Is NVIDIA Shield still the best?

YES! The Nvidia Shield Pro is one of the best if not THE best device on the market. It was on sale for $180 not too long ago.

Nvidia explosion -  GIF

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I have a shield pro and it’s the best streaming device that I’ve owned. Part of the $200 is modeled around well performing cloud gaming, as the Tegra SoC and GPU does a more that adequate job of GeForce Now gaming.

Since you’re not interested in gaming, you’ll find that the Ai upscaling chip may be worth the coin in itself. It’s pretty amazing.

Try a $20 Onn box and see what you think. I have a couple of those also - works fine for general streaming. No Dolby though.

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You can consider BuzzTV boxes. I use Nvidia and Buzztv with second tv. Buzz works very good. Some BuzzTv models are also in $200 range however you can find some models more budget friendly. Nvidia is very good, but Buzz is more versatile with wider range of IPTV subscribing options (if that is important to you)

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Definitely worth the $$$. But if you’re looking for a good device that performs quite impressive for the price point, get an Onn box from Walmart. I have a Shield and some Onn boxes, for streaming the Onn holds its own. Blew me away considering it was only $20USD

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Exactly how is a Buzz box giving more iptv options?

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The Buzz boxes has their own IPTV app baked in that supports the use of iptv services. It’s called Buzz 5 app (or something like that). You’re able to use the app to imitate dvr like functions, like rewinds (timeshift) and one touch record. The buzz remote is optimized with button function and layout to support their iptv app.

The shield doesn’t have any iptv-centric app support baked in.

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Strange question for one whose name literally means “having the quality/strength of oak.” You can buy one Nvidia Shield Pro or several cheap Chinese boxes every 4-5 years, but at the end of 5 years the Nvidia will still work great…and it’s ONLY $200

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I still have a 1st release of an Onn box from 2021, and it’s still working quite well. It was only $20.

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lets see…2 first gen onn boxes,use them one in grandsons br,one as a backup in main br.firestick 4k max,now a backup on the main tv,firestick 4k main streamer on br tv.Google chromecast 4k as a backup to the backup on the main tv.Tivo 4k in a drawer,mecool km7 plus in the closet.But my main device is Nvidia Shield Pro (2019).All the others mentioned are decent,it’s just that the Shield is like the cadillac of streaming devices.All that is subjective of course,but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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Don’t forget about back ups for the back ups!

I just spent 2 weeks Testing the Buzz U5 and sorry, but it isn’t better by a long shot Way to many missing options. My Shield with TiViMate outperforms it in every way. The Buzz U5 is now sitting on a shelf.

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I too was frustrated & spent 2 weeks wrestling with the Buzz TV box and I returned it. Hopefully I’ll have better luck with the Shield. I think it’s old but what I’m hearing and reading it is still at the top of the heap.

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Holds that door open real good, huh.

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Yrs, I misunderstood what you meant. Shield still rulz

I wholeheartedly concur. None of my devices have approached the same mantle as my Shield when it comes to it’s place in my primary home theater.

I remember the apprehension years ago when I first got it. I wasn’t convinced that any device (aside from a mini media pc) was worth spending $200 on. I never had a reason to look back.

:call_me_hand:

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there are many choices besides the high end Shield and the low end chinese boxes or the onn. A good solid middle of the road box is the mecool KM2+ which you can buy from walmart for 85.00.

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and don’t forget the 2023 Amazon 4K Max.

Now I dunno how many folks like to buy second handed stuff,but I can tell you facebook market place has many Nvidia shield pros for sale.Much better prices than ebay.If you’re looking to save a few bucks then do a search on fb.

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Plenty of good Android TV os boxes to use if you don’t want a fire tv device.

Newer ones may be based on Google tv

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Didn’t I read an article at Troypoint that the Shield was going away from Streaming capabilities and just concentrating on gaming? Formuler Pro is my choice by a mile.