Best Buy has
16GB NVIDIA Shield Pro 4K Android Streaming Media Player (Black) on sale for
$169.99.
Shipping is free, otherwise, select free curbside pickup as an alterative option
Thanks to community member
BluddSimple for finding this deal
Note, curbside pickup may vary depending on location.
About the Product- NVIDIA Tegra X1+ Chip
- 16GB Internal Flash Memory
- 3GB System Memory
- 4K HDR Content of any streaming media player
- Access to top apps/games
- Voice Control w/ Alexa
- Smart Home Ready
- Home Theater Experience
- WiFi w/ Bluetooth 5.0
- Supports many audio formats
- Compatible w/ most HDTVs/
Includes- 16GB NVIDIA Shield TV Pro 4K Android Streaming Media Player (Black)
- NVIDIA Shield Remote
- Power Cord
Warranty- Includes a standard 1-year limited warranty w/ purchase (parts + labor)
Top Comments
Firesticks and Rokus are garbage, and even the Fire Cube (yes, I have them all) can't compare to the shield. I even hacked mine so that I can press the nextflix button a short press and open plex. Long press, open netflix and double click it, and it opens hulu.
Firestick 4k Max: Best bang for your buck streamer. Can be found on sale for around $35.
Pros:
Affordable
Supports every iteration of HDR (Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG)
AV1 support
Can play Youtube HDR
Can sideload apps (Kodi, etc.)
Wifi 6
Cons:
UI is ad-supported
Needs additional hardware to run ethernet and increase storage
No bitstreaming of HD audio
Occasionally needs to be rebooted
Apple TV 4K: Best pure streamer. 2021 model can be found on sale for $120-$130
Pros:
Very fluid UI. Fastest, smoothest navigation
No ads (mostly) There is autoplay enabled to some of their music video selection
Airplay 2. If you have Airplay 2 devices this makes multi room audio incredibly easy
Gigabit Ethernet
Cons:
Locked down to apple's ecosystem (No Kodi, etc.)
No usb ports for storage or game controllers
No HDR10+
No AV1 support
No Youtube HDR
Nvidia Shield: Swiss-army knife of streamers. Can be found on sale for $170
Pros:
Great for game emulators
64 bit Android (can run Dolphin emulator, Kodi 64 bit, etc)
Has usb ports for storage, game controllers, webcams, etc
Can sideload apps (Kodi, etc)
Can use Google Duo with supported webcam
Can run Plex server
Can run Channels DVR server
Bitstreams HD audio
AI upscaling (I do not have this version)
Gigabit ethernet
Cons:
Ad-supported
Last update introduced many issues (I did not update)
No HDR10+
No Youtube HDR
Occasionally needs to be rebooted
I'm sure I missed a few things but this is a general idea. I have a use case for all three streamers so I have them all connected to my main display. It really comes down to personal use case. I'm personally hoping NVidia upgrades the Shield to support AV1, HDR10+ and Youtube HDR. That would eliminate my need for the Firestick 4K Max. Being able to have the game on and airplay to other rooms makes the Apple TV 4K a keeper to me.
Hope this helps
https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Shield-Android-Streaming-Performance/dp/B07YP9FBMM/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1DN... [amazon.com]
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256 Comments
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I would love the 4k upscale feature but it's not worth the $200 after tax to get it.
Regarding the AI enhancements, yes it's much better on the Shield but the degree depends on the 4k TV. Again, my Samsung TV does it very well (confirmed by rtings.com), but I've heard some modern TVs don't carry the same flexibility in handling different upscaling. Even some modern Sony TVs don't do it as well as the Shield.
This thing is long in the tooth. I'll limp by on my crashing Firestick and ancient Minix Android box until a new version is released.
Regarding the AI enhancements, yes it's much better on the Shield but the degree depends on the 4k TV. Again, my Samsung TV does it very well (confirmed by rtings.com), but I've heard some modern TVs don't carry the same flexibility in handling different upscaling. Even some modern Sony TVs don't do it as well as the Shield.
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https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Shi...07YP9FBMM/
They'll sell lots of them with just a little 15% discount. Some people own multiples.
One of the big advantages of the Shield is the vast installed base of customers and support threads - and dits ongoing updates no mater how old your device is. Of course, those updates also come with negative surprises sometimes. The 9.1 beta is supposed to be better.
Yes there are many devices that outperform the Shield. The new AppleTV is faster. If you want something that is completely open and customizable checkout the X58 which crushes the Shield in terms of ports, hardware and benchmarks
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_2FGKaT
Sure it costs a little more, but if money is an issue the 2nd gen Cube goes on sale for $60 (1/3 the price of the shield) and has equal CPU benchmarks. Block updates and use a custom launcher, and no Amazon ads.
It feels like these Nvidia Shield sales threads are mostly Shield owners, here to stroke their own egos about how they have the 'best' device.
- Small form factor
- Plug and play (no assembly, updates/drivers are system-wide)
- Full-featured playing of local files (including NAS)
- Ability to side load and customize while still receiving OEM upgrades
- No microphones or other smart home integrations
- Not manufactured by a company with a vested interest in any one streaming service
Granted, $170 is definitely steep for hardware this old. But when you compare it to the cost of an Intel-based HTPC, the time/knowledge required to build and maintain a Raspberry Pi setup, and the annoyances/biases/limitations of Amazon/Apple/Chrome/Roku devices, there are many of us for whom it does end up being the best device.I bought mine a while ago to essentially to replace a small HTPC that ran Kodi, and it is great at that. I've since started using YouTube TV, but any device can capably run that. Regardless of power/specs, this device does exactly what I want it to do and nothing I don't. But everyone's situation/preferences are different.
I have found that other devices are better for me for certain streaming apps, so I use them when it fits my needs. I don't hate on the other devices, I have pretty much owned them all. It's user choice as to what floats their boat.
Over the years the Shield has been fantastic on upgrades but this last one, 9.xx was an absolute disaster. I had to manually roll back to 8.2.3 on 3 devices, this has pretty much left a bad impression on me.
That being said, I still believe that the shield is top of the food chain when it comes to CUSTOMIZABLE, powerful Android based media boxes. If you can afford it and have a need for it, go for it. If not, or you don't want it, then that's OK too. It's a matter of what works for you.
This is a good price and if you have the Chase offer for 20% (Max $20) on any of your cards, then you can get this for around $150. Not too bad if you are in the market.
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