Nvidia SHIELD Android TV

Nvidia SHIELD Android TV (originally known as SHIELD Console) is an Android-based set-top box and game console that contains a very powerful ARM processor, (that should be able to handle the most heavy of Kodi skins and more). It is one of the first Android based devices featuring high end media playback capabilities such as of and support high definition audio at up to 192 kHz, automatic refresh rate switching, 10-bit HEVC (H.265), and VP9 video codecs, and 4K (2160p) resolution via HDMI 2.0 output with support for Kodi.

Running the Android TV operating system (based on Android 5.0 "Lollipop") on a Tegra X1 SoC (System on Chip), the Nvidia SHIELD Android TV stands above most of the other high-end Android-based offerings not only because best-in-class hardware offering the fastest graphics for gaming capabilities for Android, but also because due to Nvidia's strong product support of their own SHIELD series products. It comes with remote friendly versions of Netflix, Vudu, Hulu, HBO, Fox, Google Play Movies, YouTube and other video service clients, with many supporting videos in native 4K (Ultra HD / 2160p) resolution.

The Android TV platform delivers good conversational voice search for the native app via an integrated microphone inside the included game controller. Adding to that it also comes with Nvidia's gaming ecosystem capable of running all graphically intensive AAA ("triple A") games for Android in 1080p at 60fps, as well as supporting Nvidia's low-latency GameStream technologies for GeForce-equipped PC game streaming, and Nvidia's GRID cloud game-streaming service.. All this making it a very good convergence device when pairing with Kodi for media playback.

Installing Kodi
Normal "vanilla" builds of Kodi should run just fine on the Shield.

Controls
You can use standard Bluetooth accessories, such as a wireless keyboard, mouse, or game controller with your SHIELD console.

Bluetooth remote

 * Nvidia SHIELD Remote
 * other bluetooth remotes also work, such as the Amazon Fire TV replacement remote

Integrated IR Reciever

 * Logitech Harmony Remotes are supposedly supported by Nvidia?

CEC
Generic Android-level CEC support is available. Kodi will not see a CEC device directly, but instead just treat it like generic input.

USB
USB port allows for various additional remote types, such as FLIRC IR dongle, various RF dongles, etc. Most of these devices will likely show up as a keyboard type input.

Other bluetooth devices
It should be possible to pair other bluetooth controllers and remotes to the Nvidia SHIELD Console. Most of these devices will likely show up as a keyboard type input.

Working Bluetooth Gamepads

 * Nvidia SHIELD Controller

Working Bluetooth Remotes
List of working codes/commands (as of 2015/7/1) http://www.mediafire.com/view/i0i6y6k7z8lhdf8/Harmon_SCH_-_Sheild_ATV_Commands.pdf
 * Harmony Smart Control Hub

Videos
A Kodi oriented review of the Shield:

Kodi-related videos for end-users:

Kodi-related videos for developers:

Hints and tips
Some of this is copied directly from Nvidia's GeForce Forum for SHIELD Android TV support. More generic but useful info about the SHIELD Android TV that is not specific to Kodi can also be found in Nvidia's official SHIELD FAQ and SHIELD User Guide.
 * Did you know that if you hold the play button on the Shield game controller a mouse cursor will pop up on your screen and turn the right analog thumb stick on your game controller to a mouse controller which can control that mouse cursor.
 * If you plan on using a microSD card or USB storage with your SHIELD Android TV, make sure to unmount the drive before unplugging it. This is done from "Settings" -> "Storage and reset" inside the Android TV menus, not inside Kodi. Select your storage device and then choose the unmount option. Now you may safely unplug/remove your storage device from your SHIELD Android TV.
 * If you are unable to pair your SHIELD Wireless Controller during initial setup and your SHIELD Android TV is connected to your network over wired Ethernet, try temporarily disconnecting your wired Ethernet cable to go into WiFi mode and check if pairing issue is fixed.
 * If the Google Play Store is not opening, check if the version is at least 5.5.15 or later. If not you should be receiving this update soon. After the update if the problem continues, try clearing the data and cache for the Google Play Store app.
 * Watching 4K content from SHIELD requires a 4K display with HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 support. Connect SHIELD to only the 4K-enabled HDMI input that supports HDCP 2.2.  Consult your 4K display's user guide to find the correct HDMI port to plug SHIELD into for watching 4K content. SHIELD also supports content rendered with 4:4:4, and 4:2:0 chroma subsampling frequency ratios. (NOTE: Netflix 4K content is currently only enabled for HDCP 2.2 ports.  See your 4K display's user guide for further details). If one of the HDMI 2.0 ports do not work then try another until you find a port that works.
 * For maximum performance, wired Ethernet is recommended. The wired Ethernet port on SHIELD supports 10/100/1000 Mbps.  Once wired Ethernet is connected, SHIELD will disable Wi-Fi and automatically switch to use only wired Ethernet.
 * Use of an AV Receiver with HDMI for video and Toslink for audio may result audio lagging behind video. Use the AV sync slider (not in Kodi) utility in the SHIELD menu Settings > HDMI > Audio Video Sync to calibrate for any audio lag. The AV sync slider allows you to advance audio by 1 second (in small increments of 10ms) to synchronize the audio and video. (Note: This tool is effective only when SHIELD is connected to your AV Receiver over HDMI (i.e. audio/video over HDMI); it is not meant to be used when a headset is plugged into SHIELD controller/SHIELD remote or USB audio device or Bluetooth audio device). If video lags behind audio (i.e. audio is ahead of video) then use your AV receiver’s settings to delay audio.
 * If you press and hold the "O" button on the controller it will pull up a window that allows you to take screenshots or a video of anything that is being displayed on your TV. If you use the video function it will capture both video and audio of anything currently being displayed.  Also, if you have ES File Explore installed, you can directly upload the screenshot or video to any location that ES has access to.

Known issues
Known issues related to usage of Kodi on Nvidia SHIELD Android TV, including limitations in the hardware, firmware, and software.
 * Kodi's existing video setting options for "Adjust display refresh rate to match video" and "Sync playback to display" to sync screen refresh rate to playback frame rate option is included in the Isengard 15.0 beta 2 release and newer builds, but is limited to 24/25/30/50/60 Hz refresh rates.  You must upgrade to 15.0 beta 2 or a later released build in order to use this feature.
 * Automatic refresh rate switching is not working with all televisions brands/models, and on some that do work only do so after the SHIELD have been rebooted/restarted or booted after your television and AV-receiver. Other than waiting for future firmware updates the general advice is to try another HDMI until on your television or AV-receiver you find a port that works (or work better).
 * MPEG-2 hardware decoding (and hardware deinterlacing) did not work before NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Pro OTA Firmware version 1.2 update, so be sure to update to latest firmware.
 * VC-1 (or WMV-9) videos are software decoded only so far, reason for this is that Nvidia have so far only licensed MPEG-2, H.264, HEVC (H.265), and VP9 codecs for video playback, as well as Dolby Digital (DD) and Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) for audio, (and unfortunately Nvidia do at least not yet offer a add-on license keys for a codec pack similar to Raspberry Pi ). There is however apparently a hack available to enable VC-1 hardware decoding by editing Android file "/system/etc/media_codecs.xml" if you have first rooted the SATV.
 * HD audio, DTS-HD MA, Dolby True HD & Dolby Atoms can not be passed through/bitstreamed, nor can those formats be software decoded and output as multichannel PCM (at this time), with the exception of possibly True HD (needs further confirmation).  However, DTS (core from DTS-HD MA) and DD 5.1(AC3) can be passed through/bitstreamed or software decoded and output as multichannel PCM.
 * Currently the Shield Android TV does not support Remote Connections, so to connect to the Shield to sideload via ADB it requires a direct connection.
 * The Nexus Player remote does not pair at all with the Shield console. It did with the Razer Forge, but not the Shield console.

Random notes
Feel free to place various notes, tips, and links here. As this section of the wiki gets more organized, those notes will be properly sorted. Consider this like a dumping ground for when you're not sure where to put something.


 * HDMI-CEC is supposedly supported supported in the hardware and in the Android firmware, but no news yet on API or other interface with LibCEC for direct native Kodi support of the CEC controller.
 * VP9 hardware video decode is supposedly supported at 4K (UltraHD) resolution, such as YouTube source, but not yet confirmed working in Kodi for Android on the Nvidia Tegra X1 (TX1) SoC.

Links

 * Kodi forum discussion threads about the Nvidia SHIELD Android TV:
 * Support and help thread: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=228158
 * General hardware discussion: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220297
 * Related articles on Wikipedia:
 * Wikipedia article on Nvidia SHIELD Android TV: Nvidia Shield Console
 * Wikipedia article on Android TV (OS used on Nvidia SHIELD Console): Android TV
 * Official Nvidia pages and sites about the SHIELD console:
 * Nvidia SHIELD Android TV product page: http://shield.nvidia.com/console
 * Nvidia SHIELD Remote Control http://shield.nvidia.com/store/remote
 * Nvidia SHIELD Game Controller http://shield.nvidia.com/store/controller
 * Nvidia SHIELD Android TV FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): http://shield.nvidia.com/support/nvidia-android-tv/faq/1
 * Nvidia SHIELD Android TV User Guide: http://support-shield.nvidia.com/android-tv-user-guide/index.htm#_ga=1.98702110.121900636.1426802792&t=About_SHIELD.htm
 * Nvidia Blog post: http://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2015/05/28/nvidia-shield-available/
 * Nvidia SHIELD forum for Android TV https://forums.geforce.com/default/board/159/
 * Nvidia SHIELD development tools and other resources for developers: https://developer.nvidia.com/develop4shield
 * Tegra Android Development Pack: https://developer.nvidia.com/tegra-android-development-pack
 * Nvidia SHIELD TV Utility App: http://goo.gl/4FiQCT