NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Reviewed: Gaming And The Ultimate 4K Streamer
Summary and Conclusion
The NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV has a somewhat split personality. One personality is an elegantly designed, premium device with a feature set that’s currently unrivaled. Media playback is excellent, the device and its accessories are well built and exude quality, and the software experience, even at this early stage, is quite good. And with Google and major networks now throwing their considerable weight behind the Android TV platform, we expect things to only get better with time.
The other personality is an over-powered beast that handles its business with brute force — one look at the benchmarks will show the Tegra X1’s muscle relative to many of the SoC’s currently on the market. And keep in mind, the SoCs used in many streaming devices like the Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV would fall well towards the low-end of the scale in our charts.
The NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV and its associated accessories should be available immediately in the US and Canada. Europe will get the device in Q4. The 16GB SHIELD Android TV we showed you here will retail for $199. The Pro version which comes with an integrated 500 GB HD and bundled with Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! will be $299. Both models include a SHIELD Wireless Controller and a high-speed HDMI cable. The Advanced Remote Control with voice search drops in at $49.99, and the stand for $29.99; additional SHIELD Wireless Controllers are $59.99 each. We should also mention that for a limited time, when you purchase either a NVIDIA SHIELD or SHIELD Pro, you’ll receive $60 worth of Google Play credit and services, which includes a $30 Google Play store credit, along with a 90-day subscription ($30 value) to Google Play Music All Access.
In light of the Google’s Android TV announcements today and the other Android TV-based devices currently available or on the immediate horizon, NVIDIA has hit all the high points. Everything about the SHIELD feels premium and the device’s performance is excellent. The SHIELD’s price point may give some consumers pause versus less-powerful devices, but we think those in the know with dig the SHIELD. For what it’s worth, this thing is going straight into my home theater and its staying there for the foreseeable future. Now, to convince the significant other to finally cut the cord...
The other personality is an over-powered beast that handles its business with brute force — one look at the benchmarks will show the Tegra X1’s muscle relative to many of the SoC’s currently on the market. And keep in mind, the SoCs used in many streaming devices like the Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV would fall well towards the low-end of the scale in our charts.
The NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV and its associated accessories should be available immediately in the US and Canada. Europe will get the device in Q4. The 16GB SHIELD Android TV we showed you here will retail for $199. The Pro version which comes with an integrated 500 GB HD and bundled with Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! will be $299. Both models include a SHIELD Wireless Controller and a high-speed HDMI cable. The Advanced Remote Control with voice search drops in at $49.99, and the stand for $29.99; additional SHIELD Wireless Controllers are $59.99 each. We should also mention that for a limited time, when you purchase either a NVIDIA SHIELD or SHIELD Pro, you’ll receive $60 worth of Google Play credit and services, which includes a $30 Google Play store credit, along with a 90-day subscription ($30 value) to Google Play Music All Access.
In light of the Google’s Android TV announcements today and the other Android TV-based devices currently available or on the immediate horizon, NVIDIA has hit all the high points. Everything about the SHIELD feels premium and the device’s performance is excellent. The SHIELD’s price point may give some consumers pause versus less-powerful devices, but we think those in the know with dig the SHIELD. For what it’s worth, this thing is going straight into my home theater and its staying there for the foreseeable future. Now, to convince the significant other to finally cut the cord...
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