NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Pro Streaming Media Player; 4K HDR movies, live sports, Dolby Vision-Atmos, AI-enhanced upscaling, GeForce NOW cloud gaming, Google Assistant Built-In, Works with Alexa

9 reviews for NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Pro Streaming Media Player; 4K HDR movies, live sports, Dolby Vision-Atmos, AI-enhanced upscaling, GeForce NOW cloud gaming, Google Assistant Built-In, Works with Alexa

1. 

   Wesley Davis – January 4, 2025

   Reliable and Great UI
   First, write this down and save it for when you need it, how to reset the remote when it locks up and new batteries don’t help: “Remove one of the batteries, press the home+dpad center button & slide in the battery. Continue to hold the buttons down till you hear a audible beep.” That happens about 6-9 months apart and knowing how to fix it makes this a flawless system. Can’t say that about upgrading my win 10 box to win 11 but the Android TV box that Shield TV is works well.I have it on wired Ethernet because the house has that. As does Marantz receiver, Samsung QLED TV, BluRay player (UHD streaming is not as good as disks, I’m on fast fiber, Amazon prime custom content and new Paramount+ Star Trek stuff being exceptions). They all work together and I have an Amazon 4k fire stick that does well but can’t Chromecast. I cast things that aren’t available in streaming form, a typical example is MLB have highlights, available on phone app. Clunky if you try them via browser (exception is watching on the computer directly). Generally I stream a lot including a lot of ad free YouTube. News, science and IT training videos (how to software stuff). The shield works well, up scales okay but the fact is that this is not the same as real 4k content, which the Shield does flawlessly. The remote is easy to use, unlike the horrible QLED remote. If only Harmony would recognize the Shield.I may shelve my 4k Fire stick, but I have the additional box to DVR broadcast stuff, which the Shield doesn’t do. I don’t use that anymore, once in 2 months, so I’m debating just removing the Fire stick. The shield just works but doesn’t have enough apps. What it needs is a music player that works with my Asustor NAS box. I can use Plex on NAS to stream a few hundred DVD disks I own and ripped, but music doesn’t work. Select a folder and it often just jumps to the root. I can cast (there are several phone apps on my Pixel that do that well) but a phone screen is small when I have folders of folders, couple of thousand CDs of music, over half is classical. Easy from PC, moderate from phone but it doesn’t work well in cast mode. Often I really to drill down to a folder – far quicker than artist or album (by probably a factor of 50-100) and then selectively play favorites. Nobody does that well in cast mode. Local mode to headphones is fine but not casting. I’m not interested in connecting a large multi TB drive to the shield as FAT32 winter cut it, NTFS will be necessary (I don’t use Linux except wsfl so EXT4 is out).Mostly I use YouTube, Plex (client mode), Paramount+ and may migrate from Fire Stick: Amazon Prime & Amazon Music. I dumped Hulu (on an old Roku) years ago, and Netflix because I didn’t find much content worth while. Paramount+ is close to that now, likely after the next season of Brave New Worlds. If Netflix hadn’t turned Formula One into a racing version of real housewives I might still subscribe. The apps, though, work well and it was easy to use any that I wanted except music on Plex (movies and documentaries are fine).I’d highly recommend the Shield TV. I saw an interesting YouTube video on Android TV boxes, the video was about security, specifically if they have a modified version of Android that allowed spying on your home network traffic. The answer was, and the person tested dozens of boxes, YES they do support spy with 2 exceptions. Shield was one, and it runs native straight Android and was clearly declared to be the one that should be considered trustworthy in this regard. The others had source code that was modified and some didn’t even try to hide it, the findings were enough to lose sleep over. Search YouTube for this:”Android tv box security” and one by Lon TV about “Is Your Android TV Legit?” is the one to start with but NordVPN “Pre Installed Malware on Android TV Box” is the other. Watch before you buy (these were made earlier in 2023) if you are thinking of a $40 Android TV box.So get a cold one or as I’m writing in December, since hot chocolate, sit back in your recliner and enjoy some excellent content available these days.Side note is that it was easy to get Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, combo from Microsoft, to work with the shield TV. The problem is more about how it isn’t easy to use them sitting in a recliner. But they do work. Just so you know.

2. 

   john austin – January 4, 2025

   The best tv box out there!!!
   I’ve had all the diff kinds of fire sticks, Google boxes, even the tube shield.This is by far the best of all of them.Even on wifi, it is 100x better than the FS’s, on broadband, it’s 1000x better than all of them combined.No memory issues, I have a 128gb flash drive, plenty of memory for me.No lag or buffering like the others, smooth, quick and very responsive.I’m waiting on a game controller to try the ge force out.Will edit after I get that going and figured out.Overall, easiest decision I’ve made. I’ve wasted enough money so I got the best. Not cheap but it’s worth every penny.Set up was a breeze also, everything I’ve installed on it works perfect.I have zero complaints about this.Very happy with the purchase!Also love how it ties into my Alexa and doorbell, making life a lot easier, being handicapped it’s a lot easier to see who is here on the tv.Love it!!!

3. 

   Maxwell Rombo – January 4, 2025

   A robust TV streaming box.
   The NVIDIA Shield TV Pro is a game-changer for entertainment. Its powerful processor delivers seamless streaming experiences. The AI-enhanced upscaling brings stunning clarity to 4K content. With support for Dolby Atmos and Google Assistant, it’s incredibly versatile and easy to use. This device has transformed my viewing experience and is worth every cent. Highly recommend for anyone looking to upgrade their home entertainment setup!

4. 

   Paul – January 4, 2025

   Dolby Atmos! Updated: Media Streamer Comparison Review+
   As pictured, the Nvidia shield tv pro NOW supports Dolby Atmos music and Yes it is amazing, and well separated throughout my 7.2.4 setup and much more immersive than stereo music. From what I understand dac’s don’t currently support Dolby Atmos music and right now the only way to listen to Dolby Atmos music is to first have a good streaming device, like the nvidia shield tv pro, and second it has to be connected to your dolby atmos source via an HDMI cable. For example, I can ONLY listen to true Dolby Atmos music through the tidal app of my Nvidia, which is connected to my Dolby Atmos AVR, Denon AVR-x4500h. Dolby Atmos music is honestly brand new to me as I have been using tidal connect which doesn’t support Dolby Atmos at the time of this review. Dolby Atmos music is hands down better than stereo and reminds me of listening to great music that is played on a dolby atmos movie! The sample rate for dolby atmos is currently reading at 48khz but as we all know it’s difficult to tell the difference between 24 bit 192khz and 16bit 44khz because what really matters is how well the track was mastered, something we cannot quantify at this time. I would think Dolby atmos music would be identifiable in a blind listening session since the surround channels are so engaging! This is another example of why the nvidia shield pro is such a great streaming device!!!Update:After having this unit a few years I’ve finally gotten a chance to get an upgraded dac for my system and find the best source to play to my dac. After trying Bluetooth, airplay2, and using the hi res USB Audio function of this shield pro (hardwired to my dac) and found this is this machine that gives you an amazing music experience.. if you like to rock! The biggest improvement in sound is how the shield pro makes your subwoofers work for the money! My subs really come alive in hi res usb while played from the nvidia. I compared playing usb music between my iPhone and the shield which plays to a new hi-res, affordable, 1mii DS -601 dac and the biggest difference between playing hardwired from my iPhone and hardwired from the shield is how well the signal processes in my subwoofers. It’s fun and I highly recommend using this product for hi-res USB music (Tidal is awesome at sound quality and discovering/rediscovering your fav music) as well as a stout dolby atmos/vision machine! This does it all!!! Thank you nvidia🙂This review compares the Full Nvidia Shield Pro against the newest Apple TV 4k 3rd generation and Roku Ultra on a cheap hiscence 65” TV with an Audiophile grade Dolby Atmos 7.2.4 Home Theater Component Setup.The picture quality of the Nvidia Shield Pro is near equivalent to the Apple TV, but is better at upstreaming and removing that annoying CGI Wavy dark background from your video playback. The Roku Ultra is very unremarkable when compared against the Nvidia Shield Pro and Apple TV and wont be mentioned further.Please keep in mind this is Nvidia, so the fact this product is the best shouldn’t be a surprise based on how well the stock has performed historically.The apple TV doesn’t detect the available video settings like the Nvidia does, which I love. What this means is that you get to find a Dolby Vision and HDR10 setting that eliminates the Wavy CGI dark background and replaces it with rich detail!!I ultimately picked this because I am an audiophile and love Dolby Atmos! This streaming device makes Dolby Atmos really pop! If you already have a great Dolby Atmos system this device is definitely worth considering as it will upgrade your audio experience as well as video experience!You do have to play around with the display settings though to find what works best for your TV, screenshots of possible settings (for my TV available). I found my favorite setting is Dolby Vision, default was Non-Dolby Vision set at 4k 59hz. For my TV Dolby Vision was only available at 4k 29hz but again, this lower refresh rate removed the wavy CGI dark background that interferes with your movie watching experience!I love this Streaming Device and have settings listed below:The default picture and sound is standard, you must first change the default video settings to 4k with Dolby vision and HDR as pictured to achieve the best picture possible (Pro). Also change the Audio settings to manual and select all Dolby and DTS Settings for optimal sound(Pro!). The default is regular 4k which will not appear that different from your budget smart TV.Once the settings are optimized on this device you will find this android device is much better than the Apple TV, which is hard to beat!This device is worth the price as it optimizes the picture and sound. I don’t use this for games, only to enhance the picture and make the surround sound really pop! This truly is A must for anyone who is an audio enthusiast and/or for someone who has bought a budget TV like a Hiscence, as I did.UPDATE:The screensavers are beautiful! Can you please put the locations on them instead of the photographers name, where applicable, it would be greatly appreciated!!

5. 

   Corey Benoit – January 4, 2025

   The nvidia shield by far has to be the most strongest android box I’ve ever come across. I bought the android box when my mom moved into her house in 2020 because she wanted to watch tv but she didn’t want to pay for cable. So I told her that we can watch all the streaming services on the android box. She was hesitant at first knowing that we’ve tried android boxes in the past and they were slow clunky and couldn’t keep up with anything at all. I told mom that I worked with nvidia before and I use them for my graphic card and that they’re Services are decent. I said if they can make graphic cards they’ll do good making an android box. So we opted to pay the price which I can say is expensive at $250. (one of the downfalls) it’s easily double if not triple the price of a standard android box. The operating system on the box is a bit older it’s only Android 11 and as far as we’ve known it hasn’t had a operating system update since. Which I know what you’re thinking yeah it’s out of date which it is but does that affect the performance, speed quality anything like that no it keeps up for itself. The only thing I’m ever worried about is I know the older the system the more at risk it is for security but if you’re not downloading a lot of sketchy apps and you stick to just the google play store you should be fine. It does get the occasional update here and there but just not an operating system update. Picture quality is crisp and clean, the sound quality is crystal clear, running the system is got to be really easy way easier than some of the other menus out there. Since this is running the standard android operating menu and not some sort of wonky off brand one it’s easier to get through. What I really like about this system is that it’s more than just your standard android box that can play videos and show you some pictures through a usb stick, this system can do much more than. It’s got the ability to play games right off the system itself which is unheard of from any type of android box I’ve ever seen and I think that’s due to the capabilities of it being run by nvidia. Mom’s been using the android box now for 4 years and we have not had any major issues whatsoever other than every once in awhile the Box will freeze up on her but it’s so rare that it only really happens when the house loses power for a few seconds and even when the house loses power for a few seconds it doesn’t always freeze the box up either, but it’s not a big deal just unplug the cord and plug it back in. Let’s talk about the negatives. One of the biggest grapes I have with this system is not so much the system itself but the remote. It’s such a weird shape it’s not a flat remote like standard it’s a triangle-shaped remote. It’s Unique in its own way it lights up every time you pick it up instead of the standard remote where you have to press the button to see the lights come on that’s the only good thing with this remote. The bad part about the remote there’s a few things I really don’t like. One is it has a giant netflix button on it which saves you time having to go through the menu to click on netflix (which isn’t hard to do anyways) but I find it’s a pain in the arse and it’s inconvenient cuz it’s on the bottom of the remote and the second you go to pick up the remote to go change the volume etc if you got large hands you’re pushing that netflix button when you don’t want it on and it’s a very sensitive button too. I would say a good chunk of the time I’m hitting the button by mistake. Another problem I find really irritating with the remote is if you are using the nvidia remote to control the volume it doesn’t have a dedicated mute button. So if you get a phone call or somebody’s talking to you when you’re watching a show and you go to mute it the only thing you can do is press both the volume up and down button at the same time to mute the tv. They need to do a redesign to the remote to add a mute button and to not have any shortcuts for the streaming services. The last and only thing left about the remote I don’t care for is when it’s time to change the batteries out. The battery cover on the back of the remote is tricky to get off. There’s a little triangle button on the back but it doesn’t really protrude out you kind of have to dig your fingernail in and then slide the cover down it it’s a little bit harder than what it should be.(Its a learning curve) Other than that the remote does its job like any other. So overall it was well worth the money at the end. Yes its expensive especially in these day and age but mom’s got every penny worth out of it. The features alone make up for it. To have a android box do what it does especially this one, yeah I would say highly anyone that’s looking to get an android box in the future or needs a replacement get one. If you can afford it and get it on sale buy it especially if it’s on sale don’t hesitate. Sure there is some negative points but it’s mainly in the remote and that just could be me. I like the box so much that I’m going to be buying some of them for my own place to use around the house. 10 out of 10

6. 

   jaime – January 4, 2025

   Es lo máximo en Calidad de Audio y Vídeo.Tuve Google Chromecast, Fire TV stick 4k y las reseñas y comentarios sobre que este ES el mejor Reproductor de Streaming en Verstilidad, Funcionalidad y Calidad son Ciertas!Increíble el escalamiento por IA a 4K, lo complemente para un Proyector escalable a 4K junto con un Onkyo HT-S3910 y la combinación es Increíble, Audio y Vídeo impecables con las configuraciones adecuadas (necesitas ver turoriales para sacarles provecho y maximizar su rendimiento) ..por lo menos yo lo hice así y encontré mejoras Increíbles!Además… puedes jugar en línea con Nvidia GE Forcé y agregar un control inalámbrico para X-BOX en mi caso…! (No soy tan gamer, pero representa otra gran ventaja, si no quieres adquirir una consola)Haré una actualización en unos meses que pruebe juegos y más de su desempeño.

7. 

   Raju PP – January 4, 2025

   Stunningly best

8. 

   Ossi – January 4, 2025

   We all know this is old now, but it’s still pretty quick.Android TV imo needs a new front end, if for nothing else but to get rid of the adverts. Luckily the Shield is more than happy to accept one. Instantly better.What is odd is that the Shield won’t play android games from the store, admittedly this could be cheap SSD I added as extra internal storage, so I am going to test that with a better one when it turns up.Edit: yup, certainly was the cheap ssd hard drive, I got a Samsung SSD and it. Is. Glorious.Talking of which, extra expenses:1. You will need an SSD to expand the memory, 16gb including space for the OS is frankly a joke.2. A decent hdmi lead.3. The possibility of needing a high speed hdmi splitter if your TV wasn’t made yesterday. My TV has four 4k hdmi ports but only two super high speed, one of which is arc.That’s fine, but the arc is taken up by my fancy soundbar and the other super high speed port is taken up by my Xbox.This means the shield can currently only go into a normal 4k port and that means no Dolby Vision or HDR10 etc.And really this box needs those settings as it’s just a bit lack lustre without them.4. You might also need to consider buying a powered USB 3(+) hub. There isn’t a massive amount of power to spare in the Shield and obvs running the usb takes up some of it. So to avoid digital drudgery, extra power might help.CEC is tricky to set up as it appears to conflict slightly with the rather nice IR settings you can tweak. I’m not yet savvy enough with the system to figure all this out yet, but I have hopefully stopped it randomly shutting down the Shield and my TV which was just annoying.My intention is to run this as a retro gaming/TV box. It’s not the easiest thing to set up, but after a few days of nerdling around I think it has potential… it’s just slightly out of my grasp so far.Edit: mostly got everything sorted for emulation. It’s fiddly and it’s a fine line between shaders and a CTD!Oh and the remote is very cool, if a little bit sensitive.Edit: all other controllers now feel old fashioned!

9. 

   Ehsan – January 4, 2025

   It’s perfect