bret1958 26 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 I wouldn't hold your breath on HD audio although you never know. The mass market is moving towards streaming and using things like soundbars for audio. DD and DTS are good enough for that. 4K is getting done because that is an easy marketing tool to sell new TVs and devices. 4K > HD == "better" so I need one. Even though the reality is, well... I won't go into it. I don't think anything will replace a good ole HTPC for a few years.. just don't want you guys (Devs) to give up on it either..my needs supersede anything that set-top box's could deliver anyway in the theater, but for the living room it makes sense even the newly announced Firetv at $99 may be just fine as long as it can put half way decent audio to 5.1 preferably passthrough (as both state) to bounce around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browned 33 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 You mean the Shield is sold out? If so, it might be due to a new release impending (the Christmas buying season would be a logical time). I don't have any information on this that's just conjecture but Amazon did just announce a new Fire TV 4k due within a couple weeks so the others are probably coming too. Pretty sure Shield was only released in early 2015. I suspect it is sold out due to it being an awesome device. I would think the next hardware update will be early next year. I also suspect the next firmware/software update to be done before xmas buying season starts so new feature advertising can be rolled out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foghat 65 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Shield was realeased in around late May, I believe. It is still in stock on nvidia's website. There is s thread in their forum's where nvidia has stated they are working on HD audio support. This zidoo box, looks quite attractive at its price point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pclausen 41 Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 4K is getting done because that is an easy marketing tool to sell new TVs and devices. 4K > HD == "better" so I need one. Even though the reality is, well... I won't go into it. Lol, very true. I was actually just about to pull the trigger on a NOS monster 85" 1080p plasma when I stumbled across a deal on a LG 84" 4k TV. After looking at a demo unit (the LG 4k) at a BestBuy magnolia store very closely, I pulled the trigger. I didn't really need 4k, but I wanted something bigger than my old 65" plasma in my living room. The LG is "only" 180 lbs, so a lot easier to handle than the almost 300lbs 85" circa 2009 plasma would have been. In my dedicated HT, I have a 119" screen with a 1080p Sony projector. Most sane people would have probably upgrade that to 4k before swapping a 65" living room TV for a 84" one. A/V toys is one of my addictions, what can I say... Don't get me started on my Emby server setup. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bret1958 26 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Nvidia still in stock, now I wonder if the supply chain is low if they are going to do a refresh ? http://shield.nvidia.com/store/android-tv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bret1958 26 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 (edited) PCLAUSEN I truly am Envious.. Posting my rat nests of 6 pc's pack with hard drives would not get any cheers... is that Plex in blue you have runny on the monitor Edited September 21, 2015 by bret1958 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pclausen 41 Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 That's FreeNAS with 4 24 bay chassis for a total of 96 hot swap bays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bret1958 26 Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) Now your Bragging looks awful sweet, my mortgage is big and my paycheck small. Edited September 22, 2015 by bret1958 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajesticMaerlyn 17 Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Hi All, I have the nVidia Shield Pro, and use it run Kodi, Emby and Plex. It also acts as a Chromecast natively. I also use it for gaming (nvidia's gaming stream service and from Steam / nVidia in-house streaming from my main gaming rig) - a huge advantage for such a small box for myself. It is a fantastic device for my needs, and replaced my need for a HTPC However, please be aware the reason for stock issues is that nVidia had to recall the Shield Pro due to faulty HDD causing the device to brick with the 1.4 Update. Not everyone was affected (sadly I was, but Amazon sorted me out fast). You can find out more here: https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/875185/shield-android-tv/upgrade-1-4-note-for-shield-pro-users-updated-9-13-15-/ I wouldn't recommned the Pro model unless you really need local storage, by the 16GB model and add a flash drive. This thing is a beast, 4k output is supported via Netflix. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browned 33 Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Shield Pro is in stock at Amazon. It's the 16GB model that is out of stock. I thought the bricked Pro's could be fixed at home if you had the know how. I wouldn't go with a Pro, 16GB is plenty if all you media is on an emby server. Otherwise Android M is supposed to support external drives for app storage etc. I would rather have a USB 3 SSD drive for less than the $100 price difference between 16GB and Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bret1958 26 Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Hi All, I have the nVidia Shield Pro, and use it run Kodi, Emby and Plex. It also acts as a Chromecast natively. I also use it for gaming (nvidia's gaming stream service and from Steam / nVidia in-house streaming from my main gaming rig) - a huge advantage for such a small box for myself. It is a fantastic device for my needs, and replaced my need for a HTPC However, please be aware the reason for stock issues is that nVidia had to recall the Shield Pro due to faulty HDD causing the device to brick with the 1.4 Update. Not everyone was affected (sadly I was, but Amazon sorted me out fast). You can find out more here: https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/875185/shield-android-tv/upgrade-1-4-note-for-shield-pro-users-updated-9-13-15-/ I wouldn't recommned the Pro model unless you really need local storage, by the 16GB model and add a flash drive. This thing is a beast, 4k output is supported via Netflix. Cheers can u enlighten us on it's HDMI pass-through audio.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulzyatlas 20 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Focusing on the shield might be a bit unfair in terms of hardware limitations as it runs Android TV 5.1 (which to my knowledge is no different from the standard Android 5.1 AOSP aside from the leanback interface offered by a different google apps package and framework), that being said, Android TV or Android AOSP can both be built to run on x86 systems, raising the question is if it's the better front end for HTPCs in general, offering easy integration of apps we'd normally require plugins for/have no convenient way to switch to and from on desktop interfaces. The biggest limitation for the entire Android TV platform, is Android's strange overlooking of certain features in their stock builds and kernels (leaving out MPEG2 hardware decoding on capable hardware ala the Nexus TV (even though this is remedied with the Android M (6.0) preview)). CIFS Support, USB DAC and Ethernet Hub drivers, etc. Aside from that the same front end offered on the Shield is capable of being slapped on the massive range of HTPC builds we all use (albeit difficult, but building and configuring an HTPC was never exactly plug and play (though an Android front end and the Play Store greatly simplifies that)). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhinkBig 9 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 can u enlighten us on it's HDMI pass-through audio.. From the Kodi Wiki (Link): HD audio, DTS-HD MA, Dolby True HD & Dolby Atoms can not be passed through/bitstreamed, nor can those formats be software decoded and output as multichannel PCM (at this time), with the exception of possibly True HD (needs further confirmation). However, DTS (core from DTS-HD MA) and DD 5.1(AC3) can be passed through/bitstreamed or software decoded and output as multichannel PCM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14948 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 From the Kodi Wiki (Link): HD audio, DTS-HD MA, Dolby True HD & Dolby Atoms can not be passed through/bitstreamed, nor can those formats be software decoded and output as multichannel PCM (at this time), with the exception of possibly True HD (needs further confirmation). However, DTS (core from DTS-HD MA) and DD 5.1(AC3) can be passed through/bitstreamed or software decoded and output as multichannel PCM. And our app will pass through DD and decode DTS to 5.1 PCM as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhinkBig 9 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 And our app will pass through DD and decode DTS to 5.1 PCM as well. Forgive my lack of knowledge EBR, but if they do release an update for the Shield that allows DTS-HD/Atmos etc to be bitstreamed, will the Emby app be able to take advantage of that as well? The app is already awesome, but that last part of the puzzle would make it the perfect box for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathsquirrel 741 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Forgive my lack of knowledge EBR, but if they do release an update for the Shield that allows DTS-HD/Atmos etc to be bitstreamed, will the Emby app be able to take advantage of that as well? The app is already awesome, but that last part of the puzzle would make it the perfect box for me. If the device reports those as supported formats then the app will pass them on, yes. Or at least it should. I don't think there is any device out there supporting those formats at this point to test with and confirm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14948 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 If the device reports those as supported formats then the app will pass them on, yes. Or at least it should. I don't think there is any device out there supporting those formats at this point to test with and confirm Assuming VLC supports it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cncb 17 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 (edited) I haven't been able to get DTS to passthrough on the Shield. It always gets converted to multichannel PCM for some reason. I have "Auto" bitrate and "Direct" audio output enabled. Is there something I'm missing? Note that DTS output in Kodi is working fine. Also, the Emby player doesn't seem to utilize the Shield's MPEG2 hardware decoding because playback of MPEG2 (tv recordings with AC3) is poor and the audio gets out of sync easily when jumping around. Edited September 24, 2015 by cncb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBers 6780 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I haven't been able to get DTS to passthrough on the Shield. It always gets converted to multichannel PCM for some reason. I have "Auto" bitrate and "Direct" audio output enabled. Is there something I'm missing? Note that DTS output in Kodi is working fine. So no passthrough in the ATV app, but there is in Kodi? I see something similar on my Nexus Player with no DD pass-through to my Sonos (via TV) when using the app, but OK via Kodi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14948 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 And our app will pass through DD and decode DTS to 5.1 PCM as well. DTS is not passed thru by VLC but it is decoded properly to 5.1. Again, comparing to Kodi is not really relevant. Kodi has a custom built low-level language player with tons of built-in decoders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foghat 65 Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Has anyone just tried converting the HD Audio track to FLAC (you can do this easily in make mkv)? Shield (and forthcoming Fire TV) says it supports FLAC, would be curious to know if it passes through or get decoded. If it passes through, while not ideal, is really a pretty easy work around to get HD Audio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhinkBig 9 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 (edited) This is what I've been waiting for! http://nvidiashieldzone.com/index.php/shield-android-tv-ota-2-0/ Just a few of the updates for 2.0: - Supports hardware acceleration of all the popular video formats including H.264, H.265, VC-1, MPEG-2, WMV9, and VP9 - Supports native playback of video content encoded at 23.976 Hz and 50 Hz (in Europe) for true movie quality viewing experience. Also supports video content encoded at 24 Hz, 25 Hz, 30 Hz, and 59.94 Hz - Supports AC3, EAC3, Dolby 5.1, Dolby 7.1, DTS-HD, DTS-HD MA, and Dolby TrueHD pass through for an immersive home theater experience with your home theater receiver and surround speakers. - Supports high resolution 24-bit 192 kHz audio over HDMI and USB for superior audio quality. - Supports USB-S/PDIF dongles and enables users to connect SHIELD to older sound bars and audio receivers. Edited September 30, 2015 by PhinkBig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14948 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Wow - nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhinkBig 9 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Wow - nice. These features plus Emby...absolute worldbeater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14948 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Is it just a firmware update to existing hardware or is new hardware coming? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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