Nvidia Shield

[wayner]

I am thinking about getting an Nvidia Shield to use for SageTV and other purposes, and I am fine getting a used one off of eBay. I vaguely remember that one of the older versions had functionality that might be preferred, maybe it was IR control. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

[cncb]

That's correct. The original 2015 models are the only ones with built-in IR control. You can buy a USB dongle (FLIRC) for the newer ones that have a USB port.

[wayner]

Is there any downside to teh 2015 models, like an older processor or something else that they lack that the newer models have?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by wayner

Is there any downside to teh 2015 models, like an older processor or something else that they lack that the newer models have?

The newer ones are supposed to have a slightly better CPU even though most users do not even notice it. You can also upscale certain videos.

[cncb]

The 2019 models also have Dolby Vision support.

[sic0048]

The 2019 model also has AI upscaling.

It is a minor benefit IMHO. You can see the different between regular upscaling and AI upscaling if you change between them quickly, but I doubt anyone would be able to tell the difference in a blind test.

[Telecore]

I have two 2017's and a 2015 - I think the 2015 has more USB ports but I don't recall the built in IR being much use - and the remotes are not that great for either of them - for a while I used Flircs with all 3 of them, but have since switched to the Logitech Harmony Companion + Hub (bluetooth remote is faster). I read that the 2019's have a slightly better CPU, AI upscaling not worth it, and avoid the tube version of the 2019 - it is 32 bit only.

As a cheaper alternative, the FireTV 4K works extremely well with SageTV. I bought several at $25, a fraction of the Nvidia Shield cost. Menu Navigation is slower on the FireTV due to a slower CPU, but some aspects of video playback are better (in my case) on the FireTV. For some reason, my local NBC station has a decent amount of pixellation or blocking artifacts that pop up on the Nvidia Shield, but they are not present on the FireTV. I am using OpenDCT to remux all tv streams.