I have been using an onn 4k streaming box, which runs Google TV. They’re $20. It’s pretty easy to disable the default launcher and have it boot to Flauncher. Then you can side load smart tube for an ad free YouTube experience asking with Plex, stremio, or whatever else you want to stream.
Comment on “Awful”: Roku tests autoplaying ads loading before the home screen
firadin@lemmy.world 5 weeks agoIs there any point in getting anything above the bottom tier Shield? Just trying to use it to replace my chromecast/stream tv and youtube
consumptionone@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
grue@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I’ve got a couple of those that I bought shortly after the LTT video, but I’m still using my Roku because I still haven’t gotten around to jailbreaking and configuring them.
consumptionone@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Do it. It’s very easy, and then you can ditch the Roku. There’s even an ADB app you can load to remove unwanted apps on-device.
melfie@lemmings.world 5 weeks ago
Same. I think it’s also possible to flash them with LineageOS, but swapping out the launcher and using adb to remove anything superfluous is all I’ve done so far.
Ulrich@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
You should not buy a Shield. They haven’t been updated since…2019? And there’s really no reason to. Get the $20 WalMart one.
CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
The hardware is 10 years old and it wasn’t even shiny at the time. Shield is a damned joke.
FoD@startrek.website 5 weeks ago
They just put out a huge update for the shield. Mine still plays the vast majority of things perfectly, even hevc and 4k content. I am perfectly happy with my shield pro. I’d buy one again if the current one shits the bed.
What are my other options? Apple TV and what else? Everything else is ad ridden underpowered and lacking licenses to play media.
Ulrich@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
They just put out a huge update
I obviously meant a hardware update.
What are my other options?
Anything that runs on Android TV?
Everything else is ad ridden
And the Shield doesn’t have ads? You can bypass all the ads by installing productivity launcher, same as on the Shield.
underpowered
How much power do you think you need to stream videos?
and lacking licenses to play media.
I don’t even know what that means.
limonfiesta@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
As someone who owns both Nvidia Shield TV and standard cheap (Google certified) devices, all running Projectivy, it’s not really comparable.
The Shield runs smoother, has significantly less minor/annoying issues, and actually receives fairly regular updates.
Now, the new Chromecast with Google TV does get updates, but it doesn’t resolve the first two differences.
If you can’t afford, or justify the extra expense, for an Nvidia Shield TV, completely understandable. But don’t pretend that the user experience is the same, because it’s not.
melfie@lemmings.world 5 weeks ago
I haven’t really compared the specs of between them recently, but I have the Pro, and the main decider for me at the time was that it was $50 more and has Ethernet. That being said, I added a USB Ethernet adapter to an Onn device and it works, though the first one I tried didn’t work. It was worth the $50 at the time not to deal with that for the Shield.
limonfiesta@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Nvidia has absolutely destroyed the stock Shield TV experience with ads, but it’s easy to install custom launchers like Projectivy. The underlying system is still a privacy nightmare, but I genuinely don’t care that Nvidia knows what TV shows I watch.
I mean, I do care, just not enough to use something like Kodi as my primary TV interface. Maybe if I used any ad supported services I’d feel differently, but I don’t, so meh.
Ulrich@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
That’s not Nvidia, that’s Google.
limonfiesta@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Yes, Google is an inextricably linked to all Google TV issues, but they didn’t force Nvidia to ruin the Shield TV’S launcher with ads, and other bloat.
At least, not as far as I know. If you have sources saying otherwise, I’d be happy to take a look.
Ulrich@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
but they didn’t force Nvidia to ruin the Shield TV’S launcher with ads, and other bloat.
The “Shield’s launcher” is just Android TV… Nvidia did not write their own Android fork just for this device.
AtariDump@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Get an AppleTV.
fishpen0@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
firadin@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I assume being Apple that it’s not possible to sideload apps not supported on the app store? In particular I’d like to use some kind of a SmartTube or other youtube app that is ad free
fishpen0@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
AtariDump@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
That is correct.
But which do you want? Privacy or convenience? No one makes a streaming device that does both.