Is NVIDIA Shield still the best?

Comtech · 2023-12-11T23:07:01.096Z

i have a 2017 shield in the basement, the hard drive failed and i just replaced it with a samsung ssd drive 500GB and dang woke that box up! had been slow for awhile and i hardly go down there since my son moved out…man cave coming soon…lol
i want an 85 inch tv to put down there to watch football,nba and mlb and it looks like wallyworld is gonna give me a nice xmas present…i also took the shield apart and it had a ton of dust in it,blew it out with canned air when i replaced the HD,that old box is fast as hell now…i never knew

JerryJ · 2023-12-12T19:57:52.798Z

External memory? What would you suggest?

I recently received my Shield Pro and in searching for basic set up instructions on YouTube, is was suggested that a Sandisk Ultra Fit USB 3.2, Gen 1 flash drive was the one to get. 128gb and speeds up to 400 mb/second. It was $10 and shipped with the HDMI cable that I needed. I installed the drive before starting up the Shield, formatted it and all seems to be good.

So now my issue/question is I am having issues with Kodi. Doing anything in Kodi is slower than my old Basset Hound. I only have two Addons, Fen and Twilight and both with RD. I pick a movie, like Night of the Living Dead and it takes 30 seconds to load the available streams and the art work still hasn’t loaded yet. I pick a stream (I pick a stream that is not that big, 1080 rather than 4K. And it typically takes over a minute to load and start playing. My VPN speed is 150 down so I can’t blame that.

I still have my 2nd Gen cube and timed the same steps as I did on the Shield and it was load and play in 12 seconds. I’m trying to troubleshoot this so I wanted to run this by the collective here to see if anyone thinks that it might be a flash drive issue.

AJS1 · 2023-12-12T21:11:37.604Z

Well if you pull the flash drive out does it load quicker?

BigDave · 2023-12-12T22:51:09.423Z

Love my Shield Pro. Use it daily. If not the best, it’s close. The bigger question is can it stay in the best category with Nvidia’s attention on other areas. Technology standing still is losing the race.

Throttlejockey · 2023-12-13T00:32:33.749Z

If you have Kodi on the usb it will be slow, needs to be on main storage.

JerryJ · 2023-12-13T01:08:11.948Z

That would have been my next step. So I pulled the drive and Kodi was gone. So it must have been loaded on the drive and most likely what was causing the slow operation of Kodi.

I tried to reload Kodi from the Troypoint toolbox but it wouldn’t load. (some issue with the URL). Anyway, at this point I am probably going to nuke the Shield and start over without that flash drive. Could anyone recommend a flash drive that they have had success with on the Shield Pro?

I just found this thread and Mr Powerfader, says he’s had no issues with his version of the SanDisk 256g Ultra Fit 3.1 flash drive.

https://troypointinsider.com/t/best-external-storage-for-nvidia-shield/93737

JerryJ · 2023-12-13T02:23:42.242Z

Throttlejockey:

If you have Kodi on the usb it will be slow

That’s what I was thinking. When loaded up Kodi i wasn’t offered a choice of where to park the app. The Shield just put it where it wanted to.

**UPDATE: I pull the flash drive and nuked the Shield. I reloaded everything without the flash drive. Now everything just screams along like no tomorrow. So having that drive installed in the USB port was the issue. I run a light load, Kodi, 3 or 4 addons, VPN, safety dot and the typical maintenance apps. So maybe don’t need the flash drive anyway?

AJS1 · 2023-12-14T03:45:55.603Z

It wouldn’t be a problem unless u record a lot.

JerryJ · 2023-12-14T03:59:38.356Z

Nope, no recording at all.

I was just surprised that the flash drive would cause so much grief.

Powerfader · 2023-12-14T11:03:51.392Z

In the Shield’s settings you can move apps from external to internal and vice versa. So, move Kodi to internal storage.

Fyi: "Also, in Developer Options you can toggle on “Force allow apps on external.”

Ellteejak · 2023-12-25T19:46:28.532Z

Original is SHIELD best? Answer NO.

get a Firestick MAX for $45
get a Walmart ONN android 12 box for $20

The combination beats shield. At half the cost.

Miki · 2023-12-25T19:57:20.602Z

Hey @Ellteejak do you have a Shield Pro? I’ve had all 3 devices you mention and yes on a low end TV and Audio system you may not notice much difference, but hooked up to top line TV and Sound tech, there is a significant difference. I no longer use anything but the Shield Pro.

AMD237 · 2023-12-26T15:06:18.056Z

If the original question was about the most “bang-for-your-buck”, I would agree with you. At least line 2 lol.

mthr1 · 2023-12-28T14:43:24.257Z

Yes, certainly not a cost comparison between the two devices for sure - for baseline streaming with no image enhancement processing.

I own all of them also - 4KMax, Onn, Shield Pro.

I prefer the added advantages of what my trim package gives me with the Shield. It’s like upgrading the trim lines when buying a car - you come to appreciate and enjoy the added luxuries that come with higher trim choices - at an added cost.

For the shield (for me), it’s better audio pass through reliability, Ai hardware upscaler, Plex server, less restrictive ecosystem, smoother horsepower, and occasionally, GeForce Now games.

mbwd49 · 2024-01-02T16:13:23.756Z

I use my tv remote with my Shield. It synced easy.

razor07 · 2024-01-02T20:52:17.688Z

How did you do that, what model tv?

Powerfader · 2024-01-03T01:27:24.608Z

My one-year-old Samsung’s remote work with my Shield.

Miki · 2024-01-03T02:38:13.378Z

My Samsung remote also works on my Shield Pro.

AJS1 · 2024-01-03T03:24:53.824Z

My 4K Maxx remote works on my shield.

JerryJ · 2024-01-03T03:47:40.854Z

I was able to get the Alexa Pro voice remote to pair with my Shield Pro, partially. I wouldn’t recommend it at this point though. When I install the batteries the remote turns on the Shield and the TV without any input from me. If I’m watching something on the Cube, it changes everything over to the Shield. Go figure. And the power button doesn’t work at all.

TXRon has had great luck using the ONN Universal remote to work with his Shield and most likely will work with your TV. I just haven’t been successful with the Onn remote pairing with the Shield but I will give it try again fairly soon. Oh and the Onn remote was $6 on clearance.

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