If you have an Android TV set, then obviously live television is built right in; otherwise, it'd be a pretty poor product. But if you're picking up a set-top box like the NVIDIA Shield, you're not left out in the cold. With some additional hardware and a few spare minutes, you can have the same experience on any TV.
Here's what you need to know.
What you need
For the purposes of this how-to, we're using the excellent HDHomeRun Connect tuner from SiliconDust. It acts as a go-between that pulls in your OTA TV signals and then broadcasts them over your local network. Similar products are available, which may also be compatible with Android TV, and for those the basic steps would be the same.
What we're using is:
- HDHomeRun Connect
- OTA TV antenna (internal or external)
- Ethernet cable (for HDHomeRun)
- NVIDIA Shield TV
Before doing anything with the Shield, you'll need to make sure the HDHomeRun is all up and running. If you need a guide on what to do there, our buddies over at Windows Central have just the thing. Just hit the link below.
How to setup the HDHomeRun tuner
How to add live TV channels
Start up the NVIDIA Shield TV and before doing anything, make sure the Live Channels application is installed and up to date. Then follow the steps below.
- Download and install the HDHomeRun application from the Play Store.
- Open the Live Channels app on the Shield TV. You should see HDHomeRun input as a source for channels.
- Select the HDHomeRun input and the app will populate with the channels from the source.
- Select done.
What you'll now see when you open the Live Channels app on the Shield is all of the channels you can get on your regular OTA TV antenna with a fully populated guide. It's a little unfortunate that Live Channels requires the HDHomeRun app to be installed before it will find the input, but it's a mild inconvenience.
You could also just ignore the Live Channels app and use the HDHomeRun app to watch TV. The interface in Live Channels is nicer, though, and it has the added benefit of being a central location for other apps that can hook into it. If you're using the beta of the HDHomeRun DVR, however, then you'll be making use of it.
That's all there is to it. It's super simple to set up live TV on the Shield and makes the overall experience just that little bit better.
Questions?
Let us know in the comments below.
