Nvidia Shield (2017-?)

[HooHaa]

7 minutes ago, Jai Dee said:

Which advert/box is that?

I hadn't noticed.

sorry its disappeared, should have screen shotted

 

[HooHaa]

11 minutes ago, Jai Dee said:

Which advert/box is that?

I hadn't noticed.

a quick refresh gave me these

[SooKee]

37 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

as an aside, i thaivisa is advertising the best kodi/android TV box, despite the apparent illegality of importing

It's not illegal to import, you just need a licence to do so. In addition, a lot of these boxes are still available from Lazada and the like from within Thailand.

Edited October 24, 2017 by SooKee

[Jai Dee]

11 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

a quick refresh gave me these

Thanks for that.

 

I thought that the owners of ThaiVisa had decided to terminate all advertising of streaming TV devices due to their "illegal" status in Thailand.

 

I'll give them a heads-up.

[SooKee]

Certainly fixed the remote lag for me. Back to instant response.

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Quick update. Unless you are an affected user who had supplied serial numbers to Nvidia as per the link I posted you may not yet see the 6,1 update. Seems it's a targeted update to affected users only at the moment. They likely want to check it's fixed fully before pushing to the full user base.

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[janclaes47]

On 24/10/2017 at 2:28 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Presumably the reg was mainly aimed at commercial importers, even if NBTC is apparently also at least going thru the motions of enforcing it against end users.

 

NBTC isn't enforcing, it is customs who is doing it as they see a new " market".

 

For the boxes confiscated I was offered 2 phone numbers of shipping agents by the customs support at the expediter, with the message that they could "arrange"

 

First I was informed that customs wanted 3 times the value of the goods, which later was reduced to half of that sum, to get the goods delivered with no questions asked.

 

If you read the document which explains the reason for the license, it becomes quickly clear that it is created for the protection of 1 company only.

 

" The copyright has caused the owner of the rights and the nation to be damaged. It also affects the image.
Of the country. "

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

 

NBTC isn't enforcing, it is customs who is doing it as they see a new " market".

 

What shipping provider was handling the items that got confiscated?

[janclaes47]

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

What shipping provider was handling the items that got confiscated?

Fedex, but I have info from several China suppliers that DHL doesn't even accept shipments of tv boxes to Thailand any more.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

That fits into the general history here of the private couriers -- FedEx, DHL, etc -- being much worse from a Customs end of things vs items handled in-country by ThaiPost.

 

I never send anything into Thailand using any of the private couriers. Instead, always use airmail such as with the national carrier where the item is coming from (like USPS in the U.S.) who then hand it off to ThaiPost upon arrival here.

 

Rarely if ever have any duty assessed at all. And if there is duty on higher priced/valued items, it's invariably much less with ThaiPost than in dealing with the private courier services.

 

Obviously, can't say for sure the reason in your case. But what happened certainly fits the pattern of much greater Customs scrutiny when items are being handled by the private courier services.

 

 

 

[SooKee]

On 24/10/2017 at 2:35 PM, HooHaa said:

was within a hairs breadth of pulling the trigger on an nvidia sheild only to find it ships wthout a DAC and there is no analogue audio out!

the only reason i wanted it was for HD netflix and spotify, and soundcloud  - my minix x8h has been laggy and has had audio stutter issues, which i suspect are due to its inability to upgrade to current android. youtube has been a mess with it as well.

anyways no audio out to my soundsystem would require spending anotther bunc of money on a 3rd party dac for use with my older NAD amp and that isnt going to happen.

Hmmm.  AFAIK, the only readily available device here that has an audio out (3.5mm) and which is Netflix / Google certified (and thus is able to receive Netflix HD) is the Xiaomi Mi Box 3.  

[HooHaa]

38 minutes ago, SooKee said:

Hmmm.  AFAIK, the only readily available device here that has an audio out (3.5mm) and which is Netflix / Google certified (and thus is able to receive Netflix HD) is the Xiaomi Mi Box 3.  

interesting, its cheap like water, actually cheaper than a decent dac, just ordered one, we shall see, thanks.

but at this price i know plenty of people who would love to have it even if its not for me.

wish it had ethernet though, but no big deal.

[SooKee]

1 hour ago, HooHaa said:

interesting, its cheap like water, actually cheaper than a decent dac, just ordered one, we shall see, thanks.

but at this price i know plenty of people who would love to have it even if its not for me.

wish it had ethernet though, but no big deal.

Welcome. Just been setting mine up. I wouldn't worry about the ethernet as the WiFi on it is superb. If it's that much of a problem though you can order a USB adapter which has ethernet and extra USB ports. I've ordered one as I keep an air mouse plugged in and plan to use a Samsung Bar 16 gb USB drive as overflow storage for back ups etc.

Excellent device imo. Well impressed. And just to balance out a previous screen shot which seems to have come from the "just how crap can I make this look" school, this is a photo of what it can look like. To get it looking as bad as the previous pic is some achievement, either that or the user hasn't a clue.

It was also wrongly reported that side loaded apps can't show in the home screen. Wrong! They might not by default but it's simply a case of taking 1 minute to make your own lean back apk for any (in my case only 2) apps that you side load. You can make them look professional too, like they belong on the device, unlike some devices that just stuff the apk icon into an oblong box giving you no control over the look. A much better option than installing some awful lean back launcher. My layout is not normally as per the pic. I've changed it though to show the icons for Terrarium and Aptoide. Both side loaded.  Bonus with this is, ALL the 'suggestions' are relevant to the apps I'm using, no clutter in the way and local time displayed.

 

Apologies for the image being small and not detailed.  It's a TV upload limitation.

 

Given that this thread is about the Shield I'll maybe start a Mi thread at some stage.  Just posting this here to balance out the other 'this is what it looks like' example.



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Edited October 30, 2017 by SooKee

[HooHaa]

again thanks, sideloading terrarium tv and kodi was a plan and i confirmed online it could be done, but nice to see. also happy to hear airmouse from minix works, as i have one of them as well.

rare to find an adequate, cheap and cheerful solution to a problem, but this seem it.

[SooKee]

8 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

again thanks, sideloading terrarium tv and kodi was a plan and i confirmed online it could be done, but nice to see. also happy to hear airmouse from minix works, as i have one of them as well.

rare to find an adequate, cheap and cheerful solution to a problem, but this seem it.

Kodi no need to side load, that or SPMC.  Both downloadable direct from the Playstore.  Aptoide I find useful.  Install and search for your side loads from there, installs them to.  Then you'll just need to send the lean back apk to the Mi.  This website here for the lean back apk creation:

 

http://atvlauncher.trekgonewild.de/index.php

 

Simply a case of using something like Xplore (file manager - again App Store direct install), browse down to 'App Manager' then the list of installed apps until you hit the relevant one (obviously you install the base app apk first), note it's Android system name (e.g. com.nitroxenon.terrarium in the case of Terrarium), fill in that in the 'App Package' field, give it a name, find your images (an icon in png format and a banner in jpg/png) and hit create.  Then install via USB, or even quicker, use the Send Anywhere feature on Xplore from your laptop / computer).  Bear in mind you only need to do this once.  As the apps update to new versions the 'App Package' names don't change.

[SooKee]

Kodi no need to side load, that or SPMC.  Both downloadable direct from the Playstore.  Aptoide I find useful.  Install and search for your side loads from there, installs them to.  Then you'll just need to send the lean back apk to the Mi.  This website here for the lean back apk creation:

 

http://atvlauncher.trekgonewild.de/index.php

 

Simply a case of using something like Xplore (file manager - again App Store direct install), browse down to 'App Manager' then the list of installed apps until you hit the relevant one (obviously you install the base app apk first), note it's Android system name (e.g. com.nitroxenon.terrarium in the case of Terrarium), fill in that in the 'App Package' field, give it a name, find your images (an icon in png format and a banner in jpg/png) and hit create.  Then install via USB, or even quicker, use the Send Anywhere feature on Xplore from your laptop / computer).  Bear in mind you only need to do this once.  As the apps update to new versions the 'App Package' names don't change.

 

 

FYI: No need for a lean back apk for Terrarium now. You still need to side load it but its icon is now visible on the Android TV UI direct. Of course this goes for the Shield too and any other device running Android TV proper. Always worth it with side loads too check if your app icon shows up already.

 

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[Pib]

10 hours ago, SooKee said:

Hmmm.  AFAIK, the only readily available device here that has an audio out (3.5mm) and which is Netflix / Google certified (and thus is able to receive Netflix HD) is the Xiaomi Mi Box 3.  

Which version of the Xiaomi Mi Box 3 did you get?  According to below Gearbest page there appears to be various versions...like an International Version, a 3S version, a 3C verison, an Enhanced version, etc.   And in some other googling there is a "China" version which apparently does not have certain apps loaded.

https://www.gearbest.com/Mi-_gear/c_11262/

[SooKee]

Which version of the Xiaomi Mi Box 3 did you get?  According to below Gearbest page there appears to be various versions...like an International Version, a 3S version, a 3C verison, an Enhanced version, etc.   And in some other googling there is a "China" version which apparently does not have certain apps loaded.
https://www.gearbest.com/Mi-_gear/c_11262/

This

http://www.lazada.co.th/global...box-us-plug-intl-13898585.html

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[Pib]

OK, you got the international version which I think just means it comes with more built-in language support versus maybe only coming with a pared-down selection of available languages.   And I think some of the apps that come loaded with the box would be different if it was a country-specific model like the Chinese model.  Probably different power plugs come also.  Mostly minor differences since I'm sure even the model made for the China market would include the English language setting also. 

 

I did some googling of reviews on the Mi last night...generally it got good reviews for such a low cost box...I think this Lon TV review was pretty good.

 

   

[SooKee]

21 minutes ago, Pib said:

OK, you got the international version which I think just means it comes with more built-in language support versus maybe only coming with a pared-down selection of available languages.   And I think some of the apps that come loaded with the box would be different if it was a country-specific model like the Chinese model.  Probably different power plugs come also.  Mostly minor differences since I'm sure even the model made for the China market would include the English language setting also. 

 

I did some googling of reviews on the Mi last night...generally it got good reviews for such a low cost box...I think this Lon TV review was pretty good.

 

   

Sorry, but it's a LOT different to just different language support and a few different apps.  The specs are NOWHERE NEAR the same on the different versions.  Can't really be doing with going through explaining them all here or discussing what someone 'thinks' the difference might be but you need to check the differences out on the Xiaomi Global site.  You can also check out the Mi Box thread on this forum.  can't post a link as I'm on a mobile device and feeling too lazy.

 

I read all the reviews before I bought it.  Reviews of the Mi probably best for the Mi Box thread.

Edited October 31, 2017 by SooKee

[HooHaa]

FYI, 

lazada just delivered the Mi Box, international version mdz 16ab  unit, less than 24 hours after I pulled the trigger. albeit lazada philipines.

now i am ignoring the fact that its here until i finish up with "work".

 

less than 24 hours delivered, equivalent to 71 Usd or 2400 thb.

 

no complaints here.

Edited October 31, 2017 by HooHaa

[SooKee]

FYI, 

lazada just delivered the Mi Box, international version mdz 16ab  unit, less than 24 hours after I pulled the trigger. albeit lazada philipines.

now i am ignoring the fact that its here until i finish up with "work".
 
less than 24 hours delivered, equivalent to 71 Usd or 2400 thb.
 
no complaints here.

That's pretty spectacular service. How come you used the PI site? Never considered that before. Was it COD?

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[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 10/30/2017 at 10:49 AM, HooHaa said:

interesting, its cheap like water, actually cheaper than a decent dac, just ordered one, we shall see, thanks.

but at this price i know plenty of people who would love to have it even if its not for me.

wish it had ethernet though, but no big deal.

 

For the international Mi Box versions for sure, you can buy a combined USB hub-ethernet adapter that will work with those units.

 

It's better to get a combined USB hub-ethernet adapter than just a USB-ethernet adapter only, so you still can use USB devices via the hub's other USB ports at the same time you're using Ethernet via the adapter.

 

This one from Amazon has been confirmed by purchasers to work with Mi Boxes. You can see that in the questions/answers section. But not all hubs apparently do work, so you need to choose carefully:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LLUEJFU/

 

Just another example:

 

https://www.dasher.com.my/usb-to-lan-ethernet-adapter-perfectly-compatible-with-mibox-xiaomi-tv-box-stable-connection-mi-box

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 10/30/2017 at 10:49 AM, HooHaa said:

interesting, its cheap like water, actually cheaper than a decent dac, just ordered one, we shall see, thanks.

but at this price i know plenty of people who would love to have it even if its not for me.
 

 

The one knock I've read repeatedly on the Mi Box, other than the limited app selections for Android TV, is that it tends to drop frames on some 4K content. That's based on multiple reviews of the unit. (I can't speak personally as I don't use 4K at home right now.)

 

In fact, the Lon.TV review Pib posted above makes reference to the 4K playback-dropped frames issue on the Mi Box, just at about the 6 min mark in the video review.

 

Edited October 31, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 10/30/2017 at 12:42 PM, SooKee said:

 This website here for the lean back apk creation:

 

http://atvlauncher.trekgonewild.de/index.php

 

Simply a case of using something like Xplore (file manager - again App Store direct install), browse down to 'App Manager' then the list of installed apps until you hit the relevant one (obviously you install the base app apk first), note it's Android system name (e.g. com.nitroxenon.terrarium in the case of Terrarium), fill in that in the 'App Package' field, give it a name, find your images (an icon in png format and a banner in jpg/png) and hit create.  Then install via USB, or even quicker, use the Send Anywhere feature on Xplore from your laptop / computer).  Bear in mind you only need to do this once.  As the apps update to new versions the 'App Package' names don't change.

 

That's a very handy resource. Had no idea such a thing existed. Thanks for posting it...

 

Obviously, going thru that process wouldn't be necessary if the Mi Box displayed all sideloaded apps natively/automatically in the home screen apps list, which of course it doesn't do.

 

Edited October 31, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, HooHaa said:

FYI, 

lazada just delivered the Mi Box, international version mdz 16ab  unit, less than 24 hours after I pulled the trigger. albeit lazada philipines.

now i am ignoring the fact that its here until i finish up with "work".

 

less than 24 hours delivered, equivalent to 71 Usd or 2400 thb.

 

no complaints here.

 

I see from another running thread on ordering from Lazada, that HooHaa had the Mi Box order shipped to/delivered to a location in the Phils -- not Thailand.  Thus avoiding any potential legal import issues here in TH.

 

Presumably, that's also why he ordered it from Lazada PH instead of Lazada TH.

 

 

Quote

Today a xaomi mi box was delivered to my phils condo. less than 24 hours after i made the purchase online.

if i want something, i check lazada first, only if they dont have it do i consider physically going to purchase it.

 

Edited October 31, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[SooKee]

  That's a very handy resource. Had no idea such a thing existed. Thanks for posting it...   Obviously, going thru that process wouldn't be necessary if the Mi Box displayed all sideloaded apps natively/automatically in the home screen apps list, which of course it doesn't do.

 

 

 

 

 They are what they are. Take it or leave it I guess. Swings and roundabouts. At the end of the day if rather have a device that downloads 95%, off the apps that I want and create a professional looking lean back apk for the 2-3 apps they I need to side load then have side loaded apps show up on a box and look crap because it merely takes its image from the app icon AND have to side load and manage 10 plus apps that aren't available on the device's designated store. We chose what we want to service our own needs.  

 

 

I have no interest in 4k so that aspect doesn't bother me. If I did I'd just get a Shield and not waste time on any of the other devices out there. Of course I have a Shield also, so if I ever go 4k in the living room (and that won't be until there is more than just a sprinkling of 4k content out there), good to go.

 

As to the limited selection of apps on the TV store I've been able to find every app I want aside from Terrarium and Aptoide, unlike the Fire TV where I had to side load almost everything. Depends what apps you need and use I guess. But again, that's why I bought, servicing my needs as opposed to being concerned what others think. Strange I know. But hey ho [emoji3]

 

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[SooKee]

FYI, 

lazada just delivered the Mi Box, international version mdz 16ab  unit, less than 24 hours after I pulled the trigger. albeit lazada philipines.

now i am ignoring the fact that its here until i finish up with "work".
 
less than 24 hours delivered, equivalent to 71 Usd or 2400 thb.
 
no complaints here.

I might have confused this. Are you in the PI and ordered from Lazada PI by default or are you in Thailand? I'm guessing I read your post wrong and thought you were in Thailand. I thought the delivery was damn fast.

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[TallGuyJohninBKK]

15 minutes ago, SooKee said:

 We chose what we want to service our own needs.
 

 

And the apps you use and choose obviously are different than the ones I choose and use, since for mine, many are not available from the Google Android TV app store and, among those, a fair number are not even functional when sideloaded onto the Mi Box as regular Android apps.

 

For example, there are a number of regular Android apps that allow you to tinker with the geolocation setting on your Android phone or tablet. They're not available in the Android TV app store section. And when you sideload them onto the Mi Box, they simply do not work -- apparently because the Mi Box's Android TV OS doesn't have the same kind of geolocation settings as you'd find on an Android phone or tablet.

 

But just to be clear, I own a Mi Box, and it's an OK device, especially for its list/normal price. I bought it because it supports 4K and HDR, whereas my Fire TV 2nd gen box only supports 4K but not HDR... Still, it would be nice if Google and/or Xiaomi eventually release an official Android 7.0 upgrade for the Mi Box... as has long been promised...

 

Edited October 31, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[SooKee]

  And the apps you use and choose obviously are different than the ones I choose and use, since for mine, many are not available from the Google Android TV app store and, among those, a fair number are not even functional when sideloaded onto the Mi Box as regular Android apps.   For example, there are a number of regular Android apps that allow you to tinker with the geolocation setting on your Android phone or tablet. They're not available in the Android TV app store section. And when you sideload them onto the Mi Box, they simply do not work -- apparently because the Mi Box's Android TV OS doesn't have the same kind of geolocation settings as you'd find on an Android phone or tablet.

 

But just to be clear, I own a Mi Box, and it's an OK device, especially for its list/normal price. I bought it because it supports 4K and HDR, whereas my Fire TV 2nd gen box only supports 4K but not HDR... Still, it would be nice if Google and/or Xiaomi eventually release an official Android 7.0 upgrade for the Mi Box... as has long been promised...

 

 

 

 

Indeed. We can argue about it until the cows come home. You have a Mi too, I have a Fire TV 2 too. Hate it. If anyone wants to take it off my hands it's available.   

I have ZERO interest in using Android Mobile apps on a TV. Just want to watch TV and movies and for me the Mi does it perfectly. Of course the Shield wipes the floor with all of them but it's just overkill in the bedroom.

 

 

As for the OS.​ The Mi is already on 6, many other boxes aren't. The Fire is still stuck on the forked version of 5 AFAIK. The OS​​though is only that important if you want something that it brings. For me with 6 it was adoptable storage. With 7 it's multiple account log in. I'm running the 7 beta on the Mi now. For me there's a difference between wanting an update because it brings something you want, rather than wanting it for wanting sake. With the Fire of course it barely matters as you can't get into it beyond Amazon's very basic settings screen, something else I detest about it.

 

 

We buy based on our own needs. End of story really. I've no need to convince others, they've no need to convince me. Thankfully I've bought all I need now so can get on with enjoying life rather than endless discussion about it and the inevitable side tracking debates on TV.

 

Maybe the thread can get back on topic now.

 

Over and out [emoji3]

 

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[Ron19]

Five bickering and off topic posts have been removed.