Is nVidia Shield TV Pro a good unit to play MKV files off a USB stick?

[guy24s]

Hi,

If I buy a nVidia Shield TV Pro, will I be able to play 1080p MKV files (with subtitles displayed) from a NTFS-formatted USB stick? And will it look good? And can I do this without needing an internet connection, once all necessary apps have been downloaded and installed? Sorry if I sound like a moron, but these are all genuine questions.

A little background: I previously used a unit called WD TV to play my videos, but the unit broke and the WD TV product line is discontinued since several years back. That unit was just perfect. The movies looked great on it, plus I could also play DVD ISO files on it and it would mount the ISOs and the DVD menues would be displayed just as if I was playing the actual disc in a DVD player.
I understand nVidia Shield TV Pro probably can't play DVD ISOs, but can it at least play my MKV files? I don't really have any experience in streaming media players, but I've tried to research it and from my understanding, nVidia Shield TV Pro has USB ports that will read units both FAT32, exFAT and NTFS-formatted. And it also said it can play MKV files if I install a media player like Plex or Kodi on it.
So question is, is all this accurate, and most importantly, will it look good? The files look good when I play them on my computer, but I tried playing them on a cheap Chinese media player from Temu and they looked horrible (pixelated and they played jerky).

Last question, there is also a less expensive unit called nVidia Shield TV. Will that also work for what I need it for, and will it look as good? I've looked at pictures of it and I can't see it has any USB ports?

I don't want to use my computer anymore to play my videos and I don't want to buy a small HTPC etc.

[Subtitles]

I have no experience with nVidia Shield TV Pro and it looks like a decent gadget but might be rather expensive.

You mentioned WD TV in your post. I have WD TV Live Hub (also discontinued) that I purchased many years ago from the USA. I used it only for a short while but stopped after having satellite TV at home. It is still in it's original box. See attached user manual.
The gadget has HDD inside and I was able to play videos directly from the HDD. I will need to hook it up to see if it is still working.
If you are interested please send me a PM. Thanks.

[guy24s]

I have no experience with nVidia Shield TV Pro and it looks like a decent gadget but might be rather expensive.

You mentioned WD TV in your post. I have WD TV Live Hub (also discontinued) that I purchased many years ago from the USA. I used it only for a short while but stopped after having satellite TV at home. It is still in it's original box. See attached user manual.
The gadget has HDD inside and I was able to play videos directly from the HDD. I will need to hook it up to see if it is still working.
If you are interested please send me a PM. Thanks.

Hey. When my WD TV stopped working, what happened was that it wouldn't boot anymore. The Western Digital logo would come up on the screen, then when the device normally enters the main screen, it just started over, and kept doing that infinitely.
This is very depressing, but I recently bought a new-old-stock WD TV from eBay. With international shipping and import tax the total cost was almost 400 dollars. It arrived yesterday and guess what, it has the same problem, out the damn box. I googled the error and come to find out it's a common problem that affects the different WD TV models.
This has sort of scared me off a bit from getting another one. But thanks for the offer, I'll wait and see if I get some some more replies regarding the nVidia product, because I am thinking and hoping it will do what I need.

[Subtitles]

I have no experience with nVidia Shield TV Pro and it looks like a decent gadget but might be rather expensive.

You mentioned WD TV in your post. I have WD TV Live Hub (also discontinued) that I purchased many years ago from the USA. I used it only for a short while but stopped after having satellite TV at home. It is still in it's original box. See attached user manual.
The gadget has HDD inside and I was able to play videos directly from the HDD. I will need to hook it up to see if it is still working.
If you are interested please send me a PM. Thanks.

Hey. When my WD TV stopped working, what happened was that it wouldn't boot anymore. The Western Digital logo would come up on the screen, then when the device normally enters the main screen, it just started over, and kept doing that infinitely.
This is very depressing, but I recently bought a new-old-stock WD TV from eBay. With international shipping and import tax the total cost was almost 400 dollars. It arrived yesterday and guess what, it has the same problem, out the damn box. I googled the error and come to find out it's a common problem that affects the different WD TV models.
This has sort of scared me off a bit from getting another one. But thanks for the offer, I'll wait and see if I get some some more replies regarding the nVidia product, because I am thinking and hoping it will do what I need.

Sorry to hear about this problem especially paying so much for this model. I hope that you can get a refund. I think the WD TV Live hub has better design as it came later and I never had such a problem. I tested mine today and cleaned it up especially the small fan inside. It works perfectly and the picture is amazing considering it was an old technology.
It has several nice Apps when you connect it to the internet but in my location most of the Apps are disabled when it detects my IP. They should work in the USA of course.
The nVidea Shield TV Pro works with 4K which can be an advantage in the future.
Good luck.

[cholla]

My settop bluray player plays most video files from a uSB port.
This may be an option to look into.

I do not have a WD TV box but here is a link to manually do a factory reset.It would be worth a try.
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/12917/~/wd-tv-play-media-player%3...set-to-default

I have an old Keedox media player that is now mothballed.
It worked well when I needed it.
I believe I only paid about 30 dollars for it many years ago.

[fooledagain]

Nvidia Shield devices do play mkv files. Many blu-ray players also have USB ports and support mkv playback if you are looking for a cheap solution that can also play DVDs and Blu-ray disks. If you're connecting the Nvidia directly to your tv an internet connection isn't required to play off of a USB.

[jagabo]

There are many inexpensive video players that play far more video containers/codecs than the old WDTV models. And they can be had for as little as US$20. The current Google TV devices are very good and range from US$20 to US$100. The current top of the line GoogleTV will probably be on sale for US$50 before Christmas.

https://store.google.com/product/google_tv_streamer

[Subtitles]

Just a little advise. Playing videos using a USB flash disk is not recommended. The drive can get quite hot after playing for a while.
It is better to use an external SSD or HDD instead or an internal HDD drive in a TV boxset.

[cholla]

It depends on the USB stick.
I have one I have used for many videos & it never feels even warm after playing a movie.
I have another USB stick that feels hot from just being plugged in to my computer & not playing a video.

I also prefer my external HDD (powered by an AC adapter).
Most of the devices other than a computer USB do not play a USB powered HDD.

I have never tried a SSD but I believe it would be like a large flash drive & play fine.

[Subtitles]

@guy24s I had another look at my WD TV Live Hub and although I don't have exactly same problem that you are having with your WD TV, but every time I try to open one of the Apps that the gadget came with, for example YouTube, it hangs for a while and then reboots. I am guessing that since those apps were designed about 12 years ago, they don't work anymore and it is impossible to update them. In fact connecting to the internet has no advantage at all, but at least it can connect to my private network for example my computer and play videos from there.
The unit is painfully slow when using a remote by today's standard.
Please consider what the other guys suggested. Any recently designed TV boxset is better than WD TV models.
Good luck.

[guy24s]

Nvidia Shield devices do play mkv files. Many blu-ray players also have USB ports and support mkv playback if you are looking for a cheap solution that can also play DVDs and Blu-ray disks. If you're connecting the Nvidia directly to your tv an internet connection isn't required to play off of a USB.

There are many inexpensive video players that play far more video containers/codecs than the old WDTV models. And they can be had for as little as US$20. The current Google TV devices are very good and range from US$20 to US$100. The current top of the line GoogleTV will probably be on sale for US$50 before Christmas.

https://store.google.com/product/google_tv_streamer

I have two Blu-Ray players with USB ports and none of them read USB sticks that are NTFS formatted, only FAT32. My TV, which is only a couple months old, also do not read anything but FAT32 sticks.
I briefly researched Chromecast units a few days ago, as those were suggested were cheap ways of playing MKV, but apparently those also do not read NTFS.
All my MKVs are over 4Gb in size, so they cannot be put on FAT32 sticks.
From what I've read online, nVidia Shield TV Pro appears to supports NTFS devices, I just wanted to to see if anyone here could confirm that this is really the case. I've bought so many different players and devices now and none have worked, so I want to make sure I don't get another thing that ends up being useless to me.

[guy24s]

@guy24s I had another look at my WD TV Live Hub and although I don't have exactly same problem that you are having with your WD TV, but every time I try to open one of the Apps that the gadget came with, for example YouTube, it hangs for a while and then reboots. I am guessing that since those apps were designed about 12 years ago, they don't work anymore and it is impossible to update them. In fact connecting to the internet has no advantage at all, but at least it can connect to my private network for example my computer and play videos from there.
The unit is painfully slow when using a remote by today's standard.
Please consider what the other guys suggested. Any recently designed TV boxset is better than WD TV models.
Good luck.

Oh shoot. Yes the reason yours crashes when using any of the internet based apps is most likely due to the software not being updated for many years.
I'm still waiting for someone to confirm my questions regarding nVidia Shield Pro, specifically if it will play NTFS formatted USB sticks, but nobody seems to know for sure.
My Toshiba TV I bought 2 months ago does not play anything but FAT32 formatted USB sticks, which is useless.

[guy24s]

Just a little advise. Playing videos using a USB flash disk is not recommended. The drive can get quite hot after playing for a while.
It is better to use an external SSD or HDD instead or an internal HDD drive in a TV boxset.

That's weird, my Sandisk sticks never get hot. I don't have good experiences with USB HDDs, they seem to break constantly. I just use them for backups and connect them when I need to add something to them or get something off of them. The USB sticks are so inexpensive that even if one fail, which they do from time to time, I can easily replace it for 10-15 bucks.

[guy24s]

There are many inexpensive video players that play far more video containers/codecs than the old WDTV models. And they can be had for as little as US$20. The current Google TV devices are very good and range from US$20 to US$100. The current top of the line GoogleTV will probably be on sale for US$50 before Christmas.

https://store.google.com/product/google_tv_streamer

Looked up GoogleTV, it doesn't support anything but FAT32, just like Chromecast.

[Subtitles]

This might help you

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/support/shield-tv/connecting-storage-to-your-shield/

CONNECTING STORAGE TO YOUR SHIELD
Additional microSD storage can be connected to your SHIELD. Connected storage is automatically connected as “removable storage” and SHIELD can read and write directly to the storage device. Apps and app data cannot be installed on “removable storage”. To increase storage for installing apps, connected storage must be formatted as “device storage”.

To format your storage device for “device storage”, select Settings > Device Preferences > Storage > [Storage device] > Set up as device storage. This will format and encrypt your storage device.

SHIELD TV is compatible with the FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, and HFS+ file systems.

I don't like the bit about "This will format and encrypt your storage device." It means you can't open files on other devices

Edit: I think the above is about increasing the storage and probably doesn't apply to external flash disks like the ones that you have.
In my humble opinion this gadget is too expensive, even if it does exactly what you need.

[Subtitles]

Have you tried using Roku Ultra or Roku Ultra LT? They are not that expensive.
I have both and I can test for you if NTFS formatted flash drives can play without a problem. I just need to connect them as I am not using them at the moment.

[jagabo]

Looked up GoogleTV, it doesn't support anything but FAT32, just like Chromecast.

There are apps that allow access to NTFS formatted drives. I've never used them because I access videos (~8 TB worth) on my server using an SMB share (via WiFi or Ethernet). There is no problem accessing >4GB files that way.

I also have a ROKU Ultra on one TV. It can access >4GB files on NTFS drives via USB.

[cholla]

@guy24s,
I have never had an external HDD fail.
I would list my LG BD player model as it plays NTFS from a HDD & USB stick but it is older & will not play some formats like H265.
My TV is new enough it will play those formats direct from USB.
I also have a HTPC which plays all formats I have tried in it.
As I posted the "media player" I have is old & outdated it is a Keedox.
It was bought so I could use USB to a CRT TV I had at the time.
This TV only had RCA jack access.
I'm sure some of the modern ones suggested would work fine for you.
For a lot less cost than the nVidia Shield TV Pro.
Two members have suggested a Roku.
I found several on Amazon but since I have not used any of those I have not made a suggestion.

Did you try a "factory reset" on your WD TV box?

[guy24s]

Have you tried using Roku Ultra or Roku Ultra LT? They are not that expensive.
I have both and I can test for you if NTFS formatted flash drives can play without a problem. I just need to connect them as I am not using them at the moment.

I didn't try Roku. I did try research whether NTFS was supported but didn't find anything on it. Anyway I ended up ordering the nVidia device and it's arriving today.

Looked up GoogleTV, it doesn't support anything but FAT32, just like Chromecast.

There are apps that allow access to NTFS formatted drives. I've never used them because I access videos (~8 TB worth) on my server using an SMB share (via WiFi or Ethernet). There is no problem accessing >4GB files that way.

I also have a ROKU Ultra on one TV. It can access >4GB files on NTFS drives via USB.

I did try to research Roku and if there was NTFS support but didn't find anything so I ordered the nVidia device. Then I saw you wrote this. Oh well, I'm hoping the nVidia Shield will be good. Do you know if there are android apps that will also make things like TVs without NTFS support to read NTFS formatted devices? I have a brand new TV that only reads FAT32. It might be good to have as a backup solution, if it was possible somehow.

@guy24s,
Did you try a "factory reset" on your WD TV box?

Yes I did and unfortunately it did nothing.

[Subtitles]

@guy24s good luck with your new gadget.
In Post #15 there is a bit of confusion with regards to encrypting the flash drives. I am assuming it refers to, when inserting microSD to increase the storage capability of the gadget and NOT connecting regular USB flash disks to the standard USB ports. Please let us know how you get on.
If it doesn't recognize your USB flash drives and insists on formatting it, then this is not good for you.
On my WD TV Live Hub, it will only work if I don't connect a LAN cable to the Ethernet connector.

[teamsatan]

This might help you

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/support/shield-tv/connecting-storage-to-your-shield/

CONNECTING STORAGE TO YOUR SHIELD
Additional microSD storage can be connected to your SHIELD. Connected storage is automatically connected as “removable storage” and SHIELD can read and write directly to the storage device. Apps and app data cannot be installed on “removable storage”. To increase storage for installing apps, connected storage must be formatted as “device storage”.

To format your storage device for “device storage”, select Settings > Device Preferences > Storage > [Storage device] > Set up as device storage. This will format and encrypt your storage device.

SHIELD TV is compatible with the FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, and HFS+ file systems.

I don't like the bit about "This will format and encrypt your storage device." It means you can't open files on other devices

Edit: I think the above is about increasing the storage and probably doesn't apply to external flash disks like the ones that you have.
In my humble opinion this gadget is too expensive, even if it does exactly what you need.

On the new Nvidia Shield pro, you do not have additional microSD storage. You have 2 Two USB 3.0 Ports (Type A) You have 16 GB
portion of storage occupied by system software. I use 2 8TB HDDs connected to the 2 USB 3.0 Ports
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/shield-tv-pro/

[Subtitles]

This might help you

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/support/shield-tv/connecting-storage-to-your-shield/

CONNECTING STORAGE TO YOUR SHIELD
Additional microSD storage can be connected to your SHIELD. Connected storage is automatically connected as “removable storage” and SHIELD can read and write directly to the storage device. Apps and app data cannot be installed on “removable storage”. To increase storage for installing apps, connected storage must be formatted as “device storage”.

To format your storage device for “device storage”, select Settings > Device Preferences > Storage > [Storage device] > Set up as device storage. This will format and encrypt your storage device.

SHIELD TV is compatible with the FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, and HFS+ file systems.

I don't like the bit about "This will format and encrypt your storage device." It means you can't open files on other devices

Edit: I think the above is about increasing the storage and probably doesn't apply to external flash disks like the ones that you have.
In my humble opinion this gadget is too expensive, even if it does exactly what you need.

On the new Nvidia Shield pro, you do not have additional microSD storage. You have 2 Two USB 3.0 Ports (Type A) You have 16 GB
portion of storage occupied by system software. I use 2 8TB HDDs connected to the 2 USB 3.0 Ports
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/shield-tv-pro/

Good. The big question is can you connect an external HDD formatted as NTFS or a flash disk that has a lot of videos on it and the gadget will play the files OK, or it will format it and encrypt it in order to make it usable?

[teamsatan]

This might help you

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/support/shield-tv/connecting-storage-to-your-shield/

CONNECTING STORAGE TO YOUR SHIELD
Additional microSD storage can be connected to your SHIELD. Connected storage is automatically connected as “removable storage” and SHIELD can read and write directly to the storage device. Apps and app data cannot be installed on “removable storage”. To increase storage for installing apps, connected storage must be formatted as “device storage”.

To format your storage device for “device storage”, select Settings > Device Preferences > Storage > [Storage device] > Set up as device storage. This will format and encrypt your storage device.

SHIELD TV is compatible with the FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, and HFS+ file systems.

I don't like the bit about "This will format and encrypt your storage device." It means you can't open files on other devices

Edit: I think the above is about increasing the storage and probably doesn't apply to external flash disks like the ones that you have.
In my humble opinion this gadget is too expensive, even if it does exactly what you need.

On the new Nvidia Shield pro, you do not have additional microSD storage. You have 2 Two USB 3.0 Ports (Type A) You have 16 GB
portion of storage occupied by system software. I use 2 8TB HDDs connected to the 2 USB 3.0 Ports
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/shield-tv-pro/

Good. The big question is can you connect an external HDD formatted as NTFS or a flash disk that has a lot of videos on it and the gadget will play the files OK, or it will format it and encrypt it in order to make it usable?

Yes you can, No, you don't need to format the HDD for it to work with Nvidia. You just pop the USB cable into one of the USB inputs.
If you have never used Nvidia Shield before, I recommend that you look at a forum regarding Nvidia Shield/Kodi to make the smoothest settings. I use Kodi as a media player, works fine. I'm on my 3rd Nvidia Shield now, would never switch to anything else

[guy24s]

@guy24s good luck with your new gadget.
In Post #15 there is a bit of confusion with regards to encrypting the flash drives. I am assuming it refers to, when inserting microSD to increase the storage capability of the gadget and NOT connecting regular USB flash disks to the standard USB ports. Please let us know how you get on.
If it doesn't recognize your USB flash drives and insists on formatting it, then this is not good for you.
On my WD TV Live Hub, it will only work if I don't connect a LAN cable to the Ethernet connector.

I've had a chance to try my new nVidia Shield TV Pro device out some. I could access my videos on my NTFS formatted SanDisk Ultra USB stick with no problems. I've only had time to watch one movie (MKV file) straight through, and it played fine except for one strange issue where the sound would randomly drop out for 1-3 seconds. When rewinding and playing the same segment again, the sound would play normally without interruption. Not sure if it's the nVidia device's, the video file's or the HDMI cord's fault.
Also, I've never had this happen before, and not sure if it was just a isolated incident or something that will keep happening to other movies. The movie in question played normally (no sound cutting out) on the computer.
I guess I will just have to watch more movies and see if it keeps happening.