Best Andoid TV box to run SageTV mini client

[jwilson56]

I have a second HDTV now in the family room and would like to have access to my SageTV server. Besides a Nvidia Shield what is the best (and lowest cost) Android box to run the client that can play OTA recordings as well as some AVI, MKV and MP4 files I have on the server? I really don't plan on playing games on this system so a Shield would be an overkill.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by jwilson56

I really don't plan on playing games on this system so a Shield would be an overkill.

I don't think the Shield is overkill even if you're not gaming on it. Android TV really hums on the Shield so the overall UX is better. It's well supported. And it has hardware decoders for MPEG2 which, along with Netflix certification, can't be taken for granted on other boxes. Too many other devices have fallen by the wayside or performed poorly that the premium for the Shield is justified imo.

[cat6man]

+1

[bigbill]

The shield remote is the most annoying pos I have ever used. The audio volume changes if you get near it. It seems like i need to leave it in a different room so the volume doesn't randomly go up and down.

I want to smash it with a large hammer!

-Bill


But I'm not bitter...

[btrcp2000]

I noticed that last night. the strip in the middle is touch sensitive, so you swipe up and down for volume. might be able to turn it off

[bigbill]

I'm fairly certain the hammer WILL turn it off!

[rrhorer]

I don't think the Shield is overkill.

The shield remote is the most annoying pos I have ever used.

I agree with both assessments. My solution was to buy a Harmony Smart Control (i.e., hub with remote) for $60 on Amazon. Works great and, who knows, you might be able to get it on a Black Friday sale. Anyway, rather than a hammer, I decided to make the Shield remote accessible to my daughter's yellow lab who is notorious for eating remotes. Apparently, even she thinks it's a pos and won't eat it.

[btrcp2000]

Let me know if you figure out how to have the harmony assign the Guide button to the sagetv guide. It’s the last piece of the puzzle for me. If I plug a physical keyboard into the shield, it will go to the EPG with Ctrl X. If I use Ctrl X as part of the harmony Bluetooth keyboard there is no response

[KarylFStein]

Originally Posted by btrcp2000

Let me know if you figure out how to have the harmony assign the Guide button to the sagetv guide. It’s the last piece of the puzzle for me. If I plug a physical keyboard into the shield, it will go to the EPG with Ctrl X. If I use Ctrl X as part of the harmony Bluetooth keyboard there is no response

What I did for the Bluetooth-only SHIELD is pair the hub with the SHIELD as recommended by Logitech. Then I assigned (in the activity) that "Guide" sends F2 (or one of the function buttons--I mapped a few, e.g. Record, "Red", DVR, etc., to function buttons). Then in the mini-client I added F2 as a trigger for Guide, etc. It works except when I press Guide on the STV home screen it brings up a search box instead of going to guide. I was just about to ask about that here . But pressing Guide on other screens works as expected.