Install ProjectIvy from the app store on your Shield or Chromecast with Android TV as an alternative launcher.
Also not buying a Shield anymore in the future. Putting ads in a product you paid for should be fucking illegal at this point.
Instead of projectivy I use ATV Launcher Pro. It's pretty good. It allows for widgets, though I find many I want to display don't work correct, which is unfortunate. I did spend $3 on it, but I don't mind paying for an app. It just means the developer can make money without displaying ads
I also went for ATV. Fuck the default launcher.
+1 for projectivy. Easy to use, looks good, stays out of the way. I use it on my shield and also use it on my cheap onn pucks.
Is it difficult to install? Like do I need to side load it or can I install it straight from the UI? I am definitely over Google shoving non-stop ads into my paid for experience.
Nope. Just install from the play store.
Is there a way to get it to launch automatically without sideloading anything?
Also not buying a Shield anymore in the future.
Well, that is gonna be easy, I don't think this product will still continue in the future.
thanks <3 I just did this on my shield today and what a breeze this launcher is!
I'm so excited for the new.. reads feature updates.. full-screen ads?
Fuck off. This is why I will never purchased an "embedded" device.
What are you using now if you don’t mind me asking. Had a Roku and moved to this for the quality of sound and video
I have an old RPi2 laying around that runs OSMC. I rarely watch stuff on my TV, most of the time I just watch it on my second monitor while I'm doing stuff.
But I bought the hardware, why do I want full screen ads on bootup and between launching every app?
Imagine a laptop playing a full screen ad every time you closed word to open up your web browser. Just rather thow my laptop at the wall.
Windows 11 (in certain markets anyway):
YES! FINALLY! i thought something was missing from this expensive piece of hardware and here it is, ads! I love wasting time on ads and they sure know what i love!
/s
These devices are pretty popular, so if you have one it might be time to disable updates
If Google can update the user interface server-side, doesn't that mean that disabling updates still wouldn't work for avoiding these full screen ads?
This is probably one of the purchases I regret the most. First they updated it and put shitty banner ads in the launcher so I had to install a custom one to get round that. Then they disabled game stream which I’ll admit I only used a few times, but it was still one of the reasons I went with the shield over another device. And now this…
I think when I replace it I’ll just get a mini PC instead
You regret the most? I've made much worse purchases. I just use a custom launcher, which the fact that it's an option is more than most services can say. It's nice that it's running android so I can install any APK I want (thank you SmartTubeNext). And the fact I can quickly control it/type from my phone is nice. Not to mention, I think every remote should have the "find my remote" button that makes it ring. And while it's decently expensive, and there are certainly other cheaper options, I would say this is far from one of the worst purchases I made.
I’m sure I’ve made worse purchases but tbh I’m struggling to think of any truly bad purchases I’ve made at the moment, even this I don’t consider bad as it still does pretty much everything I want. I just don’t appreciate paying to be treated like shit by a company. And the main reasons I chose the shield over cheaper devices was the lack of ads and game stream, both of which have been taken away (yes the ads can be bypassed with a bit of tweaking but I shouldn’t have to)
You can still game stream with sunlight + moonlight. And the advantage is that it works with any brand GPU.
I would never regret about my Nvidia Shield TV, in fact it is one of the best purchases I have ever done, I have one since 2018 or 2017 perhaps and that unit got busted and Nvidia replaced mine for free (they sent me a power adapter first, which didn't help for my issue, for free too) even when it was outside of the warranty period, and they didn't even replace it for another 2017 unit, they gave me the 2019 pro, perhaps for inventory reasons, (and a ruler as a gift lol) a very pro move if you ask me.
Now the 2019 unit is dated for sure, and the launcher with ads was a dirt move sure, that is why I downgraded the unit and debloated it, this is how my unit looks like now.
I mean I still appreciate they are still supporting hardware from 2015 in 2023.
If my device started showing full-screen ads all of a sudden I'd assume I caught some malware. I guess I'll never update mine past v8.
This is what I’m using. It’s kinda ugly but totally ad-free and does what I want but not one bit more. I installed flauncher, connected to the shield with network adb, disabled the leanback launcher, then hit the home button on the remote. Easy peasy, and much better than remapping buttons IMO
Same for me.
In the current version it was already advertising / recommending shows and movies too me I have no interest in. I just want my plex content and that's it. A custom launcher is great for that.
Same here, one other improvement I would recommend is remapping the Netflix button to something less annoying/more useful in case you press it accidentally. If you have Hue lights, you could make it toggle your lights with this app for example.
Would a pihole or something like adguars dns that stops ads be a good solution to this? Or would I be stuck with just full screen black screen?
Depends on how they do it I guess
I remember reading about the newer home screen added a promotional banner. It was showing content from the apps themselves (ex. New shows from Disney+) but it was still annoying and a lot of people switched to a different launcher.
People will probably figure something out
edit: see the comment by @looping@jlai.lu
That’s a good point. I didn’t notice but have a ton of ads now from Disney etc…I’ll try flauncher
Downgrade to 8.2.3 and you'll be happy with the shield again. https://florisse.nl/shield/
Damn I considered one of these for a little bit when I was working on getting my own home streaming setup going. Decided against it because it looked kinda stupid and I hate Android and a lot of the stuff that comes with it. I guess I dodged a bullet on that one.
You dodged a rocket lol. I have firetv which is android based. But I only have it Kodi. Roku is probably the best streaming. Unless you have a different smart platform on your TV such as LG or Samsung.
To be honest, there is hardly any good competition for the Shield TV Pro even on this day, but that is the fault of the industry completely.
Is there a good alternative to Google TVs? I recently bought a TV and absolutely hate Google on it.
I have a media server, is there a way to install a launcher for my TV that can access Netflix, YouTube, Plex and other services?
I love(d) my Shield, I first bought the original, and then the updated model. I use it every day, but the lack of hardware updates (still using USB 2, only has 12 GB internal storage, low RAM, etc...) and constant ads and "sponsored content" has made me fall out of love with it.
I asked a few weeks back about a replacement and someone recommended this one to me. It runs on Android 12, supports 4K Dolby Atmos and Vision, and has better hardware than the Shield. It isn't cheap though.
Same price as a shield tho, so might be equally worth it if it is good?
I find LG TVs to have the best user experience. If you care you would want to look into a pi-hole to stop all the usual phoning home activities.
Lol omg LGs user experience is better? It's like it was designed by a toddler infused with meth, liquid capitalism, and hatred for graphic design.
Their settings suck, their remote sucks, their software sucks, their apps and app store sucks. The only thing LG does right is make the actual panel.
My issues with LG TVs is they're 1) still missing support for the ESPN app which is a big deal if you're into sports and 2) only allow casting to them from a white-list of sites. So your can't just stream anything from Chrome on your computer and cast to the TV. If the website isn't white-listed, you're out of luck.
I've also had issues with pihole interfering with the TV too. Not a pihole expert though so I'm trying to figure out how to work around it.
Shit like this is why I haven’t updated my Shield in the 2 years I’ve had it and never will.
same, still running the pre-ad stock OS. i do keep it offline though, it only accesses local media
Interesting... I have an OG Shield, also in the Netherlands, but have seen no ads (that being said, companies A/B test and do gradual rollout of this kind of BS).
But I also kept my Android Home in the version without ads by disabling Play Store updates and instead manually going over all apps (except Home!) every month or so (or when I have an issue with any app I use).
I feel confident that I'll be able to hack my way around this new form of ads.
I occasionally see auto-playing ad on my Chromecast with Google TV about twice a year so far. Every time I hit Send Feedback immediately and say something harsh about the ads and they disappear shortly after. I'm considering building a LineageOS Android TV machine based on the ODROID-C4. I'm just unsure what level of Widevine I'd get. I'd be okay with 1080p. 720p would be a bit shit. Anyone tried this route?
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
