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Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

arstechnica.com

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Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#151

Post by akdev1l »

SkiFire13 wrote: post #148
jeroenhd wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While the vertical integration is definitely the best way to get it done, it's not strictly required as long as there is good enough documentation for a platform. Linux originally supported Intel without any Intel engineers even knowing it existed. Also consider Apple's chips, which have gotten Linux support without Apple ever submitting a single line of code. While Qualcomm's behaviour is definitely a massive bummer…

> Linux originally supported Intel without any Intel engineers even knowing it existed. It should be noted that Intel makes CPUs, while Qualcomm makes SoCs, which include much more than just a CPU. Usually supporting the CPU is the easiest part, the rest is the issue. That said, when device OEMs release the kernel sources, modders are able to update custom roms for a long time, so I doubt this is just a Qualcomm issu…

They update the roms while keeping everything provided by Qualcomm the same

so basically the kernel is frozen even if the android version is updated

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#152

Post by Aaargh20318 »

tempest_ wrote: post #2

Now if only they would release an updated one.

Or alternatively: Apple could finally add support for bitstreaming to the Apple TV.

I'm kind of envious of how smooth and slick the ATV's UI is compared to the clunky UI on the ShieldTV, but I can't switch due to lack of bitstreaming support.

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#153

Post by embedding-shape »

zinekeller wrote: post #134
altano wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They added auto-playing, full screen video ads to the home screen. I threw mine in the garbage. Pride and love, lol…

> They added auto-playing, full screen video ads to the home screen. I'm pretty sure this is actually Google's fault (even Sony televisions suffer from this bullcrap). Unlike phone Android, Google TV (yes, that's the official name now) enforces certain "standards", one of them is this bullcrap.

> I'm pretty sure this is actually Google's fault

Who cares who delivered the actual bytes or who initiated the change, the matter of fact is that people buy a device from one company, then the company is responsible for the experience they deliver while it's supported. Since they chose Android, they're responsible for the experience you get when using the stuff you buy from them.

I'd never complain to the maker of a compressor when it dies in a fridge, I'll complain to the one I bought the fridge from. Not sure why we're so adamant on thinking differently regarding computers. NVIDIA might blame Google internally, but feels like consumers are right to be pissed off about NVIDIA changing (or being OK with someone else changing) their experience in a product they bought from NVIDIA.

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#154

Post by lotsofpulp »

QuiEgo wrote: post #109
magicalhippo wrote: post #100

I have one of them, and been using it daily since I bought it in 2016. Bought a cheap Bluetooth remote control from AliExpress which was an upgrade over the Logitech Harmony crap I had earlier. If it were to break, knock on wood it won't happen, what options are there? I have tried to look but haven't really found anything that is free of Chinese backdoors and has decent hardware. For just Plex or Jellyfin a N100 box…

The next best is probably an Apple TV 4k, but it can't direct play as many audio and video formats as the Shield.

I use the Infuse app, and I haven't seen it fail with anything yet.

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#155

Post by kristofferR »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #154
QuiEgo wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The next best is probably an Apple TV 4k, but it can't direct play as many audio and video formats as the Shield.

I use the Infuse app, and I haven't seen it fail with anything yet.

It doesn't support TrueHD Atmos (UHD Blu-ray Atmos in other words). It also doesn't support FEL.

That said, it supports JOC Atmos (the streaming service version) and you can convert all your TrueHD Atmos to JOC Atmos easily.

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#156

Post by ndiddy »

wronglebowski wrote: post #51

Everyone is missing the why here, this only happens because the whole stack is vertically integrated. Even if say LG wanted to make a box like this and update it for 10 years they couldn’t, they don’t make the chips. Qualcomm straight up refuses to support chips through this many Android releases. Even if device manufacturers want to support devices forever it won’t matter if the actual SoC platform drops support.

I think it's more a combination of vertical integration and Nvidia upper management actually wanting to provide support for so long. Apple, Google, and Samsung all make smartphones with their own chips, and yet none of them support running the newest OS on 10+ year old devices.

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#157

Post by Grazester »

add-sub-mul-div wrote: post #59
zdw wrote: post #15

Shield TV + extra storage + HDHomeRun tuner is still a great device for getting OTA TV. The only downside is that more recent versions use the Google Android TV launcher which is filled with a garbage truck full of ads, often for things I would never want to watch (horror movies? Nope!). Yes you can replace the launcher, but that's a pain. Would love to pay more for a device that has updated codec support, no ads or…

I wanted to do this and got a Shield last year but returned it because of a live TV bug with the Android Plex client. The programming guide stopped working and could only be fixed by restarting the app, but on Android quitting to the home screen keeps the app running and you can't force quit without going into menus. Sadly that's the OS and changing a launcher didn't fix it.

Yeah that's not how you close an app on the Shield as was pointed out.

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#158

Post by guilamu »

altano wrote: post #132
zimmerfrei wrote: post #125

> Nvidia released the first Shield Android TV in 2015 > it took about 18 months to [create] an entirely new security stack [...] Android updates aren’t actually that much work compared to DRM security, and some of its partners weren’t that keen on re-certifying older products. > In February 2025, Nvidia released Shield Patch 9.2 [...] That was the Tegra X1 [security] bug finally being laid to rest on the 2015 and 201…

They added auto-playing, full screen video ads to the home screen. I threw mine in the garbage. Pride and love, lol…

This is Google. Just change the default launcher and you're good.

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#159

Post by functionmouse »

zimmerfrei wrote: post #125

> Nvidia released the first Shield Android TV in 2015 > it took about 18 months to [create] an entirely new security stack [...] Android updates aren’t actually that much work compared to DRM security, and some of its partners weren’t that keen on re-certifying older products. > In February 2025, Nvidia released Shield Patch 9.2 [...] That was the Tegra X1 [security] bug finally being laid to rest on the 2015 and 201…

Nvidia doesn't make money on hardware, they make money on ecosystems.

Re: Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device

#160

Post by stevenhuang »

pjmlp wrote: post #117
wronglebowski wrote: post #51

Everyone is missing the why here, this only happens because the whole stack is vertically integrated. Even if say LG wanted to make a box like this and update it for 10 years they couldn’t, they don’t make the chips. Qualcomm straight up refuses to support chips through this many Android releases. Even if device manufacturers want to support devices forever it won’t matter if the actual SoC platform drops support.

It is called a legal binding contract, business use it all the time to enforce support.

Contracts can be broken and resolved with money. Happens all the time.
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