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[OT] SHIELD Android TV Update 3.2 Will Add A Built-In Server And Remote File Access, Among Other Improvements


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crystalgipsy

How will it cope with transcoding?

 

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jasonmcroy

How will it cope with transcoding?

 

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I wondered that myself. Per their blog they claim it will be. I guess the truth will come out when it's finally released and used. 

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crystalgipsy

It's a good GPU and as its only on the Shield I guess they get API to access it properly from Nvidia. Shame the exo player sucks though.

 

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MSattler

How will it cope with transcoding?

 

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Can the Shield do GPU transcoding?  If so I could see it working for 1-2 streams maybe?  Not everyone has 10 users like some of us =)

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Koleckai Silvestri

Wonder if they are preparing for the imminent death of AndroidTV.

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Wonder if they are preparing for the imminent death of AndroidTV.

 

I would think it's just the nexus player going away, not the entire tv framework, right?

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@Luke: will there be an Emby alternative in future? Actually i don't own a Shield box, but if you would provide an Android based Server, that would be very interesting...

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Koleckai Silvestri

I would think it's just the nexus player going away, not the entire tv framework, right?

 

They seem to be leaning towards GoogleCast and allowing the apps to create their own framework.

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They seem to be leaning towards GoogleCast and allowing the apps to create their own framework.

 

Based on what?

 

They've embedded Android TV into a whole bunch of devices now and just announced a new version at I/O.

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jasonmcroy

Based on what?

 

They've embedded Android TV into a whole bunch of devices now and just announced a new version at I/O.

 

Yeah, I have sort of noticed Android TV seeming to have a bit more life coming back than there was before. It died once a few years ago, then sort of came back quietly at first and seems to be more happening now.

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pünktchen

Yeah, I have sort of noticed Android TV seeming to have a bit more life coming back than there was before. It died once a few years ago, then sort of came back quietly at first and seems to be more happening now.

Yes, I would buy a Sony TV with Android right away if they would care more about updates and more important if they would let the user customize their homescreen. I mean it's okay to spend 35$ for an Amazon Stick, but for 800$ i do not want all those adds and needless apps right in my face!
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Those ads and apps are helping drive the cost of the devices lower and lower because that's where the real opportunity is. if you take those things away then you're probably paying double for your tv, if not more.

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pünktchen

Those ads and apps are helping drive the cost of the devices lower and lower because that's where the real opportunity is. if you take those things away then you're probably paying double for your tv, if not more.

For the Amazon devices for sure, but for TV's i don't think so. There are other brands with the same quality and more functionality for lower costs.
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I own a Sony Android TV and the support of Sony is absolutely horrible. I would say, there is no support.

But it's very easy to hide the app recomendations from Sony (called "Sony Select") from homescreen. You only have to stop and disable "Sony Shelf" and "Sony Select" in the app settings.

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browned

An Android Emby Server would awesome if it can transcode 4 or more streams at once. It would be doing better than my virtual emby server now at 1/4 of the power.

 

A 4 x 2.x Ghz CPU and 256 Core Maxwell GPU should be good for something.

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PhilWhite

I still wonder if there is a real advantage of a Plex server on the Shield.  I didn't like Plex, so I'm not interested, but it still seems to me that having a dedicated server is a better overall solution; and it's simple to add Emby (or Plex, if that is your preference) to the server.

 

I guess if it works well, once folks have a chance to play with it.  For media it would make sense to have a dumb 'server' that consisted of a collection of drives linked to a suitable android device.  If that is what works, then please give us an Emby version if possible.

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Doonga

It's probably a step up for those running their server on a low powered NAS device and only streaming to a small number of devices that require transcoding. Other than that I don't see much use.

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If the shield device is always on, like say, a refrigerator is.. then having the server on it makes sense. It would be far more awesome to see some appliance like a refrigerator, always on, be able to do this. The future will go that way I am sure, but until then its a novel use of a shield and keeps the tech from dying when androidTV has its plug pulled. Keep a device alive past its "expiration date" is effectively what this is doing.

 

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Koleckai Silvestri

Based on what?

 

They've embedded Android TV into a whole bunch of devices now and just announced a new version at I/O.

 

Based on them killing off their devices and they are trying to get manufacturers to switch to GoogleCast. Just a market trend. Google kills semi-successful products all the time.

 

Though I guess if you don't need transcoding, putting the server on a low powered device would help a lot of people. 

Edited by Koleckai Silvestri
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PhilWhite

I've been thinking more about this and exploring different NAS options.  I won't need to do anything for a couple of years since my FreeNAS box has at least a few years before I need to worry about any of the drives (hopefully) and I have everything backed up on externals as well as RAID 5.

 

I know plenty of folks rave about the Shield, so I bought one; but I think the Fire TV is close to it in functionality (the Shield is clearly more powerful and live TV plays better with the HDHR grey app on it than on the Fire TV).  I think the more critical issue is content.  I'm not as happy with the content available for the Shield as with the Fire TV.

 

If the next gen Fire TV becomes as powerful as the Shield TV is currently (hoping), would it be possible to wrap the Emby server into the Fire TV?  Or is it powerful enough now to function?  Clearly the Fire TV would need to change its software along the lines of the next Shield update to function as a media server, but perhaps they will try to keep up?  I actually would be interested in that scenario with a low powered NAS attached to one of my Fire TVs to function as a media server.  Or Emby on the current Shield working as  media server?

 

I didn't like Plex and doen't want to use it again.

 

 

ETA:  Although, snap, just remembered last time I looked everything I have directly played on the fire TV with no transcoding.  So it would be just as easy to put the Emby server on a QNAP with two 8 TB hard drives and it would serve the same purpose.  So, never mind. 

Edited by PhilWhite
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browned

Amazon wouldn't let you run a media server on a Fire device, the whole point of their devices are to trap...no suck....no force....no allow users to stream content from Amazon. They do that well enough so why change that.

 

Shield is powerful, a shield in a lounge running max 40watts and able to stream media to your devices (tabs, phones, other Shields, friends, family) with a couple of large disks attached or a NAS box behind it would be pretty enticing to some people. I an starting to wonder if I could get a Shield in the garage run Plex server on it, get rid of the AMD 8 core cpu and video card chewing 200watts 24/7 and convert the 8core server into a storage device with low power dual core cpu/gpu and the shield to do the work. It would probably transcode better than the server. I am sure the power savings alone would pay for the Shield in a year.

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Once emby server runs on Android I'm sure it will have to be side loaded.

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PhilWhite

Amazon wouldn't let you run a media server on a Fire device, the whole point of their devices are to trap...no suck....no force....no allow users to stream content from Amazon. They do that well enough so why change that.

 

Shield is powerful, a shield in a lounge running max 40watts and able to stream media to your devices (tabs, phones, other Shields, friends, family) with a couple of large disks attached or a NAS box behind it would be pretty enticing to some people. I an starting to wonder if I could get a Shield in the garage run Plex server on it, get rid of the AMD 8 core cpu and video card chewing 200watts 24/7 and convert the 8core server into a storage device with low power dual core cpu/gpu and the shield to do the work. It would probably transcode better than the server. I am sure the power savings alone would pay for the Shield in a year.

 

I agree, but the NAS (and/or external discs) would also draw power, and what I realized (for my own purposes only) is that I don't think I would get any real benefit.  I would end up using a NAS in some form anyway, and with Emby on the NAS, as opposed to on a Shield using the NAS as storage, I think it would be a wash power-wise.  I guess a low enough powered NAS with the Shield might decrease power draws, but it probably wouldn't be that much of a gain over a relatively low powered NAS with media server software.

 

It might be a great option for some people, though, I agree.

 

And, yes, the Fire TV is a delivery system for Amazon content, but I have a Prime account for the free delivery, which more than paid for itself in the first year since we built a new house and needed lots of equipment.  We use a lot of amazon content now that the prime account pays for.  That is why I say that decisions about these devices should largely be based on content.

 

If you are an Apple user I wouldn't get a Fire TV.  Folks heavily invested in Google/android also wouldn't benefit that much from a Fire TV.  The Shield is clearly more powerful than the Fire TV, but I find the content lacking compared to what I am used to now.  If PlayStation Vue, or another good alternative other than Sling, were available for the Shield I would feel different about it, but it just isn't right for me.

 

I still have the Shield and don't plan to send it back because I want to see how things evolve with it.

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PhilWhite

Once emby server runs on Android I'm sure it will have to be side loaded.

 

Thanks, Luke.  Easy enough to do.

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