NVidia Shield 2017 first impressions

by drcursor

I got my NVidia shield (european version) yesterday and had some time to play to it. It is without a doubt a huge upgrade to the Minix X8H.

Positives:

  • Worked without any trouble with an Harmony Remote
  • CEC worked great
  • nvidia streaming is impressive
  • Controller is not as uncomfortable as it first looks like
  • Plex works amazingly well
  • Live channels are awesome with Zattoo (pity I still haven't been able to import anything into CumulusTV - doesn't seem to sync with Google drive as it should)

Negatives:

  • Casting doesn't work from Google Home (its stuck at version 1.20.67611, and I can't find a way to update it)
  • Amazon video uninstalls itself on first run (haven't found a way to install it again..even with VPN, I think it actually deletes the apk)

It would be great if someone had a solution for both negatives, given that they software side.

Overall best streaming box I've ever used.

Update [2017.01.18]:

  • Casting can be fixed by searching the play store for "Google Cast Receiver" and installing it (thanks /u/capast !! )
  • Amazon's latest apk is available (Google will help you) and can be installed without any issue.
  • I gave up on CumulusTV and got everything working as it should with PuppetMasterTV
  • People looking for a way to correctly setup Harmony should take a look at https://support.myharmony.com/en-pl/harmony-experience-with-nvidia-shield
  • Harmony integration issues : Enter key closes text input ; there is no way to add keyboard keys to device
dems86

Glad to read your initial impressions. I pickup my Shield TV Thursday from Best Buy (BTW, by ordering online and choosing In-Store pickup and paying through VISA Checkout I got $25 off, don't know how long the promo last though)

I am actually taking the exact same upgrade path from the Minix X8-H too, can't wait.

onesane

amazon just uninstalls itself? that's weird.

tonyreilly

When I got my 2015 Shield, It kept uninstalling the iPlayer until I turned of location detection and popped some UK DNS settings in. Now it stays and it even updates as you would expect!

sushidisco

pretty disappointed that a lot of the apps only output stereo sound.

dub_starr

Casting doesn't work from Google Home

are you referring to certain sources, or just casting in general. I know that google home lacks the ability to cast most things to android TV, but thats a google home limitation, not a Shield one. do you mean that even youtube or other "supported" apps cant cast to the shield?

lament

The old controller had volume buttons. Does the new one? Hard to tell in the photos.

AdonisK

The remote feels laggy and I can't get Geforce now to accept my visa debit card so I got no GFN. Other than that it's amazing

godnorazi

The remote has a built in IR blaster now which is great cause I can now control my TV's volume with the Shield remote but there's no POWER/ON/OFF as far as I can tell which sucks since I still need my TV remote for that one purpose now

Pete6

Looking at the remote... How do you pause or rewind/fast-forward?

I want to upgrade from my Roku, but I'm concerned that my parents will have a hard time with the Shield remote. The Roku remote is dead simple.

lwhitit

What did you do to pair your harmony? I tried setting it as a Nexus player but I can't get the hub to show up on the shield when I search for accessories.

erwos

I also have one, and agree with your final line: it's definitely the king of streaming boxes. Even my X1S isn't quite as good due to the Netflix HDR bug. (Amazon Prime didn't uninstall itself on mine.)

I am running mine with a mouse, keyboard, and a touchscreen monitor, and it's a really good experience.

chiefVetinari

Anyone tried to pair a firetv voice remote with the new shield? Wondering if that is still possible.

betrunkendachs

Has anyone managed to get SmartThings working?

Pedromvu

Wait, so after you followed: https://support.myharmony.com/en-pl/harmony-experience-with-nvidia-shield

You still got the Enter key not working on text input bug?

I was thinking on giving that a try since currently the way I make it work is having two devices controlling the Shield input, the profile for Windows PC for navigation via Bluetooth and the Shield TV profile for "Enter/Ok" but I have Gen 1 and I think that uses IR.

JimboLodisC

It is without a doubt a huge upgrade to the Minix X8H.

It's better than some janky Chinese Android box? Wow!