Nvidia rolls out Android TV Discover to Shield complete with "content recommendations" (aka forced ads)

[tikker]

Summary

Nvidia's Shield will start rolling out an update to adopt Google's recent Android TV "Discover" homescreen. It will change the homescreen to include a "Discover" and "Apps" tab. Unfortunately it will also come with "content recommendations" (read ads) that will take up the first one or two rows of your home screen. Of course users are not happy about the latter with Reddit gathering pitchforks and Nvidia's own forums getting complaints as well.

 

Quotes

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A few months after it was released by Google, the Nvidia Shield TV is officially adopting the latest Android TV homescreen. Starting today, the “Discover” UI is rolling out to users, complete with “content recommendations.”

 

There’s a new “Discover” tab at the top of the screen that can be used to highlight shows and movies you may want to see based on your subscriptions, library, and what’s compatible with Android TV in general.

There’s also a new “Apps” tab that simply catalogs all of your installed apps on one screen, an expanded view from what’s on the “Home” tab.

 

The bit that’ll be viewed as unfortunate for many is that this new homescreen brings with it the “content recommendations” that Google released last February and appear at the top of the screen.

Nvidia says this revamped homescreen will be rolling out to Shield owners in the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, and Australia. The updated style will also be available to users in Italy and Spain, but without the “Discover” tab. The rollout starts today and should be complete by June 24th.

 

Alledgedly it's also not a real update update, but rather something disguised as a Google Play service that'll just (re)install itself automatically according to a test of an arbitrary redditor:

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Settings>Apps>Show System Apps>Android Tv Home>Uninstall updates

Not 5 mins later... Reinstalled! (I have auto updates disabled). Effing BS

Must be google play 'services' reinstalling.

EDIT: It is google play services reinstalling. I might have a workaround as what i changed seems to have stuck (at least for 90 mins vs the less than 5 before)

<workaround follows>

 

Another person claims to have contacted Nvidia, and the response they got was that the green company only provides the hardware.

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Called Nvidia and they said they're not responsible for the content as they only provide the hardware (hm...convenient), and there's no way to turn off the ads. They suggested I contact Google to complain about the content - which will obviously be just a waste of time.

 

My thoughts

Honestly the "Apps" tab sounds like a nice addition. I like a clear way of viewing what's installed. The Discover element as a separate tab also sounds fine to me. Even if I don't use it actively, I sometimes browse these kind of things to just see what it lists (which would imply I do use them I guess).

 

I'm not a fan however of every single serivce or device having to cram ads down our throat at every corner nowadays. Can companies please just stop doing this? I'm not buying hundred or thousand dollar devices to be forcefed ads. These are not cheap devices and the add-freeness of the Shield was what made it this "hidden" gem in the marketing war. They managed to stay out of it a bit, but I guess they finally succumbed. I think it's especially unnecessary since it'll be ads specifically for movies and shows viewable on Android TV. The various streaming apps already do this themselves. That, and they literally have a dedicated tab for it.

 

Finally, of course it's Reddit, but if Nvidia indeed responded they only provide the hardware and don't control the software then I find that weird. Surely you want some say, at the very least, of what goes on on your device. Oddly enough Nvidia's own website seems suspiciously quiet about this update. I guess it's true what they say about heroes and villains.

 

Sources

https://tweakers.net/nieuws/183358/nvidia-begint-met-introductie-reclame-streamingdiensten-op-shield-tv-homescreen.html (for the Dutchies)

https://9to5google.com/2021/06/17/shield-tv-discover-homescreen-rolling-out/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ShieldAndroidTV/comments/o25m53/shield_tv_is_getting_googles_discover_android_tv/

 

[TrigrH]

Yep all android TV's are like this now, this new layout is shit and there is no way to disable it without rolling back and disabling google play services.

[Vishera]

I checked it out,and it's an update that Google pushed,not NVIDIA.

Therefore it's not NVIDIA's fault,people should aim the pitchforks at Google.

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, huilun02 said:

Update to Nvidia's hardware has to be made by... Nvidia

And the decision to allow it to be released to their hardware is done by... Nvidia

And an option (or lack thereof) for users opt out of the update is on... Nvidia

 

I know that software updates to Android devices have to be tailored specific to the hardware by the manufacturer

Can't fool me

1) Not a hardware update.

2) Yep but then again, users do want new OS updates so...

3) Nope, Google make Android TV, if Google change the way ATV delivers content & updates there's not much device manufacturers can do about it short of rewriting huge chunks of the OS.

4) Again correct but only up to a point, I mean you don't really expect Nvidia to rewrite huge chunks of ATVs updating code for a single device, right?

[tikker]

Yeah the blame is on Google of course. It would've been nice from Nvidia to give users an official headsup though and Google not being so shady by not making it an actual update, but forcing it on people as a Google Play service.

[Master Disaster]

2 minutes ago, tikker said:

Yeah the blame is on Google of course. It would've been nice from Nvidia to give users an official headsup though and Google not being so shady by not making it an actual update, but forcing it on people as a Google Play service.

Meanwhile Android users are constantly bitching about not getting security updates because device manufacturers cannot be bothered to support their devices.

 

Google made this change because users demanded a way for them to get security updates outside of full image OTA downloads. I'm not sure what they expected to happen when Google split many of the OS services into Play Store services so they can update them individually. Remember, Google did remove "Don't be evil" from their mission statement a few years back. OFC they're gonna use this as an opportunity to push changes onto users that they might not have been able to otherwise.

[tikker]

12 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Meanwhile Android users are constantly bitching about not getting security updates because device manufacturers cannot be bothered to support their devices.

 

Google made this change because users demanded a way for them to get security updates outside of full image OTA downloads. I'm not sure what they expected to happen when Google split many of the OS services into Play Store services so they can update them individually. Remember, Google did remove "Don't be evil" from their mission statement a few years back. OFC they're gonna use this as an opportunity to push changes onto users that they might not have been able to otherwise.

I agree, but I think there's a big difference between giving security updates for more than the 1 or 2 years the manufacturer can be arsed for versus silently updating users' devices and forcing ads in. I also understand  that we're probably so used to ads now that 99% of people doesn't care anymore, it doesn't make it good.

 

I'm all for auto updates if users can enable or disable it, but this appears to be a one day you turn it on and you have been updated situation. Automatic updates have broken my setup on multiple occasions. If I at least know there was an update it would help troubleshooting tremendously. Never thought I'd say this, but I even prefer Windows update over this. At least you know it's coming and can be postponed a few times.

 

Clearly either Nvidia can have some control, or Google just didn't care yet, because for a while it seemed unaffected by ads that did pop up elsewhere.

[GhostRoadieBL]

Looks like I'll be hunting for a sketchy way of side loading old android TV

I think it's high time for some old fashioned monopoly break-ups of these companies, happened back in the 50's with car manufacturers and it's overdue for google, Facebook, apple, amazon etc etc to be scaled back to being effected by the public opinion instead of "that's what you get because we say so" attitudes

[Kisai]

9 hours ago, TrigrH said:

Yep all android TV's are like this now, this new layout is shit and there is no way to disable it without rolling back and disabling google play services.

Gee, what about all this side-loading that people claim gives them freedom?

 

(in all seriousness, is it not possible to just delete the file, replace it with a zero-sized file and then make it system read-only?)

[Forbidden Wafer]

13 minutes ago, Kisai said:

Gee, what about all this side-loading that people claim gives them freedom?

You're free to sideload stuff you want (e.g. Tachiyomi, Vanced YouTube, etc).

If you want to use Google services, you're screwed anyways. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[TrigrH]

Before and after:

[oJIMoBOBo]

I actually like the look of it and the adds won’t bother me as I just turn it on and open Plex, YouTube or whatever when I do so it’s not like I’ll be watching the adds or anything.

 

If it does end up bugging me then I’ll just switch to a different loader, people have disabled the new one already on Reddit and moved to a 3rd party launcher

 

I’m in the UK and I’m yet to receive the update

[Mysticode]

2 minutes ago, oJIMoBOBo said:

I actually like the look of it and the adds won’t bother me as I just turn it on and open Plex, YouTube or whatever when I do so it’s not like I’ll be watching the adds or anything.

 

If it does end up bugging me then I’ll just switch to a different loader, people have disabled the new one already on Reddit and moved to a 3rd party launcher

 

I’m in the UK and I’m yet to receive the update

Exactly this. It's a cleaner UI, in my opinion. I generally hate UI changes, but this one isn't that bad. I immediately go to my apps so the ad is in my vision for a brief second or two on the home page... and it's the only place they show up. Often times the ad is for a new Netflix show or similar that I am actually interested in.