nVidia Shield TV thoughts/review - Fantastic console emulation box!

[shponglefan]

I'd been looking for a solution for console emulation on my TV for awhile now.  This led me to pick up a 2017 version of the nVidia Shield TV, which I've had for a week now.

The main thing I was looking for was something that could run PSP games at full speed.  I'd previously tried both my phone and my Galaxy S2 tab, both Android devices.  But neither of those had enough horsepower.  Fortunately, the Shield TV has a more powerful core and thus far has run everything I've thrown at it.

I installed Arc Browser as a front end; it works quite well using the Shield TV's remote and can be used with a gamepad as well.  For emulation, I've tried a variety including NES (NES.emu), SNES (SNES9x EX+), Genesis (MD.emu), GBA (GBA.emu), NeoGeo (Neo.emu), PSP (PPSSPP), and Playstation (ePSXe).  All have worked well and I haven't encountered any show-stopping issues.  Also nice is being able to configure the location of the games to run from my NAS, thus eliminating any need to store them locally.  The base Shield TV only has 16 GB (about 4 GB of which are taken up by software), so its space is precious.

I also initially tried Retro Arch since it supports multiple emulation cores and seemed an ideal multi-emulator solution.  However, I encountered several problems and quickly abandoned it in favor of individual emulators and Arc Browser as a front-end.

The nVidia Shield TV includes a gamepad; it's okay, but has some irritating design issues.  For example, it includes a "home" button, angled towards the bottom of the center of the gamepad surface.  Consequently, during frenetic action games, it was too easy to accidentally hit and would boot me back to the main home screen.  Fortunately my wireless PS3 controller is usable via Bluetooth and I've switched to that instead.

I still have some more emulators to try;  I'd be interested to see how DS and Gamecube emulation stacks up.  But thus far, everything has performed admirably.  Anyone looking for a compact console emulation box, the Shield TV is quite impressive.

[bigster]

I have a shield tv.  I don't like the emulation.  It might be that bulky Xbox type controller but the games I tried seemed to have more lag than my nes classic...however for kodi and media.  Shield tv is best device on market

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[Locke141]

Arc Browser looks cool. I have a pile of android stuff laying around but they would be under powered for this application. It seem that ever thing Androud has a short useful life, iPads and a like seems to be usfull much longer.

I just use an old i3 PC running Ubuntu and Kodi for our midea center. I also run a Rpi with retro Pi. It's also under powered for any thing pasted ps1 but I like the Retro Pi camunity. They really have developed a nice exspereanse and squeaked a lot out of the Pi.

[shponglefan]

I have a shield tv.  I don't like the emulation.  It might be that bulky Xbox type controller but the games I tried seemed to have more lag than my nes classic...however for kodi and media.  Shield tv is best device on market

Odd, I haven't had much in the way of issues with controller lag.  The only exception is SNES9x EX+; for whatever reason it always starts quite laggy, but if I go to the emulator menu and back again, it seems to fix itself.  I've been playing a lot of platformers and fighting games on various systems, and the control seems pretty precise to me.

And I agree, with Kodi installed it's awesome for media.  Thus far it's played everything I've thrown at it with no issues.

[shponglefan]

Arc Browser looks cool. I have a pile of android stuff laying around but they would be under powered for this application. It seem that ever thing Androud has a short useful life, iPads and a like seems to be usfull much longer.

From what I've read, the Shield TV is currently the most powerful of the available Android boxes.  Running upscaled PSP games at full speed, I believe it.

[Howard_Casto]

I agree with bigster ...  the nes classic owns all other emulators in your living room solutions atm.  Just for the record, the Nintendo Switch is the most powerful tegra device, just by a bit due to the tweaking of the implementation. 

[shponglefan]

I agree with bigster ...  the nes classic owns all other emulators in your living room solutions atm.

Can you play PSP games on it at full speed?

edited: Looks like it can barely even do N64 emulation, so PSP is probably out.

Yeah, not seeing how it "owns" other emulation solutions.  Maybe for NES games, but I wanted something a bit more comprehensive.  When there is something that can handle everything up-to-and-including PSX, Gamecube and PSP, then we'll talk.

[Howard_Casto]

Because it just works, the interface isn't clunky, the gamepad is good, their isn't any lag ect....  Also it's only 60 bucks... around 100 if you weren't fortunate enough to get one and have to go the famicom mini route.  What it does for what you pay is damn impressive.  Also a psx is a super Nintendo on steroids... the nes classic does it just fine, space issues aside.  The psp is also probably doable with games that fit.  The gamecube is much more powerful. 

Anyway, my point is you pay 300 frikkin bucks for the thing so it isn't fair to compare raw horsepower, ect.  Why not just get a switch at that price point?  You know within a short while they'll have broken the thing wide open with all sorts of emulator support.  It'll do 1080p as well and have some actual AAA games on it as it isn't a failed experiment.  Plus it's portable.

[shponglefan]

Because it just works, the interface isn't clunky, the gamepad is good, their isn't any lag ect....

You just described my experience with the nVidia Shield TV.   Honestly, other than a false start trying to use RetroArch and a couple incompatible NeoGeo games, this thing has been a dream to run so far.

I haven't noticed the lag issues that bigster has talked about.  I've been playing a lot of fighting games on this thing where differences in split-second timing would be apparent and they've responded with perfect timing from what I can tell.

I'll agree that the stock nVidia controller is mediocre, but the nice thing is being able to run other Bluetooth and USB controllers.  So far I've used an original NES pad and a PS3 controller and both have worked great.

Also it's only 60 bucks... around 100 if you weren't fortunate enough to get one and have to go the famicom mini route.  What it does for what you pay is damn impressive.

I have no doubt the NES Classic is very good at what it was designed to do, which was primarily to run 30 NES games.  But from what I've seen, it seems less appealing as an "all in one" solution for comprehensive emulation.  You kinda hit the nail on the head when you brought up the limitations of the NES Classic when it comes to processing and storage power.  Not to mention having to hack the thing just to install other emulators and roms.

Anyway, my point is you pay 300 frikkin bucks for the thing so it isn't fair to compare raw horsepower, ect.

Then why compare them?  It seems like an apples vs oranges scenario to me.

I only started this thread to talk about my experience with the nVidia Shield TV and that, as far as console emulation goes, it's been fantastic.  I have no doubt there are solutions better geared towards emulation of specific systems.  But for an all-in-one console, short of building a custom HTPC, I'm not sure if there is anything better out there at the moment.

Why not just get a switch at that price point?  You know within a short while they'll have broken the thing wide open with all sorts of emulator support.

Because they haven't yet?  I'm not going to buy something on the off-chance it might run a bunch of stuff I want.  Plus, the fact that it would have to be hacked/rooted to make all that happen, and that can be its own special brand of PITA.

Like you said, I'd rather have something that "just works".  And the Shield TV has been that in spades.

[Howard_Casto]

I've played around on a shield, everything about it is clunky compared to the nes classic. 

It isn't a hack.  You basically install a Linux driver on your pc and use your new found access to install retro-arch for the non-nes games. 

I compared them because you were talking about the great emulation and quite frankly I've found it to be lacking.  I don't know what they did to those poor retro arch cores, but emulation isn't smooth at all from my limited experience on the shield.

If you were a real gamer you'd be buying a switch regardless... because... Nintendo games are the best games and Nintendo hardware is a necessity to play those games.  That's a given.  The fact that you are acting like you might not is extremely disturbing, especially considering the killer E3 showing they just had.  And yes modding Nintendo consoles is such a bother.... on the last two devices (3ds and wii U) it's consisted of going to a website via the built in browser... and that's it.  Again, the shield is essentially the prototype switch, so I don't understand purchasing one this late in the game unless you get it heavily discounted or something. 

[shponglefan]

I've played around on a shield, everything about it is clunky compared to the nes classic.

Like I said, I'm sure when it comes to playing the 30 NES games the NES Classic was built for, it does it like a champ.  I'm not slagging on the NES Classic here.

But when it comes to having access to the hundreds of titles stored on a NAS in my basement, somehow I don't think the NES Classic will be up to the job.  The Shield TV gives me access to all those games at my fingertips.  I can pick up my wireless controller, power it on (which automatically powers on the Switch and my TV), and literally two button pushes later and I'm at my entire library of games.

If that's your definition of "clunky" then I don't know what to tell you.   

As for the rest, I've been down the road before of futzing around with hacks, mods, and all the rest.  At this stage I'm tired of tinkering.  I want stuff that just works and (RetroArch aside) the Shield TV via Kodi, Arc Browser and a handful of emulators has done exactly that.

[shponglefan]

Spent a few hours last night testing/playing various games to check for input lag.

Near as I can tell, NES feels spot on.  I spent a good hour playing Super Mario Bros. and Castlevania, and everything feels incredibly responsive.  If there is any input lag, it's imperceptible on my setup.

SNES may be a different story.  I'd been playing a bunch of the SF2 games on it (SF2 being my most played SNES game ever).  My timing feels good in it and if there is any lag, it doesn't effect the gameplay.  With Super Mario World, however, it's harder to tell.  It may have a slight bit of lag, but it still feels very responsive.  It may be that I'm just out of practice playing that game.

I'm going try throwing RetroArch back on so I can try the BSNES Core and see how that compares to SNES9x.  That is, if I can figure out how to configure RetroArch and get it to work properly with my controller.  An intuitive emulator it is not...

edited:  RetroArch is officially the worst emulator I've ever used.  After trying it once again, I keep running into new issues.  This time had my controller stop functioning every time I entered the RetroArch menu.  I'm done with RetroArch, it's a complete POS.

I also tweaked SNES9x some more and at this point I can't tell if there is any input lag.  I did manage to compare with BSNES and couldn't see any difference.  At this point, I'm satisfied with SNES9X's performance.  It's completely playable.

[Paul Olson]

I had a shield tv for a couple of months. For emulation, I noticed quite a few little glitches while replaying the original zelda. I didn't notice much lag while playing (but it was there, as I found out). I bought original consoles and flash carts to test. That is when i noticed how much lag there actually was on the shield. On the NES, controller input is faster than I remembered. I haven't played enough to find out if all the glitches I noticed on the shield were on the original (moved, and just haven't had time. I ended up returning the shield to get the new version. I cancelled that preorder when I got my PS4, so I haven't further tested the emulation. I don't think I will even though I plan to buy another shield for the other TV. As a media player, it is worth the cost. The PS4 is just as good (except for kodi and emulators), but both are way better than the rokus, apple tv, and fire. It is not even close.

I have the original consoles now, but I am looking forward to trying the virtual console on the switch when it comes out. If it isn't laggy, I will probably play on that instead. If I can find one, I may try the SNES classic, but I would rather play on the switch. To be honest, I am enjoying the indie games on the switch so much, that I don't think I will have much time to emulate old stuff. Between the switch, and PSVR, my gaming needs are pretty much taken care of these days.

I normally gloss over Howard's Nintendo praise, but the Switch really  does live up to the hype. I game more with it. I like playing on the tv, and as a portable. I have owned it for just short of 4 months, and I have purchased 14 games for it. Just being able to pick it up and play for a few minutes, turn it off when you run out of time, and pick it up and pick up where you left off makes it the most useful console I have ever owned.

Go buy a shield though. It is a great device. I hope it does really well. Lowest price shouldn't always be the winner for these devices. This thing is way ahead of the competition, and I think it is well worth $200. I don't think there is a better emulation machine out there, but for me personally, that is just a side use for it.