It makes better sense to pick the best TV based on the screen not on Android TV or Smart Features. The Shield or a Chromecast with Google TV will be far superior to the built in Smart/Android TV features. They will also be supported for a much longer period of time.

No TV has embedded hardware as good as the shield. The shield will likely last longer then the tvs they are attached to.

Buy a good panel. Buy good hardware/software.

Always look for the best panel, don’t base it on smart features. The smart features will become outdated and you will end up using devices for your content not the built in features/apps. I wish TVs has the option to buy the same panel but without any built in smart features and for a cheaper price.

The TV makes the show, not the media box.

If you could buy a 2020 Sony X900H, you would not need a Nvidia Shield.

That particular model had one snappy powerful Android TV setup due to the excellent MediaTek chipset under the hood. It‘s what Android TV running on a TV should have been all along.

Cheap, penny pinching, underpowered chipset, Smart TV‘s are where people come unstuck and then complain loudly to everyone.

People pay good money for a Smart TV so they really should be doing some research, especially for a device that gets daily usage.

I've always felt the built in TV version of the streaming hardware never works as good as a stand alone. Personally I'd look for a TV with the features you want (4k, hdr, etc) and pickup a shield. I have 3 smart tvs with built in streaming hardware (1 roku, 1 LG, and 1 Samsung) I use stand alone streaming instead. Apps are update more frequently and overall it feels a lot more responsive than the built in service.

Nope, never buy anything that has tech built into it that will go EOL before the TV itself; you're basically allowing for security 'holes' on your network down the road.

I have a Sony 950g, it's an awesome TV with Android OS that works just as good as the shield for streaming. Just saw somebody post the 65" 950h on sale for $1,099 .. you will not get a better TV for the price!

Purchased the hisense 70" with android from best buy for $499. It's been fantastic. Sideloaded retroarch and can play games just fine on it.

I got a TCL roku os TV last year and a shield to go with it. I never connected the tv to the internet which will keep it from updating it's OS and fetching ads. I've also got it set up to automatically go the shields input so I never have to touch the tcs remote just the shields.

It's only overkill if you don't use it. The Shield enabled me to consolidate all of our consumption to one device. No more looking for extra remotes, teaching the gf different OS and when to use them, etc.

If you already own a shield then buy a better tv without android tv. I have a smart tv and a shield and it feels weird using both and I constantly get confused between the two when I primarily use the shield. It's annoying too when I turn on my tv I have to manually change the input to shield and there is no option to always switch to the hdmi2 where then shield is connected. If I had my time over I'd have the shield and buy a better quality tv without the built-in android tv.

Just buy the best display in the budget and worry abput smartness later.

Is there even such a thing as a "normal" TV anymore? I haven't seen one that doesn't have some kind of smart TV feature in it in a long long time. I'm talking new TVs by the way. But all of them have either Android TV, Roku, Apple TV, webOS, tizen, etc.

For what it's worth, many smart tvs, Android or otherwise, might be cheaper since they are subsidized by preinstalled apps.

I have an Oled, but I use a mibox for kodi, no tv OS is perfect and I would advice the same or similar combo, you can do everything with it

Iptv will always be a fight with the apps allowed on the smart tv. Side loading is not always possible. Could get patched as well and disable any apps you put on there.

I appreciate everybody's help. Thanks very much.

My opinion differs from the majority. I enjoy a tv that doesn't require a remote control to operate. For me a TV that has hands free voice operation is golden. Can do so much more than a TV, like automate your home, and give whatever information you want.

I'm currently debating this myself ahead of my next TV purchase. I'm looking at getting a Sony Bravia but not sure if I'll get an Android TV or non-Android TV one. The non-Android TV ones do not look as good spec-wise and seem to all have the old style of remote control.

One thing I want to avoid is getting an Android TV version and then adding a device down the line and having two sources of Android TV on the TV. I think this would be annoying/confusing for the family.

Black Friday is around the corner. Buy a tv and a shield an you would still be saving money. Im on the same boat as all others, buy separate devices

I have Sony X950H 4K TV. But I dont use the Android OS that came with the TV. Instead, I use the Shield TV Pro or Roku Ultra to access Netflix and other apps. This is because no matter what, Shield TV pro provides better responsiveness (compared to OS that comes with the Android TVs). Also, Shield provides more frequent updates.

If you think adding a Shield to a cheap panel is going to make it look better you're wrong.. it's still going to be and will look like a cheap panel. Get a good panel mated with a good AOS and you'll be set for a good long time.. I recommend Sony's 900 or 950 series.

android tv is an os that shield runs. you already have android tv

All you need is a chromecast with Google TV I've been using mine for 2 weeks no complaints...nvidia Shield is a bit overrated