Jump to content

Goodbye htpc hello Nvidia Shield


wraslor

Recommended Posts

wraslor

So I picked up an Nvidia Shield and must say I'm very impressed.  I'm going to give a quick rundown of pros and cons here if anyone is interested or thinking about getting one.

 

Emby app:

Pros:

Supports universal search via voice in the app

Cons:

Does not support voice search from main shield page

Does not support hd audio (for me it makes screeching noises and plays 1 frame every 10 seconds or so)

Does not support refresh rate switching.

 

Kodi (with or without plex or emby addon)

Pros:

Supports HD audio (decodes to pcm and sends out)

Supports refresh rate switching.

Supports all kodi plugins and addons

Cons:

Does not support voice search at all.

 

Plex:

Pros:

Supports voice search from app or main shield page.

New update decodes dts-hd to pcm and passes to receiver

Supports refresh rate switching.

Cons:

Does not yet support dolby true hd audio.

 

With that being said I also tested in home streaming and it worked flawlessly for me played fallout 4 for a couple hours today from my gaming rig.  I also played several geforce now streaming titles that went without a hitch.

 

 

My family loves the voice search, for example if I am on the main screen and ask it to show me movies with Matt Damon it pulls all his movies, when I select one i get the option to rent on google play or play on plex (emby does not show up for some reason), but if you're in the emby or plex app you can only ask for movie titles, no actors or anything.

 

It's a very simple easy to use device, no more remote team viewer sessions trying to fix it for my wife etc.  In all it's a great device, let me know if you have any questions or want me to test anything and report back.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

jasonmcroy

I have to agree with your assessment above. I bought one when they were first released and I have been very happy with it so far. Great choice of machine if anyone is looking for what Christmas gift to ask for...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

browned

I have 2 and they replaced 2 x Windows Media Center PC's.

 

The content you can get through native apps on Android TV compared to a PC is one of the main reasons I changed. But if you are into games, have kids, want a single remote control, want to do everything in a single box then Nvidia Shield TV is one of the best options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Emby app cons are what's keeping me from using Emby on Android TV, at least on my Nexus Player - they are major limitations. Kodi fixes some of these, but has its own problems. The Shield certainly has the raw power, but once again, apps are letting things down. My (basic) wish list is;

 

Stellar video quality without black crush

native refresh rate switching on playback (ie, no judder!)

Quick, intuituive GUI 

HD audio streaming (conversion to PCM isn't a problem, as long as it doesn't lose quality)

 

That's it really. Just basic stuff, but they still aren't working properly.

Edited by tman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick, intuituive GUI 

 

What, exactly, about the current ATV app interface do you feel is not quick and intuitive?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...