newb

by dildog

Read a lot of reviews and opinions, I'm looking to refresh my stale WDTVs with something new. 1080 Netflix/Youtube, NFS streaming to a home NAS for local movies/tv shows , 802.11ac and H.265 are all nice to have. The Nvidia Shield is impressive and does all this and more but with a hefty price for someone who is not a gamer. Nexus player seems somewhat limited and many of the other variants either support some of my wants or flat out fail (1080 Netflix for example).

Any recommendations on current or near future options appreciated.

hitideblastoise

I made a post about a couple weeks ago about deciding between the Shield TV and Nexus Player. I chose the Shield TV. I love it. Even with minimal gaming, it's worth it. The hardware feels very sturdy, and I haven't yet to see any hiccups. I've gotten N64, some GameCube, PS1, and GBA games to run greatly. I've also enjoyed the casual games I've gotten to load like goat simulator, goat simulator mmo, and a couple others. I will say I'm having trouble getting Shadowgun Zone (can't get past the main screen) and Blitz Brigade (bad controls that can't be remapped) from running perfectly. However, even with those, I do not regret buying the shield TV. Having Ethernet has been wonderful, because it's nice to hardwire it to the router, which makes GeForce Now totally worth it. It's being able to sideload apps, but the Nexus Player can do that too!

eternal_peril

I am not a gamer, maybe a snes game when I am feeling nostalgic.

Still went with the shield. It is the most future proofed device available at the moment.

Have no regrets

GazaIan

I'm just here to cast another vote for the Shield. I had the Nexus Player and it wasn't bad, but it was more of an "I want Android TV nos and I have no money" sort of thing. It gets the job done and just meets my performance criteria, since I'm not expecting 4K or anything like that.

But the Shield.... The Shield is fucking great. The Tegra X1 is a monster of an SoC, runs games freaking great, handles video content like its nothing, its wonderful.

OssotSromo

Honestly, my first streaming device was a wdtv. Perhaps the entry model and that's why, but Jesus Christ was it a horrible laggy UX. Upgrading to ANYTHING is going to make you feel like a god. Go with a fucking roku stick and it's going to still be a better experience.

Aljrljtljzlj

I went from WDTV to Raspberry Pi with OpenElec (Kodi) to Nvidia shield TV. Shield TV is so much more. You're gonna love it. Raspberry Pi is now low powered Logitech Media Server.

Andrroid

Nexus player for affordable "it'll do for now."

ShieldTV for the best streaming experience and future proofing.

JimboLodisC

How is the NP limited? It's the second best option behind the Shield, which has the gaming aspect and better hardware over the NP.

dildog

Thanks everyone, ordering a Shield today !