Nvidia Shield Pro - Disappointment

Sprintz25 on 12/08/2021 - 19:15
Last edited 12/08/2021 - 19:50 by 1 other user

Hi All,

Bought one recently for ~ $300 hoping to get hi res sound from Netflix through my receiver (LG Oled B8 TV has netflix client built in but not eARC so only DD etc out on ARC).

Only now have found out that i'll need an HDMI splitter to get the audio i was looking for out of my non HDCP 2.1 receiver (Nvidia Shield picture to TV and sound to receiver via splitter/cloner).

Not a big deal, can still do gamestream and Geforce Now which is also what i bought it for.

Now i'm finding out Geforce now is not available in Australia yet and gamestream keeps asking me to sign into Geforce now on the shield before i can go any further.

So no Geforce now and cant gamestream from my 1080TI to my TV.

Am i doing something wrong or is the shield only great for those who dont have a smart TV but a waste of time for those who do?

Feeling like i've done my dough and its not all its cracked up to be compared to the positive reviews and overwhelming positive feedback on Ozb.

The nvidia website mentions all of the awesome features but in Aus half of them appear to be unavailable.

Thanks in advance, hope someone can point me in the right direction.

Gaming Media Player Nvidia Android

Comments

  • kizzy on 12/08/2021 - 19:19
    +1

    Yep pretty much. Now just wait until the remote breaks. Love my VodaTV, shame you can't get them anymore

    • sween64 on 26/10/2021 - 09:03

      Can you pair a DS4 to the VodaTV?

  • tamckinnon on 12/08/2021 - 19:34
    +1

    I got the older nvidia 2017 model to use with Kodi/Netflix/Amazon/Spotify - It's been fantastic.

    Very quick and only downside for me is the older square remote which needs frequent battery changes per year.

    • SnowDragon on 12/08/2021 - 19:43
      +1

      My remote lasted 2 years before a change and now for some reason it's gone through two in a few months.

      I occasionally use it to stream Steam games, but it's a great media box.

      • jsb on 13/08/2021 - 09:51
        +1

        Original battery for me lasted a good time. Then had to replace the battery once every month. I realised issue is not in the remote but the battery itself. Do not buy the battery from ebay/Amazon on Deals. Just go to Bunnings and get the original one for couple of bucks more. It's working great for me for months now.

    • Cheaplikethebird on 12/08/2021 - 20:11

      Grab an xbox controller + bluetooth dongle, that's what I use.

      • Jones44 on 28/10/2021 - 21:43

        Do I need a Bluetooth dongle, doest the shield have Bluetooth

        • Cheaplikethebird on 29/10/2021 - 09:40

          Need the Bluetooth dongle

          • spackbace on 29/10/2021 - 17:44

            @Cheaplikethebird: Depends on the controller - Xbox One S/X, or Xbox Series S/X controllers work directly with it

            • Cheaplikethebird on 29/10/2021 - 17:51
              +1

              @spackbace: Ah cool, good to know. I've just been using the same old 360 controller for the last 7 years or so.

  • ode1online on 12/08/2021 - 19:50

    Why do you need a splitter? My Nvidia is connected to my Yamaha Receiver and I get Dolby Atmos and DTS HD MA no problems
    But I don't use Netflix, I use Plex and Disney +.
    Cant you feed it through your receiver or doesn't it support 4k?

    • Sprintz25 on 12/08/2021 - 20:01

      Unfortunately my receiver is not HDCP 2.1 compliant. I only get 4K@30Hz and no HDR etc.

      My receiver isnt that old either, it was a bit of a screw up by the film industry :-)

      • ode1online on 12/08/2021 - 21:05
        +1

        Sounds like the issue is with the AV receiver as its not able to pass thru 4K and HDR, not the Nvidia shield as no matter the Source you will get the same issue.
        Can I ask what Brand and Model the AV receiver is it is ?

  • iDroid on 12/08/2021 - 19:58

    Yeah the shield sounded so good in pre release marketing.

    Such a dissapointment on delivery.

  • Sprintz25 on 12/08/2021 - 20:02

    One thing weird i found, i accidentally grabbed the TV remote and it worked on the shield to cycle through menus etc.

    Must be some synergy there.

  • Sprintz25 on 12/08/2021 - 20:03
    +1

    Thanks for all the replies so far. Im fairly tech savvy but cant get what i want out of this thing, cant understand the semi cult following (at least in Aus). Fair enough in the US

  • jc8 on 12/08/2021 - 20:21

    Hi, few suggestions to offer.

    First is can you not go shield direct to tv and let it arc the sound through the receiver? Thought that might work.

    Second, there are a lot of HDCP 2.2 receivers available second hand and in mint condition ie. Stereonet) as people upgrade to HDMI 2.1. Just grab one of those at minimal cost!

    Good luck!

    • Sprintz25 on 12/08/2021 - 20:50
      +1

      Yeah i can but only at 4k@30Hz and no HDR etc so not very good. Thanks for your suggestion on Stereonet, will check it out.

  • darklight on 12/08/2021 - 20:32

    I think the 'cult following' is not necessarily specifically about the Shield (although I've had a mostly good experience with mine) - it speaks more to how terrible most cheaper android boxes are.

    For me, (2017 model), it's handled everything I've thrown at it, and it just gets the job done - but it's customisable in a way that the AppleTV wasn't (even though I'm a predominantly iOS/Mac user).

    I did have struggles with getting HDR/Atmos going at the same time due to HDMI issues - I ended up getting the HDFury AVRKey. Not ideal, but I devoted enough time to stuffing around with it that I just moved forwards with the easiest option.

  • boomramada on 12/08/2021 - 20:43
    +1

    Issue is your sound system, old tech. You can't blame that on the NVIDIA shield. I remember intially there was a DD issue with one of the app and NVIDIA fixed it, since then no issue.

    If you are a NVIDIA shield owner , don't forget to invest on one of these as well
    NVIDIA Shield TV Pro/4K HDR Remote Control
    https://a.aliexpress.com/_mO2it7p

    • Sprintz25 on 12/08/2021 - 20:49

      Yeah thats true but can any of you get gamestream working? Should be independant of Geforce Now and just through the home network.

      • Sprintz25 on 12/08/2021 - 20:51
        +1

        Fairly major feature (along with Geforce Net) to not work in a first world country. Advertising should probably reflect this as i feel like its advertised with X features but only delivers on Y features.

      • boomramada on 12/08/2021 - 20:56
        +1

        I'm not sure about the game stream but I was definitely aware of the HDCP 2.1 issue and not having spdif connection for audio, that's why I upgraded my sound system before the shield purchase.
        I did noticed Geforce now not available in Aus and recent Google update with a big banner but I'm ok with it.

    • elcap on 13/08/2021 - 10:46

      Is the cover just to protect the remote? Or for something else too?
      I just purchased the pro through the klarna deal so I haven't experienced it yet.

      • boomramada on 15/08/2021 - 17:05
        +1

        Protecting the remote. This get crack very easy against tile floors.

  • spackbace on 13/08/2021 - 00:42
    +2

    Personally, using the Shield to stream high bitrate 4k rips, which neither my TV nor the Xbox Series X could handle, as neither their wifi or Ethernet was fast enough.

    That's the main benefit, so it's become the Plex/Netflix/etc etc player of choice

  • Spawn Peak on 13/08/2021 - 11:45
    +2

    Mate, download Moonlight on your Shield via the Play Store. It's basically a third-party, open-source, much more flexible version of Steam Link or GameStream. It uses the same proprietary protocols NVIDIA GameStream uses for its streaming: https://moonlight-stream.org/

    For me, with everything hooked up via ethernet, playing PC games in my living room has been flawless with Moonlight and I basically haven't gone back to explore GameStream since. It took only a few minutes to set up both my Steam games, and custom application launchers (such as Mod Organizer). Moonlight also lets you customize more things than both Steam Link or GameStream - for instance, I wanted 1440p/60fps, which tends to be lost in the 1080p or 4K focus of the other two apps. There's also native Gamepad support built in, as I discovered when plugging in my Xbox 360 controller's wireless adapter.

    Now, of course, my advice hinges on if you wanted to stream PC games you already own. If you wanted to specifically use NVIDIA's Geforce Now service, that's another story as yes, Australia still doesn't have access to it, which sucks. But it's coming soon, I believe. That lack of service is a legitimate knock against the Shield, and I was annoyed too.

    As for the rest of its streaming services, I reckon using the Shield for Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime Video, etc has been better than using the native applications on my smart TV (LG CX). Picture quality is overall better, you have more options for matching frame-rate of content, you have the AI upscaler (works great with older shows), and there's Dolby Vision support. One thing that does suck is YouTube doesn't have HDR, whereas the native YouTube app on my LG CX does.

    • Sprintz25 on 14/08/2021 - 13:16
      +1

      Thanks for all of the replies, especially the recommendation on moonlight.

      I cracked on my computer and the shield last night and it picked up my computer after a few minutes and gamestream started working (albeit with some teething issues with stuttering on BO Cold War). I think the issue was that GeForce Experience on my PC was taking some time picking up/contacting the shield. After i left it on for a few hours downloading some Cold War updates it seems to have sorted itself out.

      So i now have that working but as we all know no Geforce Now (coming soon though through Pentanet in WA apparently, not sure if it'll be useable for the East Coast?).

      Have now also ordered a PS5 controller to use with the shield and check out some android games.

      Overall, i'm giving it a 7/10 for now, the problem is all of the reviews (even ones which appear to be Australian reviews) mention all the same features as the nvidia website even though not all are available in all countries.

      In the interest of full disclosure (especially for one of the most expensive android TV box's) i think this should be better highlighted by both nvidia and reviewers with an asterix or similar.

      Thanks again to all who weighed in with useful info.

      Have a good weekend

  • yacman on 13/08/2021 - 12:41

    It can play everything through Kodi and streaming games from your PC including full desktop mirroring works flawlessly if you have an NVIDA GPU.

    For me these two things alone are why it is significantly better than other android boxes, the HDMI limitation would be an issue with anything you add to your current set-up by the sound of things.

    If you just wanted to playback content but not have Atmos audio (if your amp doesn't support it, it won't be atmos sound anyway) there are settings is Kodi that will downmix or transcode the audio for playback so you can watch the file but it needs to be a local file you are playing, not off a paid streaming service.

    VTV was a cheap option for basic Kodi playback but once it lost the ability to support reading NTFS HDDs, it is a lot less versatile.

  • Mike36 on 28/11/2021 - 01:48

    Was hoping there would be sales for the pro this Friday…but nope

    Want to try one as a plex media server etc.

  • archieduh on 28/08/2022 - 17:25

    I have a TV that has ARC but no eARC. Can I use this to get Atmos on my soundbar?
    I am confused as the pictures of this device only show 1 HDMI port and that's why I guess the OP says he added an HDMI splitter. This sounds dodgy. What if the splitter doesn't transmit well or causes lag in Audio Video?
    Can someone chime in and help me get a bit more understanding?

    Also would need to know HDMI splitter recommendations.

    Any other alternates? I just need to be able to play Atmos on my soundbar for what I watch on my TV (Streaming services and chromecast to cast from mobile). I dont need any more fancy features.

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