Is Nvidia Shield Worth Buying?

Kevin Pocock

Kevin Pocock

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Most of the streaming sticks you find on the market only cost around $50. They are mostly from Amazon, Google, and Roku, all supporting 4K video. 

If you look at the price of the Nvidia Shield TV, you will see it with a price tag three times higher. And this is a massive price to pay for a streaming stick. However, you will eventually notice that the Nvidia Shield TV is worth every penny. 

What does the Nvidia Shield TV have to offer? 

Launched in 2015, it was the first available 4K UHD micro-console set-top box. It primarily targeted gamers, but at this point most people didn’t have 4K televisions. 

At that time, there were too many streaming services available as well. So, the primary selling point of this box was that it supported Android games and Nvidia Grid or GeForce NOW cloud-based gaming service. But we can call it a streaming stick because it has the best audio and video quality.

Exceptional high-end video along with AI enhancements

The Nvidia Shield TV’s video quality is outstanding and it has Dolby vision. This is not rare, but Nvidia uses AI to upscale video to provide you with the best quality. 

Inbuilt Chromecast and Android TV software

In our view, to experience the Android TV software best, you need to use the Shield TV. Everything is paired well with the inbuilt Chromecast. 

Android gaming, Cloud gaming, & emulators on your television

Nvidia’s plan to make the Shield TV a micro-console might not have worked well, but it panned out well as a TV test. And there are so many games from the Android platform and the cloud.

The Pro Model is more than just a streaming stick

The standard model comes with a MicroSD slot and Ethernet jack. But the pro version has a couple of USB ports and an Ethernet jack. It also comes with an extra 8 GB of storage and 1GB RAM. 

Conclusion

The Nvidia Shield TV has much better AI upscaling, it works with OTA TV and effectively works as a Plex Media Server too. So, if you can save up to get the device, we recommend doing it because you won’t regret it. 

Kevin Pocock

Kevin Pocock

Kevin is the Editor of PC Guide. He has a broad interest and enthusiasm for consumer electronics, PCs and all things consumer tech - and more than 15 years experience in tech journalism.