I dont play games but knowing that there is enough horsepower behind the processor and gpu along with the 4K capabilities makes it a "futureproof" device for me. I bought it when it first launched in 2015? and its been rock solid to this day. Best investment in a long time that has really held up. I also stream my plex and at times 4k video and its so good at handling all of it. Plus the constant updates over the past couple years its been an excellent device.

What TV do you have? I exclusively use my shield for streaming and 4K HDR. Never played games on it

Have 2 shields and have never used them for gaming. Strictly streaming, use my 500gig as a plex server and dvr for my hdhome run, Use both for IPTV viewing and cruising the internet. Pretty much use my shields for everything but gaming.

Far from pointless, I have a 2015 500Gb version, use it as a Plex server and don't game on it, it is my main media box, for HDR Netflix shows I tend to use my LG C7's built in Netflix for Dolby Vision shows.

I got a Shield to use as a plex server and am loving it so far, haven't even set up streaming pc games yet but wouldn't change my choice even if it wasn't an option

I dont game and use a Shield. It works good, doesnt lag, plays everything I'd want. I tried roku, which worked and had every app I'd want but I dont like the interface on most apps that dont put the time in to upgrade from the normal roku interface. I tried fireTV and dislike the interface and it doesnt have a real YouTube app, which is a dealbreaker for me

Shield TV might be overkill for your application, but it works so well you might find you use it for more than that. It's incredibly fast, smooth and good at 4K content. Also you know it'll be supported for a long time to come.

Xiaomi offers zero support to their products. 2 years with no official updates not even a security update. It's junk at this point. That said if you literately only use YouTube and Netflix, it'll work fine for the time being.

I would not buy either of them for mixed 4K HDR and 1080p SDR usage because:

• the Mi Box has no Gigabit Ethernet port for high bitrate 4K HDR video streaming. It really is 1080p only for locally sourced video playback. 4K Netflix works but it no where near as good as the media player mentioned at the bottom of this post.

• the NVIDIA Shield has No auto SDR <<-->> 4K HDR colorspace switching for correct color outputs. Manually switching between colorspaces, buried deep in Android settings becomes a right royal PITA for long term usage. Upscaled 1080p > 4K picture quality is pretty poor on the Shield too vs the competition. Both of these problems are well known about long standing issues with no sign of a fix.

• There is NO 4K HDR Youtube running on any Android TV media player device, inc. 4K TV's running Android TV. Stupidly 4K HDR TV's like LG OLED's get 4K HDR Youtube. Google needs to be lined up against a wall and shot over this travesty !

• Get a Chromecast Ultra if you need 4K HDR Youtube, this is where Google are trying to herd everyone.

There are better media players on the market that handle 1080p SDR and 4K HDR auto, hands off, colorspace switching properly for correct color outputs. One will also do auto Frame Rate matching for very smooth Netflix video playback.

That device is the Apple TV 4K.

(and you do not have to use iTunes exclusively for local home networked 4K HDR video playback)

Hello sir. I was in a very similar situation. I use my PS4 pro for gaming and do not plan to use my shield at all for gaming. I do have a 4k HDR TV, and I also have Netflix and Amazon Prime Video which both support HDR, I have a Google Home Mini, and I subscribe to Youtube TV, so I wanted an all-in-one device that supported everything. The Nvidia Shield was the ONLY Android TV device that supports everything I wanted with no compromises so I bit the bullet and splurged. Overall, I would say that if you don't need Amazon Prime HDR, then just get the Mecool M8S Pro L. Furthermore, if you don't care to have an on-screen display/guide or and you just occasionally stream Netflix and Youtube, I would consider the Chromecast Ultra.

A. Netflix 4k HDR

B. Amazon Prime TV 4k HDR

C. Youtube TV On-screen guide support

D. Chromecast

E. CEC TV on/off

F. Google Home voice control functionality

Nvidia Shield : A, B, C, D, E, F

Samsung KS8500 Smart TV : A, B, C

Chromecast Ultra : A, D, E

Other devices that I don't own:

MiBox: Can't really speak for this since I don't own it, but I do know that it does not support Amazon 4K HDR. I also know that it doesn't support Google home voice controls for say pausing the TV. If you don't need amazon 4K HDR, this might be a good choice.

Mecool M8S Pro L: Can't speak for this either, but I think it's basically a better performing MiBox. I would've gotten this if not the Nvidia Shield.

Sony Smart TVs: Apparently these have a better fully integrated Android TV firmware rather than the stripped down version on the Samsung TVs.

You may just be better off getting a Roku or firestick, as it will ensure better future proofing and support for your apps than a Mi Box, and Shield is just too expensive for your needs. I know your on /r/AndroidTV but its best you get what fits your needs, and forget about labels

For 4K HDR, its still a new situation, both your box and TV must also support the exact format that the content is in as well, and there are a few different versions of 4K HDR formats out there still.

The Shield can't do YouTube HDR, so there's your answer I guess. Mi Box will have full HDR support with a wider array of codecs (HDR10, HLG, VP9 Profile 2, likely AV1) through Oreo, but I defer to others as to its 4k performance.

The Mi Box is the only S905X-based 4k device where I've seen poor reviews about 4k performance, but these were all at launch and there's been numerous performance improvements since then. Unfortunately, the only follow-up or later reviews seem to focus on it as a 1080p device.

It's only worth it if performance increase is worth it to you. What sucks is that scaling is awful compared to the built in scaling of the TV so while it may get rid of the flashing issue, the picture will be worse for 1080p content. My 65X900E has no issues in Netflix though.

I bought mine not for playing but mainly for

Kodi

Plex

Youtube

and (if time) playing MAME roms

In my opinion, Shield is a waste. I never game and have migrated to FireTV. Rarely use Shield.

Go to walmart buy MiBox. Firestick slow. Firebox filled with bloatware. You said just for streaming well nivida shield would be a waste of money. I stream a lot with no issues. Buy an sd card.

MiBox is basically a firebox without all the bloatware. If money right? Buy nivida shield. Trying to save money? Mibox. The shield king and mibox 2nd best.