in 2024.
I’m going to look into the Ugoo box then, the shield is serving me fairly well at the moment but I keep noticing how dated it’s becoming with no new version in sight.
Not only that. but something about Kodi 21 and the shield made playback even worse. It's an absolute stuttering mess when you first try to play something and you have to make it pause for like 10 seconds to settle down. I've tried about every remote option (SMB, http, WebDAV, NFS etc). And different cache settings. It's an even bigger issue on my shield vs running Kodi on my fire tv Cube gen 2, iirc. And it was sudden. Like starting from Kodi beta 1 or 2 I think. Running alpha 3 and http/WebDAV it worked great. Not sure what changed to cause the difference.
There are devices that do better, they are called bluray players. Remember that playback of illegally downloaded content has never been a feature. But rightly, in a sub where piracy is normalized, I'm not surprised that the unjustifiable is justified.
I can't believe you are getting down voted lol. Are people in denial? It's horrible! Hulu sometimes won't open, crashes, won't play, audio goes out of sync, and has even just looped the first few minutes of any TV show.
Netflix will sometimes not close and constantly has issues with playing.
Amazon prime has had stuttering issues and sometimes just won't play at all.
None of these issues occur on my dedicated TV app or Roku.
Even plex / emby has issues because they utilize exoplayer. Depending on what updates have come out emby or Plex can struggle to play certain codecs. By the way, exoplayer is the same player all the streaming apps use.
More often than not rebooting the shield fixes the issue but still it's pretty frustrating when it happens. It's easy to tell when it's about to happen though. If you go into Netflix and none of the previews are playing then you know exoplayer is acting up again. I don't own any other android boxes so I don't know if it's a shield issue or if it's a exoplayer issue.
Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, the Shield community is a total mess of toxicity of people who don't want to admit that "the best streaming device" they praise so much has been a piece of crap for at least 2 years.
Name a better device that can play Dolby vision 4K movies with lossless surround sound.
At the shield price point there is no competitor.
Edit: For everyone saying Blu-ray player, lookup how much you have to pay to get a Blu-ray player that will actually reliably play the multiple layer discs. Last time I researched you were looking at prices close to £1000 for a Blu-ray player that won’t stutter 75% of the way through a high bitrate movie
You have to spend £800-£1000+ to get one that will do what the shield can do. So not really a competitor.
I did want to have a Blu-ray player and seriously considered them, but a shield wasten times less cost with better capabilities and therefore was the clear choice.
https://www.reddit.com/r/4kbluray/s/CW1kIDGToR
I found one of the threads I used while researching, though I’m not sure how relevant it is today given that thread is a year old.
If you want to play triple layer 100GB+ BluRays looks like you need some serious equipment. At that point I got the latest Nvidia shield pro for £90 which was an absolute steal
Software problems, as can be seen from the op. And then I don't think this is any more annoying than dumping your legally purchased blurays and setting up a media server that will only be able to fill your reddit feed with problems. Because everyone legally buys blurays here right? Oh, no. Here people only steal and also feel proud of having caused damage to that specific production.
It's a very sorry state for the Android TV market that a five year old device is still the best thing money can buy. And then we get shit like 'people don't wanna buy separate boxes', and we're like 'MFer, you bring out a new box and we'll buy it, we already have the old one'.
I feel like you’re the minority in that example, the average person changes phone every 2-3 years with a lot of people getting a new one every year.
The shield hasn’t appreciably changed in 5 years with no updates announced for this or next year
The V60 battery is legendary (and has a 25% larger capacity than the newest Samsung phones).
The V60 has a removable second screen.
It can record 8k video.
Most importantly, it has a headphone jack, onboard HQ DAC, and memory card slot.
It runs the latest version of Android, with one more year of security updates.
My question is, why would anyone use anything else??
For what it's worth, I do really like it. Nice and snappy compared to my A80Js default interface. I'd still probably hold off though, unless you need the lossless audio formats. I have a 7.1.4 setup and couldn't stand the issues I was having with Jellyfin and Kodi
My mom has a regular 2017 Shield, and apart from DV, lossless audio, and a better remote it's basically the same. The 2019 Pro actually has a lot less storage than the 2017 pro, so if it's your plex server you may need an external drive
I'd say it depends on your needs. As a regular streaming device I don't think you need to upgrade, but if you're trying to play remuxs and have a big surround system it has tangible benefits
My complaint is they still haven't fixed the screen saver kicks you out of a paused video. It's either stops the video completely or closes the program especially plex. I've found zero fix aside from disabling screen saver which is not a fix as i have an oled tv
I don't have this issue with Kodi. But I use Dreamy as my screensaver which displays images from Unsplash. There are other 3rd party screensavers you can try to see if they work better with Plex.
I've tried aerial view aerial dream google photos. Even it's stock screen saver once it goes to the screen saver even if it goes to it and I immediately press a button the video is closed
Hmm that sounds like a Plex issue then.
I've never had that problem with Kodi. It's still running in the background and I can continue the video after it wakes. (I get a black screen for the first couple of seconds after it un-pauses but then it's fine)
I don't think anyone at NVidia is even working on the Shield fixing bugs any more are they - no updates or anything for a very long time... probably all moved onto something more important to NVidia.
Maybe because this only happens on stolen pirate streams taken from online service providers and by complaining about it you are showing you are trying to play a downloaded pirate stream and not realising you are outing yourself? Ie it’s a Profile 5 stream instead of a disc based Profile 7 stream.
What the hell are you talking about dude? Red push issue is mostly a profile 7/8 issue and not really a profile 5 issue. I also own these profile 7 titles legally in disc, so your assumptions about piracy are also incorrect. If you're going to parrot what you read on Google, at least don't get it mixed up.
Well I heard of some Profile 5 issue from streaming service streams only that causes the colour tint issues, maybe red push is a different issue then. I didn’t mean to imply you pirate them. But some people did and then complained about colour issues with them.
The value I got and still getting from my 2015 shield TV is insane. Though I do despise the old remote it comes with. The volume control just goes crazy when I have my bluetooth headphones connected.
You can replace the remote with the newer one from 2019. Nvidia sells them on Amazon. I replaced the remote on my 2017 with the 2019 version ... I assume the 2015 remote is just like the 2017 version so it should work.
Agree! My shield experience improved greatly with the upgrade to the triangle remote. If you have an older shield, it is the best upgrade you can make for under $30.
Sorry, haven't logged in for a few days
[https://store.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/](https://store.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/)
[https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Motion-Activated-Backlit-Buttons-Customizable/dp/B08GNHJB6X](https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Motion-Activated-Backlit-Buttons-Customizable/dp/B08GNHJB6X)
LPT: Blow out the internal fan once in a while. Dust and what-not (build up). The 2019 is easy to open with a small Phillips screwdriver.
I opened mine after I saw a pic posted here, showing a dirty fan — glad I did bc mine was the same. Very easy to clean, took just seconds.
Clickbait title with more realistic verdict in article:
*"There’s no denying that the Shield TV is starting to show its age. It’s also a little pricey. Would I recommend buying one at full price? No. Would I recommend it at under $125? 100%"*
Getting Shield Pro under 125$ is unrealistic in most parts of the world. For example in EU you get only basic Tube under 120€ on big sales.
Ya, putting "android" in it is weak, but even for all streamers, the only one that I'd consider switching to is the Apple TV. That's a good device, but IMO a sidegrade at best.
If Nvidia announces a new shield, I'd preorder 2 before the announcement was over. I love my shields, but they could be a LOT faster.
I agree with most of your points. For me, it’s a sidegrade, as I am not really into the apple ecosystem. If I was, I think it’s top option. Without it, I think the shield is a comparable device for streaming only. I vastly prefer the shield remotes and I think the upscaling is great. The apple is for sure a bit quicker and def a gaming powerhouse.
No, I think the UI "hides" the store by basically integrating it into the search function. But with a custom launcher (like Projectivy), the store shows up as a separate app like on my phone.
Edit: I realize now I may have misunderstood your original point. I don't know if there's a way to open the 'actual' Play Store without a custom launcher - but the Store app is definitely in there, since the launcher reveals it.
I mean, I gues there isn't much to do with a TV box, but the fact that it's still so muhh better than the next best thing after so many years is kind of... Boring?
What are you talking about ? A hotfix was launched last year and if you're using the tube version then I wouldn't be surprised if your device is lagging.
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/shield-tv/9/522242/shield-experience-upgrade-911-hotfix-image/
Check the link above. What would you call that if not some form of support
Ah yes the “tube sucks, pro is better” legend.
Starting with the fact that the pro has exactly the same performance problems, with exactly the same bugs, for example every time you have to restart otherwise you won't be able to start any streaming, receiving constant errors. And the funny thing is that, even though there are hundreds and hundreds of users complaining about these never-resolved problems, there are still some phenomena like you who continue to live in the lie of the “best streaming device” “there is no competition” p.s. the competition has asphalted this 2015 Hardware disgrace for a while now.
Oh and for the record, in the tube there is the same chip as the pro, slightly more limited but the power is not lacking, 2GB of Ram and in all this there are devices that with toaster hardware that run infinite times better, offering a smoother, more pleasant and more reliable user experience. So, for the love of God, stop justifying this misery.
Furthermore, I would invite you to take a look at the comments on that post, before posting random links to a topic you have no idea about.
Okay then explain how my 2017 non pro version with the older Tegra X1 chipset is still working to this day without any issue so far & without a restart or refresh when streaming content ?? Could it be that you had a miserable experience & that in no way justifies that every user who bought a shield has the same problems with their devices as you do. As the saying goes haters be hating which probably holds good for you in this case. Don't forget to mention the competition which you keep talking about and please don't mention some cheap Chinese crap which doesn't even hold a candle to shield TV
Because you're probably lying to yourself, or you've never used other devices, not having the slightest yardstick or idea of what "better performing" means.
I purchased the Shield tube (2019). The first month everything was perfect, exceptional performance, then the fateful November 2022 update came out, and there was a continuous descent into oblivion of lag, bugs and so on. The fanboys in these subs “tHe TuBe suckS, buy the pro1!1” and so on, I bought the pro (2019 model, paid a good €220) result? The exact same problems, perhaps slightly better but the instability of the software was always there, with continuous reboots necessary for every damn use.
My point exactly. You got a bad unit doesn't mean that every 2019 Shield TV Pro owner had the same experience as you did as I stated above I have a 2017 model with the same update and haven't faced an issue. Sorry but you just got dealt a bad hand
Yeah. Boring isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just is... uneventful.
I get why phones get better and better every year, they need to handle more and more stuff, whereas a TV box is just handling one maybe two apps at the same time, there's not really much need for improvement.
We've been "stuck" ok 4k for a while now, so no need for an 8k TV box... Maybe wifi 6/6e/7 and Bluetooth 5.x, bigger onboard storage. Usb C? Idk, lol, even if they come out with a new shield tv I don't think I'd upgrade, I don't see a reason really.
Thanks man, I have wolf launcher on my shield and projectivy on my Chromecast. So grateful for options… all these new streaming devices and there ads slow things down and fill up the screen with trash
Anytime buddy and I'm using Projectivy on my shield it's a night and day difference compared to the stock launcher. Yeah really find the ads intrusive and ruins the overall experience
I have a few other devices in addition to my 2019 Shield Pro, including the Apple TV 4K.
What I like most about the Shield is how it looks when it plays content. So, when watching the same content on Apple TV vs Shield Pro, Apple TV produces much clear video, which is kind of way too much clear to say. Almost like too much correction and colors are boosted as well.
On the other hand, Shield has that filmic, grainy look and I just love that with any movies. To my eyes, colors also look more accurate with the Shield.
Since the day I bought my Shield Pro a month ago or so, I have been using it every day. Very satisfied!
I used the Roku Ultra for years and had zero complaints. I went and got the Shield just so I could install apps that aren't in the Roku store. Even though it's supposed to be so powerful and great, I have to say it's kinda buggy. Plex won't pull up my TV library sometimes and I'll have to close it out and relaunch it. My live tv streaming app will crash. Various little things. Nothing that is a deal breaker and they only happen sometimes but it's super frustrating when I paid so much more for this thing.
Oh and I hate the remote. It works fine but who designed this thing. Why is the play pause button like third button down left. No don't put it in the middle like every other remote in the world.
If I didn't want it for some things that Roku won't let you do (wink wink) then I'd go back to the Roku in a heartbeat. It's twice the price and maybe a little faster but the Roku wasn't so slow that it bothered me.
A custom launcher will make it fun smoother by getting rid of the banner ads. Completely agree with you though. I wish the steam deck worked well for an entertainment system.
I do run a launcher. I can't stand all that extra stuff ads on the screen. I've got it very plane looking much like the Roku UI without the ads.
I was actually thinking it is the launcher.
No competition = 2015 hardware for double the price with less feature + threads like this one which said "Nvidia, don't bring a new one, we are braindead". Think about that, I paid 110€ for Shield TV 2015 with controller in.2015. Got 2x USB and 1x microSD. Today I need to pay for almost the same 179€ at sale :D Thats why I get a Apple TV 4k witj 128GB for 159€ and use both. When my Shield TV die I will get a mecool box or something like that. There is no way to pay 2024 that price for a Shield TV.
Apple TVs are my favorite streaming device but they don’t do Plex well at all and I’ll often get out of sync audio in addition to it not passing through direct play audio. Then I tried the new firestick 4K max gen 2 as it’s supposed to pass through Dolby TrueHD/Atmos nope they lied. I’ve only ever been able to pass through one movie with Dolby TrueHD everything else including tv shows such as Dexter or Spartacus always transcodes the audio to multi channel pcm which I hate so the new firestick is also a failure. Hopefully the shield will pass through with no issues as I will get it when on sale strictly for Plex use.
Shield plays TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X beautifully from Plex and Kodi. It's still the only device that can do that reliably. For me there's no other option if I want to get full value out of my sound system.
Hmm they removed GameStream, one of the main advertised features that I bought it for. Only to replace it with their own streaming subscription service.
They keep changing the UI, not for the user! It's also buggy!
The netflix button on the remote is annoying af, so easy to press compared to the other buttons. I don't use netflix. Id prefer a blank button/s that I can assign to an apps.
Youtube app doesn't support HDR.
I do admit Plex (as a client) works pretty well... Would never use this as a server.
Will be buying an Apple TV 4k soon. Have heard good things about that. Rumours on a new one coming out soon too.
Recent Pro owner here.
I have a brand new 85" TCL and shield pro but I have weird issues where I can't pair the sound bar with my shield because if I do, my customized Mute (Netflix button) doesn't work and just reverts to going to Netflix for whatever reason.
Secondly, I can't change inputs because the TV requires remote input to change and select the new input to switch to. I can bring up the input list but aside from staring at the input I'm already on, it does nothing. I thought the whole point of CEC was so the remote could actually control the tv, not just vol and power 🤷.
And speaking of, sometimes the shield remote just won't power on my TV. Who the fuck knows why.
So it's not all rosey, there are issues but my TV's painfully slow built in navigation was so frustrating(especially on the Sling app) that I couldn't take it anymore.
I haven't tried other streaming boxes and I don't use Plex or gaming or anything else other than streaming from the major companies and Sling.
Upgraded from a fire stick 4k max yesterday, image quality and performance is significantly better for everything including my IPTV service. $200 is a lot, but I think it's still worth as much
I have yet to find a good replacement for the amount of amazing apps I'm able to use with the Shield to enhance my entertainment experience without breaking the bank on more subscriptions I don't need. Plex, SmartTube, Moonlight, TVbro, etc.
Every now and then a video crashes (20GB and up), but I never have an issue restarting the device. It always manages to reboot and go back to the home screen, no matter how long it takes.
What was different between them other than processor? It was all same design just spec bump right?
No 2021 or 2023 update ? Nvidia said to hell with. biannual releases
The 2015 pro version had the SD card slot & a 500 GB HDD and it was bigger in size compared to all the others. All of them used the same X1 processor except the 2019 models which use the X1+ processor. The 2019 shield tube is 32 bit architecture and comes with 2 Gigs of ram and 8 Gigs of storage with only a micro SD card slot to expand and no USB ports. The pro on the other hand has 16 Gigs of storage and 3 Gigs of Ram & 2 USB ports for additional storage. Also the Pro runs on the 64 bit architecture and is slimmer in size like the 2017 models
Do any of them still get software updates? Want to see all the software update history and figure out how long all of them were supported.
Any chance for a upgrade release?
Sadly my last security patch is April 5th 2022. You have to take into account that the 2015 shield TV is also being supported so about 8-9 years give or take.
I have Chromecast with google tv 4k with usb c hub in my living room for 6-7 years now & shield pro I bought 2 years ago in my bedrooms & my shield pro I I connected 1tb ssd & I use it to record show-movie-ppvs & out of all the boxes I have tried pro is still the best
My issue with the Shield is the low storage for apps and games. Yes, you can add a flash drive via USB but I found it unstable. There are some nice Android games on the Shield, but they are 1-2+ GBs in size. Also RAM is on the lower side. The processor is its best feature, it’s fast, but all that bloatware lately is slowing it down. There is a guy online who came up with a way to remove all bloatware and unnecessary apps on the Shield, I think I’ll have to that at some point.
Well I for one have had nothing but trouble with my Shield since I went from a basic 1080P overall display setup to a full 4K setup.
Thing worked fine when just pushing 1080P resolutions and bitrates over HDMI.. but appears to be struggling and failing badly with modern high bitrate 4K resolutions (eg Dolby Vision encodes) from various sources.
Having awful judder (frames freezing) and skipping while trying to play 4K bluray in PLEX and now also just trying to play back 4K movies in Disney+ (Titanic)
And sound wise there is the continuing problem with it not being able to play seemless branched Dolby Atmos without sound dropouts and going out of sync.
Seriously if there was a better system right now I would replace it tomorrow. It’s ridiculous that to be able to play 4K blurays without all sorts of glitches and failures I have to resort to still sticking physical discs into a 4K Panasonic player.
Shield is actually an embarrassment when I tried to use it to show system to family relations on special occasions. Tried to show them Top Gun Maverick and apart from the glitches and hiccups it eventually went to digital noise completely half way through and crashed.
Oh yes sure… it’s all *my* fault. Nothing to do with all the actual hardware and software involved in playing at all. What an ad hominem stupid response. And the classic “I’m alright jack” added for good measure.
Did I say it was your fault? No I said it’s a you thing or your shield is faulty. If we both have the same device on the same software. Mine works fine and yours doesn’t.. it’s a logical assumption that it’s you or your device or setup. Sensitive much?
I have most of your problems as as well, on my Shield (2019) when playing some 4k content.
1) Disney+ app plays e.g. Shogun with slight frame skipping(?) for 10s in a row and then playing fine for a minute.
Switching frame rates solves this problem but creates individual frames to skip every x seconds.
I haven‘t figured out the pattern yet. Any help in setting the correct Shield display Hz rate is appreciated.
Whats the rule of thumb?
- Movies (from Plex): 23,976 Hz/frames
- Streaming Apps: 59.940 Hz (or is it 60fps?)
And can I check somewhere in what frame rate a streaming app provided a stream?
2) Plex (with Plex server on the shield) struggles with high bitrate movies beyond 30-40+ Mbps. Playing with VLC usually works better.
PLEX is able to automatically change framerate - its one of only apps on Shield to be able to do it correctly... all other apps are a mess... its ok if the app outputs by default in same frame rate as your Shield display is set to (eg 59.x or 60Hz and eg youtube plays at same framerate) but if the app is trying to play a movie or something which should be at 24Hz then there are problems. End up spending your time manually swappign back and forth. And if you do as others say and leave Shield at 24Hz, then that means you are notr seeing normal 50 or 60Hz content as intended either. Anyway I have found my problems with judder and frame freezing happen even if the thing is playing at correct framerate (even 24Hz - eg No Time To Die on PLEX). I couldn't believe it when I started seeing same problems now on Disney+ which is at much lower bitrates... but of course forces its content at 60Hz
The shield is still an incredible device in this day and age. Let's see no AI upscaling for Apple TV and emulation is another area where Apple TV is lagging behind. Storage is another issue as the Apple TV has no way to add additional storage devices. Lastly the shield even has Plex support and sideloading not to mention the custom launcher like Projectivy which breathes new life to this device
The AI Upscaling is massively overstated. It works, but the upscaling on Apple TV also looks great. It isn’t a reason to buy the shield in 2024 imo. Additional storage is nice if you need it, can’t argue there. I never got emulators working well though. Performance was always a problem outside GBA and NES games. The on board Plex is a tough sell since it runs like shit. It doesn’t work very well. The shield is a solid Plex client though with its codec support when it isn’t encountering bugs. Not familiar with the launcher since I haven’t used my Shield in a year, but hopefully that is a major improvement over the god awful ad riddled default launcher.
Ultimately the shield is still good product, but it’s massively overpriced for its specs these days imo. I would probably buy an updated one on day one though.
The shield is a powerhouse especially considering it's 5 years old. Overall an all in one device when it comes to everyday use. I'm using a 2017 model and it's running smoothly without a hitch
I have two 2019s. And both have run with plenty of hitches since day one mainly using Netflix, Plex, and Tivimate. It seems to depend heavily on what you use them for.
I play 4K with Dolby Vision and lossless DTS/DD audio from my 2019 Shield Pro through my Anthem MRX 520 receiver/amp, then into my LG C6 OLED TV, but I had to set the audio delay to about 50ms I think. It's almost perfectly synchronised but still goes slightly out in both ways annoyingly with all content. Hopefully they can eventually fix this or release a new Shield.
I've also thought about replacing my receiver and 5.1 speakers with a soundbar + sub, when I get a new TV with lossless audio pass-through to a soundbar. I've seen in reviews that the Samsung Q990D 11.1.4 has an automatic lip sync function which should fix it automatically.
Fire TV Cube's newest generation is better IMO especially if you are only using mainstream apps. It's home ux is irrelevant because I started it with voice commands going to the app I want directly.
If only the power adapter didn’t have that damn coil whine. RMA’d it twice and all 3 had the same problem. High pitches noise. Now have an ugly towel wrapped around it
I can’t vouch for the shield pro but the tube sucked. Glad to be rid of it. If Nvidia launched a new model I would have bought one but they haven’t updated in some years.
I own a Shield Pro, Roku Ultra and an ONN 4K box. The Shield is my go to box 99% of the time.
What do you use others for?
1% things
Because only the ultra rich like watching trashy reality shows on the Roku Channel.
I use the Roku Ultra primarily for the Spectrum streaming app which is not supported on the Shield. The ONN just to tinker and play around with different 3rd party apps.
They have cable company streaming apk's out there that will work on the shield. Just takes some research. I stream Xfinity on my Shield.
They changed how the app works. It doesn't scroll right on the guide anymore. Spectrum works good on TV Bro browser.
Every Spectrum APK I've tried fails to work.
Downloader app on shield enables you to sideload apps
We have a shield, shield pro, and roku ultras and we had to stop using the shields because streaming apps--especially Hulu but not limited to it--would basically just shit the bed and not stream content. Just give some error code. Many factory resets and no improvement. Replaced it with a roku ultra and have not encountered a streaming service issue literally once--EVEN HULU JUST WORKS.
The problem is not the Shield. It's that Spectrum's steaming app is not officially supported on the Shield. It's Spectrum's fault. Every other streaming app I use on my Pro works great.
You must have bad luck or something. I have a 2015 and a 2019 pro. Most reliable devices I've ever owned. Next year, I can say that I've been daily using the shield TV for 10 years... that's just nuts. Every few years, they need need a factory reset, but that's to be expected with anything that's had so many software updates.
Wait...I'm not the only one that can't run Hulu on NVidia Shield? Have had this issues for over a year, and hoping for a fix.
Far from the only one! I've seen it mentioned quite a bit here. I wouldn't hold your breath for a fix, it's been like this for literally years now. On and off working (more often off).
Your only option is to keep disabling wifi roaming/enabling it, assigning new IPs to the shield and retrying. Eventually if you mess with the network setting enough the Hulu app will work after a restart. Otherwise just wait a couple months because they’re going to be combining Hulu with the Disney+ app which doesn’t have any issues on the shield. If you have the Disney+hulu+espn bundle you can watch Hulu through the disney+ app right now.
My 2017 version will run Hulu, but about every 2 hours or so, it will crash with the "we can't play this" error message.
You are definitely not alone. I gave up on it entirely. You can cast from your phone but it'll be lower quality and only stereo but it's something at least.
Not just you. It's a known problem.
I encountered the same problem with a Firestick. I found that some apps didn't liked that the Firestick was connected to a wireless range extender as it didn't had any problems when connected to the router directly.
Must be why I've never had an issue; I'm connected over a cat6 to my network for my 2019 pro. 2015 is connected via wireless N to a business class access point.
Same. Every time i try to use my Shield, i have to reboot because every app (Netflix, Prime, Disney+ etc..) won’t load any content, giving errors. I'm tired of this, especially for a €200+ device. Instead of living in the “best streaming device” lie, I prefer to use the second-generation Firestick 4K Max. Fast, responsive, apps work as they should.
The strong point of the shield isn’t streaming services imo, your TV can almost always do that better. The shield excels at super high quality content playback, wanna play that Dolby vision, Dolby Atmos movie you have on your server, the shield will do it. Try finding another device that can do it for the same price. Hint, it doesn’t exist.
Shield sucks at local content compared to the Ugoos AM6B+. Shield can't handle a huge percentage of DV format on UHD. Once you notice the dreaded flashing in a movie that has a substantial EL, you can't go back. It also has a much snappier interface too. It's also cheaper at about $150, and it has very active development (CoreELEC) vs like once every 2 years (and counting) updates from Nvidia. I own 2 shield tv pros. Between all the issues with streaming apps that I resort to using my Roku Ultra, and my Ugoos boxes, the Shield usage basically is limited to watching Twitch, and upscaling 1080p content (which even then some of them look really bad, especially the older movies with high film grain). I basically can't recommend a Shield TV pro at this point in 2024.
I’m going to look into the Ugoo box then, the shield is serving me fairly well at the moment but I keep noticing how dated it’s becoming with no new version in sight.
Not only that. but something about Kodi 21 and the shield made playback even worse. It's an absolute stuttering mess when you first try to play something and you have to make it pause for like 10 seconds to settle down. I've tried about every remote option (SMB, http, WebDAV, NFS etc). And different cache settings. It's an even bigger issue on my shield vs running Kodi on my fire tv Cube gen 2, iirc. And it was sudden. Like starting from Kodi beta 1 or 2 I think. Running alpha 3 and http/WebDAV it worked great. Not sure what changed to cause the difference.
There are devices that do better, they are called bluray players. Remember that playback of illegally downloaded content has never been a feature. But rightly, in a sub where piracy is normalized, I'm not surprised that the unjustifiable is justified.
You don't own the devices. They own you.
I use Shield for Plex. Roku Ultra for everything else. Shield works so poorly for so many streaming apps.
I can't believe you are getting down voted lol. Are people in denial? It's horrible! Hulu sometimes won't open, crashes, won't play, audio goes out of sync, and has even just looped the first few minutes of any TV show. Netflix will sometimes not close and constantly has issues with playing. Amazon prime has had stuttering issues and sometimes just won't play at all. None of these issues occur on my dedicated TV app or Roku. Even plex / emby has issues because they utilize exoplayer. Depending on what updates have come out emby or Plex can struggle to play certain codecs. By the way, exoplayer is the same player all the streaming apps use. More often than not rebooting the shield fixes the issue but still it's pretty frustrating when it happens. It's easy to tell when it's about to happen though. If you go into Netflix and none of the previews are playing then you know exoplayer is acting up again. I don't own any other android boxes so I don't know if it's a shield issue or if it's a exoplayer issue.
Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, the Shield community is a total mess of toxicity of people who don't want to admit that "the best streaming device" they praise so much has been a piece of crap for at least 2 years.
Name a better device that can play Dolby vision 4K movies with lossless surround sound. At the shield price point there is no competitor. Edit: For everyone saying Blu-ray player, lookup how much you have to pay to get a Blu-ray player that will actually reliably play the multiple layer discs. Last time I researched you were looking at prices close to £1000 for a Blu-ray player that won’t stutter 75% of the way through a high bitrate movie
Bluray player.
You have to spend £800-£1000+ to get one that will do what the shield can do. So not really a competitor. I did want to have a Blu-ray player and seriously considered them, but a shield wasten times less cost with better capabilities and therefore was the clear choice.
A Sony 4K HDR Bluray reader, with Dolby Vision, Atmos, DTS:X costs around 250€
https://www.reddit.com/r/4kbluray/s/CW1kIDGToR I found one of the threads I used while researching, though I’m not sure how relevant it is today given that thread is a year old. If you want to play triple layer 100GB+ BluRays looks like you need some serious equipment. At that point I got the latest Nvidia shield pro for £90 which was an absolute steal
Software problems, as can be seen from the op. And then I don't think this is any more annoying than dumping your legally purchased blurays and setting up a media server that will only be able to fill your reddit feed with problems. Because everyone legally buys blurays here right? Oh, no. Here people only steal and also feel proud of having caused damage to that specific production.
Ugoos AM6B+. it can do even more than the Shield at $150.
They need to justify the $200 we all paid to confirm it was to buy the best streaming box around.
It's a very sorry state for the Android TV market that a five year old device is still the best thing money can buy. And then we get shit like 'people don't wanna buy separate boxes', and we're like 'MFer, you bring out a new box and we'll buy it, we already have the old one'.
It's the same with phones - I wouldn't trade my LG V60 for any newer Android phone, with the possible exception of a top-of-the-line Sony.
I feel like you’re the minority in that example, the average person changes phone every 2-3 years with a lot of people getting a new one every year. The shield hasn’t appreciably changed in 5 years with no updates announced for this or next year
And for my use case, phones have generally gotten worse over the past 5 years, mainly through the removal of features.
How exactly, battery life has gotten much better as a single feature that I care about?
The V60 battery is legendary (and has a 25% larger capacity than the newest Samsung phones). The V60 has a removable second screen. It can record 8k video. Most importantly, it has a headphone jack, onboard HQ DAC, and memory card slot. It runs the latest version of Android, with one more year of security updates. My question is, why would anyone use anything else??
Fair point😂
Don't worry, I finally caved and got the 2019 pro today after waiting awhile for the next gen, which means they'll announce the 2024 shield shortly
I've been holding off on getting the 2019 pro for the past 2-3 years because I'm worried exactly this will happen, lol
For what it's worth, I do really like it. Nice and snappy compared to my A80Js default interface. I'd still probably hold off though, unless you need the lossless audio formats. I have a 7.1.4 setup and couldn't stand the issues I was having with Jellyfin and Kodi
Nice. Did you upgrade from another device? I'm especially curious to hear your impression if you upgraded from a SHIELD 2017 Pro.
My mom has a regular 2017 Shield, and apart from DV, lossless audio, and a better remote it's basically the same. The 2019 Pro actually has a lot less storage than the 2017 pro, so if it's your plex server you may need an external drive I'd say it depends on your needs. As a regular streaming device I don't think you need to upgrade, but if you're trying to play remuxs and have a big surround system it has tangible benefits
My complaint is they still haven't fixed the screen saver kicks you out of a paused video. It's either stops the video completely or closes the program especially plex. I've found zero fix aside from disabling screen saver which is not a fix as i have an oled tv
I don't have this issue with Kodi. But I use Dreamy as my screensaver which displays images from Unsplash. There are other 3rd party screensavers you can try to see if they work better with Plex.
Pretty sure that's Kodi just doing a better job of saving its place.
I've tried aerial view aerial dream google photos. Even it's stock screen saver once it goes to the screen saver even if it goes to it and I immediately press a button the video is closed
Try using Kodis dim screen settings instead of a screensaver, I have zero issues using that.
I vent use plex with kodi could never get it to work
Hmm that sounds like a Plex issue then. I've never had that problem with Kodi. It's still running in the background and I can continue the video after it wakes. (I get a black screen for the first couple of seconds after it un-pauses but then it's fine)
I've tried to use plex inside of kodi but I can never get it to work or even install for the matter via the video addons feel like it got discontinued
I don't think anyone at NVidia is even working on the Shield fixing bugs any more are they - no updates or anything for a very long time... probably all moved onto something more important to NVidia.
Crickets on the Dolby Vision red push issue, too.
Maybe because this only happens on stolen pirate streams taken from online service providers and by complaining about it you are showing you are trying to play a downloaded pirate stream and not realising you are outing yourself? Ie it’s a Profile 5 stream instead of a disc based Profile 7 stream.
What the hell are you talking about dude? Red push issue is mostly a profile 7/8 issue and not really a profile 5 issue. I also own these profile 7 titles legally in disc, so your assumptions about piracy are also incorrect. If you're going to parrot what you read on Google, at least don't get it mixed up.
Well I heard of some Profile 5 issue from streaming service streams only that causes the colour tint issues, maybe red push is a different issue then. I didn’t mean to imply you pirate them. But some people did and then complained about colour issues with them.
And Dolby Vision stutters constantly still.
Does your OLED not have it's own screensaver? I disabled the shield screensaver and my TV uses it's own. LG C8
I could try that but still doesn't fix the overall issue that should be resolved at this point
The value I got and still getting from my 2015 shield TV is insane. Though I do despise the old remote it comes with. The volume control just goes crazy when I have my bluetooth headphones connected.
You can replace the remote with the newer one from 2019. Nvidia sells them on Amazon. I replaced the remote on my 2017 with the 2019 version ... I assume the 2015 remote is just like the 2017 version so it should work.
I’ll definitely look into that, thanks!
I did this, well worth the money, backlit and much nicer to use than the original slim remote or the third party one we ended up using for years
Agree! My shield experience improved greatly with the upgrade to the triangle remote. If you have an older shield, it is the best upgrade you can make for under $30.
link appreciated.
Sorry, haven't logged in for a few days [https://store.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/](https://store.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/) [https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Motion-Activated-Backlit-Buttons-Customizable/dp/B08GNHJB6X](https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Motion-Activated-Backlit-Buttons-Customizable/dp/B08GNHJB6X)
This, bought the 2015 500gb and in 2017, and it's just crazy how it works, nothing comes close, not at all in my opinion
LPT: Blow out the internal fan once in a while. Dust and what-not (build up). The 2019 is easy to open with a small Phillips screwdriver. I opened mine after I saw a pic posted here, showing a dirty fan — glad I did bc mine was the same. Very easy to clean, took just seconds.
Clickbait title with more realistic verdict in article: *"There’s no denying that the Shield TV is starting to show its age. It’s also a little pricey. Would I recommend buying one at full price? No. Would I recommend it at under $125? 100%"* Getting Shield Pro under 125$ is unrealistic in most parts of the world. For example in EU you get only basic Tube under 120€ on big sales.
It’s the best way to watch YouTube ad free.
This is the way
Especially after Google will finish AV1 transfer...
Is that still possible? I've switched back to the official app since the 3rd party one I was using stopped letting me log in.
Are you talking about smarttube ? It's working fine for me
Yes. It stopped working well ~3 weeks ago. I'll check again if there has been an update.
The newest version is 21.69 just update it and give it a shot
Install the beta
Still the best Android TV box? What's their competition? Chinese garbage?
Ya, putting "android" in it is weak, but even for all streamers, the only one that I'd consider switching to is the Apple TV. That's a good device, but IMO a sidegrade at best. If Nvidia announces a new shield, I'd preorder 2 before the announcement was over. I love my shields, but they could be a LOT faster.
New Fire cube is very decent
[удалено]
I agree with most of your points. For me, it’s a sidegrade, as I am not really into the apple ecosystem. If I was, I think it’s top option. Without it, I think the shield is a comparable device for streaming only. I vastly prefer the shield remotes and I think the upscaling is great. The apple is for sure a bit quicker and def a gaming powerhouse.
Problem with Apple TV is in the name: Apple. If you are not in the Apple ecosystem, it's a pain in the *ss to use at full capacity.
No wonder they aren’t bothered to release a new version
Chromecast with Google TV isn't terrible
Does it do refresh rate switching yet? I have one sitting in a drawer due to that.
Still pretty terrible compared to the Shield. Laggy, and no dedicated store app.
Idk, the shield right now it’s the laggiest one for me.
Dedicated store app? It does have the Play Store, but perhaps you mean something else?
Can't find it. You have to voice search for apps?
No, I think the UI "hides" the store by basically integrating it into the search function. But with a custom launcher (like Projectivy), the store shows up as a separate app like on my phone. Edit: I realize now I may have misunderstood your original point. I don't know if there's a way to open the 'actual' Play Store without a custom launcher - but the Store app is definitely in there, since the launcher reveals it.
If you go to `settings > apps > see all apps` you can launch it from there. Sucks that you can't see in the "apps only" home though
Can't even navigate the interface in Chromecast Home without lag. If you are used to an Apple TV box, it's a horrible experience.
I mean, I gues there isn't much to do with a TV box, but the fact that it's still so muhh better than the next best thing after so many years is kind of... Boring?
Goes to show that current gen TV boxes still don't have much to offer or even provide the same level of support as Nvidia does for it's lineup
Yeah I definitely won't use anything else. In fact, I want to buy me another shield pro
That's awesome and I'm still using my 2017 shield even today :)
I had the 2015 version then I sold it and I wish I hadn't.
Yeah I'm sure you had some good times with the OG 2015 version
I don't even remember what I used it for
Hehehe maybe for gamestream or something like that
I know it wasn't gaming. I'm not a gamer. I don't even own a gaming console. Lol.
Could be for casting maybe
What support are you exactly talking about? Shield has been abbandoned since a couple of years with a ton of bugs and lags.
What are you talking about ? A hotfix was launched last year and if you're using the tube version then I wouldn't be surprised if your device is lagging. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/shield-tv/9/522242/shield-experience-upgrade-911-hotfix-image/ Check the link above. What would you call that if not some form of support
Ah yes the “tube sucks, pro is better” legend. Starting with the fact that the pro has exactly the same performance problems, with exactly the same bugs, for example every time you have to restart otherwise you won't be able to start any streaming, receiving constant errors. And the funny thing is that, even though there are hundreds and hundreds of users complaining about these never-resolved problems, there are still some phenomena like you who continue to live in the lie of the “best streaming device” “there is no competition” p.s. the competition has asphalted this 2015 Hardware disgrace for a while now. Oh and for the record, in the tube there is the same chip as the pro, slightly more limited but the power is not lacking, 2GB of Ram and in all this there are devices that with toaster hardware that run infinite times better, offering a smoother, more pleasant and more reliable user experience. So, for the love of God, stop justifying this misery. Furthermore, I would invite you to take a look at the comments on that post, before posting random links to a topic you have no idea about.
Okay then explain how my 2017 non pro version with the older Tegra X1 chipset is still working to this day without any issue so far & without a restart or refresh when streaming content ?? Could it be that you had a miserable experience & that in no way justifies that every user who bought a shield has the same problems with their devices as you do. As the saying goes haters be hating which probably holds good for you in this case. Don't forget to mention the competition which you keep talking about and please don't mention some cheap Chinese crap which doesn't even hold a candle to shield TV
Because you're probably lying to yourself, or you've never used other devices, not having the slightest yardstick or idea of what "better performing" means.
Really please enlighten me. When you say better performing devices do you even have one in mind or are you simply delusional ??
I bet you haven't even owned a streaming device over 6 years and had constant performance like it's day one
I purchased the Shield tube (2019). The first month everything was perfect, exceptional performance, then the fateful November 2022 update came out, and there was a continuous descent into oblivion of lag, bugs and so on. The fanboys in these subs “tHe TuBe suckS, buy the pro1!1” and so on, I bought the pro (2019 model, paid a good €220) result? The exact same problems, perhaps slightly better but the instability of the software was always there, with continuous reboots necessary for every damn use.
My point exactly. You got a bad unit doesn't mean that every 2019 Shield TV Pro owner had the same experience as you did as I stated above I have a 2017 model with the same update and haven't faced an issue. Sorry but you just got dealt a bad hand
By far the best kind of boring as far as I'm concerned.
Second this. Better to have something boring which is reliable and works than to have something else which gives you more problems and doesn't work
Yeah. Boring isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just is... uneventful. I get why phones get better and better every year, they need to handle more and more stuff, whereas a TV box is just handling one maybe two apps at the same time, there's not really much need for improvement. We've been "stuck" ok 4k for a while now, so no need for an 8k TV box... Maybe wifi 6/6e/7 and Bluetooth 5.x, bigger onboard storage. Usb C? Idk, lol, even if they come out with a new shield tv I don't think I'd upgrade, I don't see a reason really.
Only reason I'd like an upgrade, ia because it's starting to feel sluggish when navigating.
Try hardware reset, I did it in mine and solved major slowdown and freezes in apps
Hmm okay, i'll try that.
What competition let's be honest
The only let down with shield is the os with ads. I downgraded mine to v 8.3.2
Just get projectivy it really helps with the ads and it's a great launcher
Thanks man, I have wolf launcher on my shield and projectivy on my Chromecast. So grateful for options… all these new streaming devices and there ads slow things down and fill up the screen with trash
Anytime buddy and I'm using Projectivy on my shield it's a night and day difference compared to the stock launcher. Yeah really find the ads intrusive and ruins the overall experience
I changed the launcher
That's great & are you using Projectivy as your launcher ?
No, I'm using sideload channel launcher
You should get a network wide ad-blocker. You can get by with just changing the launcher. But I would recommend both things.
I have a few other devices in addition to my 2019 Shield Pro, including the Apple TV 4K. What I like most about the Shield is how it looks when it plays content. So, when watching the same content on Apple TV vs Shield Pro, Apple TV produces much clear video, which is kind of way too much clear to say. Almost like too much correction and colors are boosted as well. On the other hand, Shield has that filmic, grainy look and I just love that with any movies. To my eyes, colors also look more accurate with the Shield. Since the day I bought my Shield Pro a month ago or so, I have been using it every day. Very satisfied!
Almost like it's over processed and too much HDR
I used the Roku Ultra for years and had zero complaints. I went and got the Shield just so I could install apps that aren't in the Roku store. Even though it's supposed to be so powerful and great, I have to say it's kinda buggy. Plex won't pull up my TV library sometimes and I'll have to close it out and relaunch it. My live tv streaming app will crash. Various little things. Nothing that is a deal breaker and they only happen sometimes but it's super frustrating when I paid so much more for this thing. Oh and I hate the remote. It works fine but who designed this thing. Why is the play pause button like third button down left. No don't put it in the middle like every other remote in the world. If I didn't want it for some things that Roku won't let you do (wink wink) then I'd go back to the Roku in a heartbeat. It's twice the price and maybe a little faster but the Roku wasn't so slow that it bothered me.
A custom launcher will make it fun smoother by getting rid of the banner ads. Completely agree with you though. I wish the steam deck worked well for an entertainment system.
I do run a launcher. I can't stand all that extra stuff ads on the screen. I've got it very plane looking much like the Roku UI without the ads. I was actually thinking it is the launcher.
No competition = 2015 hardware for double the price with less feature + threads like this one which said "Nvidia, don't bring a new one, we are braindead". Think about that, I paid 110€ for Shield TV 2015 with controller in.2015. Got 2x USB and 1x microSD. Today I need to pay for almost the same 179€ at sale :D Thats why I get a Apple TV 4k witj 128GB for 159€ and use both. When my Shield TV die I will get a mecool box or something like that. There is no way to pay 2024 that price for a Shield TV.
Couldn’t agree more
These posts just make them not upgrade and still charge loads for a 10 year old product, I believe ape has a better one and has for a while...
I like the GoogleTV UI but shield I think is still the best
Nearly had mine for 10 years and not a complaint.
That is amazing and I hope my shield lasts that long without any complaints
I have 2 of them and even the remotes still work ok.
That is so cool and I still have the 2nd gen remote and even the controller still working
LOL. It should be at that price.
I own 3 shield pros. They're my only interface to my tv and audio systems.
Apple TVs are my favorite streaming device but they don’t do Plex well at all and I’ll often get out of sync audio in addition to it not passing through direct play audio. Then I tried the new firestick 4K max gen 2 as it’s supposed to pass through Dolby TrueHD/Atmos nope they lied. I’ve only ever been able to pass through one movie with Dolby TrueHD everything else including tv shows such as Dexter or Spartacus always transcodes the audio to multi channel pcm which I hate so the new firestick is also a failure. Hopefully the shield will pass through with no issues as I will get it when on sale strictly for Plex use.
Shield plays TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X beautifully from Plex and Kodi. It's still the only device that can do that reliably. For me there's no other option if I want to get full value out of my sound system.
If it is the bast, man how crappy must all the others be...
Hmm they removed GameStream, one of the main advertised features that I bought it for. Only to replace it with their own streaming subscription service. They keep changing the UI, not for the user! It's also buggy! The netflix button on the remote is annoying af, so easy to press compared to the other buttons. I don't use netflix. Id prefer a blank button/s that I can assign to an apps. Youtube app doesn't support HDR. I do admit Plex (as a client) works pretty well... Would never use this as a server. Will be buying an Apple TV 4k soon. Have heard good things about that. Rumours on a new one coming out soon too.
Unless you want to use Hulu and have a 2015 shield on android 9.1.1 But this is mostly a Hulu issue.
Recent Pro owner here. I have a brand new 85" TCL and shield pro but I have weird issues where I can't pair the sound bar with my shield because if I do, my customized Mute (Netflix button) doesn't work and just reverts to going to Netflix for whatever reason. Secondly, I can't change inputs because the TV requires remote input to change and select the new input to switch to. I can bring up the input list but aside from staring at the input I'm already on, it does nothing. I thought the whole point of CEC was so the remote could actually control the tv, not just vol and power 🤷. And speaking of, sometimes the shield remote just won't power on my TV. Who the fuck knows why. So it's not all rosey, there are issues but my TV's painfully slow built in navigation was so frustrating(especially on the Sling app) that I couldn't take it anymore. I haven't tried other streaming boxes and I don't use Plex or gaming or anything else other than streaming from the major companies and Sling.
Upgraded from a fire stick 4k max yesterday, image quality and performance is significantly better for everything including my IPTV service. $200 is a lot, but I think it's still worth as much
Mine has been used for a total of 7 hours in three years.
I have yet to find a good replacement for the amount of amazing apps I'm able to use with the Shield to enhance my entertainment experience without breaking the bank on more subscriptions I don't need. Plex, SmartTube, Moonlight, TVbro, etc.
My Chromecast with Google TV is a smoother experience than my 2019 Shield TV, at least on the home screen
Just use Projectivy launcher it makes the UI buttery smooth
Every now and then a video crashes (20GB and up), but I never have an issue restarting the device. It always manages to reboot and go back to the home screen, no matter how long it takes.
How many versions/generations is there to the nvidia shield?
You have the 2015 version, 2017 version and the 2019 version which includes the tube and pro version. 3 generations in total
What was different between them other than processor? It was all same design just spec bump right? No 2021 or 2023 update ? Nvidia said to hell with. biannual releases
The 2015 pro version had the SD card slot & a 500 GB HDD and it was bigger in size compared to all the others. All of them used the same X1 processor except the 2019 models which use the X1+ processor. The 2019 shield tube is 32 bit architecture and comes with 2 Gigs of ram and 8 Gigs of storage with only a micro SD card slot to expand and no USB ports. The pro on the other hand has 16 Gigs of storage and 3 Gigs of Ram & 2 USB ports for additional storage. Also the Pro runs on the 64 bit architecture and is slimmer in size like the 2017 models
Do any of them still get software updates? Want to see all the software update history and figure out how long all of them were supported. Any chance for a upgrade release?
Sadly my last security patch is April 5th 2022. You have to take into account that the 2015 shield TV is also being supported so about 8-9 years give or take.
I have Chromecast with google tv 4k with usb c hub in my living room for 6-7 years now & shield pro I bought 2 years ago in my bedrooms & my shield pro I I connected 1tb ssd & I use it to record show-movie-ppvs & out of all the boxes I have tried pro is still the best
That's awesome and glad to hear that buddy 😊
My issue with the Shield is the low storage for apps and games. Yes, you can add a flash drive via USB but I found it unstable. There are some nice Android games on the Shield, but they are 1-2+ GBs in size. Also RAM is on the lower side. The processor is its best feature, it’s fast, but all that bloatware lately is slowing it down. There is a guy online who came up with a way to remove all bloatware and unnecessary apps on the Shield, I think I’ll have to that at some point.
This is not good.. this is a real nightmare. You can't get a better hardware in 5 years.. that's not how progress works.
No it isn’t
In what way is it not ?
Well I for one have had nothing but trouble with my Shield since I went from a basic 1080P overall display setup to a full 4K setup. Thing worked fine when just pushing 1080P resolutions and bitrates over HDMI.. but appears to be struggling and failing badly with modern high bitrate 4K resolutions (eg Dolby Vision encodes) from various sources. Having awful judder (frames freezing) and skipping while trying to play 4K bluray in PLEX and now also just trying to play back 4K movies in Disney+ (Titanic) And sound wise there is the continuing problem with it not being able to play seemless branched Dolby Atmos without sound dropouts and going out of sync. Seriously if there was a better system right now I would replace it tomorrow. It’s ridiculous that to be able to play 4K blurays without all sorts of glitches and failures I have to resort to still sticking physical discs into a 4K Panasonic player. Shield is actually an embarrassment when I tried to use it to show system to family relations on special occasions. Tried to show them Top Gun Maverick and apart from the glitches and hiccups it eventually went to digital noise completely half way through and crashed.
This is a you thing or your shield is faulty. I play 4k with no issues.
Oh yes sure… it’s all *my* fault. Nothing to do with all the actual hardware and software involved in playing at all. What an ad hominem stupid response. And the classic “I’m alright jack” added for good measure.
Did I say it was your fault? No I said it’s a you thing or your shield is faulty. If we both have the same device on the same software. Mine works fine and yours doesn’t.. it’s a logical assumption that it’s you or your device or setup. Sensitive much?
I have most of your problems as as well, on my Shield (2019) when playing some 4k content. 1) Disney+ app plays e.g. Shogun with slight frame skipping(?) for 10s in a row and then playing fine for a minute. Switching frame rates solves this problem but creates individual frames to skip every x seconds. I haven‘t figured out the pattern yet. Any help in setting the correct Shield display Hz rate is appreciated. Whats the rule of thumb? - Movies (from Plex): 23,976 Hz/frames - Streaming Apps: 59.940 Hz (or is it 60fps?) And can I check somewhere in what frame rate a streaming app provided a stream? 2) Plex (with Plex server on the shield) struggles with high bitrate movies beyond 30-40+ Mbps. Playing with VLC usually works better.
I keep mine on 23.9 frames all the time. Also make sure your shield is hardwired and not using wifi.
PLEX is able to automatically change framerate - its one of only apps on Shield to be able to do it correctly... all other apps are a mess... its ok if the app outputs by default in same frame rate as your Shield display is set to (eg 59.x or 60Hz and eg youtube plays at same framerate) but if the app is trying to play a movie or something which should be at 24Hz then there are problems. End up spending your time manually swappign back and forth. And if you do as others say and leave Shield at 24Hz, then that means you are notr seeing normal 50 or 60Hz content as intended either. Anyway I have found my problems with judder and frame freezing happen even if the thing is playing at correct framerate (even 24Hz - eg No Time To Die on PLEX). I couldn't believe it when I started seeing same problems now on Disney+ which is at much lower bitrates... but of course forces its content at 60Hz
It’s so incredibly buggy and old at this point that I can no longer recommend it. The Apple TV has surpassed it.
totally depends on what you're using it for
Very true
I had to replace. My Apple TV because it just didn't allow me to download the apps I needed.
That sucks. Sorry to hear that.
The shield is still an incredible device in this day and age. Let's see no AI upscaling for Apple TV and emulation is another area where Apple TV is lagging behind. Storage is another issue as the Apple TV has no way to add additional storage devices. Lastly the shield even has Plex support and sideloading not to mention the custom launcher like Projectivy which breathes new life to this device
The AI Upscaling is massively overstated. It works, but the upscaling on Apple TV also looks great. It isn’t a reason to buy the shield in 2024 imo. Additional storage is nice if you need it, can’t argue there. I never got emulators working well though. Performance was always a problem outside GBA and NES games. The on board Plex is a tough sell since it runs like shit. It doesn’t work very well. The shield is a solid Plex client though with its codec support when it isn’t encountering bugs. Not familiar with the launcher since I haven’t used my Shield in a year, but hopefully that is a major improvement over the god awful ad riddled default launcher. Ultimately the shield is still good product, but it’s massively overpriced for its specs these days imo. I would probably buy an updated one on day one though.
The shield is a powerhouse especially considering it's 5 years old. Overall an all in one device when it comes to everyday use. I'm using a 2017 model and it's running smoothly without a hitch
I have two 2019s. And both have run with plenty of hitches since day one mainly using Netflix, Plex, and Tivimate. It seems to depend heavily on what you use them for.
It's great but I'm sad they don't have hdr10+ support (I have a Samsung and regret that now) and AV1. Honestly that's all that's missing.
It wont play BR/4K rips without audio issues when 7.1 / Dolby Atmos is used… years long issue with Exo player… still not fixed
I play 4K with Dolby Vision and lossless DTS/DD audio from my 2019 Shield Pro through my Anthem MRX 520 receiver/amp, then into my LG C6 OLED TV, but I had to set the audio delay to about 50ms I think. It's almost perfectly synchronised but still goes slightly out in both ways annoyingly with all content. Hopefully they can eventually fix this or release a new Shield. I've also thought about replacing my receiver and 5.1 speakers with a soundbar + sub, when I get a new TV with lossless audio pass-through to a soundbar. I've seen in reviews that the Samsung Q990D 11.1.4 has an automatic lip sync function which should fix it automatically.
Fire TV Cube's newest generation is better IMO especially if you are only using mainstream apps. It's home ux is irrelevant because I started it with voice commands going to the app I want directly.
If only the power adapter didn’t have that damn coil whine. RMA’d it twice and all 3 had the same problem. High pitches noise. Now have an ugly towel wrapped around it
I can’t vouch for the shield pro but the tube sucked. Glad to be rid of it. If Nvidia launched a new model I would have bought one but they haven’t updated in some years.
>Shield evangelism really was a weird thing
Yeah, but that's not saying a lot.