NVIDIA Shield TVs (all models) no longer support third-party launchers

NVIDIA this year unveiled the Shield TV Pro 2019 as an update to its popular line of Shield set-top boxes accompanied by an entry-level Shield that is shaped like a tube.

Both Shield TVs have a new chipset inside known as the Tegra X1+ with a 256-core in-house GPU. As you may have guessed, the new chipset is surely a subtle upgrade from the Tegra X1 used in the 2017 and 2015 models.

But like any other vendor upon refreshing their devices, NVIDIA claims the Shield TV 2019 and Shield TV Pro 2019 deliver 25% improved performance.

Whether removing support for third-party launchers is one way of achieving this is only known to NVIDIA. But as it stands, both the “Tube” and the Pro Shield TV 2019 models are no longer compatible with third-party launchers. Strange enough, NVIDIA addressed a similar issue a while back.

According to Asterra, not even going to the Settings menu is possible with the ATV Launcher on the Shield TV 2019 Pro, and has shared a screengrab of how things look like on their end.

Going back in time, we found that this same issue was raised in the NVIDIA forums a month or so ago. Matter of fact, the company did address it right there and then.

No, the conversation didn’t end there. Below is an excerpt of what transpired between the concerned Shield TV owner and the NVIDIA Shield team.

Question: Is that with this hotfix or is this something we won’t be able to do from here on out?

Answer: From here on out. In order for us to pass Google certification and release images, this rule must be followed.

Question: Not even when the final 8.1.1 image is released?

Answer: Not even the final production image. It’s even more important for the final 8.1.1 image. Full production images need Google certification, past hotfixes did not need google certification but Disney+ will only install on Google certified images so even HotFix images that have Disney+ install support need it now. It applies to all future SHIELD experience updates for all models.
Source

So, guys, it seems going forward, it will be impossible to install a third-party launcher on not just the NVIDIA Shield TV 2019 models, but also the older 2017 and 2015 models.

Its such a pity that this is happening in an ecosystem that is considered open source, so we hope NVIDIA somehow backtracks on this move and allows the use of third-party launchers of choice on the Shield TVs.

NOTE: We have more NVIDIA-related coverage here.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.