Shield 2017 and Google Assistant?

by jschipmann

Just picked up the 2017 Sheild TV as I have been messing with many different streaming devices looking for the perfect device for my use (doesn't exist yet but I can come close).

One thing I noticed is the Google Home assistant... doesn't seem to be the google home assistant. Is this a feature that isn't officially released yet?

I ask this as I notice a lot of odd things. It doesn't function in the same way as the google home assistant so far (watching various videos on the google home device) it functions more like the OK Google on my S7 Edge.

I cant set reminders or do the goofy stuff like ask it to tell me a joke, it just comes up with search results.

The voice app doesn't work while in Netflix or amazon or plex at all.... nothing happens. I found this extremely handy on the FireTV Stick using alexa, my fiancée would ask how old an actress was or etc... I would hold the button ask my question and it would return a result. Same with AppleTV gen 4. Both also would work in most apps and continue video playback.

When I search for a movie it only shows results from Netflix or the google play store or VUDU.. it isn't working with PLEX. Same with music. Music I typically get results only form YouTube.

I thought they said the mic in the controller was going to be a near filed mic so at any point in time you could say OK Google ask and do without having to push a button or etc.

I notice a lot of times the mic on the remote wont work if I have used the controller at all. It is like it gets confused and doesn't know to use the remote mic. Sometimes if I leave it sit for 20 minutes and come back to it the mic on the remote might start working. Other times voice is picked up fine on the Mic even after I have just set the controller down.

Looking for others input and or help :)

robofunk_

Yeah no Assistant yet. It's entirely dependent on Google releasing it I believe. They should have been much clearer in their advertising.

getcashmoney

The mic in the controller will become always on once Google Assistant is released "in the coming months".

The current Google implementation should pickup your movies in Plex along with tons of other major apps, unless you are inside of another app, because that triggers the voice search from within the app you are using, not Google.

shieldtvfan

Make sure your remote is on firmware v1.03 or later. Make sure your controller has latest firmware as well. Go to Settings > SHIELD accessories to check.

Google Assistant is coming later. Today it is basic Google voice search. In apps, it is up to apps whether or not they support voice search. Netflix tried it out for some users but most folks don't have access to it.

wgn_luv

GA on the Shield is not out yet. It'll come in a future update.

randolf_carter

I didn't realize they were shipping the 2017 units, my original ShieldTV hasn't received the newest system update, so Amazon VOD is still missing, for example.

lonaysta

I've seen couple of posts asking about the missing of google assistant. Really should make good use of the search feature.

NoShftShck16

So there are a couple of things here. There is Google Home, OK Google and Google Assistant. They share a lot of the similarities but they are not one in the same.

What is on the Shield is what is on the Pixel. If you take a look at this image you can test which commands work on your S7 (The 'older phones' commands), which work on your Google Home and which work on your Shield. The Shield will be able to do all the stuff in the Pixel column.

Regarding the microphone, since the remote works on coin batteries now it auto shuts itself down when it detects that it isn't being used. I am not sure if this is the case for the game controller. This is why you'll notice when you first pick up the remote it isn't responsive.

I would recommend you go into the settings and remove any app you don't use from the Recommended section. This allowed stuff from Plex, Netflix, etc (the apps I use primarily) to dominate that section. It isn't a fix for Voice search not searching through them, but it is a start.

In general my experience with SmartThings Hub, 2 Google Homes, Shield TV, my Pixel XL and a handful of Chromecasts is that everything is there but none of it is connected. The fact that chart I added above is even a thing (different commands for different 'assistants' is infuriating). BUT I see the potential and I am very excited to see what happens.