Upgrade to Android TV or Get a New TV and keep my Nvida Sheild

by Briand9595

Hi Everyone,

I currently have a (about 8-10 yr old) 55' Sony TV which I currently use with my Nvidia Shield. One pro that I like about my TV is that my stock remote (automatically) worked with my Nvidia shield which was super handy, considering the Nvidia remote doesn't allow for power on/off or TV volume control. I wanted to upgrade to a 65 inch and found a Hisense Android TV for 399.99 at best buy - link below. Thought that was a crazy deal. I love the shield and use it for streaming as well as gaming (few android but mostly emulators) and wanted to see if people had a good or bad experience with a built in android TV set up. Would someone coming from a shield view it as a downgrade? Should i pony up more since I am relying on the TV software (android) as well as the components? any help would be appreciated!

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https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hisense-65-class-led-h6500f-series-2160p-smart-4k-uhd-tv-with-hdr/6378019.p?skuId=6378019&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1260573&ds_rl=1266837&ds_rl=1268709&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1PXl38Ck5wIVCYizCh14Ug8SEAQYASABEgIkAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

seiks

Software support from TV manufacturers is super bad imo, even for top line Sony, Samsung. I'd go for a TV that's as dumb as possible and stick to the shield

BiggussDikkuss

With Sony - Android TV's virtually the majority of them used a really slow, underpowered 2016 (and earlier) era MediaTek Chipset in them to run the Android TV OS - it was a PITA, laggy and snail slow.

In recent times their Premium Sony 4K HDR TV models got a much more powerful, snappy MediaTek Chipset in them and Android TV Pie 9.x running on those is actually a good Android TV experience -- finally.

In 2020 that new snappy MediaTek Chipset is finally filtering down to Sony's mid tier 4K HDR models as well. Those models are distinguished by running Android TV Pie out of the box, and with recent improvements to the Android TV OS (project Treble) by Google will finally see a much quicker OS upgrade timelime from Android TV vendors like Sony, vs all the problems of the past.

With Sony's those equipped with their X1 - Ultimate Chipset get Object based - AI Super Resolution upscaling of All non 4K content - without limitations that the 2019 Shield runs into. Picture output quality with ALL Apps on such a TV will be superior to the 2019 Shield

On a modern 4K HDR TV, you will get 4K HDR YouTube and some will have 4K HDR Google Play Movies and the Apple TV App. All of which, even the 2019 Shield cannot do.

All the other Brands of TV's running Android TV - well it's a lottery what chipset you are going to get under the hood. Budget Brands will likely get poor OS (upgrade) support and use underpowered chipsets that will not make for a great Android TV experience.

In those cases get a 2019 Nvidia Shield for use with such TV's.

fecalrecon

I've found that built-in Android TV is never as good as the shield. It's clunky and slow to respond. I bought a high end 65" Sony Bravia that came with Android TV, but I still use my Shield.

The shield is updated frequently, can be customized easier and can control any important TV functions via CEC.

Briand9595

Thanks. That's what I assumed. I love android for my phone, but I know after a year or 2, there can be issues. Talking it through, I can only imagine how buggy a 5-7 year old android TV would be.

rtechr

Definitely go with Shield over built-in Android TV. I've been disappointed in every Smart TV with built-in apps I've ever used. There is always limited functionality and lack of updates. Many apps don't get updated as well, not just the OS, since individual device testing and approval needs to be done to get it pushed to the TVs.

As for your remote, if you don't need voice, I recommend a Fire TV 4K remote. If you want to set up IR, you will need a Fire TV for the IR setup, but not for anything else. If you want voice assistance, you'd need to use a separate microphone (or the Shield remote mic).

Or you can buy one of the new 2019 Shield remotes. They just went on sale today on the Nvidia site, but already sold out. I'm sure they'll have more soon.