[Update: New improvements] NVIDIA Shield TV 2019 remote IR battery draining issue gets officially acknowledged, fix incoming

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on December 05, 2019) follows:

Smart TVs are fairly new in the entertainment timeline. In the past, there were no options to watch the content we chose. But instead, people had to enjoy predetermined programs via cable or DTH connections. With the development of technology, things have begun to change now.

With the help of smart televisions, you get to access Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, or any other streaming services at your fingertips. Even a regular TV can now make their way to the smartness through an Amazon Fire Stick or an Android Box.

NVIDIA also has a product to assist you in making your old TV smart. Goes by the name Shield TV or Shield Console, the first generation hit the market in May 2015 with Tegra X1 chipset and it can play content from the internet by connecting to an external display.

In 2017, NVIDIA refreshed the device by modifying the form factor and including a remote into the package. Then came 2019 variants, the regular one and Shield TV Pro. Apart from the difference in design, the new lineups varied from the previous in video resolution and audio technology.

So yeah, the customers started receiving a remote control right from Shield TV 2017 edition. Two years down the line, they refined the gadget in 2019. However, just like Amazon Fire TV, you can use an app to replicate the functions without having to possess the real hardware.

In case you prefer to use the actual remote control, you have to bear one thing in mind. Enabling IR will end up draining the batteries on Shield TV 2019 so quickly that you need to replace them in quick successions. A post on the official forum throws light on this issue.

2019 Shield Remote Burning Through Batteries
Got my 2019 Shield Pro about 3 weeks ago. The remote is going through batteries like crazy. I’m all ready on my third set and I’m getting another warning that the batteries are low. I tested the 2nd and 3rd set of new batteries with a volt meter before install and they they were good. They seem to be only lasting about a week before dying. Shield is only used for a couple of hours every evening. Anyone else have this issue?
(Source)

As obvious as you can read, the user didn’t have a clue why the battery drained swiftly. And, an NVIDIA staff had come to the picture for clarifying about the origin of the problem. You can read the official acknowledgement below.

Note:- Stay tuned to this story to know when the fix goes out.

IST 11:18 am: The Nvidia Shield TV has bagged a new update which brings a host of new enhancements and bug fixes especially for the IR capabilities of the Shield TV Remote.

It is rolling out as SHIELD Experience Upgrade 8.2.1 and should improve the user experience by a lot. We’ve added the exhaustive changelog of the new update below: (Via)

Enhancements
– Adds notification to enable AI-upscaling when upscaling GeForce NOW
– Adds IR power control for projector displays
– Adds IR power/volume control for the following brands: Arris, Atyme, BC Acoustique, Dayton, Kora, Monoprice, ONN, Point Source Acoustics, Savant, Sennheiser, SMSL, Tascam
– Improves system volume levels when audio is routed to USB DAC or Bluetooth headset
– Adds developer option to force HDCP 1.4 compatibility mode (4K protected content will not be available)
– Allows IR power commands sent from SHIELD Remote 2019 when using Alexa skill
– Includes security patches up to Android security bulletin (August 2020)

Bug Fixes
AI Scaling:
– Resolves issue where AI upscaling would incorrectly detect content as unsupported, requiring a reboot
– Resolves issue where AI upscaling would randomly detect content as unsupported
– [SHIELD TV Pro 2019] Resolves dropped frames when AI upscaling 60fps video when overscan is adjusted

Display:
– Fixes issue where line is visible when using AI upscaling on Prime Video
– Resolves issue where Screen Saver timers were not set properly
– Resolves black screen issue when playing Dolby Vision content and overscan adjusted

Network/Storage:
– Allows special characters in username when accessing SHIELD over network
– Fixes issue when copying >2GB files from Mac to SHIELD 2019
– Fixes issue when connecting to SHIELD over local network when username has a space
– Fixes rare crash bug when mounting network storage to SHIELD
– Fixes bug where connected storage would become inaccessible, requiring reboot to recover

Accessories:

– Fixes bug where IR volume control would stop working when Talkback is enabled
– Fixes “Long Press Menu” functionality for customized menu button
– Resolves issue where configuring IR control might fail when older SHIELD remotes and controllers are paired
– Fixes bug where IR control was still active after factory reset
– Fixes bug where IR control would not be available after changing language to traditional Chinese
– [SHIELD TV 2019] Resolves issue where IR control would stop working, requiring reboot to recover
– [BFGD] Resolves volume and play/pause button press issues on new SHIELD Remote 2019

Audio:

– Improves system volume levels when using USB DAC or bluetooth speakers
– Fixes bug where audio would randomly drop, requiring a reboot to recover
– Resolves issue where manually enabling AC3 in “Available formats” was not working as advertised
– Fixes NETFLIX issue where 5.1 audio would not be available after disconnecting bluetooth speaker
– Fixes bug where volume control notification would show up incorrectly on KODI

Other:

– Fixes bug where SHIELD Experience upgrade would be blocked if accessory battery is low
– Resolves background display issue when exiting settings menu
– [BFGD] Fixes YouTube crash issue
– Fixes alignment issues on “Ok Google” configuration page
– Resolves issue where SHIELD would not show up available as a cast device

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