Why won't the Shield remember my app?

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Jase2985

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#2180955 15-Feb-2019 14:15

again it comes back to android TV (sheild) vs hacked phone/tablet android (Chinese box)

different software, different limitations

Handle9

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#2181024 15-Feb-2019 16:57

Rikkitic:
I still don't understand why it is designed not to work with stuff that cheaper boxes have no problem with. Sideloading can be nearly impossible with many apps. All it seems to want to do is shove YouTube and Netflix at you. The world is bigger than that.

Why is it designed to make geo-unblocking of sites like Zattoo impossible? Who appointed Nvidia policeman of the world? This limitation is extra stupid because the Zattoo app works fine on any ordinary box and you can also stream from the site on any browser. And of course you can also clone the app. So what is being achieved?

Android TV is designed to be a consumer device, not something that will run every Android app.

Many of the apps you are talking about probably require hacks and work around to get a semi usable experience. A number probably need a mouse to use.

This is a pretty crap experience for most users an would result in lots of complaints and higher support requirements. Only allowing Android TV apps gives a more consistent and enjoyable experience for most users. You aren't using the box in a typical way.

Rikkitic

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#2181045 15-Feb-2019 17:34

Handle9:

Android TV is designed to be a consumer device, not something that will run every Android app.

Many of the apps you are talking about probably require hacks and work around to get a semi usable experience. A number probably need a mouse to use.

This is a pretty crap experience for most users an would result in lots of complaints and higher support requirements. Only allowing Android TV apps gives a more consistent and enjoyable experience for most users. You aren't using the box in a typical way.

Thanks. I get that now but I still don't see the sense of some other things. Here is a question from my early days with the Shield, and it is a sincere one. Note that it is only one thing of many that I encountered. I did not start out being frustrated by the Shield. That came from my experiences with it. This is just one that I am picking at random.

The display is divided into horizontal columns. I think there is one for YouTube and one for installed apps. There is no user provision to change this. A few things can be adjusted in small ways, but you have to put up with the basic layout that is imposed on you. This lack of flexibility was one of the first things that struck me. It almost seems to be a design feature.

The endless YouTube ‘suggestions’ were an unwelcome jumbled mess, and I finally had to disable them completely, though the Shield really does not like to take ‘no’ for an answer and it keeps turning them back on at every opportunity. My question, though, is why the single-column horizontal scroll? This is terrible. If you have more than a few apps installed, you have to painfully thread your way along the single column until you find the one you want. This while most of the rest of the screen area is unused! This seems just stupid to me, not to mention extremely annoying. Yes, Netflix is there all the time, glowering dominantly, but I don’t want Netflix.

Mainly because of things like this, I started to look for better ways of doing things that met my needs. I was already using Kodi and I discovered that I could shortcut any apps to the Kodi interface, where they fill the screen with rows of buttons you can see at a glance. What an improvement!

With the right add-ons, Kodi running on the Shield gives me everything that the Shield on its own does not, mainly a sensible user interface. So my question: why that single-column horizontal apps scroll? How is that in any way better than a full screen with mouse functionality? Why aren’t users given a choice about this kind of thing? Doesn’t Nvidia want to sell more Shields?

Again, this is only one thing of several, chosen as an example. So am I missing something? Is there a magic setting that turns the Shield interface into something normal and usable? I didn’t bother to keep looking after I worked out the Kodi solution. Fortunately I didn’t need to.

The disproportionate emphasis on YouTube is also irritating. Fortunately there is a good Kodi add-on that does what I want and doesn’t overwhelm me with unwanted crap ‘suggestions’ so I just use that instead.

I suppose the bottom line here is that I am still using the Shield and I am happy with it as long as it doesn't get in the way. I freaked out when I ran into the Zattoo problem because it was the latest in a long line and that released a lot of pent-up frustration. But I get the point you are making and I don't doubt the Shield's quality and it is good as a hardware backend. With Kodi it works well for me and I guess that is all that matters. I have turned off everything on the Home screen and I just autoload Kodi every time it starts. I only have to fiddle with it when I install a new app, which fortunately doesn't happen very often. I have looked at the Shield apps a couple of times, by the way, but I couldn't find anything that I wanted. Kodi meets my needs better.

Thanks for listening to my frustrations and thanks for the explanations. I do appreciate it and I now have a better understanding of the issues involved.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Oblivian

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#2181066 15-Feb-2019 18:08

The display is divided into horizontal columns. I think there is one for YouTube and one for installed apps. There is no user provision to change this. A few things can be adjusted in small ways, but you have to put up with the basic layout that is imposed on you. This lack of flexibility was one of the first things that struck me. It almost seems to be a design feature.

Why horizontal scroll?

It (again) quite likely comes back to mainstream usage

Mobile devices + swype/smartphone userbase

Household Widescreen device formatting

Because Sony

Because Mircrosoft/Xbox

Because Samsung

And likely the idea behind it being based similarly on a multimedia device - Because people are visual, and like to use as little single buttons and minimal navigation finger shifting as possible

gbwelly

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#2181091 15-Feb-2019 19:29

The horizontal row is a case of Google building it but they haven't yet come. The plan was the apps are in a horizontal row at the top and as you go up and down you get the latest content for the apps. Problem is sod all apps support it so we all turn it off and are left with a single row of apps at the top.

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