Does the $200 nVidia Shield (2017) work with the Harmony Elite?

by BadBreath911

So I bought the Xiaomi Mi Box the other day as a "test bed" to see how I like the Android TV platform... and I LOVE IT! I plan on moving the Xiaomi Mi Box to one of my other rooms and I'm interested in getting the $200 nVidia Shield for my main room.

One thing about the Xiaomi however, is that it supports IR, and with that, it was very easy to set up with the Harmony Elite. However, the nVidia Shield does not support IR. Will I still be able to control it with the Harmony Elite?

Secondly, whats the real difference between the Shield and the Xiaomi? I don't game, so I'm mostly getting it for performance improvements and wired LAN.

snailmind

My shield pairs by Bluetooth with my Harmony hub. My 2015 was a refurb and didn't come with a remote but the harmony works great. The smart keyboard works with it too. Almost forgot to say that the app has favorites for live channel also.

lonaysta

Use Harmony Hub with SHIELD too, work like a charm.

joeysdad

My 2015 Shield works great with the Logitech Hub w/ Companion remote. It should work fine with your Elite since it is the same Hub.

Vegas6614

If you get the 500GB model, it has IR. While the price increase is a rip off ($100 more for 500GB vs 16GB and IR), if you ever need a Plex server, you'll be glad you got the 500GB (I wish I had).

While people say they've gotten the ShieldTV to work with their Harmony, it always sounds like a lot of hoops to jump thru. And by reading these posts, you can see some have had better luck than others. I just want to watch TV. It reminds me somewhat of the old Windows Media Center fiasco I was into way back when.

Honestly, you will see claims that the ShieldTV does more than 'just' a streaming box (it does, it does, ok?), but you have to evaluate your needs. If you only want a streamer, then there are a lot cheaper, and very functional boxes out there (you found one with the Mi Box).

Ausernameneeded

The main difference between the Mi Box and Shield is power. The power is useful for gaming, but if just streaming video apps than the difference is $130.

Don't get me wrong, ShieldTV is great if you need it. If you need just streaming than there are more reasonable priced boxes in a variety of OSs.

You actually may want to wait a few days. Google event is on the 4th and there could be a new AndroidTV device to replace the Nexus. Probably not, but couldn't hurt waiting 4 days and seeing.