# NVidia Shield TV as an emulation box? Best or better options?



## ital (Jun 18, 2019)

I really miss the old OG Xbox and its emulators as it did so many systems so well but the lack of HDMI really puts a crimp on it as the picture looks terrible on new screens so I'm looking at a Shield TV as it seems to be the best option in terms of size, ease, updates, compatibility etc.. as it can handle GC/Dreamcast/PSP easily and even Sega Saturn has been optimized for it:



More videos to illustrate my thinking:





Its quite incredible what they've managed to crank out of this tiny, silent device and the Deus Ex inspired controller just ices the cake:







As its actually quite decent to use. Overall this does seem to be the OG Xbox successor in terms of emulation quality, range of devices, support etc... as the rPi just doesn't appeal at all due to its inherent input lag and excruciating boot up time.

Anyone modded one? If so, hows your experience? Worth the price? Any tips and ticks? Thanks


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## fvig2001 (Jun 18, 2019)

I bought one for this purpose but I haven't had the time to set it up. It works well for DS and pre n64 stuff. I was planning to use it for DS, 16 bit and older games and maybe some n64, dreamcast and gamecube games. I mostly use it as a TV box. I wanted to root it but it seems it's a hassle since you lose updates, so it's literally the only device I own that I never rooted.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Jun 18, 2019)

You don't need to "mod" a Shield TV to do anything regarding emulation with it, they're all supported natively...cuz it's just Android. You can install Retroarch and be on your way. 

Regarding the experience, there's absolutely no other Android TV box around that meets, or beats, the Shield TV in terms of performance really. If you want the best Android TV box for emulation, then it's basically Shield TV or nothing. 

Is it worth the price? Absolutely. But if you're thinking of buying one, it might be best to wait and see what the refresh of the Shield TV is going to look like. Should be announced in a few months I would imagine, could be slightly more powerful than the current 2 versions.


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## ital (Jun 19, 2019)

Thanks, that was my next question about rooting it or if it all worked straight out the gate as I've never used anything Android based before. 

Can you download the apps themselves from the playstore or do you have to transfer from the computer and sideload? 

Looks like a no brainer of a deal yet it doesn't seem to have that much traction in various communities as people never seem to speak about it. The fact that it was so well supported/has active devs/updates really caught my attention and the emulation quality seems to be really good as well.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Jun 19, 2019)

Retroarch is on the play store, so you don't have to sideload anything, just install, transfer ROMs however you want to do that, and just go.


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## fvig2001 (Jun 19, 2019)

Rooting isn't needed. This isn't an Apple TV after all. All emulators are either on the playstore or you just install it through a 3rd party application. Although if you are patient, maybe you can wait for the supposed new Shield coming out. There's the mdarcy model that the supposed Switch Pro may also be based off


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## ital (Jun 19, 2019)

Thanks, just looked and it seems the update will be the same as the 2017 model mostly but may have a higher maximum GPU clock speed:

https://www.xda-developers.com/nvidia-shield-android-tv-refreshed-tegra-x1/

Not exactly a huge leap as I'd hold off if they were going for a proper spec bump.


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## slaphappygamer (Jun 19, 2019)

You really don’t need hdmi if you emulate 16bit consoles. I guess it’s really only needed if your tv only has hdmi inputs. Anyhow, a wii would be more cost effective. Then again, only up to GameCube can be achieved.


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## ital (Jun 19, 2019)

slaphappygamer said:


> You really don’t need hdmi if you emulate 16bit consoles. I guess it’s really only needed if your tv only has hdmi inputs. Anyhow, a wii would be more cost effective. Then again, only up to GameCube can be achieved.



Useless post is useless. I'd say reread the OP again but its evident you didn't comprehend it in the first place!


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## spotanjo3 (Jun 19, 2019)

Impressive but can it run PCSX2 emulator ? I don't think so, lol!


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## proffk (Jun 19, 2019)

Dolphin emulation of gamecube & wii games is hit or miss. Some gamecube games work great. Most wii games I tried have a lot of slowdown.


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## CORE (Jun 19, 2019)

Shield is your best option for emulation and all round Media device on the low end of things atleast next would be an ODRoid or Raspberry Pi.


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## LuigiXHero (Jun 19, 2019)

@op

Dude was just trying to help and you insult him? I guess you aren't aware with how good component cables look if your TV supports them? Pretty much as good as hdmi. So next time don't be an ass since the dude took time out of his life to try to help.


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## ital (Jun 19, 2019)

azoreseuropa said:


> Impressive but can it run PCSX2 emulator ? I don't think so, lol!



What can for a similar price/size? Hmmm? Omar listening...



proffk said:


> Dolphin emulation of gamecube & wii games is hit or miss. Some gamecube games work great. Most wii games I tried have a lot of slowdown.



Thanks for that, real world insight is always appreciated. Its mainly DC/PSP that has my interest as I have a Wii U for Nintendo stuff but thanks for mentioning that as the videos don't speak about it and make it seem like GC/Wii is perfect?



CORE said:


> Shield is your best option for emulation and all round Media device on the low end of things atleast next would be an ODRoid or Raspberry Pi.



Nice one, I'm inclined to agree as it does seem to offer the best value/quality of emulation all round. ODroid did look decent but it seems to be a "not quite" in many respects. 



LuigiXHero said:


> @op
> 
> Dude was just trying to help and you insult him? I guess you aren't aware with how good component cables look if your TV supports them? Pretty much as good as hdmi. So next time don't be an ass since the dude took time out of his life to try to help.



Tuck your cape in, social justice warrior. The post was entirely facile as I'd covered my reasoning in the OP quite clearly and Xbox OG Component cables are uber expensive (£50 upwards on eBay for the real deal, not those cheapo ones with interference all over the place) and it still isn't as crisp as HDMI plus my emulation interests need more grunt for DC/PSP - once again as I said. Now STFU and go sit down somewhere before you think of addressing me again.


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## The Real Jdbye (Jun 19, 2019)

replicashooter said:


> I really miss the old OG Xbox and its emulators as it did so many systems so well but the lack of HDMI really puts a crimp on it as the picture looks terrible on new screens so I'm looking at a Shield TV as it seems to be the best option in terms of size, ease, updates, compatibility etc.. as it can handle GC/Dreamcast/PSP easily and even Sega Saturn has been optimized for it:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



A Wii U makes a great emulation box. You can emulate PSX, N64 and DS with ease and run GC and Wii games natively. The gamepad works great for DS games that need touchscreen input. Plus they are cheaper than a Shield TV. But the Shield TV is good for media consumption as well, Wii U is not quite as good for that.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Jun 19, 2019)

replicashooter said:


> What can for a similar price/size? Hmmm? Omar listening...


A PC, that's about it. There's still nothing Android based that will run PCSX2 well enough to be considered at all viable.

For $100, you could pick up a cheap Dell Optiplex that will have like a 4th gen Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD with it which would be enough for most PS2 games. And you could even pick up a budget low profile GPU, stuff that in there, and get a half decent gaming PC


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## slaphappygamer (Jun 19, 2019)

replicashooter said:


> Useless post is useless. I'd say reread the OP again but its evident you didn't comprehend it in the first place!


Could’ve just ignored a post if you don’t like it.


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## Kioku_Dreams (Jun 19, 2019)

replicashooter said:


> Thanks, just looked and it seems the update will be the same as the 2017 model mostly but may have a higher maximum GPU clock speed:
> 
> https://www.xda-developers.com/nvidia-shield-android-tv-refreshed-tegra-x1/
> 
> Not exactly a huge leap as I'd hold off if they were going for a proper spec bump.


Better power consumption and higher clock speeds may benefit your specific emulation needs. I'm in the same boat, here. Looking at a Shield TV for a compact emulation box. My next option is a RasPi... But, I'd rather not.


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## ital (Jun 19, 2019)

Tom Bombadildo said:


> A PC, that's about it. There's still nothing Android based that will run PCSX2 well enough to be considered at all viable.
> 
> For $100, you could pick up a cheap Dell Optiplex that will have like a 4th gen Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD with it which would be enough for most PS2 games. And you could even pick up a budget low profile GPU, stuff that in there, and get a half decent gaming PC



That is very interesting, thanks. As much as I dislike PCs they really are the best when it comes to emulation and at that price it seems to be worth consideration. I'd also read that people use Mac Minis a lot for at home arcade machines due to how well they handle the emulation so that is also something I'd appreciate more info on if anyone has went that route. 

The appeal of the Shield is its form factor, silent operation, range of support and how well it emulates what I want to play but you've really got me thinking now...




slaphappygamer said:


> Could’ve just ignored a post if you don’t like it.



The aim of the feedback was to attempt to alleviate your idiocy by allowing you to see how pointless what you said was because everyone else who has ignored your dirge so far has done neither you nor your lack of comprehension any favors because at least from now on you'll pause to read/consider before satisfying your urge to hit reply. The intent was to help you become a better poster but you're free to take it how you want.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



The Real Jdbye said:


> A Wii U makes a great emulation box. You can emulate PSX, N64 and DS with ease and run GC and Wii games natively. The gamepad works great for DS games that need touchscreen input. Plus they are cheaper than a Shield TV. But the Shield TV is good for media consumption as well, Wii U is not quite as good for that.



It does and its an excellent platform all round but RetroArch recently caused my card to corrupt by crashing and it was a major pain setting it all up again so I'm considering other options as I prefer not wasting time. That and Wii U isn't the most supported platform in the world! Absolutely stunning for Nintendo stuff though, they knocked it out of the park. 



Memoir said:


> Better power consumption and higher clock speeds may benefit your specific emulation needs. I'm in the same boat, here. Looking at a Shield TV for a compact emulation box. My next option is a RasPi... But, I'd rather not.



They may just be but given what I read online I'm not really expecting that huge a bump and can pick up a 2017 model for quite cheap at the moment. Ultimately at the price I'm paying I could use it and if the new one turns out to bring something more than a negligible processing increase I could trade up and still recoup my investment. 

At the moment it does look like the Shield TV is truly the successor to the OG Xbox on many fronts. Still surprised at how much power they got in such a small form factor, very impressive, as is how well its supported because everything has quick and dirty ports of emulators on but STV is one of the few with optimized builds and that is what sets the OG Xbox apart to this day as it all worked so smoothly for something with such low specs.


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## spotanjo3 (Jun 19, 2019)

I forgot one thing.. It cannot run Wii U emulator at all. A Cemu, nah.


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## Pleng (Jun 19, 2019)

replicashooter said:


> The aim of the feedback was to attempt to alleviate your idiocy by allowing you to see how pointless what you said was because everyone else who has ignored your dirge so far has done neither you nor your lack of comprehension any favors because at least from now on you'll pause to read/consider before satisfying your urge to hit reply. The intent was to help you become a better poster but you're free to take it how you want



Why is anybody even bothering to try and help this guy out??


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## the_randomizer (Jun 19, 2019)

The Real Jdbye said:


> A Wii U makes a great emulation box. You can emulate PSX, N64 and DS with ease and run GC and Wii games natively. The gamepad works great for DS games that need touchscreen input. Plus they are cheaper than a Shield TV. But the Shield TV is good for media consumption as well, Wii U is not quite as good for that.



Eh, PSX and N64 are still a mess, many games on PSX are glitchy as hell and many games with redbook audio don't even play sound. With N64, you're better off using VC injections as most games will run fine.

Edit: Some games like FF7, FF8 and FF9 all have to be run in interpreter mode, because if it's in dynamic mode when entering a battle, it crashes WiiSX, so yeah.


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## The Real Jdbye (Jun 19, 2019)

the_randomizer said:


> Eh, PSX and N64 are still a mess, many games on PSX are glitchy as hell and many games with redbook audio don't even play sound. With N64, you're better off using VC injections as most games will run fine.
> 
> Edit: Some games like FF7, FF8 and FF9 all have to be run in interpreter mode, because if it's in dynamic mode when entering a battle, it crashes WiiSX, so yeah.


On what emulator? I thought RetroArch was supposed to work pretty well.


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## Naendow (Jun 19, 2019)

Btw, if you would be okay with a handheld that you can plug into your TV if needed, the GPD XD+ is great for that. Just bought it a few weeks ago.


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## the_randomizer (Jun 19, 2019)

The Real Jdbye said:


> On what emulator? I thought RetroArch was supposed to work pretty well.



WiiSX. There's no dynarec for RetroArch on Wii U, it's been a very slow process as it hasn't been ported over yet. @QuarkTheAwesome will be porting it over. So
until that happens, PSX games will not run well on Wii or Wii U.


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## ital (Jun 19, 2019)

Naendow said:


> Btw, if you would be okay with a handheld that you can plug into your TV if needed, the GPD XD+ is great for that. Just bought it a few weeks ago.



Interesting, I was actually also considering this as it looks great:



But the STV seems to be the best option in terms of support, build quality and raw power because as attractive as the handheld is (and how much better old school graphics look on a small screen) I prefer comfy gaming. What do you make of the GPD XD+ please? A quick review with its strengths and weaknesses would be great. 

Has anyone reading went the small/quiet PC way? If so whats your setup and how do you rate it?


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## CORE (Jun 19, 2019)

I honestly avoid RetroArch on WiiU or Wii I prefer the Wii Emulators for AIO Nintendo overclocked with C2W But absolutely love it on PC Android can be hit and miss at times but depends on hardware.


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## MohammedQ8 (Jun 19, 2019)

I use shield TV pro 500gb since 2015 ....... For porn .


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## ital (Jun 19, 2019)

CORE said:


> I honestly avoid RetroArch on WiiU or Wii I prefer the Wii Emulators for AIO Nintendo overclocked with C2W But absolutely love it on PC Android can be hit and miss at times but depends on hardware.



Yeah, the card corrupting glitch I mentioned on my Wii U is what put me off RetroArch. It really does seem it needs the PC version to get the full bells and whistles of filters, optimization and all the other cool features but generally I've never been a fan of it as I've always preferred separate emulators as RA is just so nerdy with its over the top configuration and the rest of the crap when you just want to play a quick classic. 

This was the main reason I kept the OG Xbox around so long because everything just worked with no faffing around.

Stuff like this really makes the STV look good though:


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## CORE (Jun 19, 2019)

PS3 = PS1 , PS2 , PS3 , PSP , PSN , Minis
PS2 = PS1 , PS2
Wii = G&W , GB , GBC , GBA , NES , SNES , N64 , NVB , NGC , Wii , WiiWare
WiiU = G&W , GB , GBC , GBA , NDS , NES , SNES , N64 , NVB , NGC , Wii , WiiWare , WiiU , EShop
XBOX = Sharp X68000 , NEOGEOCD , FBALegends , MSX1 , MSX2 , DOSBOX , CPS1 , CPS2 , CPS3 , NEOGEOAES. PCEngineDuo.
XBOX360 = XBOX , XBOX360 , XBLA

HTPC = AMD 6800K 8GB DDR3 HD8070D 2GB DDR3 HD7750 4GB GDDR3 Dual Graphics. 120GB SSD , 1.5TB HDD.
Runs most at 720p at decent speed Resident Evil HD Remasters including Resident Evil 2 Remake runs 720p - 480p.
My Kodi / RetroArch Living Room PC and PC Gaming Windows 7 SP1 x64.

Just throwing you some ideas. My HTPC is in a Cube style Case all in total set me back around £500 Brand new back in 2012. Still is awesome and can hold it's own with Dolphin and PCSX2.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@replicashooter Yeah RetroArch is pretty crappy on WiiU and I hear you lost my F***ing Saves via SDCard Problem.


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## the_randomizer (Jun 19, 2019)

replicashooter said:


> Yeah, the card corrupting glitch I mentioned on my Wii U is what put me off RetroArch. It really does seem it needs the PC version to get the full bells and whistles of filters, optimization and all the other cool features but generally I've never been a fan of it as I've always preferred separate emulators as RA is just so nerdy with its over the top configuration and the rest of the crap when you just want to play a quick classic.
> 
> This was the main reason I kept the OG Xbox around so long because everything just worked with no faffing around.
> 
> Stuff like this really makes the STV look good though:




Card corrupting issues? Never had that happen to my SD cards, maybe you're using off brand cards or just another excuse to crap on RetroArch?


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## Naendow (Jun 19, 2019)

replicashooter said:


> Interesting, I was actually also considering this as it looks great:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




A review would be a great idea. It would be fun creating it. But if I do so, I would need someone that looks over it before I release it because English is not my native language. If someone wants to do that, I'd do that.


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## ital (Jun 19, 2019)

the_randomizer said:


> Card corrupting issues? Never had that happen to my SD cards, maybe you're using off brand cards or just another excuse to crap on RetroArch?



Still banging that drum? Official Sandisk tested with F3 to check capacity and sourced via proper channels. Shit happens, sit on the kerb and get yourself a beer, dirtbag. 



Naendow said:


> A review would be a great idea. It would be fun creating it. But if I do so, I would need someone that looks over it before I release it because English is not my native language. If someone wants to do that, I'd do that.



I'm cool with that, if you'd like to type it up and PM it to me I'll look over it and then you can share it with the community as there isn't much proper talk on this model yet.


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## the_randomizer (Jun 19, 2019)

replicashooter said:


> Still banging that drum? Official Sandisk tested with F3 to check capacity and sourced via proper channels. Shit happens, sit on the kerb and get yourself a beer, dirtbag.
> 
> I'm cool with that, if you'd like to type it up and PM it to me I'll look over it and then you can share it with the community as there isn't much proper talk on this model yet.



Whatever you say jackhole.


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## slaphappygamer (Jun 20, 2019)

If you couldn't tell, some of us are just trying to help you and you don’t have to be a dick about not liking our answers. You kind of shit on your own thread, I can tell from your whining and name calling. Something tells me this probably isn’t the first time you’ve had this issue. I hope find what you need. You can take that how you want to.


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## CORE (Jun 20, 2019)

@the_randomizer I too got my SDCard Corrupted at one point and it too was a SanDisk oddly enough 8GB.

I use a 64GB now but I think it was due to the way the write speed performance etc in RetroArch for WiiU that many of us have had issues with especially those damn downloads updating cores etc.


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## the_randomizer (Jun 20, 2019)

CORE said:


> @the_randomizer I too got my SDCard Corrupted at one point and it too was a SanDisk oddly enough 8GB.
> 
> I use a 64GB now but I think it was due to the way the write speed performance etc in RetroArch for WiiU that many of us have had issues with especially those damn downloads updating cores etc.



I literally never had a SD card get corrupted, used a Kingston card though, 16 GB I think.


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## coffinbirth (Aug 2, 2019)

HTPC >Shield TV
Bought a Shield TV for 4K HDR playback and emulation. Tried a handful of GC games and they ran like garbage. Bought a $200 Dell i7, works great. Dropped in a 1050ti and now pretty much everything runs pretty well. Playing through some PS2 games now.


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## KHEOPS (Nov 16, 2019)

Everything works well with android lineage on nin switch
I formulate everything that my.gpdxd (1st version) I use retroarch+ Arcbrowser) no information on the screen, retroarch is in the background, behind the frontend, the switch allows to emulate crt shader easily, with run latency, that my gpdxd can't match or rival, I have 2 retroarch, 32 and 64 bits, because psx rearmed to hd resolution in 32 bits, not on 64bits, and picodrive is full speed in 32 bits, and in 64 bits 20 to 40fps... Everything is perfect in emulation, and superior to the gpdxd in performance, all this with a beta, I wait for the magpie....


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