My first deal, been checking the web for price to drop, I know its not the cheapest it has been but still better than the full price, enjoy!
CamelCamelCamel.
Agreed! I have just sold my old shield and wanted to get the pro version. I didn't have any of the recent issues that people mentioned with the latest updates. Shield beats any of the other Android boxes by a mile.
Yeah I hear a lot of complaining in the Plex and Shield subreddits but to be fair my experience with my 2019 pro model has been great. It's been a much better experience than my 4k max firestick.
As a plex viewer it's fantastic, though not really much better than the far cheaper devices. As a plex server it's great if you're plugging a HDD with your media into it, but not good if you're connecting it to a big NAS.
@MrFunSocks: I'm facing no issues at all, have configured Plex server with a QNAP and it serves 4K files too with ease.
Local traffic is all via ethernet, though.
@Rorschach: No idea why it wouldn't work for me then, but my DS920+ runs plex server better than this could ever dream of so no loss in the end.
@MrFunSocks: It works fine connected to my ancient QNAP NAS. (Probably pushing 10 years old!)
Only thing I find is sometimes I have to re-connect/authenticate to the NAS otherwise Plex thinks it's offline
I have had a Shield Pro 2017 Edition floor 4+ years. (imported from Amazon US). Best streaming device I have. WD-TV and Asus Nexus have gone the way of the Dodo. Amazon FireTV 4K Max and Google Chromecast Ultra plus origin Chomecast and nothing comes near the Shield TV.
Nvidia does a good job of keeping the Shield updated with Google Android for TV, Nvidia's and Google apps all kept up to date.
My only issues are with the ABC iView app. You need to make sure that IPv6 is unchecked else it takes 30+ mins to verify authenticate credentials before letting you in. Foxtel Go app stopped working in January after the last major Shield update. Foxtel advised yet still have not updated their app since August, 2021. Disconnecting this week so I no longer care. I guess they are leaving it to their 'work experience/cadets' to get them working properly.
Anyway, bottom line, Shield works with everything I toss at it. I have not experienced any of the issues that others may have experienced. Still best is class after 4 years imho.
I have connected my SSD drive to the shield pro and selected shield as server. But even 1080p is buffering via Plex. Any idea why?
Agreed, I have 2x 16gb 2017 models (non-pro) and run a 128gb usb stick in one which acts as my plex server. The server pulls media from a 2013 Synology NAS with 12TB. The DS213J is getting old and slow but still works fine with nearly 10 years of constant running (kudos to WD Red drives too and Synology while i'm at it). Use it for all my Plex streaming at home and away and in 4-5 rooms, and on my phone. My parent's have an account and they share it too. Honestly, it's an amazing Plex server - and low powered too which adds to its abilities and is able to push 4k with full atmos surround too. And that's before we talk about Gamestream/Steam Remote Play/RetroArch and all the other smart TV functions. Sure beats the old Telstra TV Roku I have in one of my rooms (though, tbh, my $300 TCL with android TV does too)
I keep umm and arring about this because my tv gets me by, but I want this
I just purchased but Amazon has free returns, correct?
Yes you can do a change of mind within 30 days, but trust me once you use android tv on shield you wont go back to your tv lol
I have a Sony X90F which is andriod based but struggles to play 4k remux on Plex and Kodi is hit and a miss.
Are you using a wired connection? My old sony tv plays 4K remuxes just fine with kodi and plex.
Not quite right. You need to click on the returns policy on each product page. This item may qualify for change of mind returns, however, it looks like you would need to pay shipping. Per the policy - "You may be eligible for Free Returns shipping for eligible items which display the “FREE Returns” message on the product detail page." I don't see that on this product page.
What is good about it?
Always hear good things but never really followed through and found out much
Wow Amazon lets you return something because you just didn't want it anymore?
Id tell you to get (profanity).
So glad you don't run Amazon
Yep, and the same clowns who abuse that probably also whinge about Amazon sellers advertising "refurbed" stuff even though a bunch of it is probably returned and repackaged gear.
Amazon has free returns, correct?
Not quite - only certain items noted as having Free Returns in the top right corner are free. For other items it will cost ~$7 for a change of mind return.
Thanks OP - missed out on the last one by this much!
Get smart up next time.
I cannot recommend these high enough.
Any recommendations for a remote cover?
The ones available from Amazon US are around $22 and a brand remote is $50 delivered.
I've never needed one.
I have never needed one, probably a good idea if yo have kids though ?
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=S…
A happy owner of a first-gen Shield, bought in 2015. After almost 7 years, works, looks and feels like day one. Nvidia is pretty good with updates. One of the best.
Hey I've got a Samsung tv with bad blue tooth reception, drops out with headphones 2m away. Can I connect blue tooth headphones to one?
Yes you can connect a bluetooth headset/headphones to this.
I previously connected an xbox controller to my Shield to play emulated games and at just over 2m it was pretty crap with constant dropouts / inputs I didn't do, turned out to be about as far as Shield could communicate so needed a USB extension cable to overcome this. YMMV
Have you tried headphones, same 2m problem as you experienced with the controller?
I have and if worked a bit better, still the occasional dropout but definitely an improvement
Great little device but there are a couple things to note if using for a home theatre setup based on my usage.
You can't use it as a Plex media server and client player. I had to use my NAS as the Plex server and the NVIDIA shield as the client. No issues really but if you are going to use transcoding, shield is definitely more Power.
I have intermittent issues resuming or using the forward or rewind functions in Plex on the shield. No issues at all when using Plex on my Samsung TV. So I pretty much have to watch a full movie or if resuming, revert to VLC player.
Hope this helps.
You can run it as a Plex server and client but there's no way to move the database off the limited internal storage. So if your database is big, like mine, you can't use it as a Plex server
Would love to get it working but I can't see a way to move the database, with storage attached
@jasonc: One of the sample images taken off the reddit:
This is in the settings of plex media server app, I'm not using it currently so cannot point the exact location.
Once you click on the storage location, it will give you the option of selecting another location. Please keep in mind that if you switch with a huge library it might take a long time or won't be able to transfer properly. Better to set up the libraries from scratch after you have changed the location.
I bought one a few years back to use as a Plex server to try and replace my more power hungry NUC, and yeah you can definitely move the database off to an external HDD, but it was just endless problems when connected to my Synology NAS - the plex server software obviously can't handle big libraries via network connections (30TB+). It would just crash within minutes of starting up, even when not playing anything but just using the web interface for settings etc. I factory reset it 3 or 4 times, set it all back up again, and the same thing happened every single time. There's clearly a reason why it's the only android Plex Server available.
Issue no. 2 would be a deal killer for me. Is that a widespread problem ? Maybe you have a faulty unit ?
From googling this it's quite widespread and very dependant on the container your media is in. This is a problem with only the NVIDIA shield as my Samsung TV does not have this issue.
You absolutely can use it as a media server and client. It's how I have it set up.
With issue number 2, i found if its not direct playing (so its in transcoding mode), it will take a while to rewind/fast forward.
Thanks. Do you mind explaining the difference between direct playing vs transcoding mode please ?
Direct play is when it plays it exactly as it is straight from the source, whereas transcoding is when it has to re-encode the video to another format to play it.
@MrFunSocks: It's very buggy tho, so I definitely have my setting set to direct play as I got everything connected via ethernet. But if you forward or rewind, I get an error message that direct play was attempted but failed and now the stream is being transcoded. And after that the shield will crash and reset Plex or need a complete reboot of the shield.
Also unsure why the neg, it's a genuine user experience, and re point number 1, in my case I could not use it as a server and client, it just fails to play any of my content. The moment I used my NAS as the server, Plex would play local media on the shield.
@Sunman: I didn't neg you btw.
I had massive problems using my Shield Pro as a Plex server to the point where I returned it and just did it all on my NAS instead.
@MrFunSocks: Sorry just reread my comment, I meant to say unsure why there was neg in general on my original feedback, def was not directed at you :)
How is this for streaming games from your PC on these?
My TV has Steamlink but Steamlink doesn't run that well with games not in Steam.
I have a Nvidia 3070, have heard streaming from a PC to these is relatively seamless compared to the Steamlink option.
It's awesome, but I've only tested it through Moonlight (third-party streaming app that uses NVIDIA's Gamestream tech) because it supports 1440p. No problems with both connected via Ethernet.
Hoping it's good because I've just bought one for the same reason haha. 3070 PC will be streaming to my TV in another room via ethernet.
Have done steam streaming over the home wired network from a GTX980, but just at 1080P (sure it would work fine in higher res too, but pointless if I can't see it due to age/distance). Was perfectly smooth, no delays. Hardware wise seemed excellent on my old version (2015/116 vintage?)
I find the software setup more of a struggle, but that's often device agnostic :\
Also worked fine for some xbox cloud gaming!
I bought mine primarily for this and it's been flawless when plugged in via ethernet and almost completely unusable over Wifi (but I had the same thing with my Steam link).
Can easily add any and all games (including Game Pass) to Geforce Experience.
I'm streaming with a GTX3080, 4k60 no issues.
I just set mine up and cannot get gamestreaming to work from my PC :(. Both connected via ethernet, the shield tv finds the PC and lists my games, but then when I go to open one it just sits on the game "title screen" type thing and says "connecting" down the bottom. The game starts on the PC and is sitting on the main menu, but the Shield just won't stream it. I've already uninstalled/reinstalled the Geforce Experience, I'm logged in to my geforce now account on the shield, I "paired" the shield in the geforce experience app (though it doesn't show up under Shield devices - should it?)…….any ideas?
Mine doesn't show any devices in the GeForce Experience app, however I do have a "remove all devices" button which I'm sure would boot my shield if I clicked it.
On that same tab I would suggest you manually add a game. I would also add something basic like Notepad too, I get my Shield to launch Notepad to first wake my computer from sleep, otherwise I get the issue you're describing (but only if my computer's screen was off first).
@theknight27: Cheers, I'll give it a go. SteamLink works perfectly so that's a start!
I have the remove all button and that does unlink it when I click it, so I guess it's just a bad UI that doesn't actually show any devices haha.
@MrFunSocks: Yup, the UI isn't as intuitive as it could be.
If you go to the very bottom of the app on your Games app on your Nvidia Shield you'll also see you can fiddle with the streaming quality and a couple other settings, it was defaulting to 1080p for me until I changed it there.
@theknight27: I'll have a play around with those settings on the shield, hopefully might make it work. I'm streaming from a ultrawide 1440p to a 4K tv so could maybe be having trouble with that?
@MrFunSocks: Hmmm I streamed from an ultrawide originally and it still worked but just sent a wonky aspect ratio. If its just spinning at the connection screen on the shield I think that there's something else going on.
How do these compare to the Chromecast with Google TV (assuming you aren't interested in playing games on it) ? I already have 3 TV's each with an Android TV Box. (2 Xiaomi and 1 Vodafone). I'm actually happy watching in SD - and these devices are fine for me. The only issue I have is with MythTV - basically it takes a long time to start up. Any other MythTV users who could comment on that ?
Unless you're going to be using it as a plex server (by plugging a HDD with your media directly into it, it sucks using a NAS) or for video game emulation (which you said you won't), it's not worth it over a Chromecast with Google TV. I say this as someone that has owned both (and just re-bought a shield tv pro to use for game streaming from my PC). The Chromecast is just as good at playing all the streaming media services.
Great. Thanks a lot. That is really useful info. No need to spend $289 then if I can get what I want for $88 (on the current deal). Have read one post that MyhthTV runs well on it, which is good. I am going to set it up in one of our rooms and then also just grab it when going away on holiday - all set up with our accounts and preferences etc. More portable than the Shield for that purpose too.
Sorry, but what's the benefit of plex vs. Samba file share from dedicated NAS and Kodi or something else as the player on a chromecast?
That's what I do now over 5ghz WiFi for ~15gb movie files and hasn't missed a beat
Plex comes into it own over Kodi when transcoding files to devices outside the internal LAN network over WAN for instance. An example would be sending a 10MB/s 1080p movie to a mobile phone that needs to be transcoded down to a lower 720p 3MB/s bitrate to save on data usage and the client doesn't need that high res on a phone.
@Solrak: OK that makes more sense, surprised so many people are streaming outside of their network and enough stuff not to keep just a local copy on the portable player.
Plex has great features like letting you search for and add subtitles to anything, profiles with their own complete watch history etc that carries over across devices.
@MrFunSocks: Profile based watch history could be useful for some people, sounds like it's much more multi user which I don't need but can see how it might be helpful. Kodi can do watch history via Trakt.tv plugin
@peterpaoliello: I used to prefer Kodi but it's at the stage now where Plex just works like Netflix etc do. It's fully featured, easy to set up and use, and works brilliantly on everything right out of the box. Kodi is more "powerful" and customisable, but it's generally a pain in the arse.
After nearly 3 years of trouble-free use, my shield apprears to have died last night. I unplugged the HDMI yesterday (unit was off) when I was removing a flash drive and since then everthing is massively zoomed in and I can't correct it. Tried reboot, reset, different HDMI port, different HDMI cable and no change. Anyone else seen this issue? got a few hits on google and the fix for most has been to replace the unit :(
Have you tried changing the overscan settings?
Tried everything to no avail, still stuck in 720p. Looks like it's dead :(
A very good product. Blows anything else out of the water.
Happy owner here, I mostly use Plex and YouTube clients (occassionally RetroArch)
This is with Nvidia Shield Experience 8.2.3
dont upgrade to v9 it killed everything
I find this very over-exaggerated, the "adds" are not even noticeable they just appear as recommendations at the top, the old menu layout worked well but this works just as good if you filter out the things you don't need (google play services etc).
I think I'll wait until it goes further down, if ever. Can't really justify buying one atm.
Been having good experience with FireTV4k (got it gifted) which replaced my CC Ultra (due to certain issues with Plex streaming). FireTV also has some issues with certain Dolby Vision content as well but idk if it's worth $290 to fix them lol.
I know I could use it for Steam Remote Play, but I also have a hardware Steam Link unit so that's another use case covered.
I use it as a Plex Media Server and Client. My media is on external 2.5” 3TB hard drive. Make sure you have fast hard drive to make use of the USB 3.0 connection. Streams 4k with no issues. I have friends logging in remotely using my Plex media server on the shield, seems the max amount of simultaneous streams are 2. I upload content from my desktop to the Shield onto the external hard drive. Plex runs 24/7 with Shield off. Make sure the external drive is setup as external for plex and not extension of storage.
Wasn't going to buy one again after returning my last one, but now that I've got a nVidia GPU gaming PC I'll give the streaming from PC to TV a go via this.
Have the cylindrical NVIDIA shield TV 4k HDR.
Is it worth the upgrade?
Thanks.
Not unless you want to use it as a plex server or for game emulation.
Thanks.
As much as I want this it costs twice as much as my TV did. Cannot justify it.
What kind of TV did you get for $100?
42" LG Flatron. Runs at 1080p, though the panel is 768p.
With my eyesight, 768p is overkill.
I saw a 55" Panasonic Plasma (2010) on Marketplace for $50 this week. I'm assuming it runs.
Not sure if it's recent update related, but one of my 2 2019 Shield Pros remotes seems to take a while to turn the unit on or respond this week.
Seems to fall asleep, can take minute or two to work again. Odd.
Really wish inbuilt TV's had capable processors to do away with boxes…. That and HDMI CEC issues have plagued me for years with them.
Is it worth upgrade over 2016?
I think you mean the 2017 model. There was no model from 2016.
I believe the difference with the newest model from 2019 supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision and an AI 4K upscaler. Unless you use those features then it probably isn't worth upgrading if you already have the 2017 model.
I have the 2017 model and i think that it's still great.
This is what I was wondering also as my old Shield is still fantastic and I only have a Panasonic 55" Plasma tv so I probably dont need a newer shield :D
My 1st version is still going strong, running Plex server with NAS connected via ethernet; recording free-to-air TV via HDHomeRun and saving to SD card has been working flawlessly. No reason to upgrade until there is a new version or I upgrade my 1080p TV to 4/8K. With my Harmony Hub and Google Home setup, I turn the Shield/Receiver/TV on with voice and use the Shield Remote exclusively for streaming services and free-to-air TV. As clean a setup as you can get.
anyone else eating through batteries on the shield tv pro?
I mostly use the TV remote to control it via HDMI-CEC though, but last time I picked the Shield remote up it was still working on the original 2+ year old batteries. They clearly sleep fine, if you're using it a lot the backlight and motion detection might chew it a bit.
Yes, I have two and one was going through them a lot, I noticed the light kept coming on for no reason so I changed some settings and it seems alright now I think.
These are great, but they dont have HDR support with the YouTube app. FYI.
Is there even that much content on Youtube which supports HDR?.
I guess it depends on what you watch on YouTube?
A great deal of "amateur" 4K travelogue-type videos are shot in HDR 60fps and are quite stunning to behold. I have to use the app on my 2021 telly to watch them in HDR.
All Android devices and TVs can't play HDR from the YouTube app. I get the feeling it's done on purpose. As some companies have exclusive rights to do it, even though its not stated anywhere. Impossible they wouldn't have come up with a fix after 5 years of this lol.
I have always used Kodi on seperate boxes and now on Sony TV's. Why do people use PLEX?
Because it's the lazy persons way of centralizing the database and lets you utilize things like consoles
I habe everything stored on a Synology NAS and access it at home via Kodi on the TV's and the Kids access the NAS from the Playstations.
Remotely, we all access the NAS via DS Video etc
they are solid, esp if you plug in via ethernet - no dramas with plex.