Nvidia Shield

tfouto

Does anyone has an Nvidia Shield?

I have an Nvidia Shield Pro 19 with fw 8.2.3 Android 9. I was thinking in uodating to fw 9.1.1 Android 11.

Just wanted to be sure that Android 11 on Nvidia Shield is safe.

IT_Coder

tfouto I have a Nvidia Shield, currently running 9.1.1.

The OS itself causes absolutely no strain. However the same cannot be said for certain streaming apps.

The Netflix, AMC+, and Disney+ apps I have installed, currently cause no strain in the slightest.

The same used to be true for the Amazon Prime Video and Paramount apps. However after both apps forced me to update them (in order to view content), the Prime app now causes almost immediate strain after just a couple of minutes. And though the Paramount app is nowhere quite as bad, now seems to be causing some minor strain.

So unless there is a feature you would like out of the latest OS, I would caution against it -- as I'm not sure if the streaming apps themselves look at your current OS version in then forcing you to update the app version itself(?). But then again, as long as the current OS is good, it may make sense to update it now, while you can.

tfouto

IT_Coder Might it be that Amazon Prime Video on 8.2.3 might be easier on the eyes? Probably not. I don't have Amazon subscription. Can you see your Amazon Prime version? I can compare with mine. I have the app altough I don't use it. Nevertheless, maybe the app has diferente behaviors depending on the OS version.

Might it be that you are watching HRD or DV content on Amazon Prime?

IT_Coder

tfouto - I can check the version of the Amazon Prime Video app. However the problem is that a number of the streaming apps now force you to update the app, just to open it and view any content.

So though the Nvidia Shield is Android-based, where you can downgrade individual apps (unlike platforms such as the AppleTV)… even if I go down to the older version on 8.2.3, Amazon may not let me open the app, and insist instead that I upgrade it.

Thus even if we have good hardware (either a Nvidia Shield, Roku, AppleTV, etc) running an OS that itself causes no strain, if the individual video streaming apps are somehow now introducing strain, it's sadly just a matter of time before we loose the ability to watch any content.

tfouto

IT_Coder You could try Kodi, and install Amazon addon. You would watch Amazon inside Kodi, instead of Amazon Prime App and Paramount.

Paramount+ (kodi.tv)

[Amazon VOD [plugin.video.amazon[vod|-test]] (kodi.tv)](https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=349255)

It's strange that those apps are giving you strain. Probably it's HDR or DV content that might strain the eyes.

IT_Coder

tfouto Great suggestion! I'll definitely have to give that a try.

Otherwise you could be right, in that it could be the HDR or Dolby Vision aspect of the signal causing strain. But again, that would be a change introduced in either the content itself streamed (from the remote server to my client - the Nvidia Shield in this case). Or a change introduced in the way the client/app renders the content from the server (which is likely the case)… as the older version of the app caused no strain, and nothing in my display chain (i.e. Denon AV Receiver, and JVC Projector) changed either.

tfouto

IT_Coder You could also use Stremio or Kodi with real debrid. I know it's not legal, but you can keep paying to Amazon and Paramount, to support them, but just see it on Kodi or Stremio. You will have several sources to choose. You could choose SDR, which is better for the eyes.

tfouto

IT_Coder Does the strain in Amazon occurs in every show?

IT_Coder

tfouto Good question regarding whether the strain occurs in every show/movie from the Amazon app.

My household makes full use of our Amazon Prime account for shopping. But I generally watch very little from their Prime Video app, mainly because little of the content interests me.

It had probably been a couple of months since I watched anything from the Prime app. But back in November, what I did want to watch - which then prompted the app to require me to update it upon launching it - was the LOTR Rings of Power series. That evening I literally forced myself to watch the first episode - "force" as in from the eye strain, and IMHO a lackluster start to the series. Later I paid for it, in having the 'brain fog' effect from that hour-long sitting, last well into the next day.

So I would have to experiment further; on whether it's all shows from the app, or just some.

tfouto

IT_Coder maybe you can Disable HDR on your JVC projector.

Sunspark

Are you able to sideload to a previous version that you liked?

https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/amazon-mobile-llc/amazon-prime-video/

IT_Coder

Sunspark That's a good suggestion too.

Since I have app auto updates disabled on the Shield, and was running a pretty old version of the app, and the Prime app forced me to update it. However I may be able to get away with sideloading a slightly less older version than what I previously had.

Since I lack another Android device to transfer the .apk file to the Shield, I installed enabled Developer Tools on the Shield, and installed the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) on a computer. But currently the Shield is giving me connection issues, from the adb utility, which I'll need to look into. But thanks again for the suggestion.

IT_Coder

As an update on my attempt to sideload a previous version of the Prime Video app… apparently just by enabling Developer Tools on the Nvidia Shield, has caused every app to produce incredible eye strain.

So where previously the OS itself (version 9.1.1), and most all of the apps caused me no eye strain (Netflix, Disney+, etc), now every app causes strain.

Disabling Developer Tools did nothing to help reverse the issue. So at this point I'll have to start experimenting if whether a factory reset, or reinstalling Android, helps -- which fingers crossed will help, though I've unfortunately found neither work for AppleTv's that suddenly go "bad".

But in the end… in an effort to fix one particular app that was causing me strain, has in turn caused a device that I used nightly - as a personal escape from dealing with constant eye strain from my work computers - into a completely unusable device 😞

tfouto

IT_Coder factory reset the shield. In last case revert to 8.2.3.