HTPC software has advanced to the point that anyone who knows how to install and use Windows can build their own HTPC that is better than anything the Titans offer. Well, open-source HTPC software has made tremendous strides in recent years and now we don’t have to take it anymore! Even worse, those DVRs are closed systems, hindered by DRM copy-protection and advertising schemes and some even limit what streaming services you can receive.
Even those DVRs that can record free broadcast HDTV typically disable that feature if your subscription is not paid. The problem is that the DVRs provided by cable and satellite companies only function when their subscriptions are active. The ability to time-shift record and skip commercials is essential to most users, as it should be.
Why forgo the largest source of free TV programming available, especially when it’s more reliable and provides better picture quality than streaming, cable or satellite TV? But don’t settle for a half-baked solution! Most of the new services out there, such as Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Google’s Chromecast, offer internet streaming only, with no ability to receive broadcast HDTV. Taking back control from the Titans of TV not only saves money but also time which ultimately makes watching TV a better experience. There is a quiet revolution underway as people are dropping their cable and satellite TV services in favor of low-cost internet streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon, Fox News and free terrestrial broadcast HDTV. Updated and Revised June, 2016 Introduction I'll see if I can pull up my Harmony manager tonight and figure out what device I had the Shield configured as.The Best HTPC Guide for Internet and Live TV in America Cut the cable and build your own DVR with Kodi, MediaPortal and SchedulesDirect. The only thing I wasn't able to program was "power on" for the Shield as it doesn't truly power off, so whenever I hit the Harmony button to turn everything on, it turns on the receiver and the TV, and then I hit an arrow button to wake the Shield.
Once you have the remote set up, you can run through a code learning step in Flirc to associate up/down/left/right/etc with the correct actions in the Flirc tool. I'd have to look at my setup to see what I did, but I think I picked something like "Fire TV" as the device type in the Harmony manager, and then used a similar profile in the Flirc. You buy it, program it in your PC, then plug it into the USB port on the Shield.įor the Harmony and Flirc combo, you choose what to program into both. It does not have an IR receiver, as far as I'm aware. Just trying to understand what I'm getting myself into before pulling the trigger on the purchase(s).
If not, how simple is adding a Flirc? Does that program into the Harmony as a Shield or a Flirc?
I'm seeing conflicting reports on whether the Shield Pro has a built-in IR receiver on the console or not. Without upgrading my remote, that's not much help. I understand that the Shield native remote is Bluetooth. I would like to have the Shield up and running in an integrated fashion on the day it arrives, and want to make sure that I'm getting things right. I have a Logitech Harmony 650 remote, which is IR only. I'm going to bite the bullet and go for the Nvidia Shield TV Pro. I haven't used it but it seems like a viable option. If you have modern TV and receiver connected to your Shield, I would bet you can get by with just the Shield remote most of the time. Once that is done I expect I will be able to use the Shield remote much more easily by using CEC to simply turn on/off the TV and Receiver as needed. Eventually I plan to get a new TV, and new receiver. I like its built in keyboard and it works as an airmouse which is kind of cool but not super useful. Everything else is done on the Rii remote. Most of the time, I tell the Harmony I want to 'Watch Shield' and it turns on the TV and Receiver and sets them to the right inputs and I can use it to adjust the volume if I want. Neither work well with CEC so I need the more function-rich Harmony to make them work well. I didn't bother to get it working because my TV is positively ancient in terms of home theater devices (Vizio VP505 XVT Plasma from 2010/2011 I think) and my receiver is well into middle age (Onkyo TX-NR616 from 2013). the Shield remote has an IR blaster in it and you can tell the shield that you want to use its remote to run the TV or receiver volume using the shield remote. I *also* have a Harmony One remote that I use to run my TV and receiver. It works very well because it has an integrated keyboard. I have a Shield TV Pro (2019) and I got this remote to work with it (via USB 2.4ghz dongle it came with).