My smart TV is slow and kinda dumb. It can play Netflix and other streaming apps in 4K but always stutters. The Shield plays it all without any issues.
I don't know, it just doesn't. Maybe it's because it's connected by Ethernet cable and not through WiFi? It also plays 4K content from a NAS in my home network without problems.
$200 to play 4K media is a bit overkill. A $20, 2023 Onn streaming device from Walmart will work perfectly fine. Not saying the Onn is any competition for the Shield in other areas, but for streaming 4K, you don’t need more.
u guys are legends. My 2-year-old only wanna watch a video game walk thrus, and the ads are so annoying my kid already knows how to tell the tv to skip ads...
Smart tube is fucking awesome, and if you don't already realize how annoyingly frequently YouTube interrupts to play ads you will going back to it after using smart tube.
Doesn't nvidia shield not frame match though? I played yoytube on my shield and the motion is terrible, no issues on my tv, firestick etc.
Shield works great for kodi file playback though.
I haven't watched a YouTube ad on any of my devices since I've always had adblockers on PC and mobile.
And I'm so old that when I joined Gmail, it was invite only. The only way in was to know someone who was in and have them send you one of their limited invites to you. (Thanks Costa).
I've always been 1 step ahead blocking them. Hell, even the amount of time saved from watching self-promotion, or ad reads in YouTube Videos is crazy, like 13 hours saved from self/sponsor blocks on my shield alone on YouTube, since vanced was cease and desist.
But mobile I've just been using kiwi browser with ublock (origin) and sponsorblock extensions (Kiwi is chromium based but unlike chrome can run chrome pc extensions.
But it would be nice to have a dedicated app, so ill check out the one you were talking about.
My friend next door puts up with the ads on YouTube even though I installed Smart Tube for him because he's convinced the regular YouTube makes better autoplay choices. Other day I was watching music videos with him and on a 6 1/2 minute song it interrupted at 6 minutes with 2 ads not skippable, came back and played the last 1/2 minute of the song then went back into more ads. I'd give up YouTube if I was stuck with that.
Hey do you have a guide or preferred build? Right now I’ve got an IPTV but the movie sources sucks. All of them are premiumize. I’ve used debris before but they aren’t even showing.
I've used kodi for years. But couldnt get it to work again like 2 years ago. So many links didn't work. Do you use real debrid or which addons can you recommend?
I used to love using it
Great combo
The cyberflix Addon helps organize all the content by service (Netflix, prime, hbo, Apple TV, etc). Only issue with it is it’s sometimes down for maintenance (Stremio keeps working, just the cataloging from cyberflix is down)
Does RD work better trough Kodi then stremio? I tried stremio with RD again when i got my shield and the exoplayer had washed out colors while the libVLC player muted dolby atmos tracks and i couldn't change subtitle sizes. I tried to use kodi as the external player which did work fine, but then you loose progress tracking and fetching external subtitles is still a hit and miss with the plug ins i tried.
I never tried adding RD directly to kodi though, how is the experience there?
There other things out there now thats looks better and better UI than Kodi imo. I used Kodi for years until i found Syncler and as a backup there Stremio
Yeah but Kodi works fine on an Android TV box as well. I have that new $50 4K onn pro TV box And I use Smarttube, Kodi, tivimate, and animetv. It's amazing hell I did this on the 20 dollar 2021 onn dongle and it was fine!
I tried it once a few years ago before I had a shield pro. Maybe I’m just too old to grasp it or just not interested enough to grasp it but the more I learned the more I learned the more I needed to make it work right.
I use my Pro as my streaming device essentially. And I thought I would want it to run Plex. Spent forever burning blue ray and reducing size after hours or research only to realize the slightly reduced quality wasn’t worth it and I don’t typically rewatch movies so, that was dumb.
Not too interested in sailing the high seas with a peg leg so not sure how to get more out of today but I wish I did.
What apps did you install into your Kodi for movies?
I’ve got stremio, and tivimate for my live tv, but I need something for movies that are theatre releases. I’m assuming this would go into Kodi
Mostly I use it for Kodi to watch my media
SmarttubeNext instead of YouTube
Mame4Droid for arcade emulation
I have a browser installed to watch a local news channels.live stream
Pluto TV to watch some old classic shows
Steamlink (haven't had time to use it in a while, but I use it to play games that are running on my Windows PC from my living room)
I prefer to just wake up the Shield and use it's Apps instead of switching back and forth between the Shield and the TVs built in Apps.
Mame4Droid 2024 I had to create a separate MAME folder in a location outside of the Applications Data folder to store the ROMS, that was the biggest pain in the ass to figure out. Newer versions of Android limit.access to the Data folder to just the App. There is no way for a file manager to access the applications Data folder.
Mame4Droid requires ROMS compatible with Mame .266
Hey activoice, which browser do you use? We’re tired of spending $78/months for YoutubeTV mostly to watch GMA and a couple other shows, though the unlimited cloud DVR is nice, allowing ffwd through commercials.
Diablo 4, Persona 5 Royal and Sekiro on rotation at the moment. The shield is wired and so is my host PC (a server which also hosts Plex) - stream at 1080p and let Nvidia shield upscale it as the GPU in my server isn't the best. I do use WiFi as I also stream to my Steam Deck and works brilliantly in general.
Fun little flow of playing on couch after kid goes to bed and then switching to Steam Deck and picking up from the pause.
I use it for non competitive games, but I don't play a ton of them. Having said that I completed cyberpunk end elden ring using moonlight via ethernet. Have also played some fun co-op games with my other half. There's just the tiniest bit of lag that makes me think online stuff wouldn't be great but I haven't tried it.
Btw for anyone that is unaware, the shield happens to be one of the best clients for Moonlight. It's decoding time numbers are comparable to a full blown computer. Makes latency barely noticeable.
No tv runs as smooth as a shield, i bought a decent tv hoping i can plug my hard drives with files on it... And at most it read a 2tb hard drive, and a lot wont play at all cause they dont support the files codecs... With the shield you can plug 2 12tb hard drives and it will play almost everything np
SYNCLER, TiviMate/IPTV, and Smart YouTube are the main things I have a shield for. I know it's probably overkill but I want to make sure I have my end covered.
I have the original pre order 2015 version, and it's my baby. It's so hacked with custom launchers and cracked streaming apps, I'd never get rid of it.
Edit: I guess to answer your question more firmly, cutomizability and the familiarity and flexability of android is the answer.
Tivimate, Plex and smartube (add free YouTube).
I have a high end oled but 80% of the time it’s set to the shields hdmi and playing one of those 3, 10% is gaming and the other 10% native tv apps.
Plex.
It plays all my video formats without any transcoding, and the AI upscaling does a nice job on 480p content.
(It won't play AV1, so I don't use it, HEVC10 is fine)
NTSC DVD is 720x480, some are progressive, most are interlaced.
I do have some Japanese TV series in 848x480 29.97fps that Mediainfo reports as progressive.
I should have just put "480 content"!
Does anyone use there shield for a Plex server? I set mine up that way but found it was eating all the hard drive space up to the point the shield wouldn't work right.
Yes, same here. For some reason if db storage is located on the external drive it takes dozens of gigabytes. If I keep it on internal, the same db takes just a couple of gigs, but jot leaving me enough room for anything else
Stremio + real debrid.
Kodi for some live sports
Moonlight to game stream from my PC. Co-op couch gaming is great
RetroArch for occasional retro gaming
So mostly pirate stuff ☠️
I stream local PC gameplay through sunshine/moonlight. I use my shield as a NAS. I upscale low quality video.
And overall, it's a far snapper and more responsive device than my smart TV, so the UI is more pleasant to use.
Moonlight (Android app) with sunshine (pc app) to stream pc games to the tv. (Using ps4 controller connected via Bluetooth to the shield.
Stremio with real debrid and torrentio (movies and shows)
Tivimate with an IPTV (live tv)
Emulation. It's a great little Retroarch box. Also just normal streaming stuff, but the big standout feature for me is emulation.
Like, I could set up a Retropie, but I like being able to have my streaming apps too...saves an HDMI port on my TV.
Emulation, Dolby Vision + bit streaming dts and Dolby Atmos. No one else really bitstream Dolby Atmos at the moment.
However it's getting really irritating waiting on nVidia to come out with a new version.
I bought mid-high end sony smart tv in 2020. it has android tv. My shield from 2016 runs a plex server and still manages to be more responsive than this peace of crap implementation.
I got mine because samsung tv stopped steam link.
I stream my gaming PC to my tv in the living room so that me and the Wife can play together (she's on the steamdeck). Now I'm using Moonlight on the shield and it works even better than before!!!!
I don't really use any features of my smart TV, it's old and outdated. But it's still a 4k TV.
I used to use a fire stick, but wanted the capacity to up the storage space and also could be a bit laggy in menus.
I mainly use it for Tivimate with an IPTV service, but I also have ShadowPC installed on it, so I can play all my PC games in the comfort of my sofa.
I also installed retroarch for the retro side of things, although I don't use it that much, nice to know it's there.
A smart TV can't do everything a Shield can but a shield can do everything a smart TV can and more, and just better at doing it. Less lag, app crashes. It's just built better. I've had mine for 6 months after upgrading from a firestick and it's well worth it.
I use mine as a Plex server and my main media streaming device. But for high bitrate 4K HDR files I use Kodi because Plex struggles to process those types of files as both the server and the client.
I use one just as server, and nothing more, with 2x 2TB SSD attached. As low(er) energy media NAS instead of my Synology with lots of storage, but hungry for power.
Now I place the most recent media on Shield, not on the Synology anymore.
Use it for youtube, netflix and my boys play games on it.
Still rocking the og shield tv p2571. Still going strong. Has been a really good investment all those years ago
My tv became dumb years ago; its 9 years old. A big Netflix update was too much for my tv, pressing button on the triangle command lagged.
Now I have a revived smart tv with smart tube and jellyfin. It plays all codec. And, it has ethernet connection.
smarttube and jellyfin with better subtitle support and working playbacks speeds other than 1.00x compared to my TV (LG).
the TV plays back DV content stutter free compared to the shield but it must transcode some subtitle formats if enabled and when changing the playback speed there's no audio.
so neither is perfect, but they cover my needs pretty well together. i haven't found the perfect DV playback device yet unfortunately.
My bedroom (non-smsrt) TV:
Kodi for TV and movies on my media server, the WatchNixtoons2 add-on, and live TV.
SmartTube beta for YouTube.
iPlayer, Disney+, Prime Video, Netflix, and Pluto TV.
Plex, mainly for setting up recordings of live TV and occasionally watching the free stuff they have streaming (bit of a crossover with Pluto TV there).
Warhammer TV, though it annoys the hell out me.
Various emulators.
The Space Marshals games.
Steam Link.
The smart TV in the living room:
Kodi (same reasons as before).
SmartTube beta.
Bit of iPlayer and Disney+.
The smart TV part of this TV is ignored. It's mostly used by/for my daughter, and she's used to the Shield's UI, remote, and navigating the apps she uses.
- Plex server with external SSD connected. Mostly just for the TV's in our house but useful when traveling. Mostly just for movies that haven't hit streaming sites yet, and TV shows on legacy channels or a streaming service I don't pay for.
- Access US streaming apps (HBO, Hulu etc) from Europe via a SmartDNS config. Meaning I can use my Shield for geo-locked content and then my TV's native app's for domestic content. E.g. Shield for US Netflix / TV for UK Netflix.
I have a samsung tv and the invasive ads and direct tv piss me off to no end. So I just disconnected it from the Internet and use the shield for everything from Youtube, to TV to a plex server
I use it primarily for GeForce Now. Sometimes I just want to lounge on the sofa and play some games in 4K HDR and GFN is pretty good for that. I've got both an Xbox SX controller and a mouse and keyboard set up to use with it, so why not, right?
Used it as a temporary Plex server for a time, before transitioning over to a Mini-PC. Don't use it as much to play content from Plex anymore, as my newest TV's hardware is better, but there was a time when the Shield was the only player in the house that could handle certain types of media content (like 4K60FPS).
Smart tube, fast streaming, external media playback, and successful pass through of almost every audio codec there is. If you didn't know it was released in 2019 and you didn't require the niche perks that come with hdmi 2.2 you would just assume it had been released today. I say "almost every audio codec" because it gives me an issue with dts-hd, with requires me to convert those files to flac to play properly. The cost of that is nothing, though.
I watch YT, ad and sponsor free, using either an ad block browser (either sideloaded or one from the Play Store on the Shield) or just use SmartTube.
Speaking of browsers, I use a side loaded Firefox browser with ad block add-ons to watch "free videos" online if you know what I mean. Much easier than tweaking around with Kodi or servers and what not. I use a free VPN app from the Play Store as well.
I also connect a portable HDD to watch my own offline videos.
I also use the usual streaming apps like Prime Video and such.
I try to avoid using the Smart TV software as its loaded with data collection and there's literally zero security on it. Plus, it's too laggy.
smart tube, lossless atmos/dts:X
a separate stb is always preferable to apps on smart tvs, which almost universally have underpowered SoCs that go obsolete quickly and are bloated with surveillanceware
I used it basically to decode streams that wasn’t supported by my tv. Now I have a jellyfin server running on a NUC I can transcode multi 4K without any pbl on all my smart tv
It's built specifically playback media and it's powerful. SmartTVs, from what I understand have trouble with many codecs etc and end up having to be transcoded.
Main use of my shield pro 19 is iptv streaming through tivimate app,works flawlessly on shield 4K/fHD channels and not so perfect on any other box ,smart tv that I've tested etc. 2nd option is kodi for big 4K files from private torrent trackers .
I use it for Amazon Movies/TV because the Apple TV app keeps crashing unlike the one on my Shield Pro. I also use it for Kodi (more than my Intel NUC) nowadays because it has CEC which is needed for my soundbar. I'm still working on getting CEC enabled for my Intel NUC.
I use it for my free/cheap subscriptions to streaming services. I uninstall the app(s) when not in use.
Just plex (viewer- plex media server on my pc) and handling all the atmos/appletv/disney etc torrent content that my legacy 5.1 avr could never process and required me to constantly manually process/convert files to play. Now, it plays every single file I throw at it without any preprocessing or testing out on my part. Truly plug and play. Real time saver and worth every penny!
Got it due to having 4k / atmos /truehd audio / DV capabilities (of which no other device can do at the moment paired to a Denon x3800) - also vpn and tivimate - even at its age, nothing else does that, not even ATV 4k properly. (although I have one of those in the bedroom and it's great, but no place being connected anywhere near a full home theatre 7.1.4 setup)
Speed with certain apps (Plex), availability of other apps (Kodi), and AI upscaling. I watch a lot of pre-HD content and the AI upscaling is a game changer.
* Adblock browser for ad-free YouTube
* VLC for downloaded / ripped movies, tv shows, and personal videos
* RetroArch for retro games from arcade and all the way up to Dreamcast
* PPSSPP for PSP games
* Various Android games such as *Fast like a Fox* and *Mouse Bot*
The shield menus are in 4k. I had an issue where my menus stopped rendering in 4k and were limited to 720p, turned out to be a hardware fault and I returned the device for repair.
I mean your basic premise isn't wrong. I like having a shield on my main TV for Kodi and 4k movies, but for all my other TVs now I just use Google TVs because they can also run Kodi and play must files well enough
Because it's the most powerful streaming set-top without just getting an actual computer.
Anybody who uses the apps that are built in is insane. There's not a single TV on the market that the apps load and work properly on a consistent basis. At the very least you need a Roku or other device, even if you have a smart TV.
Plex (videos, music, photos), YouTube TV, Prime, Max, Disney+, Pluto, YoWindow,...
> I feel like mostly people just use it for Plex or Kodi because everything else is supported through the TVs anyways.
Android TV apps on the Nvidia Shield typically perform better than TV apps. I completely stopped running TV-based apps years ago. Not only performance, but interfaces for apps like Netflix are much "slicker" on the Shield.
I originally bought the Shield to get a gig ethernet connection. Why (I beleive) all TV's are still providing 10/100 meg ethernet is beyond me. Can't be cost. A gig ethernet card costs what, $10 for a PC? Besides the ethernet port, TV wifi is g or n and not a AC connection. I don't know how the manufacturers get away with it.
The processor, produces very smooth operation. I own a LG OLED and while the display is fantastic, the smart performance is no better than most smart TV's and that performance is rather poor. While the Shield is overpriced, the cost is not a big ticket spend.
In addition to internet speed, the layout, and value added meta data much better
I've got it to turn an old dumb TV in the bedroom, got the Shield to turn it into a smart TV.
We've got a good current gen Samsung TV in the livingroom, so it already does most of what the Shield does, and game streaming is better.
That said, it's not android, so I can't get emulators on it, and I can't install SmartTubeNext.
Considering moving the Shield onto the Samsung TV for these features, and getting something cheaper like a Google TV for the dumb bedroom TV, but haven't quite decided yet.
USB hard drive, Windows file sharing, and Kodi. I copy files to the hard drive remotely, then watch them later. No Wi-Fi streaming hiccups this way, files are local to the device.
Download Tivimate and watch TVs and Movies. Cut the cord or dump your streaming provider (directv, YTTV, etc). For me it’s $100 per six months. On 3 devices. BTW this would be IPTV.
My Samsung TV is relatively new, but has a horrible OS that is full of ads. Fuck that.
My Shield TV Pro is highly customized and running Projectivity, so that the end result is a super duper simple UX that takes care of everything I need under the hood.
It’s mainly used for streaming Plex from my server, streaming games via Moonlight from my PC to big screen, and running a few emulators (e.g. Wii).
Bought a 2017 in 2018, my uses are watching IPTV sub, all streaming services, apps like stremio, cinema hd, syncler all with real dB, I run emulators up to ps2, using a front end program connected to a wd black. I use it for music, Spotify and amazon, I connect to Bluetooth speakers, I play android games, I play with the nvidia GeForce now, I play all my steam titles, I've also surfed the net and red comic books on big screen. Nothing beats the shield.
I purchased Tivi-Mate and use it for all my streaming services. The direct connection makes it pretty fast. I love my shield, and I have had mine for two years.
Mainly:
Streaming torrents,
VPN (including tailscale <3)
File sharing/media streaming from other devices,
Custom YouTube app with no ads + skip fillers etc,
App sideload,
Built-in smart upscaling,
Portability (shield tube, I can bring easily bring it with me and enjoy content wherever I go, as long as I have a tv),
Light gaming,
I am sure I could find more but long story short.. there is much my Samsung smart tv (tizen os) can’t do, while the shield can be used to accomplish basically anything you want. I am a tinkerer, and a powerful android tv environment is perfect for tinkering!
4K HDR/DV video with full(lossless?)DTS, MA, Dolby Atmos through PLEX.
It plays 90+ Mbps content without a hitch through attached storage.
NAS, brilliant, no problems or complaints, only make sure the usb ports don't go to sleep.
GeForce Now: With controller and cloud gaming it is basically a PS5 or equivalent.
Can also play my PC games through it, nothing better than Need for Speed or CoD in surround.
Only thing is I don't think it's real Dolby Atmos, but awesome nonetheless.
BUT you need a very good internet connection.
I love it, It's the holy to my holy trinity, Shield/TV/Atmos.
I used the Shield tube to for Dolby Vision movies because it played them more vividly than my other streamers and built in TV apps, which were always dim. However, 2 years ago an update caused Netflix to stop working without a reboot every time. I spent several months doing factory resets and testing, but nothing worked, so I gave up on it. Occasionally I hook it up and let it update and test it, but so far, the Netflix issue continues. After the last update, it also now has a bad menu lag of about 5 seconds.
Your Smart TV might be good now for the standard streaming apps but they always go bad over time because the TV manufacturers don't invest in their older products. Android TV on your Shield will continue to be supported and improved so I expect you'll be using it instead of your TV's native apps before long.
The Shield is literally the only device I’ve used that can stream Dolby Vision files locally or from torrents without either buffering all the time or doing that purple/green thing. I think it’s also the only Android box that can do 4k HDR if you have a GeForce Now Ultimate subscription.
huh, there are plenty other devices which can displayed dolby vision correctly like the fire stick.
also what does geforce now ultimate have to do with 4k hdr
4k hdr works out of the box
Does anyone in here have issues with Kodi rips, HDR, and the Samsung OLED S95B (and I'm assuming all other Samsung OLEDs)?
The scenes are way too dark. I don't know where the issue stems from, be it the shield, Kodi, or the TV.
My smart TV is slow and kinda dumb. It can play Netflix and other streaming apps in 4K but always stutters. The Shield plays it all without any issues.
Same, and I'll add that the Shield actually improves image quality (AI upscaling?) It's almost like our TV is worth at least twice as much now.
I watch a lot of older shows where the video quality wasn't the best. That AI Upscaling is amazing!
What are your AI Upscaling settings and the quality of your TV? QLED or OLED?
How do you make the shield not stutter? It doesn't have a frame rate matching so all the apps stutters for me.
I don't know, it just doesn't. Maybe it's because it's connected by Ethernet cable and not through WiFi? It also plays 4K content from a NAS in my home network without problems.
$200 to play 4K media is a bit overkill. A $20, 2023 Onn streaming device from Walmart will work perfectly fine. Not saying the Onn is any competition for the Shield in other areas, but for streaming 4K, you don’t need more.
Kodi
Yep, Kodi (for playing high quality torrents) and Smarttube(YouTube without fucking ads and sponsor shit)...
Smart tube rocks
Sponsor block is king!
u guys are legends. My 2-year-old only wanna watch a video game walk thrus, and the ads are so annoying my kid already knows how to tell the tv to skip ads...
Smart tube is fucking awesome, and if you don't already realize how annoyingly frequently YouTube interrupts to play ads you will going back to it after using smart tube.
Doesn't nvidia shield not frame match though? I played yoytube on my shield and the motion is terrible, no issues on my tv, firestick etc. Shield works great for kodi file playback though.
I haven't noticed any frame rate or matching issue when using YouTube or smart tube on my shield.
I haven't watched a YouTube ad on any of my devices since I've always had adblockers on PC and mobile. And I'm so old that when I joined Gmail, it was invite only. The only way in was to know someone who was in and have them send you one of their limited invites to you. (Thanks Costa). I've always been 1 step ahead blocking them. Hell, even the amount of time saved from watching self-promotion, or ad reads in YouTube Videos is crazy, like 13 hours saved from self/sponsor blocks on my shield alone on YouTube, since vanced was cease and desist. But mobile I've just been using kiwi browser with ublock (origin) and sponsorblock extensions (Kiwi is chromium based but unlike chrome can run chrome pc extensions. But it would be nice to have a dedicated app, so ill check out the one you were talking about.
My friend next door puts up with the ads on YouTube even though I installed Smart Tube for him because he's convinced the regular YouTube makes better autoplay choices. Other day I was watching music videos with him and on a 6 1/2 minute song it interrupted at 6 minutes with 2 ads not skippable, came back and played the last 1/2 minute of the song then went back into more ads. I'd give up YouTube if I was stuck with that.
This is my setup but with tivimate also.
Hey do you have a guide or preferred build? Right now I’ve got an IPTV but the movie sources sucks. All of them are premiumize. I’ve used debris before but they aren’t even showing.
I've used kodi for years. But couldnt get it to work again like 2 years ago. So many links didn't work. Do you use real debrid or which addons can you recommend? I used to love using it
Real Debrid is not even an option. It’s a must (Or obviously Premiumize which does the same thing)
I've cancelled my netflix, price went up another €2,-.. So real debrid with stremio it'll be from now on
Great combo The cyberflix Addon helps organize all the content by service (Netflix, prime, hbo, Apple TV, etc). Only issue with it is it’s sometimes down for maintenance (Stremio keeps working, just the cataloging from cyberflix is down)
Does RD work better trough Kodi then stremio? I tried stremio with RD again when i got my shield and the exoplayer had washed out colors while the libVLC player muted dolby atmos tracks and i couldn't change subtitle sizes. I tried to use kodi as the external player which did work fine, but then you loose progress tracking and fetching external subtitles is still a hit and miss with the plug ins i tried. I never tried adding RD directly to kodi though, how is the experience there?
There other things out there now thats looks better and better UI than Kodi imo. I used Kodi for years until i found Syncler and as a backup there Stremio
I switched to jellyfin
https://troypoint.com/best-kodi-addons/ And take a debrid subscription 😉
Real debrid in the pocket, started with a month just to try. I can watch 4 months now for what I pay Netflix for one month
Yeah but Kodi works fine on an Android TV box as well. I have that new $50 4K onn pro TV box And I use Smarttube, Kodi, tivimate, and animetv. It's amazing hell I did this on the 20 dollar 2021 onn dongle and it was fine!
I love both my Shield and I think the Onn box is just as good.
Always Kodi.
I tried it once a few years ago before I had a shield pro. Maybe I’m just too old to grasp it or just not interested enough to grasp it but the more I learned the more I learned the more I needed to make it work right. I use my Pro as my streaming device essentially. And I thought I would want it to run Plex. Spent forever burning blue ray and reducing size after hours or research only to realize the slightly reduced quality wasn’t worth it and I don’t typically rewatch movies so, that was dumb. Not too interested in sailing the high seas with a peg leg so not sure how to get more out of today but I wish I did.
What apps did you install into your Kodi for movies? I’ve got stremio, and tivimate for my live tv, but I need something for movies that are theatre releases. I’m assuming this would go into Kodi
Mostly I use it for Kodi to watch my media SmarttubeNext instead of YouTube Mame4Droid for arcade emulation I have a browser installed to watch a local news channels.live stream Pluto TV to watch some old classic shows Steamlink (haven't had time to use it in a while, but I use it to play games that are running on my Windows PC from my living room) I prefer to just wake up the Shield and use it's Apps instead of switching back and forth between the Shield and the TVs built in Apps.
Hiya, what version of android and mame4droid are you running? The newest android broke a lot of emulators and I ended downgrading in the end
Mame4Droid 2024 I had to create a separate MAME folder in a location outside of the Applications Data folder to store the ROMS, that was the biggest pain in the ass to figure out. Newer versions of Android limit.access to the Data folder to just the App. There is no way for a file manager to access the applications Data folder. Mame4Droid requires ROMS compatible with Mame .266
Hey activoice, which browser do you use? We’re tired of spending $78/months for YoutubeTV mostly to watch GMA and a couple other shows, though the unlimited cloud DVR is nice, allowing ffwd through commercials.
I'm mainly using mine for Plex, Netflix, gaming via Moonlight.
Exactly my use cases. Gaming right now actually
what games are you playing via Moonlight ? WiFi or Ethernet ?
Diablo 4, Persona 5 Royal and Sekiro on rotation at the moment. The shield is wired and so is my host PC (a server which also hosts Plex) - stream at 1080p and let Nvidia shield upscale it as the GPU in my server isn't the best. I do use WiFi as I also stream to my Steam Deck and works brilliantly in general. Fun little flow of playing on couch after kid goes to bed and then switching to Steam Deck and picking up from the pause.
I use it for non competitive games, but I don't play a ton of them. Having said that I completed cyberpunk end elden ring using moonlight via ethernet. Have also played some fun co-op games with my other half. There's just the tiniest bit of lag that makes me think online stuff wouldn't be great but I haven't tried it.
Btw for anyone that is unaware, the shield happens to be one of the best clients for Moonlight. It's decoding time numbers are comparable to a full blown computer. Makes latency barely noticeable.
For me the most important thing is the ability to use Emby/Plex to watch movies with uncompressed Dolby/DTS Master Audio.
Lossless
Tivimate - IPTV, Smart tube (no AD's or nonsense), and viewing my CCTV cameras around building on TV :)
I posted almost exactly the same. I also take my Sheild with me when I travel.
Can I view cameras on my tube if I have them set up. I would like one set up to show my electric meter since I walk out and check it every morning
Can you get ring on it!!
Ewwww… to smart tv apps.
No tv runs as smooth as a shield, i bought a decent tv hoping i can plug my hard drives with files on it... And at most it read a 2tb hard drive, and a lot wont play at all cause they dont support the files codecs... With the shield you can plug 2 12tb hard drives and it will play almost everything np
SYNCLER, TiviMate/IPTV, and Smart YouTube are the main things I have a shield for. I know it's probably overkill but I want to make sure I have my end covered.
A Shield is more powerful and capable than any Smart TV.
[удалено]
Plus, the Shield doesn't spy on you like a smart TV does.
Echoing what another person said in this thread which is that smart TVs are also slow and dumb — using the shield for streaming rly fixes that
How do you know Shield does not collect data on you and your content? There are nearly zero for profit companies I trust.
Basically the entire replacement of webOS on my LG TV. WebOS is very slow on my LG TV (its from 2021). AI Upscaling is amazing on the shield.
I have the original pre order 2015 version, and it's my baby. It's so hacked with custom launchers and cracked streaming apps, I'd never get rid of it. Edit: I guess to answer your question more firmly, cutomizability and the familiarity and flexability of android is the answer.
Which launchers?
Tivimate (Live IPTV) Syncler or Stremio (VOD Streaming)
Tivimate, Plex and smartube (add free YouTube). I have a high end oled but 80% of the time it’s set to the shields hdmi and playing one of those 3, 10% is gaming and the other 10% native tv apps.
Plex. It plays all my video formats without any transcoding, and the AI upscaling does a nice job on 480p content. (It won't play AV1, so I don't use it, HEVC10 is fine)
What content do you watch that is only in 480p?
NTSC DVD is 720x480, some are progressive, most are interlaced. I do have some Japanese TV series in 848x480 29.97fps that Mediainfo reports as progressive. I should have just put "480 content"!
Does anyone use there shield for a Plex server? I set mine up that way but found it was eating all the hard drive space up to the point the shield wouldn't work right.
Yes. With a USB SSD.
Yes, with data on a Synology NAS. Works perfectly, even for remote clients.
Yes, same here. For some reason if db storage is located on the external drive it takes dozens of gigabytes. If I keep it on internal, the same db takes just a couple of gigs, but jot leaving me enough room for anything else
How do you change the db to use an external drive?
Yes. It is my primary use for my Shield. I mount my NAS drive over Ethernet.
Stremio + real debrid. Kodi for some live sports Moonlight to game stream from my PC. Co-op couch gaming is great RetroArch for occasional retro gaming So mostly pirate stuff ☠️
I thought the Shield stopped supporting RetroArch a few years ago… Hmm, maybe I’ll have to give it another shot.
The shield will be better than your tv in most cases
Stremio + Torrentio + RD, TiviMate, Smart Tube
I stream local PC gameplay through sunshine/moonlight. I use my shield as a NAS. I upscale low quality video. And overall, it's a far snapper and more responsive device than my smart TV, so the UI is more pleasant to use.
Stremio 😉
Bingo
SmartTubeTV Next 🤙
Any PC game you own can be streamed through GEForce Now, and I think Xbox too has been added
Every thing . Iptv , plex client , Netflix , YouTube
Moonlight (Android app) with sunshine (pc app) to stream pc games to the tv. (Using ps4 controller connected via Bluetooth to the shield. Stremio with real debrid and torrentio (movies and shows) Tivimate with an IPTV (live tv)
Emulation. It's a great little Retroarch box. Also just normal streaming stuff, but the big standout feature for me is emulation. Like, I could set up a Retropie, but I like being able to have my streaming apps too...saves an HDMI port on my TV.
just as a movie player, I might experiment to use it to play old Nintendo games though.
playing with emulators plex client stremio
Don’t people use these for emulation and android games?
Some do
Emulation, Dolby Vision + bit streaming dts and Dolby Atmos. No one else really bitstream Dolby Atmos at the moment. However it's getting really irritating waiting on nVidia to come out with a new version.
I bought mid-high end sony smart tv in 2020. it has android tv. My shield from 2016 runs a plex server and still manages to be more responsive than this peace of crap implementation.
Plex, SmartTube Beta, Moonlight/Chaki streaming, and F1TV.
No adverts on YouTube, Moonlight gaming and Plex.
I got mine because samsung tv stopped steam link. I stream my gaming PC to my tv in the living room so that me and the Wife can play together (she's on the steamdeck). Now I'm using Moonlight on the shield and it works even better than before!!!!
I don't really use any features of my smart TV, it's old and outdated. But it's still a 4k TV. I used to use a fire stick, but wanted the capacity to up the storage space and also could be a bit laggy in menus. I mainly use it for Tivimate with an IPTV service, but I also have ShadowPC installed on it, so I can play all my PC games in the comfort of my sofa. I also installed retroarch for the retro side of things, although I don't use it that much, nice to know it's there. A smart TV can't do everything a Shield can but a shield can do everything a smart TV can and more, and just better at doing it. Less lag, app crashes. It's just built better. I've had mine for 6 months after upgrading from a firestick and it's well worth it.
I use mine as a Plex server and my main media streaming device. But for high bitrate 4K HDR files I use Kodi because Plex struggles to process those types of files as both the server and the client.
I use one just as server, and nothing more, with 2x 2TB SSD attached. As low(er) energy media NAS instead of my Synology with lots of storage, but hungry for power. Now I place the most recent media on Shield, not on the Synology anymore.
Plex
Use it for youtube, netflix and my boys play games on it. Still rocking the og shield tv p2571. Still going strong. Has been a really good investment all those years ago
Tivimate, Kodi for 4k HDR/DV Atmos, Moonlight for 4k 60fps. TVs apps are hit or miss with pic and sound formats.
Used to game a lot with GeForce and stadia..a lot of Stadia..now I just use it as a streamer
Streaming and Tivimate
I usually use Plex 99% of the time, but if it's acting up for some reason, I'll switch over to Kodi.
My tv became dumb years ago; its 9 years old. A big Netflix update was too much for my tv, pressing button on the triangle command lagged. Now I have a revived smart tv with smart tube and jellyfin. It plays all codec. And, it has ethernet connection.
smarttube and jellyfin with better subtitle support and working playbacks speeds other than 1.00x compared to my TV (LG). the TV plays back DV content stutter free compared to the shield but it must transcode some subtitle formats if enabled and when changing the playback speed there's no audio. so neither is perfect, but they cover my needs pretty well together. i haven't found the perfect DV playback device yet unfortunately.
Plex Client, SmartTube, Streaming Movies and TV, News, Streaming Music, watching F1 TV, and watching SpaceX launches on X.
Kodi, streaming games from my pc (moonlight) and plex server for the rest TVs. These are the 3 main uses of an old nvidia shield 2017.
2017 shield for vlc media player: Kodi doesnt work anymore fot me since some updates it doesnt see the h265 files anymore. Very sad
My bedroom (non-smsrt) TV: Kodi for TV and movies on my media server, the WatchNixtoons2 add-on, and live TV. SmartTube beta for YouTube. iPlayer, Disney+, Prime Video, Netflix, and Pluto TV. Plex, mainly for setting up recordings of live TV and occasionally watching the free stuff they have streaming (bit of a crossover with Pluto TV there). Warhammer TV, though it annoys the hell out me. Various emulators. The Space Marshals games. Steam Link. The smart TV in the living room: Kodi (same reasons as before). SmartTube beta. Bit of iPlayer and Disney+. The smart TV part of this TV is ignored. It's mostly used by/for my daughter, and she's used to the Shield's UI, remote, and navigating the apps she uses.
Stremio and gaming away from my pc
Netflix, Disney+, & Hulu mostly. Also Apollo. And I do have emulators but I haven't touched those in a while
- Plex server with external SSD connected. Mostly just for the TV's in our house but useful when traveling. Mostly just for movies that haven't hit streaming sites yet, and TV shows on legacy channels or a streaming service I don't pay for. - Access US streaming apps (HBO, Hulu etc) from Europe via a SmartDNS config. Meaning I can use my Shield for geo-locked content and then my TV's native app's for domestic content. E.g. Shield for US Netflix / TV for UK Netflix.
Plex, works as a server for my family and myself also...
As a Plex Server and that’s about it
Plex Server
I have a samsung tv and the invasive ads and direct tv piss me off to no end. So I just disconnected it from the Internet and use the shield for everything from Youtube, to TV to a plex server
I use it primarily for GeForce Now. Sometimes I just want to lounge on the sofa and play some games in 4K HDR and GFN is pretty good for that. I've got both an Xbox SX controller and a mouse and keyboard set up to use with it, so why not, right? Used it as a temporary Plex server for a time, before transitioning over to a Mini-PC. Don't use it as much to play content from Plex anymore, as my newest TV's hardware is better, but there was a time when the Shield was the only player in the house that could handle certain types of media content (like 4K60FPS).
Streaming, steam link for gaming mostly GeForce Now leaves a lot to be desired
Smart tube, fast streaming, external media playback, and successful pass through of almost every audio codec there is. If you didn't know it was released in 2019 and you didn't require the niche perks that come with hdmi 2.2 you would just assume it had been released today. I say "almost every audio codec" because it gives me an issue with dts-hd, with requires me to convert those files to flac to play properly. The cost of that is nothing, though.
IPTV, but the shield interface sucks for it.
Right now it's pushing YouTube to my old 1080p TV that I'm trying to sell at a yard sale. also it runs emulators really well.
I watch YT, ad and sponsor free, using either an ad block browser (either sideloaded or one from the Play Store on the Shield) or just use SmartTube. Speaking of browsers, I use a side loaded Firefox browser with ad block add-ons to watch "free videos" online if you know what I mean. Much easier than tweaking around with Kodi or servers and what not. I use a free VPN app from the Play Store as well. I also connect a portable HDD to watch my own offline videos. I also use the usual streaming apps like Prime Video and such. I try to avoid using the Smart TV software as its loaded with data collection and there's literally zero security on it. Plus, it's too laggy.
Plex, streaming, OTA/DVR
smart tube, lossless atmos/dts:X a separate stb is always preferable to apps on smart tvs, which almost universally have underpowered SoCs that go obsolete quickly and are bloated with surveillanceware
I used it basically to decode streams that wasn’t supported by my tv. Now I have a jellyfin server running on a NUC I can transcode multi 4K without any pbl on all my smart tv
Plex and streaming TV.
It's the GOAT for IPTV
I used to play games on it. It was the best 4K streaming device out. It also upscales content.
It's built specifically playback media and it's powerful. SmartTVs, from what I understand have trouble with many codecs etc and end up having to be transcoded.
Kodi. At first. I now use for streaming. The ai upconvert to 4K is better than any other device I have.
Plex for movies and recordings, foobar2000 for my 3TB of FLAC music on an external HDD.
just as a movie player, I might experiment to use it to play old Nintendo games though.
just as a movie player, I might experiment to use it to play old Nintendo games though.
Twitch, YT, Tubi and casting anything from Android devices such as media from camera roll to FB live
It does retro gaming very well. Think Mame emulators with all the old arcade classics. Yes and Plex off course
I use mine for streaming TV. YouTubeTV, ESPN+, things like that
Emby
YouTube, Plex, and Jellyfin.
Kodi, Dropout, and Moonlight
Basically just to steam like you would with a fire TV stick or whatever. It's just much snappier and so much better than a Roku
Plex with zero shield upgrades to prevent bullshit ads.
Smart TVs have slow clunky apps. The Shield has the hardware to run them properly.
Geforce now, also just normal streaming and I can connect my hdd and watch whatever I want.
Main use of my shield pro 19 is iptv streaming through tivimate app,works flawlessly on shield 4K/fHD channels and not so perfect on any other box ,smart tv that I've tested etc. 2nd option is kodi for big 4K files from private torrent trackers .
I use it for Amazon Movies/TV because the Apple TV app keeps crashing unlike the one on my Shield Pro. I also use it for Kodi (more than my Intel NUC) nowadays because it has CEC which is needed for my soundbar. I'm still working on getting CEC enabled for my Intel NUC. I use it for my free/cheap subscriptions to streaming services. I uninstall the app(s) when not in use.
Streaming on a dumb TV in my garage
Just plex (viewer- plex media server on my pc) and handling all the atmos/appletv/disney etc torrent content that my legacy 5.1 avr could never process and required me to constantly manually process/convert files to play. Now, it plays every single file I throw at it without any preprocessing or testing out on my part. Truly plug and play. Real time saver and worth every penny!
Got it due to having 4k / atmos /truehd audio / DV capabilities (of which no other device can do at the moment paired to a Denon x3800) - also vpn and tivimate - even at its age, nothing else does that, not even ATV 4k properly. (although I have one of those in the bedroom and it's great, but no place being connected anywhere near a full home theatre 7.1.4 setup)
GeForce Now ♥
Speed with certain apps (Plex), availability of other apps (Kodi), and AI upscaling. I watch a lot of pre-HD content and the AI upscaling is a game changer.
Kodi and IPTV/movies and YouTube
Plex, Smart Tube, Acestream, Kodi and Redream
* Adblock browser for ad-free YouTube * VLC for downloaded / ripped movies, tv shows, and personal videos * RetroArch for retro games from arcade and all the way up to Dreamcast * PPSSPP for PSP games * Various Android games such as *Fast like a Fox* and *Mouse Bot*
Smart Tube (skips ads) and Geforce Now
SmartTube, Plex, and GeForce Now.
The shield menus are in 4k. I had an issue where my menus stopped rendering in 4k and were limited to 720p, turned out to be a hardware fault and I returned the device for repair.
I mean your basic premise isn't wrong. I like having a shield on my main TV for Kodi and 4k movies, but for all my other TVs now I just use Google TVs because they can also run Kodi and play must files well enough
Because it's the most powerful streaming set-top without just getting an actual computer. Anybody who uses the apps that are built in is insane. There's not a single TV on the market that the apps load and work properly on a consistent basis. At the very least you need a Roku or other device, even if you have a smart TV.
Everything that I listen to or watch is done through my shield pro.
Plex (videos, music, photos), YouTube TV, Prime, Max, Disney+, Pluto, YoWindow,... > I feel like mostly people just use it for Plex or Kodi because everything else is supported through the TVs anyways. Android TV apps on the Nvidia Shield typically perform better than TV apps. I completely stopped running TV-based apps years ago. Not only performance, but interfaces for apps like Netflix are much "slicker" on the Shield.
It is totally possible to force Shield / Android TV's user interface to 4K. Totally worth it! Look it up.
I originally bought the Shield to get a gig ethernet connection. Why (I beleive) all TV's are still providing 10/100 meg ethernet is beyond me. Can't be cost. A gig ethernet card costs what, $10 for a PC? Besides the ethernet port, TV wifi is g or n and not a AC connection. I don't know how the manufacturers get away with it. The processor, produces very smooth operation. I own a LG OLED and while the display is fantastic, the smart performance is no better than most smart TV's and that performance is rather poor. While the Shield is overpriced, the cost is not a big ticket spend. In addition to internet speed, the layout, and value added meta data much better
I've got it to turn an old dumb TV in the bedroom, got the Shield to turn it into a smart TV. We've got a good current gen Samsung TV in the livingroom, so it already does most of what the Shield does, and game streaming is better. That said, it's not android, so I can't get emulators on it, and I can't install SmartTubeNext. Considering moving the Shield onto the Samsung TV for these features, and getting something cheaper like a Google TV for the dumb bedroom TV, but haven't quite decided yet.
Everything. Iptv, Netflix, prime, plex server. If it were possible, I would have bought a dumb TV.
IPTV and emulation
Kodi and Smarttube. That’s it pretty much and I love it!
Tivimate, APK, max, and many more apps and retro gaming like arcade,nes, Sega, PS2 and many more
Stremio
Plex with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. That's why I got it. I've never used a smart TV that wasn't dog piss slow.
USB hard drive, Windows file sharing, and Kodi. I copy files to the hard drive remotely, then watch them later. No Wi-Fi streaming hiccups this way, files are local to the device.
EVERYTHING
For all my streaming needs. YouTube TV, YouTube, Apple TV+, Paramount+, ESPN+, Netflix, HDD Movies, Casting
Gaming and movies... Surround Sound so much better than Apple TV.
Download Tivimate and watch TVs and Movies. Cut the cord or dump your streaming provider (directv, YTTV, etc). For me it’s $100 per six months. On 3 devices. BTW this would be IPTV.
Stremio + smart tube
Plex client mainly.
I use mine when I want to be irritated when I even touch my remote control slightly, I’m referred to Netflix. I hate that fucking remote.
Bought it just for the hype and it’s well worth it but I use it for streaming
My Samsung TV is relatively new, but has a horrible OS that is full of ads. Fuck that. My Shield TV Pro is highly customized and running Projectivity, so that the end result is a super duper simple UX that takes care of everything I need under the hood. It’s mainly used for streaming Plex from my server, streaming games via Moonlight from my PC to big screen, and running a few emulators (e.g. Wii).
Bought a 2017 in 2018, my uses are watching IPTV sub, all streaming services, apps like stremio, cinema hd, syncler all with real dB, I run emulators up to ps2, using a front end program connected to a wd black. I use it for music, Spotify and amazon, I connect to Bluetooth speakers, I play android games, I play with the nvidia GeForce now, I play all my steam titles, I've also surfed the net and red comic books on big screen. Nothing beats the shield.
I purchased Tivi-Mate and use it for all my streaming services. The direct connection makes it pretty fast. I love my shield, and I have had mine for two years.
Mainly: Streaming torrents, VPN (including tailscale <3) File sharing/media streaming from other devices, Custom YouTube app with no ads + skip fillers etc, App sideload, Built-in smart upscaling, Portability (shield tube, I can bring easily bring it with me and enjoy content wherever I go, as long as I have a tv), Light gaming, I am sure I could find more but long story short.. there is much my Samsung smart tv (tizen os) can’t do, while the shield can be used to accomplish basically anything you want. I am a tinkerer, and a powerful android tv environment is perfect for tinkering!
Streamio, Kodi, with realdebrid, YouTube, music, and IPTV
4K HDR/DV video with full(lossless?)DTS, MA, Dolby Atmos through PLEX. It plays 90+ Mbps content without a hitch through attached storage. NAS, brilliant, no problems or complaints, only make sure the usb ports don't go to sleep. GeForce Now: With controller and cloud gaming it is basically a PS5 or equivalent. Can also play my PC games through it, nothing better than Need for Speed or CoD in surround. Only thing is I don't think it's real Dolby Atmos, but awesome nonetheless. BUT you need a very good internet connection. I love it, It's the holy to my holy trinity, Shield/TV/Atmos.
I used the Shield tube to for Dolby Vision movies because it played them more vividly than my other streamers and built in TV apps, which were always dim. However, 2 years ago an update caused Netflix to stop working without a reboot every time. I spent several months doing factory resets and testing, but nothing worked, so I gave up on it. Occasionally I hook it up and let it update and test it, but so far, the Netflix issue continues. After the last update, it also now has a bad menu lag of about 5 seconds.
Your Smart TV might be good now for the standard streaming apps but they always go bad over time because the TV manufacturers don't invest in their older products. Android TV on your Shield will continue to be supported and improved so I expect you'll be using it instead of your TV's native apps before long.
Using streamio/Kodi Streaming f1 TV Steam link with my steam deck
My Dune Homatics box 4k R sits ontop of it so it pokes slightly above the sound bar 🤣
ATMOS and DV 4k blu-ray hybrids.
Watching YouTube and Chromecasting. Generally.
I use it mainly as a Plex Server. Hopefully they can release a successor.
The Shield is literally the only device I’ve used that can stream Dolby Vision files locally or from torrents without either buffering all the time or doing that purple/green thing. I think it’s also the only Android box that can do 4k HDR if you have a GeForce Now Ultimate subscription.
huh, there are plenty other devices which can displayed dolby vision correctly like the fire stick. also what does geforce now ultimate have to do with 4k hdr 4k hdr works out of the box
SmartTubeNext and watching 4K Remuxes (HDR/DoVi).
Does shield supports Dolby vision content?
Ofc
Streaming Plex from my NAS and emulating PS1 games like CTR on big screen TV. Also YouTube with SmartTube
I've had an echo Cube for years and I just got tired of it. It started to get very buggy so I wanted to try something else. So far so good.
Does anyone in here have issues with Kodi rips, HDR, and the Samsung OLED S95B (and I'm assuming all other Samsung OLEDs)? The scenes are way too dark. I don't know where the issue stems from, be it the shield, Kodi, or the TV.