Do I need another SHIELD? What makes it special?

by jackho1983

Hi everyone, new to Android TV here but getting into it as I already had a HD HomeRun I bought when Plex launched their DVR as I thought that was Live TV back then. I never used it so wanted to try now that there is Live TV. Everything is working great and I'm using the Shield as the Media Server itself which is really cool. I just have some questions though as my goal is really to use them in each room of the house as a media centre set top box. Originally I was going to use my spare desktop which is an i5 4690k with 8GB ram and GTX 970 as a Plex Media Server for the HD HomeRun and Live TV, but it seems like the Shield might work fine for that. I just had some questions though:

  • Is the interface on the Shield TV stock Android TV or is that just NVIDIA's layout? Are there other devices that use this interface? Asking because I bought for fun a $60 cheap Android TV 6.0 box on Amazon today that works pretty well also, but the interface is pretty ugly. The Shield seems to look more official Google?

  • In terms of streaming 1080p movies, or playing live TV over the network, are there other devices that work just as well or is the Shield really that much better? I'm not really big into gaming at all so I feel like I'm paying extra for the controller and what not, when I really just want a quality set top box. I'm keeping the Shield as the Plex server, just trying to determine if I need another Shield on every TV or if I can use something else with similar interface, quality etc for TV like in the kitchen.

Also the $60 "Android TV" one I bought for fun doesn't even seem to really be Android TV, it seems more like it thinks it is a phone or tablet or something. Like Plex has no mention of live TV and even has an option about streaming and using mobile data.

Thanks!

watchyirc

I'm not going to go into detail, but a Shield is by far the best Android TV experience you can get. Anything else is a waste of time if you are wanting Android TV.

Also you probably did buy a jankity ass Android box thats probably Labeled Android TV but its just android that plugs into a TV.

Fantastins

https://www.android.com/tv/

Those all should have the same software experience. IMO they don't, the mi box is buggy as shit and the razer was apparently garbage, but the rest should be the same.

JimboLodisC

my goal is really to use them in each room of the house

For Plex, wouldn't it make more sense to have one copy of all your movies on a single server and have all the TVs use a simple device to act as clients?

Is the interface on the Shield TV stock Android TV or is that just NVIDIA's layout? Are there other devices that use this interface? Asking because I bought for fun a $60 cheap Android TV 6.0 box on Amazon today that works pretty well also, but the interface is pretty ugly. The Shield seems to look more official Google?

There are Android boxes, and there are Android TV boxes. Android TV is a separate operating system from regular touchscreen Android. Google actually forked Android TV as an optimized living room OS straight from Android so that you have all the compatibility with Android apps as you would on a touchscreen device, but optimized to not require a touchscreen (since every living room TV does not have that input option). They designed Android TV to be the OS for the living room with gamepad or handheld remote input (d-pad + Enter button) handling all UI interaction.

So when some random Chinese "company" takes blueprints for a shitty junk box that's running an AOSP build of touchscreen Android, they have to try and make it work on your TV by tweaking a bunch of config stuff. Seeing as it's just some hacked together piece of hardware, you won't find the proper licensing for things like HD Netflix or anything involving DRM. Our advice in here is to just stay away from Android boxes because there is a legit option straight from Google. Seeing as it's just regular Android, your apps will be phone/tablet apps. Many of those are not built for the living room. On Android TV, there are apps specifically designed for the platform that work in the living room.

So it's a bit wonky for consumers because someone in China can clump together some components for an Android box that plugs into your TV and then turn around and label it as an "Android TV-box" so that it shows up in results when people search for an "Android-TV box".

As far as the Shield, it is not running stock Android TV. The launcher has been customized, and the ROM includes some extra proprietary stuff for their gamepad and remotes. They also work with Plex for certain specific features as a standalone Plex server, and they've got their Spot device coming soon. Stock Android TV is definitely available on the Nexus Player, but those will be hard to find as they have been discontinued. They also don't have anywhere near the performance of the Shield. For Android TV, the appeal of a stock OS is less important for me than for my phone.

In terms of streaming 1080p movies, or playing live TV over the network, are there other devices that work just as well or is the Shield really that much better?

Most devices on the market should be able to do 1080p without a hiccup. Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecasts, etc. wouldn't be selling very many units if they couldn't. The Shield is just the best based on raw performance. No other device has a processor that can even come close. But streaming 1080p content isn't going to be a feature that shows that.

Bottom line, for 1080p streaming, any legit device will work. If you want Android TV, it'll be between two devices: Mi Box or Shield TV. It sounds like you don't really need to put a Shield in every room unless you absolutely need great performance in the UI, or if you just prefer the way the UI looks. I wouldn't really recommend setting up a bunch of copies of your Plex library just to run them as standalone servers. Keep things centralized and minimize the headaches.

jaylay14

I got the SHIELD in my living room and 2 Mi boxes in both bedrooms. So far its been a good set up for me!

Ausernameneeded

If your looking for a cheapish priced box that streams great and has AndroidTV than I'd suggest going with a Mi Box.

brp

I got a 2nd shield for the bedroom because I didn't want to putz around with something else. It was worth the money to me to have 2 identical systems with support for whatever. Also helps the wife in ease of use since the Bedroom and Living Room setup are pretty close.