TVs are usually owned for quite a long time and technology moves too far beyond them. The software and hardware will end up being outdated sooner rather than later.

I'd go with a dumb TV that has a good quality picture, and then connect a Shield.

I have one of my Shields hooked up to a 10 year old 1080p VIZIO.

I say go with that route. You'll be happier with the functionality than the visual upgrade.

One thing people like to avoid, or maybe they don't even notice, is that a TV manages the whole video pipeline from your source video til it's reaches your screen. They have full control over how they tweak that source, so it looks the best on they own hardware.

My Sony TV runs Android TV okey, it's not fast but it's okey. But the image quality is WAY better on the same source then on Shield through HDMI. I'm always shocked how noticeably better the image on Sony's ATV then on the shield. The colors are popping, the image is brighter EVEN with the EXACT same video settings on the Shield. Using "Standard" image profile on the HDMI from the shield, the image is an over-saturated mess.

So my point is, people tend to say that "Just get a shield and call it a day", but since Sony's 2019 lineup, they use a better SoC which is probably not on par with the Shield, but it's pretty fast, way faster then my 2018 model.

2019+ Sony TV will always have a better image quality then the same TV using the Shield as an input. Maybe the Shield is faster, but it won't have the same image quality.

If you choose the 2019 Shield Pro, you can run the Plex server on it which you probably couldn't even on your newer tv.

for example:

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/embed/index.html?uid=d059f338-5cb6-11ea-b9b8-0edaf8f81e27

Bravia

Shield

this is stock youtube app, same "standard" setting

I'm not saying that the difference is this big with every source, but with youtube is really prominent.

go with nvidea shield.. ANY android tv will have lag in it. I bought the latest sony android tv in the hopes that it got waay better then my 2015 version. Safe to say, I returned the tv and got an LG tv with nvidea shield. Couldn't be happier!

u/dweenimus - you might want to have a read of this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ShieldAndroidTV/comments/fbvfwa/seriously_disappointed_with_nvidia_shield_tv_2019/

It all depends on your budget. I would say get both if you can, if not I would get the new tv first with a firestick 4k and save for a shield pro (forget about the tube for what you need), the firestick will struggle with playing any 4k remux though.

I think an Android TV would be better. Or an LG TV + firestick 4k

The only decent TV's running Android TV are the Sony X85G, X95G and A9G because they package a much more powerful MediaTek chipset in them these days vs anything that has come before for running Android TV. They can also run Plex, Steam Link and Moonlight.

You will get better picture quality from all Apps on the Sony X95G & A9G due to it having excellent AI picture upscaling, that has no limitations and a thing called the X1 Ultimate Picture Processor. Such TV's will also give you 4K HDR YouTube and 4K HDR Google Play movies which the Shield cannot do.

Basically everything else is trash, packaging low spec SoC's vs buying a 4K TV with a top quality picture output and then adding a Nvidia Shield. The Shield will give you HD audio inc. TrueHD/Atmos. Android TV running on any TV will not.

Holy long time update Batman!

I got the shield tube, but also ended up getting a new TV too! I didnt go with an android TV, got an LG webos. Having plex etc built in helps with the wifey wanting simples, and when im around I use the shield!