But Android TV is worth getting to know a little better. Despite the death of the Nexus ayer, the platform is slowly making some strides as it serves as the interface for many new televisions. And for gamers or those who’s cut the cord, the best hardware available is the Nvidia Shield Android TV. The console-style gaming smart remote bring the best of ’s power impressive hardware into a package that can easily rule your living room. did a good job at making the Android TV interface straightforward, but there are some knobs dials worth turning in order to eek out the best experience. After just a little time, you’ll wonder how you ever lived with just a dumb cable box. As you scroll through these choices, notice that the background matches up with the current selection, which makes the interface feel more alive instead of being just a boring grid. Unfortunately there’s no way to dismiss or offer feedback on what tosses up, though the more you use the company’s services, the better it should get at picking things you like. To launch a voice search, press the the dedicated microphone button, which is found on the Nexus ayer Nvidia Shield remote, or the smartphone app (more on that later). Then do the same voice query you would on your phone, like “San Francisco Giants score” or “the capital of karta” or ” movie winners 2014.” You’ll get a dedicated card with the answer, along with a deep search into related apps that may offer content worth watching. This feature is one of those fun capabiliites to play around with when you first get an Android TV, may impress friends family who aren’t up to speed with technology. The app offers two interface options: a d-pad or touch pad. The former puts a stard, four-way control on your screen while the latter lets you swipe on the phone to control the interface. Both have a hy search button to fire up a voice comm. There’s also an Android ar app, which turns your watch face into a directional pad. It’s helpful for a quick flip between screens, but it’s not something I’d rely on for most use cases. From this location, found in Settings > Display, you can also set up when the Android TV goes to sleep, which out of the box is scheduled for one hour 30 minute of inactivity. You can also set the TV to stay awake if you’re streaming music so your rock session doesn’t die off. The major downside is that your cable provider may not be supported, as happened to me since the HGTV app doesn’t play yet with Comcast. It’s a reminder why people cut the cord in the first place, as they get sick of the nonsense. For apps that do work with your provider, however, you’ll see a lot of choices for on-dem titles. It will make going back to a stard grid of channel listings feel antiquated. There ought to be a prominent icon for this, but as of now you’ll just have to look on each app’s description page. If you have an Nvidia Shield Android TV, there’s a dedicated gaming hub that features many of these titles, so you may want to start there if you want to put that controller to use. This works great with CBSN, for example, an online streaming network from CBS News. This way you can browse through the ay Store or for another video to watch while finishing up a broadcast. If you do have apps that require an update, you can update when from ay Store > My Apps. Head to Settings > Remote & accessories > Add accessory to bring aboard a new controller if you want to try games that require or function better with better hardware. Repeat this procedure if you have several controllers to join in, as multi-player games get a lot more fun with, well, multiple players.
