NVIDIA, we need to talk about SMBv1

Hi NVIDIA,

Big fan of the Shield Android TV here. The Shield is great because provides a wonderful intersection of steaming and local content without the hassle of many other devices. There was a time I didn’t think anything could replace a home theater PC (HTPC) in my A/V stack, but the Shield has… It does almost everything I need from home theater streamer: Kodi, Plex, Netflix, Amazon Video, VUDU, YouTube TV – and that’s just to name a few. Could do with some Dolby Vision support, but honestly NVIDIA I’m willing to overlook that. Just, you know, something to keep in mind for my birthday ;).

But, umm, there is a massive elephant in the room here NVIDIA. It is hurting our relationship, and I am tired of pretending it isn’t a problem.

We really need to talk about SMBv1.

Frankly NVIDIA, it sucks that to use the Shield Android TV with a Windows file server I have to enable SMBv1. Yep, the same SMBv1 that was exploited by the Wannacry attack. What’s worse NVIDIA, is that you have remained silent on this. Oh, except for the part where you’ve advised us to enable SMBv1. I could understand this, somewhat, if the Shield wasn’t getting regular experience updates, but it is. I do appreciate that BTW, so thank you for making a great product even better. But we really need to get this whole SMBv1 thing sorted out. Because as much as I want to double down on our relationship – you know, for our other TV. That’s not going to happen until this is fixed, and I’m not sure how long I can stomach keeping SMBv1 enabled on my file server. It is embarrassing, and bordering on irresponsible at this point.

Anyway, I’m glad to get this off my chest. I hope we can make this work, but if it doesn’t it will completely be you. Not me.

 

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captain_video
6 years ago

There’s a simple solution to the problem. Don’t use Windows as a server. I’ve been using unRAID for over ten years and it just keeps getting better. I’m not saying that the Shield shouldn’t be updated to fix the problem you’re having, but I am no fan of Microsoft and will avoid using their products as much as possible. I’ve looked into using Windows Server and FlexRAID and other server programs, but unRAID just plain works. I use the Plex docker in unRAID and now my Shields have virtually replaced every HTPC in the house with but one small exception. I am still stuck using Windows Media Center for watching and recording DRMed content. Except for Tivo and my provider’s DVRs, there is no other method available to legally access those channels and I don’t expect that to change in the foreseeable future.