NVIDIA Shield Tablet - Tegra K1 chip - Will you Buy?

god's toy · 23-05-2015 5:29pm

OSI wrote: »

Have they fixed the ridiculous time it takes to switch to Console mode?

Mirror mode works right away but console mode takes about 20 seconds to load up.

OmegaRed · 04-06-2015 9:24am

Considering picking one of these up soon.

How are you guys finding it. How exactly does the Grid steaming system work? Do I need to have a nvidia graphics card and the game I want to stream or is it all cloud based streaming / subscription service?

I'm a big fan of stock android and i see that this has minimal customization on it and the fact that 5.1 has been released on it makes it even more appealing.

Pros and cons over another tablet?

god's toy · 04-06-2015 10:32am

OmegaRed wrote: »

Considering picking one of these up soon.

How are you guys finding it. How exactly does the Grid steaming system work? Do I need to have a nvidia graphics card and the game I want to stream or is it all cloud based streaming / subscription service?

I'm a big fan of stock android and i see that this has minimal customization on it and the fact that 5.1 has been released on it makes it even more appealing.

Pros and cons over another tablet?

Hardware wise its probably the most powerful (32bit) chip for gaming out there, it's exactly same CPU used in nvidia powered chromebooks.
The Nexus 9 tablet has a 64 bit version of the same cpu but I think the jury is still out on if it's any better over all. The Nexus 9 does not come with the cloud gaming stuff... I don't think any other tablet does.

It's very close to stock with good timely updates from Nvidia, the support site is good too. I think the battery could last longer but I find that with all Lollipop devices as it just eats power sometimes.

Yes it's a cloud based streaming/subscription service, the Grid steaming works by loading/rendering the game on the its servers and the end user just controls it remotely, the server does the hard work and your tablet and/or tv just displays the result. Think of having your ps4/xbox1/pc in a different room but having your controller and tv remotely connected to where you want to be.

I find it works very well. The servers for europe are in Ireland anyway so the ping time are very low and most games I played were lag free.

You dont need to own a copy of the games to play from the nvidia's cloud as its like the Netflix model, but if you want to stream from your own PC you would need a nvidia GPU and that game installed.

You do need the nvidia controller for the tablet use, you can also use it as a PC controler too but again you need a nvidia card installed on your pc.

OmegaRed · 04-06-2015 11:08am

god's toy wrote: »

Hardware wise its probably the most powerful (32bit) chip for gaming out there, it's exactly same CPU used in nvidia powered chromebooks.
The Nexus 9 tablet has a 64 bit version of the same cpu but I think the jury is still out on if it's any better over all. The Nexus 9 does not come with the cloud gaming stuff... I don't think any other tablet does.

It's very close to stock with good timely updates from Nvidia, the support site is good too. I think the battery could last longer but I find that with all Lollipop devices as it just eats power sometimes.

Yes it's a cloud based streaming/subscription service, the Grid steaming works by loading/rendering the game on the its servers and the end user just controls it remotely, the server does the hard work and your tablet and/or tv just displays the result. Think of having your ps4/xbox1/pc in a different room but having your controller and tv remotely connected to where you want to be.

I find it works very well. The servers for europe are in Ireland anyway so the ping time are very low and most games I played were lag free.

You dont need to own a copy of the games to play from the nvidia's cloud as its like the Netflix model, but if you want to stream from your own PC you would need a nvidia GPU and that game installed.

You do need the nvidia controller for the tablet use, you can also use it as a PC controler too but again you need a nvidia card installed on your pc.

Awesome stuff, cheers man. I think you sold it to me.

Are the graphics of the streamed games PC quality? Like would there be a noticeable difference between the console version and PC version (as there is usually a step up quality/AA and such...).

god's toy · 04-06-2015 2:16pm

I think most games run at 1080p from the servers. you can also run PC games that were ported to android and shield, like Half-life 2 ep 1 here in the vid below.

I can confirm it really does play just as well as the vid suggests. it's a darn powerful tablet!

OmegaRed · 08-06-2015 8:32am

I'm totally sold on this and ordered it on Saturday. Should have it by end of week!

Thanks for the info god's toy!

super_furry · 31-07-2015 4:41pm

There's a recall - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-31-nvidia-shield-tablet-recall-due-to-fire-hazard

Reports of batteries bursting into flames so be sure to check your device to see if it needs to be replaced.

OmegaRed · 31-07-2015 5:20pm

OSI wrote: »

There's also a new update which I'm hoping will fix the massive cock up that was the last one.

what was the cock up? my is just downloading the new one now. hope i'm not affected.

OmegaRed · 31-07-2015 5:21pm

Balls... Y01....

That's futures me's problem. I'm off to the pub!

wes · 31-07-2015 5:23pm

super_furry wrote: »

There's a recall - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-31-nvidia-shield-tablet-recall-due-to-fire-hazard

Reports of batteries bursting into flames so be sure to check your device to see if it needs to be replaced.

Damn, mine needs to be replaced. Oh well, waiting to hear back from them.

god's toy · 31-07-2015 5:39pm

Yep mine too. Hey I get a new tablet sent to me for free after I'd had this for months, Call that a win.

Oh and it never heated up.

ionapaul · 31-07-2015 7:30pm

god's toy wrote: »

Yep mine too. Hey I get a new tablet sent to me for free after I'd had this for months, Call that a win.

Oh and it never heated up.

Mine needs to go back too.

symbolic · 31-07-2015 7:49pm

god's toy wrote: »

Yep mine too. Hey I get a new tablet sent to me for free after I'd had this for months, Call that a win.

Yeah that's true!

OmegaRed · 31-07-2015 11:28pm

OSI wrote: »

It says the old one will become inactive when you activate the new one. I'm guessing there's a kill switch in the new firmware. I didn't see any mention of sending the old one back? I wonder if you could put an older fw or even cyanogen mod on the old one and keep it going?

If the don't take it back, surely its even worth €50 for spare parts???

god's toy · 01-08-2015 1:06am

OmegaRed wrote: »

If the don't take it back, surely its even worth €50 for spare parts???

Sure, you could take out the battery and... oh, wait.

OmegaRed · 01-08-2015 1:57pm

god's toy wrote: »

Sure, you could take out the battery and... oh, wait.

I'll take that as a, the battery can't be removed. Its sealed in then?

god's toy · 01-08-2015 5:41pm

OmegaRed wrote: »

I'll take that as a, the battery can't be removed. Its sealed in then?

Yep and that the recall is cos the battery has a chance of catching fire!

dubsaab · 03-08-2015 4:41pm

My tablet has the Y01 battery and the model/serial number falls within the affected range.
When I complete the online form it says that based on the information my unit is not affected by the recall and no further action is required. I cannot get through on the UK number 808-189-3133.

I am uncomfortable using the tablet now.

Has anyone had any success with an online claim

setanta1984 · 17-08-2015 7:43pm

So I received my new replacement shield tablet today. Anyone else got theirs? Now to figure out how to keep the old one working

Anyone seen anything online?

god's toy · 17-08-2015 7:57pm

Nothing here yet.

Did you boot yours up? does that kill the old one? oh and do we have to send the old one back?

setanta1984 · 17-08-2015 7:59pm

god's toy wrote: »

Nothing here yet.

Did you boot yours up? does that kill the old one? oh and do we have to send the old one back?

Not turned it on yet want to research how to keep the old one from bricking first.
Don't have to send it back, yellow piece of paper days to dispose of it as per local guidelines. Reading on reddit that us users have a different note with theirs saying they will receive a return kit soon. Result for us!

god's toy · 17-08-2015 8:10pm

setanta1984 wrote: »

Not turned it on yet want to research how to keep the old one from bricking first.
Don't have to send it back, yellow piece of paper days to dispose of it as per local guidelines. Reading on reddit that us users have a different note with theirs saying they will receive a return kit soon. Result for us!

You could always use the old one as an off line media device?

Wonder can we rom it and put CM12 or something?

Don't blame you for not booting up! I'm holding off too until I know it we can get round it

druss · 17-08-2015 8:45pm

dubsaab wrote: »

My tablet has the Y01 battery and the model/serial number falls within the affected range.
When I complete the online form it says that based on the information my unit is not affected by the recall and no further action is required. I cannot get through on the UK number 808-189-3133.

I am uncomfortable using the tablet now.

Has anyone had any success with an online claim

I got the same message. I followed the recommended settings check, which informed me the tablet was affected and needed to be recalled. But when I filled out the recall form online, I'm told that the tablet is grand?! And this is after I have to acknowledge that my tablet will be junked on receipt of the new model.

Did you get an answer out of the UK call centre?

setanta1984 · 18-08-2015 1:00am

So, I spent the evening checking it out.

If you have root and a custom recovery and want to keep running the stock ROM, you can try flashing this zip to disable the OTA updater.
You won't get any more OTA updates unless you flash them manually but xda seems pretty confident that this will disable the killswitch. http://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tablet/general/kill-kill-switch-shield-tablet-xx-t3179489

I decided to go the whole hog, and installed a new ROM altogether, Blisspop http://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tablet/development/rom-blisspop-3-4-team-bliss-nvidia-t3124443
This is a grand and easy guide: http://gbatemp.net/threads/guide-nvidia-shield-custom-rom.394750/#post-5612282
Again XDA/the internet reckons being on Blisspop/TWRP recovery reckons you should be safe from the killswitch.

I have the original tablet running blisspop now and have setup and updated the new tablet, all stock, and everything is running fine so far.

god's toy · 25-08-2015 6:42pm

Still no replacement table here...
hmm

OmegaRed · 26-08-2015 8:19am

god's toy wrote: »

Still no replacement table here...
hmm

Mine arrived by UPS and had a tracking number on it. I never received the tracking number but it might be worth trying to contact Nvidia and see if they can at least give you that?

mossie · 26-08-2015 11:10am

I got an email this morning that my replacement has been despatched with UPS, tracking number shows it's in the Netherlands at the moment. Email said 3 - 7 days for delivery.

ionapaul · 26-08-2015 11:38am

No replacement for me either, still waiting.

What are people doing with their old tablets? I was hoping to replace stock Android with a custom ROM called Blisspop, but need a very straightforward 'how to' guide for that and haven't found anything yet!

ionapaul · 26-08-2015 12:25pm

Think the killswitch might wreck it if you don't install a new OS or mess around with stuff though, right?

OmegaRed · 27-08-2015 8:26am

I've used the guide here http://forum.xda-developers.com/shie...et-xx-t3179489 as mentioned above.

Had to flash the device first to root it and was then able to delete the OTA file as instructed.

I now have both tablets up and running with no issues. Additionally, there is no sign of an OTA update being pushed to the older tablet to brick it.... http://shield.bogdacutu.me/

NVIDIA Shield Tablet - Tegra K1 chip - Will you Buy?

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