I have had both and honestly the nvidia shield is a million times better.

At first I got the Nexus Player because it was $25, but then I still ended up getting the Shield TV...

The Shield TV is so much fucking better. The Nexus Player wasn't bad, but the Shield gives you so much more. The Tegra X1 is an absolute monster of a processor. I can run GameCube games with Dolphin damn near flawlessly. You get the exclusives, like Portal and Half Life, with more on the way (Borderlands, Resident Evil 5, and more). You get GeForce Now, which streams PC games to your Shield from the cloud, and does a great job at it. Nvidia GameStream as well, to stream your own PC games to the Shield locally. You have 4K support, which is wonderful for those with a 4K TV. Both the controller and the remote have a headphone jack that you can plug in for private listening. Shield also lets you control volume from the controller or remote, which is great for people like me who exclusively use the Shield with my TV and would rather not have to have another remote just to change the volume.

The Shield is absolutely great.

Hi,
I've been an android fan for a few years now.

You should be happy with either one.

I've been researching Android TV with its capabilities in streaming and some gaming.

Gaming? Go with the Shield TV.

I even already purchased the gamepad.

Go with the Shield TV.

My intentions of getting something like these two devices is too mess around with emulators, steam some tv shows, maybe experiment with Kodi, and play some games with a gamepad casually.

Buy the Shield TV.

My other options are if Android TV isn't for me is to just buy the Nvidia Shield Tablet.

It sounds like you want the Shield TV. Buy the Shield TV.

I originally bought the shield to replace the NP downstairs. Moved the NP up to my bedroom. When the first big sale came through on amazon, I boxed up the NP for good and replaced it with a second shield.

No regrets. The NP will do the job but the shield really showcases Android tvs full potential.

I have no experience with the nexus player but recently picked up a shield tv for $149 with the free remote. This thing is amazing and I couldn't be happier. It's fast and stable and the things it can do...wow! I'm playing tons of classic games I grew up with plus modern games. Watching twitch is fun and kodi is absolutely amazing once you get the right add on's set up. Best $150 I've ever spent on tech (and I've spent splenty over the years!)

Nvidia Shield hands down. Especially for emulation. I bought a Nexus player and returned it within an hour. The shield TV is the emulator box I've always hoped for.

The Shield TV is definitely a better device, but it sounds like you would be fine with just a Nexus Player. It just depends really on:

• Do you have a 4K TV?

• Are you going to run heavy games or emulators on it?

If so, get the Shield.

You mentioned getting a tablet, and that you already have a controller: Using you tablet as a game console

The Shield TV is definitely the better choice.

However! The Nexus Player is still a great choice, especially since it costs 1/4 as much as the Shield if you wait for a sale (they happen pretty regularly at Best Buy). You can still use Kodi for a lot of online media, and you've obviously got Hulu, Netflix, HBO, etc.. Emulation is great via Retroarch. You can do pretty much everything up to N64. If you're looking for a simple emulation box, it's a pretty good choice.

I built my dad a little Nexus Player emulation system with an OTG cable, USB hub, flash drive, and two Xbox 360 controllers. All told it came out to about $120. Pretty great value.

It really comes down to what you'll be using it for.

The Fire TV with Firestarter installed is not a bad alternative especially if you're looking for more steaming media content. There are some apps like WatchESPN, HBOGO (if you have a Comcast/Xfinity provider), and WatchABC that are absent from Android TV but available on FTV. If you don't care about side-loading or primarily watch all your content on Plex or Kodi addons then it may be a non-issue for you.

Overall, the gaming experience is much better on the Nvidia Shield, but I've been able to play emulators for the Dreamcast and PSP on my Fire TV with few hiccups.

I have been pretty content with my Nexus player. I bought it for $50 from Best Buy and it has worked well with Cody Netflix and Hulu. It is very easy to set up and even my wife has found pleasure using the device. I already have a steam link to play PC games on my couch, the Nvidia shield wouldn't do anything for me because I have an AMD card. That being said the shield TV does look like an impressive piece of kit.

There's a nasty washed out color bug for the nexus player since October and google is finally addressing it. It makes blacks look like cheap LCD panel from 2006. Bad bug testing method on their part. Still waiting for the fix 3 months later. Not sure if the Shield has this deal breaking bug.

https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=188667