Instead of projectivy I use ATV Launcher Pro. It's pretty good. It allows for widgets, though I find many I want to display don't work correct, which is unfortunate. I did spend $3 on it, but I don't mind paying for an app. It just means the developer can make money without displaying ads
Is it difficult to install? Like do I need to side load it or can I install it straight from the UI? I am definitely over Google shoving non-stop ads into my paid for experience.
I have an old RPi2 laying around that runs OSMC. I rarely watch stuff on my TV, most of the time I just watch it on my second monitor while I'm doing stuff.
YES! FINALLY! i thought something was missing from this expensive piece of hardware and here it is, ads! I love wasting time on ads and they sure know what i love!
This is probably one of the purchases I regret the most. First they updated it and put shitty banner ads in the launcher so I had to install a custom one to get round that. Then they disabled game stream which I’ll admit I only used a few times, but it was still one of the reasons I went with the shield over another device. And now this…
I think when I replace it I’ll just get a mini PC instead
I would never regret about my Nvidia Shield TV, in fact it is one of the best purchases I have ever done, I have one since 2018 or 2017 perhaps and that unit got busted and Nvidia replaced mine for free (they sent me a power adapter first, which didn't help for my issue, for free too) even when it was outside of the warranty period, and they didn't even replace it for another 2017 unit, they gave me the 2019 pro, perhaps for inventory reasons, (and a ruler as a gift lol) a very pro move if you ask me.
Now the 2019 unit is dated for sure, and the launcher with ads was a dirt move sure, that is why I downgraded the unit and debloated it, this is how my unit looks like now.
I mean I still appreciate they are still supporting hardware from 2015 in 2023.
You regret the most? I've made much worse purchases. I just use a custom launcher, which the fact that it's an option is more than most services can say. It's nice that it's running android so I can install any APK I want (thank you SmartTubeNext). And the fact I can quickly control it/type from my phone is nice. Not to mention, I think every remote should have the "find my remote" button that makes it ring. And while it's decently expensive, and there are certainly other cheaper options, I would say this is far from one of the worst purchases I made.
I’m sure I’ve made worse purchases but tbh I’m struggling to think of any truly bad purchases I’ve made at the moment, even this I don’t consider bad as it still does pretty much everything I want. I just don’t appreciate paying to be treated like shit by a company. And the main reasons I chose the shield over cheaper devices was the lack of ads and game stream, both of which have been taken away (yes the ads can be bypassed with a bit of tweaking but I shouldn’t have to)
This is what I’m using. It’s kinda ugly but totally ad-free and does what I want but not one bit more. I installed flauncher, connected to the shield with network adb, disabled the leanback launcher, then hit the home button on the remote. Easy peasy, and much better than remapping buttons IMO
In the current version it was already advertising / recommending shows and movies too me I have no interest in. I just want my plex content and that's it. A custom launcher is great for that.
I remember reading about the newer home screen added a promotional banner. It was showing content from the apps themselves (ex. New shows from Disney+) but it was still annoying and a lot of people switched to a different launcher.
Is there anything I would miss going down to 8.2.3? I stopped updating quite a while ago after Plex became totally broken and I had to roll back once already.
I love(d) my Shield, I first bought the original, and then the updated model. I use it every day, but the lack of hardware updates (still using USB 2, only has 12 GB internal storage, low RAM, etc...) and constant ads and "sponsored content" has made me fall out of love with it.
I asked a few weeks back about a replacement and someone recommended this one to me. It runs on Android 12, supports 4K Dolby Atmos and Vision, and has better hardware than the Shield. It isn't cheap though.
My issues with LG TVs is they're 1) still missing support for the ESPN app which is a big deal if you're into sports and 2) only allow casting to them from a white-list of sites. So your can't just stream anything from Chrome on your computer and cast to the TV. If the website isn't white-listed, you're out of luck.
I've also had issues with pihole interfering with the TV too. Not a pihole expert though so I'm trying to figure out how to work around it.
Ironically, Nvidia shield is a dedicated streaking device that can be swapped. Don't kid yourself, Roku is just as bad with the ads. They recently updated their UI to pack more apps into their home grid, so that they could show ads for other apps and shows. Recently mine says "continue watching" Supergirl in one of them constantly.
We've never watched Supergirl and don't even have the app it's on installed.
AppleTV 100%. it’s 2nd really only to the shield when it comes to streaming formats , as the Apple TV doesn’t support some of the edge cases (as far as normal users go). Streams most things on my plex server. No ads , stellar performance. My 2017 4k is still a beast and I like the UI. You also don’t really have to deal with apps or services skipping your device because of some bullshit, and if you do it’s not long( hbomax, YouTube TV come to mind).
The only thing it really doesn’t do well is casting like chromecast or side loading but I haven’t had an app that I’ve wanted to install that I couldn’t so there’s that. It has airplay but it also requires you to have an iDevice/Mac but I generally wasn’t a huge user of the feature when I had my chromecast.
Damn I considered one of these for a little bit when I was working on getting my own home streaming setup going. Decided against it because it looked kinda stupid and I hate Android and a lot of the stuff that comes with it. I guess I dodged a bullet on that one.
You dodged a rocket lol. I have firetv which is android based. But I only have it Kodi. Roku is probably the best streaming. Unless you have a different smart platform on your TV such as LG or Samsung.
I occasionally see auto-playing ad on my Chromecast with Google TV about twice a year so far. Every time I hit Send Feedback immediately and say something harsh about the ads and they disappear shortly after. I'm considering building a LineageOS Android TV machine based on the ODROID-C4. I'm just unsure what level of Widevine I'd get. I'd be okay with 1080p. 720p would be a bit shit. Anyone tried this route?
Interesting... I have an OG Shield, also in the Netherlands, but have seen no ads (that being said, companies A/B test and do gradual rollout of this kind of BS).
But I also kept my Android Home in the version without ads by disabling Play Store updates and instead manually going over all apps (except Home!) every month or so (or when I have an issue with any app I use).
I feel confident that I'll be able to hack my way around this new form of ads.