Android TV Device Comparisons

[reggie14]

Has anyone been able to use a Flirc successfully with the Shield? I saw another older thread from someone saying they couldn't get certain buttons to work.

Using the included remote isn't an option for me. Most of my TVs have various things connected to them, so my Harmony remotes are must-haves.

[wayner]

That's why I was asking about the V1 Shield. If you have Harmony Hubs then it seems like you can control the Shield - perhaps with BT.

edit - See here https://support.myharmony.com/en-pl/...-nvidia-shield

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by wayner

That's why I was asking about the V1 Shield. If you have Harmony Hubs then it seems like you can control the Shield - perhaps with BT.

edit - See here https://support.myharmony.com/en-pl/...-nvidia-shield

I'm doing that with my Harmony Elite remote, but I don't want to spend $250/room to replace my remotes. Plus I actually like the layout of the 650 more than the Elite. And the Companion remote doesn't have the screen, so it can't support more than 3 activities (music, TV and video).

[TwistedMelon]

Everything out of China (and I don't care what it is) is in US dollars. The price in USD depends on its value against the Chinese currency, but isn't updated regularly. Now, regardless, anyone catering to a global economy is going to use USD and go from there. NVIDIA is a US company, they set their prices in USD. Canadian retailers buy from suppliers in Canada who must buy from the US (or NV ships from China) in USD. They (or NV if they set the Canadian price themselves) have to account for fluctuating exchange throughout the sale period and consumers don't react favorably to weekly changing prices. So they set a price with a safe margin where they won't lose money if the rates shift. That means higher than the daily exchange rate usually - and sometimes MUCH higher, like 50% when the exchange might be 20. To pay a 25% difference dollar-for-dollar USD-to-CAD is GREAT right now - that matches the current mid-market rate. If you go to the bank to get USD or pay with your Canadian CC from a US store, you'll pay much more than 25%. If by CC, unless you have one of the few that don't include extra fees, you'll pay the bank's sell rate PLUS 2.5% extra. Figure 1.30 right now.

Rant over.

[TwistedMelon]

Success with Flirc will depend entirely on setup. If you want to mimic only the basic set of buttons from the original remote that's pretty easy - you'll want to pick a donor remote with a simple IR protocol, something like NEC-based (buttons to be taught to Flirc).

Flirc is also the ONLY solution for newer Shields for IR reception where you can configure or change anything. The only other way to get any response from an IR remote is to use an Ortek or similar keyboard-based Windows Media Center IR receiver and then set your universal to send WMC codes. The Shield doesn't support any commercially available IR receivers at all.

Flirc and the Ortek I mentioned send keystrokes and look like USB keyboards to whatever device they're plugged into.

If you want to get "down in it" and really change up how Shield reacts to different buttons you'll also need to edit a keyboard mapping on the Android install - that way you'll be able to re-assign the functionality of various key codes at the OS level. For example if you wanted to go 100% custom, you'd set your buttons in Flirc to produce keystrokes that aren't used by default (like CTRL-SHIFT-CHARACTERS) then assign those keystrokes to the various system functions you want/need (using Android development docs as a reference for these functions). In SageTV you can assign specific keystrokes to specific Sage functionality, so you wouldn't need to do anything at the OS level.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by reggie14

I'm doing that with my Harmony Elite remote, but I don't want to spend $250/room to replace my remotes. Plus I actually like the layout of the 650 more than the Elite. And the Companion remote doesn't have the screen, so it can't support more than 3 activities (music, TV and video).

I have had pretty much every Harmony remote over the last 15+ years. I actually don't mind the Companion remote. It doesn't have a screen which is a major downside, but it is a nice size and weight, fits well in the hand and has the transport buttons in a good spot. It can actually support six activities as you can short press or long press the three activity buttons. But I only have these remote in locations like bedrooms where I generally only have 1-2 sources anyhow.

I far prefer having these hub based remotes as you can also control them with a phone or tablet app, which I do from time to time. And you can also control them with third party software as they have an API - that includes Amazon Alexa - but they may only allow you to control one remote per house right now.

I also prefer the MyHarmony software for configuring the remote.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by stuckless

You can buy the shield direct from nvidia, on their site. The shield with just the remote is $190 right now (CAD). They also have free shipping, and I can say that their return RMA process is very good (since I've had to use that as well)

I have a MiBox although I use it more for YouTube and Netflix than SageTV. Any advantages of the Shield over the MiBox for SageTV? What about for stuff outside of SageTV? I guess gaming is one thing - do you need to buy the controller to take advantage of that or can you play some games with the simple remote?

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by TwistedMelon

Everything out of China (and I don't care what it is) is in US dollars. The price in USD depends on its value against the Chinese currency, but isn't updated regularly. Now, regardless, anyone catering to a global economy is going to use USD and go from there. NVIDIA is a US company, they set their prices in USD. Canadian retailers buy from suppliers in Canada who must buy from the US (or NV ships from China) in USD. They (or NV if they set the Canadian price themselves) have to account for fluctuating exchange throughout the sale period and consumers don't react favorably to weekly changing prices. So they set a price with a safe margin where they won't lose money if the rates shift. That means higher than the daily exchange rate usually - and sometimes MUCH higher, like 50% when the exchange might be 20. To pay a 25% difference dollar-for-dollar USD-to-CAD is GREAT right now - that matches the current mid-market rate. If you go to the bank to get USD or pay with your Canadian CC from a US store, you'll pay much more than 25%. If by CC, unless you have one of the few that don't include extra fees, you'll pay the bank's sell rate PLUS 2.5% extra. Figure 1.30 right now.

Rant over.

Well, at least there’s still OHIP

[KarylFStein]

Originally Posted by wayner

I have a MiBox although I use it more for YouTube and Netflix than SageTV. Any advantages of the Shield over the MiBox for SageTV? What about for stuff outside of SageTV? I guess gaming is one thing - do you need to buy the controller to take advantage of that or can you play some games with the simple remote?

I bought the SHIELD mainly for gaming. While you might be able to play something like Leo's Fortune with the remote most things I have use more buttons. That said I don't have the simple remote, so haven't tried to control anything with it .

On the gaming front it has the streaming service and, (if you have a PC on the network with certain nVidia cards), you can stream stuff from your computer.

It also has the Google Assistant integration with the optional remote speakers. I don't use this, though.

That said I've been thinking about getting a MiBox for the TV in the basement (teenager hangout). They mostly use video or music streaming services. (Hm, not sure if the MiBox supports Amazon--that might be something else to consider.)

[wayner]

I don't really do much gaming on PCs other than on Occulus Rift, but I don't think that is applicable here.

The MiBox is currently in my 9 y.o.'s room and she looks it for watching YouTube videos and Netflix. She also plays some simple games like Crossy Road with the basic remote.

Google Assistant is nice but not really useful for me as I have gone with Echo Dots and have about 6 of them in the house.

In my instance I wonder if there is any advantage to getting a Shield over a MiBox. Would the SageTV UI be faster on the Shield? Or is that more dependent on the server?

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by wayner

I don't really do much gaming on PCs other than on Occulus Rift, but I don't think that is applicable here.

The MiBox is currently in my 9 y.o.'s room and she looks it for watching YouTube videos and Netflix. She also plays some simple games like Crossy Road with the basic remote.

Google Assistant is nice but not really useful for me as I have gone with Echo Dots and have about 6 of them in the house.

In my instance I wonder if there is any advantage to getting a Shield over a MiBox. Would the SageTV UI be faster on the Shield? Or is that more dependent on the server?

I have both the MiBox and the Shield (2 Shields). The Shields are definately a faster unit for the sagetv UI. I have the mibox connected via a usb/ethernet and I do see more lags in the UI. Still perfectly usable, as both boxes daily. (the mibox is in the basement, and my workout videos are there via sagetv, and the shields are in the main room and bedroom).

[wayner]

Originally Posted by stuckless

I have both the MiBox and the Shield (2 Shields). The Shields are definately a faster unit for the sagetv UI. I have the mibox connected via a usb/ethernet and I do see more lags in the UI. Still perfectly usable, as both boxes daily. (the mibox is in the basement, and my workout videos are there via sagetv, and the shields are in the main room and bedroom).

Thanks Sean - any difference in MPEG-2 playback on the two devices or is that more of a software rather than a hardware issue.

[alfi33]

Originally Posted by KarylFStein

(Hm, not sure if the MiBox supports Amazon--that might be something else to consider.)

This, and the lack (or limited) support for an IR universal remote has held me back from the MiBox.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by alfi33

This, and the lack (or limited) support for an IR universal remote has held me back from the MiBox.

IR universal remotes do work with the MiBox. I have been using a Harmony Remote for a while with no issues.

And I am not the only one: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/c...n_ir_receiver/

[alfi33]

Originally Posted by wayner

IR universal remotes do work with the MiBox. I have been using a Harmony Remote for a while with no issues.

And I am not the only one: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/c...n_ir_receiver/

That's great. It looks like maybe the FFW and REW commands are missing via IR. Maybe the directional pad can be used instead and makes up for this?

[wayner]

For all my Canadian brethren- it looks like the MiBox is now being sold in Canada, at least at Canada Computers. They have it for $110 on a Boxing Day sale, down from $125. That seems kind of expensive as it is $69 at Walmart in the US so it should be more like $90 in Canada.