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Is Kodi 21.x stable on Android TV 14 (NVIDIA Shield) for long movie playback?

O

OffalyPops

Newbie
Issue with Kodi crashing during playback on NVIDIA Shield (high-quality streams)

I am having ongoing stability issues with Kodi and I am looking for advice from experienced users.

My setup is as follows:
  • Device: NVIDIA Shield TV Pro (recently purchased)
  • Storage: Samsung T7 1TB SSD, formatted as adopted (internal) storage on the Shield
  • Internet speed: ~477 Mbps download / ~47 Mbps upload (tested on the Shield)
  • Kodi version: 21.2
  • Skin / build: Doomzday skin, Aspire build (v1.1)
Usage details:
  • I only use Kodi for Movies and TV series
  • I do not use sports, live TV, kids content, or widgets
  • I use Real-Debrid and Trakt
  • Add-ons currently installed are limited to:
    FenLightAM, Umbrella, Seren, The Chains, NeoFlix, Black Lightning, Dailymotion
  • I removed many unused add-ons and categories to reduce load and improve performance
Troubleshooting already done:
  • Internet speed and Wi-Fi signal confirmed stable
  • Samsung SSD added to improve storage and performance
  • File size limits set in add-ons (for example 4K capped at ~25 GB)
  • Kodi loads faster after removing unused add-ons
The problem:
  • Kodi consistently crashes back to the Android home screen during playback
  • This happens late into movies, not at the start
  • Examples:
    • 4K ~130 GB file crashes early
    • 4K ~65 GB crashes around 15–20 minutes
    • 4K ~28 GB crashes around 1 hour 48 minutes
    • Even a 1080p ~7.5 GB movie crashed at around 2 hours 16 minutes
  • No error message is shown; Kodi simply closes
At this point, the issue does not appear to be bandwidth, storage space, or file size, as even small files eventually crash.

My question:
  • Is this a known stability issue with Kodi 21.x / Android TV 14 on NVIDIA Shield, especially when using builds like Doomzday / Aspire?
  • Is this likely due to memory leaks, background services, or Android killing the app during long playback?
  • Would running Plex on a NAS and using the Shield only as a Plex client be the recommended long-term solution?

Any insight from users with similar setups would be appreciated.
 
OffalyPops said:
Issue with Kodi crashing during playback on NVIDIA Shield (high-quality streams)

I am having ongoing stability issues with Kodi and I am looking for advice from experienced users.

My setup is as follows:
  • Device: NVIDIA Shield TV Pro (recently purchased)
  • Storage: Samsung T7 1TB SSD, formatted as adopted (internal) storage on the Shield
  • Internet speed: ~477 Mbps download / ~47 Mbps upload (tested on the Shield)
  • Kodi version: 21.2
  • Skin / build: Doomzday skin, Aspire build (v1.1)
Usage details:
  • I only use Kodi for Movies and TV series
  • I do not use sports, live TV, kids content, or widgets
  • I use Real-Debrid and Trakt
  • Add-ons currently installed are limited to:
    FenLightAM, Umbrella, Seren, The Chains, NeoFlix, Black Lightning, Dailymotion
  • I removed many unused add-ons and categories to reduce load and improve performance
Troubleshooting already done:
  • Internet speed and Wi-Fi signal confirmed stable
  • Samsung SSD added to improve storage and performance
  • File size limits set in add-ons (for example 4K capped at ~25 GB)
  • Kodi loads faster after removing unused add-ons
The problem:
  • Kodi consistently crashes back to the Android home screen during playback
  • This happens late into movies, not at the start
  • Examples:
    • 4K ~130 GB file crashes early
    • 4K ~65 GB crashes around 15–20 minutes
    • 4K ~28 GB crashes around 1 hour 48 minutes
    • Even a 1080p ~7.5 GB movie crashed at around 2 hours 16 minutes
  • No error message is shown; Kodi simply closes
At this point, the issue does not appear to be bandwidth, storage space, or file size, as even small files eventually crash.

My question:
  • Is this a known stability issue with Kodi 21.x / Android TV 14 on NVIDIA Shield, especially when using builds like Doomzday / Aspire?
  • Is this likely due to memory leaks, background services, or Android killing the app during long playback?
  • Would running Plex on a NAS and using the Shield only as a Plex client be the recommended long-term solution?

Any insight from users with similar setups would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Only watched Nuremburg the other day on Kodi using Fen Light ..premuimize 4k HDR cant recall size of file but its a long movie and no issues using shield. Will check what version of kodi I am on tho as not sure and update post later
 
i've never had kodi crash on my sheild like you menton and been using it for years with various builds. i don't have any plugins tho. maybe one or two but to enable reading rars or something. i use ethernet instead of wifi. when i did set it on wifi by mistake i had issues with huge files at some point as the bitrate was so high as i use remuxes or ISO's but it didn't crash. maybe clear the cache etc. remove kodi and install from scratch without plugins and see what happens and systematically add one app at a time, and from there figure out which app is installed when it starts crashing and remove the app and try again. there's also the alpha of k22 you could try
 
Sometimes there can be a spike in RAM usage depending on the add-ons or a skin with widgets being used. This can cause crashes.
Kodi is known to be resource hungry depending on the configuration of your build.
 
Aristotle said:
Sometimes there can be a spike in RAM usage depending on the add-ons or a skin with widgets being used. This can cause crashes.
Kodi is known to be resource hungry depending on the configuration of your build.
Click to expand...
I think it is a RAM issue
 
unique said:
i've never had kodi crash on my sheild like you menton and been using it for years with various builds. i don't have any plugins tho. maybe one or two but to enable reading rars or something. i use ethernet instead of wifi. when i did set it on wifi by mistake i had issues with huge files at some point as the bitrate was so high as i use remuxes or ISO's but it didn't crash. maybe clear the cache etc. remove kodi and install from scratch without plugins and see what happens and systematically add one app at a time, and from there figure out which app is installed when it starts crashing and remove the app and try again. there's also the alpha of k22 you could try
Click to expand...
I forgot to mention I'm connected to the Internet via ethernet cable. You're saying do a fresh install and only add a few addons, no build, and go from there?
 
Io
Kyser143 said:
Only watched Nuremburg the other day on Kodi using Fen Light ..premuimize 4k HDR cant recall size of file but its a long movie and no issues using shield. Will check what version of kodi I am on tho as not sure and update post later
Click to expand...
I watched Nuremberg yesterday file size was less than 10GB and Kodi closed near the 2 hour mark
 
OffalyPops said:
Io

I watched Nuremberg yesterday file size was less than 10GB and Kodi closed near the 2 hour mark
Click to expand...
I would start from scratch then with a fresh kodi install and load the one addon ..Fen light is good and try again......obviously something in your setup causing is as no one else has said they have this issue. You tried Stremio on shield might be a good alternative if issues persist.
 
Kyser143 said:
I would start from scratch then with a fresh kodi install and load the one addon ..Fen light is good and try again......obviously something in your setup causing is as no one else has said they have this issue. You tried Stremio on shield might be a good alternative if issues persist.
Click to expand...
I never tried Stremio, is that an app I get from downloasder?
 
OffalyPops said:
I never tried Stremio, is that an app I get from downloasder?
Click to expand...
Yes as mentioned currently taken off google playstore ..has happened before and reappeared so hoping it comes back on ...but for now you can sideload using dowloader..similar in way it works you add an addon linked to your debrid. Google for instructions not difficult to set up.
 
You can also try Openwizard on kodi to delete cache. I was having issues with fenlight and that resolved it.
 
I uninstalled everything, now I only have 4 addons and everything is working perfectly. I watched a 40GB movie, and it didn't stop once.
 
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