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I just got myself this Windows Surface RT Tablet (finally) after having been through many cheaper tablets in the past, because I had been unable to afford the Surface. So, now that I have it, and have already done all I can with it (which isn't much!), I have found that I am unable to even PLAY MOST OF MY VIDEOS (most of them are mkv, avi, mp4) which is one reason I got a tablet to begin with! I have not been able to find ANY video player apps that are even worth TRYING in the MS App Store, and so far any searches I have done online for "How to install programs on surface RT", or even "How to hack my surface RT tablet" have not come up with any answers! I did find one article on how to "Jailbreak" the tablet, but even then, it will only actually RUN a tiny number of programs.
I have become so fed up and am out of patience for this thing!
I can't watch most of my movies, I can't figure out how to play the Win8 SNES Emulator (since I can't install the game ROMs), I can't install Firefox (my ONLY browser!), I hate how the Home Screen only allows you to pick from the pre-installed backgrounds, and I can't load my own wallpaper like I can on my laptop, and I really hate the Home Screen interface with all the annoying little tiles! Can anyone offer advice, or point me to where I can get some of this fixed??
THANKS! :fingers-crossed:
slow_mo_panda said:
I just got myself this Windows Surface RT Tablet (finally) after having been through many cheaper tablets in the past, because I had been unable to afford the Surface. So, now that I have it, and have already done all I can with it (which isn't much!), I have found that I am unable to even PLAY MOST OF MY VIDEOS (most of them are mkv, avi, mp4) which is one reason I got a tablet to begin with! I have not been able to find ANY video player apps that are even worth TRYING in the MS App Store, and so far any searches I have done online for "How to install programs on surface RT", or even "How to hack my surface RT tablet" have not come up with any answers! I did find one article on how to "Jailbreak" the tablet, but even then, it will only actually RUN a tiny number of programs.
I have become so fed up and am out of patience for this thing!
I can't watch most of my movies, I can't figure out how to play the Win8 SNES Emulator (since I can't install the game ROMs), I can't install Firefox (my ONLY browser!), I hate how the Home Screen only allows you to pick from the pre-installed backgrounds, and I can't load my own wallpaper like I can on my laptop, and I really hate the Home Screen interface with all the annoying little tiles! Can anyone offer advice, or point me to where I can get some of this fixed??
THANKS! :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The RT runs RT windows 8, which doesn't run x86 apps aka .exe files. You can only install apps from the store without jail break. Also there's no Firefox for rt, I think you were confused on what rt could do compared to full windows.
All wallpapers can be changed via settings or control panel using the classic desktop. For video files the rt doesn't support every format, it'll work with the sane format every windows machine does. MP4 will work, but I'm guessing you have mkv.
Sent from my Optimus G
I am feeling your pain, i got my surface rt for a steal on eBay and I was super disappointed to find out that I cant even plug my Razr MAXX HD in and transfer a single file either way... Need to find a loop hole quick or something like that will make things better for me...
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
undeadking said:
I am feeling your pain, i got my surface rt for a steal on eBay and I was super disappointed to find out that I cant even plug my Razr MAXX HD in and transfer a single file either way... Need to find a loop hole quick or something like that will make things better for me...
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Errm you should be able to. The RT has USB host. Should plug it in and it should just appear as a device as normal, tested with an Xperia M and Surface RT (not my tablet though). It only worked with my phone set to mass storage or MTP modes in the USB menu, didnt work for the picture/photo/camera mode and doesnt work for ADB.
Failing that, both have bluetooth file transfer....
undeadking said:
I am feeling your pain, i got my surface rt for a steal on eBay and I was super disappointed to find out that I cant even plug my Razr MAXX HD in and transfer a single file either way... Need to find a loop hole quick or something like that will make things better for me...
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's different, you have some issue with your phone. My RT detects my N4 & LGOG.
Sent from my Optimus G
When I plug in the razr maxx hd via USB- Motorola device manager tries to install and it is not compatible with RT. So I resorted to uploading from my phone to a cloud app called MEGA and then downloading through my tablet browser...
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
undeadking said:
When I plug in the razr maxx hd via USB- Motorola device manager tries to install and it is not compatible with RT. So I resorted to uploading from my phone to a cloud app called MEGA and then downloading through my tablet browser...
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You dont have to use their software unless motorola have really cocked the razr maxx up big time.
Yeah they cocked it up really good- it wont even connect to my ps3 via USB, things we sacrifice for amazing battery life. Oh and if i connect it to the surface as FTP- I can view the pictures that are on my phone storage only, no sd card or video support either.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
slow_mo_panda said:
I can't figure out how to play the Win8 SNES Emulator (since I can't install the game ROMs),
THANKS! :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why can't you install the roms?? I just used windows explorer to copy them to the C: drive on my Surface RT. I put them in a folder within the downloads folder, but you can probably put them anywhere. Then you open the Snes8x and just add that folder as a Rom directory (press the "Load Rom" button). Someone on this site pointed out you can enable keyboard controls by swiping in from the right, and click settings->Input Settings.
slow_mo_panda said:
I just got myself this Windows Surface RT Tablet (finally) after having been through many cheaper tablets in the past, because I had been unable to afford the Surface. So, now that I have it, and have already done all I can with it (which isn't much!), I have found that I am unable to even PLAY MOST OF MY VIDEOS (most of them are mkv, avi, mp4) which is one reason I got a tablet to begin with! I have not been able to find ANY video player apps that are even worth TRYING in the MS App Store, and so far any searches I have done online for "How to install programs on surface RT", or even "How to hack my surface RT tablet" have not come up with any answers! I did find one article on how to "Jailbreak" the tablet, but even then, it will only actually RUN a tiny number of programs.
I have become so fed up and am out of patience for this thing!
I can't watch most of my movies, I can't figure out how to play the Win8 SNES Emulator (since I can't install the game ROMs), I can't install Firefox (my ONLY browser!), I hate how the Home Screen only allows you to pick from the pre-installed backgrounds, and I can't load my own wallpaper like I can on my laptop, and I really hate the Home Screen interface with all the annoying little tiles! Can anyone offer advice, or point me to where I can get some of this fixed??
THANKS! :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good news is, VLC is coming to Metro. They will submit their app to the store in the next following days.
Bad news is, right now this support x86 only. You have to wait for ARM support.
I feel for you. My school has given us all windows surface RTs and they're kind of annoying. I've found a few workarounds for a lot of my problems though. If you're having trouble playing .mp4s then that's just weird. Unless they're encoded really strangely, rt's video player should play those. However if that's no help it's worth trying out PressPlay, a free video player with very small ads that do not interfere at all and can be removed for a buck or two that let's you
1. Play external subtitles, although I've found it impossibly buggy but I haven't done extensive tests so it could be useful
2. Play .mkvs although that's experimental and also doesn't work very well
3. More features in general such as pausing without bringing up UI, changing playback rate, stuff like that.
Now if you have mkvs I would recommend using this program on a jailbroken windows rt:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2368706
It's a program called ffmpeg and it's ported from normal windows. Make sure to download ffmpeg2.1_ARM.zip not ffmpeg0.6_arm.zip
with this program you can copy the video and audio from your mkv to an mp4 so it can play on your rt if you extract fmmpeg to a folder and then run this in command prompt(include the quotation marks and make sure to use backslashes(\) not forward slashes(/)):
cd "The bin folder in wherever you extracted ffmpeg to for example C:\ffmpeg\bin"
ffmpeg -i "Your mkv for example C:\myvid.mkv" -c copy -map 0:v -c copy -map 0:a "Your output mp4 for example C:\myvid.mp4"
That will also go super fast because there's no compression involved, it's just copying all video tracks and audio tracks from and mkv to an mp4.
In fact if you continue to use this command a lot you speed up the process heaps by making a batch file including these 2 lines of code:
cd "Again, your location of the bin folder in the folder you extract ffmpeg to, for example C:\ffmpeg\bin"
ffmpeg -i %1 -c copy -map 0:v -c copy -map 0:a "%~n1.mp4"
and then put that batch file into your SendTo folder(C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo).
If you do that then all you have to do is right click on one of your mkvs and click SendTo whatever you named your batch file and it'll make an mp4 with the same name in the same directory.
As far as snes games go snes8x has now been taken off the store but you can get a port of the desktop app of snes9x from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2339228
if you have a jailbroken device. Although it is an emulator and it doesn't neccessarily run great so if you have the original surface RT as I do I would stick with 2D games. But test them and figure it out.
In fact if you have a jailbroken device there's a thread here all about apps ported to the RT or native for the RT right here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2092348
If you have any trouble with any of that I'm happy to help.
OK so this might be a tall order, I've been looking for a way to Stream to my nexus 7 and nexus5 from my laptop...I know about the apps out there but they don't quite do what I would like them to... Those apps allow me to access files on my laptop,...here's an example of what I want to do...run media on my PC...say powerpoint and have my mobile devices see the presentation....but have it controlled from my PC..bonus points if anyone can find a way for this to work on android and iOS..... thanks in advance for thinking about it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app
I think you can use iDisplay for this, it makes the tablet a secondary monitor for the computer
Chrome remote desktop. It shows everything thats on laptop screen on tablet. It allows control from PC or tablet.
I use chrome remote desktop as suggested and it working very well. Kind helpful when monitoring my pc when i'm away from home.
Sent from my Nexus 7
After two days with an Nvidia Shield Android TV , there are many pluses and minuses, but over all, it has BY FAR the best hardware of any android based box on the market... no question at all about that, and here are what I think are the biggest pluses and minuses.
PLUSES
- amazing smoothness in interface - no jerky, delays etc at all
- superb playback of all media, smoother than any box I have seen
- 192khz 24 bit audio output (kodi and mxplayer but I am not sure if they are able to output at that HD rate)
- very well built, sexy touch activated standby button
- very easy to get up and running with controller etc
- shield game streaming service is flawless, fast, smooth, HD
- gaming controller is high quality, has a microphone for voice input and a headphone socket, which work well.
- Voice search within Play Music for artist or track works very well, extremely fast.
- playing Flash-based websites like TennisTV.com etc on Dolphin in Desktop mode is way better than any other box I have tried (and I have tried MANY)
MINUSES
- have to sideload many apps you may want, like TED, BBC iPlayer, IMDB, Spotify, Movie Mate etc.. even Chrome Browser - but relatively easy to work around using APK Extractor to get APK's from your phone, and Chainfire's sideload launcher.
- no up front display of non-Android TV specific apps
- no recent apps
- no way to get to "now playing" with some apps like Spotify if you had returned home, unless its a leanback app
- no notifications
- no mouse on desktop, backpace key on keyboard not working as backspace but as left mouse click
- Keyboard is USA only, so UK users have to know, for example, that " and @ have swopped places
- voice search from the home screen does not find music artists on google play music or spotify, but only youtube... so "play van morrison" will play a track from youtube, and not from the 25 van morrison albums I have already uploaded to Play Music.
- my tv keeps on cropping a lot off the screen, there is no way to adjust the screen crop size, to reduce size so it fits better on my screen... I can adjust my screen but that is a hassle.
- very little customisation, settings limited too.
There is at least one NON-Android TV ROM for this device, so you can fix almost all of those Minuses, and you can run it using Squarehome or NovaLauncher or whatever you like, but I am not sure I actually NEED to customise the box. Personally I use it for Kodi, Spotify, Play Music, TuneIn Radio, Youtube, Movie Mate, all of which works fine... so for the moment, I am not rooting the box, and am adjusting my expectations and enjoying what works fantastically well, pretty much everything.
This is FAR and away the best box I have ever had, goodbye Tronsmart Drako, Minix Neo X8H+ etc, this is WAY beyond. At some point I may change to plain android, but so far I am fine with a couple of extra steps to be able to enjoy the voice input and superb power and playback capabilities.
Mark.
Hi. I'm located in Ireland and looking for android TV box for my FHD projector. I'm considering MINIX Neo X8H+ or Nvidia Shield TV box (not yet available). What advantages of one over the other would you point? Thanks!
The Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is: CLEAN FLASH.
Natakranta said:
Hi. I'm located in Ireland and looking for android TV box for my FHD projector. I'm considering MINIX Neo X8H+ or Nvidia Shield TV box (not yet available). What advantages of one over the other would you point? Thanks!
The Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is: CLEAN FLASH.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Minix Neo offers access to almost all the play store apps without needing to sideload, with the Shield you need to sideload some apps, which isnt hard. The Shield has far better hardware, so you will get smoother HD playback, no question. If playing video is your main think, then the Shield's faster graphics, faster processor is the way to go. They are both good boxes, but my Minix Neo x8hplus is currently UNPLUGGED!
fredphoesh said:
Minix Neo offers access to almost all the play store apps without needing to sideload, with the Shield you need to sideload some apps, which isnt hard. The Shield has far better hardware, so you will get smoother HD playback, no question. If playing video is your main think, then the Shield's faster graphics, faster processor is the way to go. They are both good boxes, but my Minix Neo x8hplus is currently UNPLUGGED!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to connect external 2GB HDD USB 3 to the box. Make it media storage to play on the connected to the box projector and available for all devices in home through my local WiFi.
How could I remotely control the box to manage utorrent on it from my phone, at home thorough local WiFi or externally when I'm away. Possible?
The Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is: CLEAN FLASH.
Natakranta said:
I'd like to connect external 2GB HDD USB 3 to the box. Make it media storage to play on the connected to the box projector and available for all devices in home through my local WiFi.
How could I remotely control the box to manage utorrent on it from my phone, at home thorough local WiFi or externally when I'm away. Possible?
The Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is: CLEAN FLASH.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, sorry, no idea, I use it for streaming...
Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
fredphoesh said:
MINUSES
- no up front display of non-Android TV specific apps
- no recent apps
- no way to get to "now playing" with some apps like Spotify if you had returned home, unless its a leanback app
- very little customisation, settings limited too.
Mark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Mark! For your minuses mentioned above, you might want to consider HALauncher found in the Play Store. I'm using this on my Nvidia Shield Console/TV and it looks and works better than the default Android TV "Home" launcher. This apps allows you to create your own Home screen with rows of your customized apps. For example, I have a row for my Emulators, Racing Games, Space Shooters, Sports Games, TV apps, etc. You can arrange these rows and apps anyway you want. You can also use your own background image. You can also rename the apps to your liking and edit the icons for higher quality 320x180 images. Everything looks great now. This is what Android TV home launcher should be like. The only thing that is missing now is a button for rebooting the system, and another one for shutting it down!
Check out the images below to see what HALauncher can do:
http://postimg.org/image/kuncrk5tf/
http://postimg.org/image/57w3e6s1f/
http://postimg.org/image/fkie09lkj
http://postimg.org/image/mjwfzmlir/
-- Manny
funtasticguy said:
Hi Mark! For your minuses mentioned above, you might want to consider HALauncher found in the Play Store. I'm using this on my Nvidia Shield Console/TV and it looks and works better than the default Android TV "Home" launcher. This apps allows you to create your own Home screen with rows of your customized apps. For example, I have a row for my Emulators, Racing Games, Space Shooters, Sports Games, TV apps, etc. You can arrange these rows and apps anyway you want. You can also use your own background image. You can also rename the apps to your liking and edit the icons for higher quality 320x180 images. Everything looks great now. This is what Android TV home launcher should be like. The only thing that is missing now is a button for rebooting the system, and another one for shutting it down!
Check out the images below to see what HALauncher can do:
http://postimg.org/image/kuncrk5tf/
http://postimg.org/image/57w3e6s1f/
http://postimg.org/image/fkie09lkj
http://postimg.org/image/mjwfzmlir/
-- Manny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Manny,
Yep, I've been using it for a few days and like it a lot.
My gripes are that the voice search doesn't work properly and always shows empty results, and there is no "now playing" function... and the lack of a power button. For some reason ALT-Tab doesn't show recent apps. Oh, there is no ALL APPS function either, so new apps are invisible till you edit the home screen. But yeah, the best home screen for the SATV for sure.
Cheers,
Mark
Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
I agree with pretty much everything you said, I've had mine for two weeks and I love it. I have Kodi running to play local media, plex to stream stuff from friends servers, Netflix (which really upped their game since the last time I subscribed a year or two ago), along with tons of games. This will only get better over time, its still a relatively new product. I'm still debating on whether or not to root it, I think I'm going to but will be keeping the stock launcher because I like it, despite the lack of "recent apps" which I still don't understand why they didn't include it. The only reason I want to root it is so that I can install the Xinstaller module from Xposed so all my apps will install to my sdcard and not the internal memory.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
I have had mine a few weeks and it is definitely a really nice device and it is crazy fast!
Really the only gripe I have is 4K support but that isn't Nvidia's fault. Basically because I am running through a processor (more or less an AVR without an amp) and HDMI 2.0 standard is not used on them, Netflix won't show 4K content on the device unless I am directly connected to the TV.
Fortunately Ultraflix works at 4K and everything else does as well.
brando56894 said:
I agree with pretty much everything you said, I've had mine for two weeks and I love it. I have Kodi running to play local media, plex to stream stuff from friends servers, Netflix (which really upped their game since the last time I subscribed a year or two ago), along with tons of games. This will only get better over time, its still a relatively new product. I'm still debating on whether or not to root it, I think I'm going to but will be keeping the stock launcher because I like it, despite the lack of "recent apps" which I still don't understand why they didn't include it. The only reason I want to root it is so that I can install the Xinstaller module from Xposed so all my apps will install to my sdcard and not the internal memory.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try HALauncher, it is good enough for me to not install a custom rom and root... So far! Also once you root you'll have to manually install rom updates and reinstall apps etc... Also you can move most apps to sd card. DON'T set to Automatically Move apps to SD card, that doesn't work. Install to system then move them to SD card in app settings after player no the game once.
Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
Had mine for about a week and like it an awful lot.
As someone who bought an Ouya, I must say focusing on the media services first THEN worrying about gaming made this a MUCH BETTER product.
I am a bit disappointed I can't have my HBO Go on it, there's currently no Amazon Video and the Netflix app needs better voice options, but I'm really digging the Gamestream from my PC upstairs to the downstairs TV, It works most of the time without a hitch. The only time it doesn't is when I'm playing my Steam games and the Ubisoft games try to go through Uplay and Uplay crashes or its a game I've never ran before and Steam itself crashes because it doesn't seem to like running a game in Big Picture mode if it has never been opened and ran at least once on my PC in normal Steam mode first, and those are client problems, not Nvidia issues so can't fault them there.
Yes, having to install some of my apps from the PC through the Play Store is a bit of a pain, but it also keeps the kids from loading it up with a bunch of useless crap, so I'd say its a fair trade.
tobalaz said:
Had mine for about a week and like it an awful lot.
As someone who bought an Ouya, I must say focusing on the media services first THEN worrying about gaming made this a MUCH BETTER product.
I am a bit disappointed I can't have my HBO Go on it, there's currently no Amazon Video and the Netflix app needs better voice options, but I'm really digging the Gamestream from my PC upstairs to the downstairs TV, It works most of the time without a hitch. The only time it doesn't is when I'm playing my Steam games and the Ubisoft games try to go through Uplay and Uplay crashes or its a game I've never ran before and Steam itself crashes because it doesn't seem to like running a game in Big Picture mode if it has never been opened and ran at least once on my PC in normal Steam mode first, and those are client problems, not Nvidia issues so can't fault them there.
Yes, having to install some of my apps from the PC through the Play Store is a bit of a pain, but it also keeps the kids from loading it up with a bunch of useless crap, so I'd say its a fair trade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yes, speaking of Gamestream, what does everyone think of the quality?
I tried it both before and after the update that was supposed to improve the quality and have not been that impressed. The bitrate seems somewhat low and I get random stutter and both the PC and Shield are wired gigabit.
Well as far as Gamestream goes for me, I've got my win7 gaming rig w/ an i5, 12gb ram and gtx 750ti hardwired to my Buffalo AC1750 and the Shield on 5g to a 42" 1080p TV and I've no problems with it, everything runs smoothly, well, smoothly when Uplay isn't f*cking everything up...
I had issues initially so I had to go into my router and change the settings for my 5ghz channel.
OK interesting, maybe it is is an issue with SLI since I am running 3 Titan Xs, i7, 32GB RAM, etc through an Asus RT-AC3200. I will try disabling SLI and see if that helps.
mutelight said:
OK interesting, maybe it is is an issue with SLI since I am running 3 Titan Xs, i7, 32GB RAM, etc through an Asus RT-AC3200. I will try disabling SLI and see if that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've really peaked my interest here, was the SLI making it not work correctly? Like maybe the video encoding being slit amongst the cards wasn't working too well?
I'm about to upgrade my 750ti so it'd be nice to know if it was SLI or just isn't playing nice with your Titan.
tobalaz said:
You've really peaked my interest here, was the SLI making it not work correctly? Like maybe the video encoding being slit amongst the cards wasn't working too well?
I'm about to upgrade my 750ti so it'd be nice to know if it was SLI or just isn't playing nice with your Titan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is honestly hard to say, I still need to try disabling SLI to see if it helps. Also I should mention I have been running Windows 10 for a couple months now there have been a few driver updates for it since I tried it last.
Video calling only available for the Shield ATV
One unique feature on the Shield ATV is the camera support.
Just plug a camera and it works! I've been checking out other Android SmartTV's and set-top-boxes, but yet couldn't find any other device having this support.
And, there is already a video calling android tv app on google play called "Tellybean - Easy video calling". It works perfectly on the Shield ATV.
furkna said:
One unique feature on the Shield ATV is the camera support.
Just plug a camera and it works! I've been checking out other Android SmartTV's and set-top-boxes, but yet couldn't find any other device having this support.
And, there is already a video calling android tv app on google play called "Tellybean - Easy video calling". It works perfectly on the Shield ATV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, but surely Hangouts works just fine, and even Skype?
fredphoesh said:
Nice, but surely Hangouts works just fine, and even Skype?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your right. Since shield has camera support basically any video calling app might work. But I don't believe they work as smooth as Tellybean. Skype and hangout does not have Android TV apps (not gonna have one any time soon). They don't exist on google play for Android TV. You need to sideload their default android app.
Also, their UX is fine for a mobile app but not so much for a TV app. They don't really fit into the leanback UI. Not so usable if you are sitting on the couch and just want to have a video call. I use hangouts and skype on my smartphone and laptop but Tellybean on my TV
Tellybean is an Android TV app, shows up on Leanback launcher and it works smoothly on the shield ATV.
tobalaz said:
Well as far as Gamestream goes for me, I've got my win7 gaming rig w/ an i5, 12gb ram and gtx 750ti hardwired to my Buffalo AC1750 and the Shield on 5g to a 42" 1080p TV and I've no problems with it, everything runs smoothly, well, smoothly when Uplay isn't f*cking everything up...
I had issues initially so I had to go into my router and change the settings for my 5ghz channel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello! From Italy here! 10 days I have a 16Gb unit I struggle with Ethernet AND wifi 5Gb connection! Wifi N working about fine. Netgear R7000 and Fastweb FTTS connection 85MBps! I only get 10 MBps at most, and this is the only device that gets this low! Need to solve this or ask for replacement the soonest! Any help much appreciated.
Regards
Alessandro
I've been hunting for an android box for over two months now. I never considered the Nvidia Shield because it comes with Android TV instead of regular Android. But I couldn't help not being enamored by the performance it offers. What I want is an Android box I can connect to my TV that will allow me to (1) run kodi (2) stream from an IPTV app (3) run emulators. I was about to pull the trigger on Minix U9, but the Tegra processor just sh*ts on everything out there. Today, I learned that I could actually run Android OS (Nougat) on the Shield. Why would anyone buy a Minix U9 for $160 when a much more powerful Shield goes for mere $40 extra ? I felt it was too good to be true. So, I'm here asking those of you that are running full Android on the Shield, is the full Android firmware stable in the sense that it's not just rife with bugs, and do I lose the ability to stream Netflix in 4k ?
After buying and configuring a few Android TV boxes, I decided on a Shield that would do 99% of what I want in a Android TV box that I would not have to root, etc. I found that the leanback launcher was less than desirable, the lack of Notification/Tool bars, Shield only apps on Playstore and some other annoying issues, I installed the developers copy of Shield TV (5.0.2) and found no way to have Notifications, etc. I have since installed full Android 1.0.3 and the box has everything that I need. I gave up automatic updates and some nVidia tools I was not using. I am not a gamer and I wanted the Shield for media. It does a nice job with Kodi on my 4K TV. I am Prime Video user and 4K works nicely. I would assume that Netflix would be the same. The install of full Android is tricky but doable. Another reason for rooting and installing full Android is that I use TWRP for Recovery. I have both stock 5.0.2 and rooted 5.0.2 on backup for Recovery if 1.3 goes south.
cjeman said:
After buying and configuring a few Android TV boxes, I decided on a Shield that would do 99% of what I want in a Android TV box that I would not have to root, etc. I found that the leanback launcher was less than desirable, the lack of Notification/Tool bars, Shield only apps on Playstore and some other annoying issues, I installed the developers copy of Shield TV (5.0.2) and found no way to have Notifications, etc. I have since installed full Android 1.0.3 and the box has everything that I need. I gave up automatic updates and some nVidia tools I was not using. I am not a gamer and I wanted the Shield for media. It does a nice job with Kodi on my 4K TV. I am Prime Video user and 4K works nicely. I would assume that Netflix would be the same. The install of full Android is tricky but doable.
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Have you ever tried running console emulators ? Also, I'm thinking of getting the Minix A2 remote for having a keyboard and it's air mouse functionality. Have you tried any air mouse on the Shield ?
No. I use a Logitech K400 wireless keyboard/mouse pad combo. I have read that air mice are not an issue.
You can do all three things you're after on Android TV. Is there something else that makes you want to have mobile Android?
JohnRossJennings said:
You can do all three things you're after on Android TV. Is there something else that makes you want to have mobile Android?
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I agree with John here too. You can do all three of your requests on the stock shield TV without rooting and custom ROMs. In fact the .emu emulators from Robert work great and use the shield controller perfectly.
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I do all what you want to do with my shield, without even rooting. Go for it, it deserves every penny.
abo_mara7 said:
I do all what you want to do with my shield, without even rooting. Go for it, it deserves every penny.
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I've made up my mind to go for the shield. For $40 extra (over the $160 priced Minix U9), I get a much more powerful system and is gets OS upgrades down the road. The only thing I was worried about was installing android apks and having to go through a very cumbersome path of launching them every time. Is there a way now to launch apps directly from the home screen ? If I can do that, I don't see a reason to even install full android OS.
medwatt said:
I've made up my mind to go for the shield. For $40 extra (over the $160 priced Minix U9), I get a much more powerful system and is gets OS upgrades down the road. The only thing I was worried about was installing android apks and having to go through a very cumbersome path of launching them every time. Is there a way now to launch apps directly from the home screen ? If I can do that, I don't see a reason to even install full android OS.
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Yes you can side load and then use chainfires sideload launcher to open them. Works pretty good. The sideload launcher is on the Android TV play store. Also es file explorer is available to help sideload apks. You can also transfer apks over your network using a computer or download from apkmirror. All with the stock out of the box os.
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No point what so ever in using a crappy 3rd party launcher. There's an app in the play store to put side loaded apps on the lean back launcher home screen
techjunky90 said:
No point what so ever in using a crappy 3rd party launcher. There's an app in the play store to put side loaded apps on the lean back launcher home screen
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What app is that? Would love to try it!
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Acid0057 said:
What app is that? Would love to try it!
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I think its called WBS App Drawer. Its available on the Shield Google Playstore and its free.
Works very well.
medwatt said:
I've made up my mind to go for the shield. For $40 extra (over the $160 priced Minix U9), I get a much more powerful system and is gets OS upgrades down the road. The only thing I was worried about was installing android apks and having to go through a very cumbersome path of launching them every time. Is there a way now to launch apps directly from the home screen ? If I can do that, I don't see a reason to even install full android OS.
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First, install Opera browser (there's TV version from Opera, use this one if you use the remote, else use the regular version, better with the controller. Please note that the controller's right stick will work as a mouse)
TV Version:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-player/themes-apps/opera-tv-browser-2-0-t3543518
Regular version:
http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/opera-software-asa/opera/opera-42-8-2246-118317-release/
if you got opera, you can sideload any app from there.
After you've sideloaded your apps, install TV App Repo (
@Acid0057):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=news.androidtv.tvapprepo.playstore
There you'll find all your sideloaded apps, and from there, you can create shortcuts for them in your main screen.
And I second your statement, no need for full Android OS.
To answer a previous question from you, I've installed the following emulators:
Play! (Too slow, still in early stage I guess)
Dolphin (Some games works pretty well, you just need to play with the settings)
PPSSPP (Works very well in HD)
FPSE (I've switched to OpenGL from settings and set the resolution to HD and it works greatly)
GPA.emu (work very well)
Those are the ones I tried, Arc Browser app is good to combine all emulator games in one place.
Also, some Android games although they're listed as not supporting Android TV, they indeed are. For example, LIMPO.
Also if you want to stream games from your PC and you don't meet Nvidia's GameStream requirements, you can try Remotr:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.remotrapp.remotr
Simple app, setup is the easiest, and the controller will work out of the box, actually all you need to do is to install the app on the shield and the server app on your pc.
Those are some of the tips to maximize your experience.
abo_mara7 said:
First, install Opera browser (there's TV version from Opera, use this one if you use the remote, else use the regular version, better with the controller. Please note that the controller's right stick will work as a mouse)
TV Version:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-player/themes-apps/opera-tv-browser-2-0-t3543518
Regular version:
http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/opera-software-asa/opera/opera-42-8-2246-118317-release/
if you got opera, you can sideload any app from there.
After you've sideloaded your apps, install TV App Repo (
@Acid0057):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=news.androidtv.tvapprepo.playstore
There you'll find all your sideloaded apps, and from there, you can create shortcuts for them in your main screen.
And I second your statement, no need for full Android OS.
To answer a previous question from you, I've installed the following emulators:
Play! (Too slow, still in early stage I guess)
Dolphin (Some games works pretty well, you just need to play with the settings)
PPSSPP (Works very well in HD)
FPSE (I've switched to OpenGL from settings and set the resolution to HD and it works greatly)
GPA.emu (work very well)
Those are the ones I tried, Arc Browser app is good to combine all emulator games in one place.
Also, some Android games although they're listed as not supporting Android TV, they indeed are. For example, LIMPO.
Also if you want to stream games from your PC and you don't meet Nvidia's GameStream requirements, you can try Remotr:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.remotrapp.remotr
Simple app, setup is the easiest, and the controller will work out of the box, actually all you need to do is to install the app on the shield and the server app on your pc.
Those are some of the tips to maximize your experience.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for those tips. And on the plus side when you stay stock, update will be a lot easier!
shenzhou said:
I think its called WBS App Drawer. Its available on the Shield Google Playstore and its free.
Works very well.
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Click to collapse
Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
I disagree with @techjunky90, as I found the stock leanback launcher very lacking. The recommendations bar got really annoying, and even when I disabled it, it wouldn't go away. Also, only two rows of app icons and having to scroll to the right to find stuff wasn't the most ideal setup. I prefer the simplicity and customization capabilities of TV Launcher to be perfect for my needs. So I uninstalled the leanback launcher, and use use TV Launcher, and I couldn't be happier in regards to that.
I'm on unrooted stock Android TV 5.2, btw.
greevedogg said:
I disagree with @techjunky90, as I found the stock leanback launcher very lacking. The recommendations bar got really annoying, and even when I disabled it, it wouldn't go away. Also, only two rows of app icons and having to scroll to the right to find stuff wasn't the most ideal setup. I prefer the simplicity and customization capabilities of TV Launcher to be perfect for my needs. So I uninstalled the leanback launcher, and use use TV Launcher, and I couldn't be happier in regards to that.
I'm on unrooted stock Android TV 5.2, btw.
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Click to collapse
Good point but the original recommendation stands. There is no reason to install a custom recovery and full Android os. The stock unrooted shield os works fine in most use cases.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
If you are a gamer and love it to play mobile games on TV, the most Games wouldn't run, because NVidia has not implemented the from Shield Tablet well-known gamepad mapper. If this little Tool would be available for Shield TV, you really don't need a full Android.
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Are the mobile games you are referring to games like family feud live?
I have the nvidia shield tv and I would really like to be able to play these games on there but do not know how. I search for them but they don't come up. Only can get them on my galaxy phone. Is it possible to get these on the tv? If so, How? Thanks in advance.
search for your wanted games in google, type the game then apk. do this on a pc or phone. download them. plug a usb drive into your computer or phone via otg and then plug the usb with apk onto the shield then browse for them via es file explorer. enjoy
I have an old HP 22 android monitor in my kitchen and love the "ok google" capability, the apps (250+ card game and Spectrum cable app) that don't work on stock shield. I am worried about it OS at 4.4.4 and want to update but Android TV seems to lack a lot of functionality I would want that full android would have. I have a shield and would like to use it but not sure the touch would work anymore if I usb the monitor back into the shield (I can use mouse and keyboard as alternative). This is why I would want full android.
Hi all. I'm brand new to XDA and to anything having to do with customizing apps, but very eager to learn. I have been testing a few TV boxes like MeCool M8s Pro L, ubox (HKG), A95X Max etc... One thing I have noticed is while all claim to be Android TV boxes, some play apps in the Leanback version (such as MeCool) while others seem to be glorified mobile phone replicas.
One app, in particular, would be the MyTunerFree radio app. On the MeCool it can be used with a Dpad remote and works perfect, however on the A95X, it only opens in the mobile mode, with no option for the android TVmode, and you need a mouse toggle app, or actual mouse to use it. I have been searching online for ways to force an app to play in its TV version only, but cannot find much. I have seen suggestions with using app cloner, but even then it doesn't force the TV mode, just allows you to add an on screen pointer, which does not allow scrolling (hope I am making sense)
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to force the app to its TV mode while using a box that seems to have a mobile operating system? Or is there a developer setting on the box I could change to force all apps into TV mode?
Sorry if this has been dealt with. I searched, but didn't see much. Keep in mind I'm a newbie. Cheers
M
You're right but not all apps some apps works with all versions of android in other hand some you need to download it and install by the tv box
You can try "Set Orientation App" to force this into landscape mode.
This is the exact problem Im having with Pendoo X10 MAX, one app I always use with android tv is mx player pro, but this crappy little PendooX10 always launches mx player pro like I'm using it on a mobile device, and the option to launch in tv mode is missing from the mxplayer settings menu.
Sucks that nobody else is having this problem, was hoping someone had a fix for this by now.
leodawson said:
This is the exact problem Im having with Pendoo X10 MAX, one app I always use with android tv is mx player pro, but this crappy little PendooX10 always launches mx player pro like I'm using it on a mobile device, and the option to launch in tv mode is missing from the mxplayer settings menu.
Sucks that nobody else is having this problem, was hoping someone had a fix for this by now.
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Click to collapse
Sideload a oriantation / rotation app and set it to landscape mode. Should work with MX player and other apps