Does anyone else feel like NVIDIA has a huge marketing presence in this subreddit? I know the Shield is great but it seems like they manage to take top comments left and right.
It will interesting to see the comments on this post lol
Edit: lol at 36 comments toting the shield and 0 upvotes... I love the shield as much as the next guy but you can tell me NIVDIA is not lurking...
what's your point? it's literally the best Android TV device that can be bought by a consumer, until something else comes along, I am guessing you will keep hearing about it. And no, I don't work with Nvidia and I don't even have one myself.
It's pretty sad that a product from 2015 continues to be the best choice for consumers in 2018. I blame Google mainly for not creating their own Pixel player.
I only have a Mi Box (and bought my parents one too) and I think it's a great device. But when people come in here asking for 4K content I'm not going to recommend it, I'll point them to the Shield (which I don't even own).
Kinda cause there really isn't much Android TV devices out there (stand alone) device that you can buy new. But see a lot of confusion from a Android TV device to to something that just runs android that hooks up to a tv
The Channel Master Stream+ is being improved week by week, and most of the initial shortcomings have been addressed. I like mine, free channel guide, DVR, two tuners, passes through 5.1 on the OTA side and plays my mkv videos without having to transcribe them.
But it doesn't support Netflix or Prime yet, so it's not really a competitor for most people.
I don't get the impression that it's nVidia marketing as much as it is honest consumer sentiment. The Shield TV is a great performing device and there are only two other Android TV boxes that are much less capable. If Google (or anyone else for that matter) released device that was nearly capable and as bug-free at a cheaper price point, we would be all over it. There was actually a ton of hype on this subreddit for the Mi Box but it has fallen short of it's expectations between performance, bugs, and continued support.
I guess it's impossible to distinguish 'fake' marketing on a public forum (ie: how do you know I'm not being paid by nVidia) but that's my two cents.
It was the best device BY FAR in 2015 when it came out and it's still the best device BY FAR in 2018. Why are you so surprised that it comes so highly recommended?
Why would nefarious Nvidia upvote agents be lurking in the place needed the least lol. Most people already own the Shield, or if someone asks for a recommendation, the Shield owners are more than happy to recommend it, myself included.
At this point, the Shield is the only aftermarket Android TV set-top box available in much of the world. The US has the MiBox (at Wal-Mart stores only) and just saw the release of the Channel Master Stream+ (in limited quantities, and not available at retail shops), some other countries have some other contenders, but the Shield is the one common denominator. Of course it's going to get the lion's share of the talk; it's what most people who'd be interested in this subreddit own.
It's old, but what competition is there? The mi box is good for what it is, but definitely not competition, two very different price brackets. And I say it as a happy Mi box costumer.
I'm watching 1080i content (live sports capture) flawlessly on my Nvidia shield right this moment. I also have a mi box and a mecool L pro Android TV that can't deinterlace to save their lives. Yes it's old and expensive, but it's the best by a mile.
It's only you.
Mi box is good for 1080p, still has outdated android.
Shield can handle 4k content better. Hardware matters. I would gladly support competition if they can match their device to the shield. I don't like monopoly either, we got no choice at the moment. It should change in the future. Xiaomi seems uninterested in updating Mi box or atleast a hardware upgrade for the next gen. Mi box 4 is fucking stupid.
PS : I own MIbox. I am not a fan of NVIDIA's business ethics either. Doesn't mean i am going to delude myself from the truth.
There are all of two devices on the market for the average US consumer. The Shield is more powerful of the two.
It's a math thing, not a "corporate shilling" thing. Honest question: what else would you expect to see in those "top comments"?
Maybe you could let us know all the official android tv boxes and a little about them. If you think they have infiltrated the sub, give us some alternatives to compare. I would love to know what else is out there and is official.
It's the best at the moment but far from perfect, check the nvidia shield thread on kodi. It limits multichannel pcm/flac playback to 16bit 48khz and has broken auto dynamic range switching when going from 4k to 1080p. Probably not a problem for most, this sub isn't for audiophiles/videophiles/data hoarders. As for me, I'll stick to my htpc for now.
I would never push the shield... since I don't have one... unless someone could magically remedy that wink wink nudge nudge
Seriously though, you have a bunch of boxes under 100 that have pros and cons... then you have the shield near 200 that does everything for the most part. No one else has challenged that space in the US that I am aware of
So i am long time roku user , everything in Roku works , but as i was getting bored , and i keep hearing about the new Android tv boxes like u can play games on it etc etc , long story short , first i bought couple of Chinese crap , then i found about these are not actual android boxes , then i bought Mi box , still not impressed , and after finding this subreddit , i finally bought Nvidia shield , never played games on it , controller is in the box still , but its works , and its best of all .
I didn't vote either way at first because it's a reasonable question. But now that I see that you're clearly a paranoid idiot, enjoy your downvote.
You mean the best product is the most popular and has the most support?
This is shocking to you?
It's a bit overpriced but the only other competition (MiBox) has had significant issues (Netflix issues, no Amazon Video app)
Glad I'm not the only one.
It was school vacation. Honestly that's when it gets bad. I think most adults don't care about what is "cool" but what fits people's needs, but every school vacation we get flooded with "everyone needs shields, it's only a few hundred".
Before the pattern, I thought the was a commission program too.
Maybe but I'm ok with that. Love my shields and the customer service support i get on them. There's a couple of them here that'll dm you for one on one help. Top notch support.
It's a bit difficult not to be the best android tv device when competition is practically zero.