NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV re-review: Not the box you bought three years ago

by ShawnDex

"The device we currently know as the "NVIDIA SHIELD" is not the first one to carry the name. That honor goes to the handheld device launched in 2013, later renamed SHIELD Portable. After that came the SHIELD Tablet, and finally the SHIELD Android TV in 2015. It was not the only way to get Android TV, but NVIDIA's box is the only one that had any staying power. Three years on, this device has gotten 20 updates across three major Android versions. I can't think of another Android device that offers so much value after more than three years of use. That's why we're taking another look at the SHIELD—it's changed quite a lot."

"NVIDIA rolled out its 20th software update for the SHIELD a few months ago (the 7.1 experience upgrade). This is an unprecedented level of support for a piece of hardware that some people bought three and a half years ago. Among those updates were some excellent custom features that improve on Android TV. For example, there's Plex integration. I don't just mean you can run the Plex app—any Android device can do that. No, the SHIELD can run a Plex server to stream your content to other devices. It works even when the SHIELD is asleep, and the Tegra X1 can transcode like a champ. The SHIELD is, bar none, the best Plex server I've ever used."

READ FULL REVIEW https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/11/30/nvidia-shield-android-tv-re-review-not-the-box-you-bought-three-years-ago/

Cash091

While I love my Shield... Like.. LOVE IT! We can't give Nvidia all the credit. Google has put pressure on developers to push updates and keep support going for the Android TV devices to help push Android TV into the market place. And it worked. It's most definitely a combined effort.

Nvidia on the other hand. They are responsible for things like Atmos, HDR10, Plex Server, and all the other things that devices took forever to support. I just wish we got Dolby Vision already.... especially since a TON of Vudu content supports it.

REDoneofone

the shield overall has no competition in the streaming box race. the apple tv 4 is very good for what it does but it doesn't do as much as well as the shield.

MrJacks0n

The Nexus Player had 31 updates. Was a great device till they all started to die.

BiggussDikkuss

Yes the Shield has had very good Firmware support from NVIDIA, in fact the best I've ever seen for Android outside of Amazon's FireTV family of media players.

NVIDIA should be applauded for that !

However there are fundamental issues that NVIDIA did not fix like 1080p > 4K upscaled picture quality.

Still No Dolby Audio Licence.

Still using that god awful, unreliable mini remote that is easily subject to 2.4GHz radio freq. interferance. Touch sensitive volume control is the worst design decision I have ever been subjected to using on any A/V device.

There are still color output issues for mixed SDR / 4K HDR use with various displays.

And for use as a Plex server, I never trust any server duties to any device that often needs a Factory Reset when a major OS upgrade comes around.

Servers should be run on completely seperate devices from media players IMHO. Even if you have to buy two Shields, keep one on the same stable Android OS and never touch it.

PalebloodSky

Shield TV isn't all good. It's very fast and well supported, but the remote volume control is awful and I get HDCP errors all the time requiring me to reboot or restart the TV that I never get with my Mi Box.

Global_Saffer

I just picked one up, a week after I upgraded to a 4k TV and thought it might make a good replacement to my Steam Link.....but so far it doesn't. The TV is 'smart' so it has its own apps for streaming content that work well. The super sampled 1080p images I get through the steam link aren't quite as clear as the 4k images through the Shield but it's still not much of a difference. Tie that in with my pc background occasionally flashing into my gaming sessions like some kind of subliminal messaging, and you can color me unimpressed with the Shield.

I can imagine it being great if you need the apps, but for streaming games it just doesn't seem to be all that awesome compared to the muuuuuuuch cheaper Steam Link.

alvinXZ

Android Oreo completely destroyed the power of Shield TV. I returned to Nougat, full Android Nougat 1.5 precisely, and now my Shield is so fast and without bugs like in the past. The Oreo firmware made by Nvidia is based on old Android oreo 8.0 source code that have many bugs fixed by Google in Oreo 8.1 But Nvidia never fixed and the result is an unusable device.

If you use only Netflix and Amazon video, you can't understand....

scallynag

Sounds like an /r/Apple post. I have a Shield, it's pretty decent for the price.