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Nvidia shield (lemmy.ml)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by anytimesoon@lemmy.ml to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml
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Everyone keeps saying it's the best media player, so I'm interested in getting one, but I haven't had a google account for many years now and don't want to create a new one just for this.

Does anyone know if it's possible to run one without a google account?

Edit: I would only want to use it for Plex and maybe youtube

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[-] robolemmy@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I’m not sure about using it without a Google account, but you can definitely minimize their involvement. I installed flauncher, then disabled the default “leanback” launcher. Plex is installed from the play store but I side loaded an ad-blocking YouTube app. On a normal day I don’t see anything from or about google on my screen. I’m not sophisticated or, to be honest, concerned enough to know if there’s tracking or other telemetry going on. I mostly just want to avoid ads and moronic suggestions from them.

[-] anytimesoon@lemmy.ml 0 points 9 months ago

Tbh, I'd be happy with side loading both Plex and revanced, but from what I've seen, it won't initialize without a google account

[-] thejevans@lemmy.ml 0 points 9 months ago

SmartTubeNext (STN) is the Android TV equivalent of Revanced.

I did end up making a Google account just to get mine set up and for syncing subscriptions between STN and Revanced on my phone. I don't use it for anything else.

As others have said, replacing the launcher with something like Sideload Channel Launcher 4 is a good option.

Other useful apps are Button Mapper (for killing the netflix remote button and for mapping the home button to your new launcher) and Send Files To TV to easily sideload apps without a ton of setup.

[-] Atemu@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

SmartTubeNext (STN) is the Android TV equivalent of Revanced.

Not really. STN is not a hacked-up YT app like Revanced, it's an entirely independent FOSS re-creation like NewPipe. A major difference to NewPipe is that it is focused on android TV and uses the (private) YT API just like the official YT app.

[-] thejevans@lemmy.ml 2 points 9 months ago

That's fair. I was commenting from more of a user experience perspective

[-] anytimesoon@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago

I suppose I could use someone else's account for initial set up. I've had a look and it seems nextdns allows different profiles per device, so I'll just block as many google domains as I can that way

[-] jjlinux@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago

Good thinking. I retired my Shield Pro 2015 about a year ago, precisely because I was ditching Google entirely. I have yo say, even after 8 years, few to no other streaming devices came even close to the performance of that beast.

[-] clayh@lemmy.ml 0 points 9 months ago

I run a shield for Plex and have never logged into my google account on it. I’ve disabled play store and most google services. Also I keep the android on the stock version.

Works flawlessly.

[-] anytimesoon@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago

So it's possible to run it without signing up. Thats good news. All the reviews seem to say it's a requirement for the initial set up

Are there any special steps to get your set up? I imagine you need to side load your apps because the play store won't work, but is there anything else?

[-] clayh@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I side load Plex from the direct download links in the forum (Plex pass is required for this I think but there are def other ways to get the apk). I do not run the shield as a sever as I have a dedicated box for that.

Nothing special about the setup at all, I just prefer a minimalist approach to software so I disabled everything on the shield that wasn’t necessary to run Plex.

E: should be clear this is a shield pro

[-] jjlinux@lemmy.ml 0 points 9 months ago

Run it? Absolutely. Set it up? Unlikely, unless you go the LineageOS route.

[-] clayh@lemmy.ml 2 points 9 months ago

I bought a shield pro last year and never once logged in to google during setup or any time after.

[-] jjlinux@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago

See? Unlikely, not impossible. I've never tried. I just chose to remove Google from my life, that thing used Google accounts, gone!

[-] clayh@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago

I’ve never used a google account on it. That’s the point.

It is not necessary to be in the google ecosystem to use the shield (pro) to its full capabilities.

[-] jjlinux@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago

I'll dust off mine this weekend. That's great to know.

[-] navatar@programming.dev 0 points 9 months ago

I could not get it set up without a Google account unfortunately. Once it's set up, you can log out of Google and never log in again just fine.

[-] navatar@programming.dev 0 points 9 months ago

It is a great device though. Requiring a Google account to initially setup the device is one of my two only complaints, the other being the lack of a HDMI 2.1 interface.

[-] clayh@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago

If you aren’t connected to the internet when you set it up it should not require you to log in.

I’m not confident it does require login even with an internet connection on the shield pro, but it’s been a while since I set mine up.

[-] navatar@programming.dev 1 points 9 months ago

You might be right. It's been a long time since I set mine up as well, and it's possible I just didn't figure it out. It's also quite possible there have been updates, making both of us right at some point.

this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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