Been cheaper on their Black Friday deal (as you'd expect), but for now, this is cheapest at the moment and is running 'till 29th Dec.
Closest prices:
Scorptec $199
Computer Aliance $207
Nvidia Shield with Remote
The Nvidia Shield is the world’s most advanced streamer, offering the best in entertainment and the perfect fit for your Google-connected lifestyle. Ask your Google Assistant to play your favorite shows in up to 4K HDR
Apologies for my ignorance, but what are you referring to?
This is basically one of the best Android TV devices, but as a result it's usually priced much higher, around $70-100 higher than the competition. I understand why because it's a really good device, but because it's always hovering around $200, people like me and wooldogs are holding off from purchasing one, because it's just too expensive for what it is. I like to stream games to my TV and watch/chromecast stuff to my android boxes, but is it really worth $200? Not really. I can buy a 70 inch 4K TV for $1000, so why should I spend $180-200 (1/5th) on a device that just plays the content when some TV's come with Android TV inside anyway where I can chromecast that content to it without an android TV box? I can excuse and cave in to buying one of these for $100 or $150 even, but around $200 just to play Netflix, stream some games from my desktop PC or Optus Sport? That's a hard sell for me.
So to clarify, you’re annoyed that a device that is better than the competition costs more? It doesn’t take a cartel to recognise that’s just common sense.
@RI4V4N: Switch also has a library of exclusive games, comes with a controller setup in the box, it's a handheld and it also has the ability to be docked too if needed. It has certain features that the Shield TV does not have by default, so it can command a higher price.
Right, I thought maybe there was some sort of agreement between retailers not to discount it below a certain amount or something. You know, like a cartel might do, but it sounds like it's just more expensive than the alternatives because it's generally better, but some people can't justify the price difference for how much better it actually is.
So a normal premium product then…
@NigelTufnel: Well NVIDIA sets the MSRP, and they hard-line their products, it sort of is like a cartel because they make retailers purchase it with such a low margin per sale. I doubt if retailers are making even $15-20 on everyone of these they sell at $180.
@KARMAAA: Pretty sure you can't have a cartel of one!
Trust me this is a great device with a thoroughly deserved reputation as being the best. It's a well built package, with great software that is regularly updated. I bought one for much more than this and still think it was a good deal
@Drj55: People can have their arms twisted to do thing they otherwise would not do. Would you not agree that Apple basically runs cartel pricing on their products, all on their own?
Pretty sure you can't have a cartel of one!
Ah yes, all just a conspiracy, I'm sure! NVIDIA would never do that.
https://gizmodo.com/5026729/email-reveals-nvidia-and-ati-may…
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/03/email_exchange_nvid…
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-amd-ati-graphics,63…
I suggest you look into the history of these companies.
@KARMAAA: Wow!, that's an eye opener, I was nearly going to get one til i read that, was holding back due to the many reports of bugs with this unit all over the net, i think many people close their eyes to the problems and praise this unit highly, I really think there is no android box that is 100% stable, so one has to compromise.
@KARMAAA: Don't all companies set a RRP for products that they supply. It's only companies like Apple meile etc that stop businesses from discounting their products
@asa79: You can't call something a cartel just because the manufacturer is able to charge retailers a high amount to sell the product because it knows people are willing to buy it for that amount.
That's just a product that has high demand from consumers willing to pay a premium for it.
I don't buy Apple for this reason. I don't value them as high as others, compared to the alternatives. But I wouldn't call it a cartel in any way. It's just a product that's managed to differentiate itself from the competition and is able to charge more for that.
You can't call something a cartel just because the manufacturer is able to charge retailers a high amount to sell the product because it knows people are willing to buy it for that amount.
You can actually, there are many elements to a cartel, you really think all the people making the drugs for Narco cartels really want to do it? They would prefer honest work where they were not abused. Just because you do not voluntarily participate in something doesn't mean that you're not an element or part of the cartel.
That's just a product that has high demand from consumers willing to pay a premium for it.
I'd argue the Chromecast Ultra has higher demand than an NVIDIA shield, both are premium products. The difference is, I've seen Chromecast Ultras slashed far below their MSRP and cost price numerous times.
I don't buy Apple for this reason. I don't value them as high as others, compared to the alternatives. But I wouldn't call it a cartel in any way.
I dunno about you, but stopping any other sort of repair or refurbishing from end users by using the Feds to prevent import of parts is cartel-like behaviour, similar to that of Cartels in Narco States (where they literally stop chemicals from being shipped to competing cartels that make drugs or prevent the shipping of items in competition with their wares, by using the corrupt government). As I said, to be involved in a cartel you don't need to be knowingly participating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVL65qwBGnw
NVIDIA and Apple use the same tactics, they use the fact that they own a product to limit supply or authorise it with only certain retailers, they use this as a bargaining chip and they overprice their goods' cost prices to prevent discounts to consumers and to maintain high profits by forcing retailers to buy far above their manufacturing costs.
On top of this, NVIDIA has been known to do illegal things in the past, such as give the GTX 970 3.5GB of GDDR5 VRAM, while advertising it as 4GB: https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wil…
NVIDIA has tried to do cartel-like things, such as attempted to force add-in board partners to sign illegal supply agreements and participate in anti-competitive behaviour: https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/03/08/geforce_partner_p…
Edit - NVIDIA and ATI literally created a cartel and started doing it in an email: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/03/email_exchange_nvid…
You really trying to pull the argument that this isn't a cartel? It's a cartel run by one company (sometimes two) in either instance, using every asset available and even sometimes illegal, to demand a higher price than the competition and force retailers to buy overpriced stock.
@NigelTufnel: I don't think cartel I think of it as business. If they want to do it. It's there choice and consumers choice to buy or not
@asa79: How is Miele and Apple's pricing strategies legal?
Is it price fixing?
Edit: RE: Miele
"The way they do it is that you actually buy direct from miele but the shop just get a commission unlike other stuff where the shop buys it for a wholesale price and then sells it for what they like"
Surely it depends on the individual, and what they're wanting to use the box for. I can't understand why people would pay $100+ for Foxtel, when there's very little on it that I'd find worthwhile - but there are many people prepared to pay that, and get a lot out of it.
Where is the $1000 70 inch TV?
@asa79: I bought it, it has Android TV…
Edit: If you don't believe me, all you have to do is scroll further down on the linked thread, there's literally comment talking about the Android software, such as it being 6.0 etc.
For me it's doing the job of a $90 Chromecast Ultra, a $50 HDMI over ethernet adaptor for playing games from my PC. There's $140 of value already, ignoring everything else it does.
I've been wanting one too but a Chromecast will do what I need.
Eh?
This device is currently USD150 (AUD208) on Amazon.com - so it looks like we're getting it at a better price than the US
I have the Shield - if you are into streaming, this is the device to get
Amen to that.
cartel like pricing for this device
It's stupid for most people to buy a Shield over an ~$85AUD + shipping Mi Box because the extra hardware is not needed for most people.
That said, the Shield's price is mostly down to tech.
Shield compared to Mi Box 3/4/S
20x more GPU processing power
3GB system RAM and 1GB VRAM vs 2GB shared system RAM
16GB storage vs 8GB storage (as little as 2GB on some imported Mi Box SKU's)
20nm fabrication vs 28nm
Bleeding edge manufacturing (3Q 2014) on release (2014) vs 6 year old manufacturing (4Q 2011) on release (2017)
GPU originally released in 2014 (GM10x), performance per core doubled (GM20x) then die shrunk from 28nm to 20nm (GM20B) vs 2012 design
4x high performance cores + 4x low performance cores vs. 4x low performance cores
2x USB3 vs 1x USB2
HDMI 2b vs HDMI 2a (better HDR support)
Gigabit Ethernet + AC wifi vs just AC wifi (100mb Ethernet via only USB2 port is possible…)
Better software support - updated from Android TV 5.0 to 8.1, 9.0 promised vs. issues with updating Mi Box 3 to 8.1 and reports of app locking
Internally developed 2014 SOC comparable to 2017's 10nm finfet Snapdragon 835 (~$41) vs. mass produced 2016 budget chip (<$10, other Amlogic S905x boxes are available under $30USD)
So no cartel like pricing, just too many expensive features.
no optical audio out vs optical audio out
pre-rooted offical developer ROMs available vs. not
has leanback BBC iPlayer vs. doesn't (which is disgusting IMHO)
runs LineageOS vs. doesn't
can be remote controlled with eg. TeamViewer vs. can't
does a decent job of running a browser vs. doesn't
remote can turn box on and off vs. remote can (currently) only turn box off
has official linux vs. doesn't
off the top of my head
I'd say the BF prices of circa $160 represented very good VFM for the Shield TV with remote. $180 still pretty good too. Easily worth double a Mi Box, as long as you can benefit from the extras. If all you need is a bog standard streaming media player with Chromecast/Chromecast Audio features, a Shield TV is overkill and the Mi Box is a cracking little box.
The only thing that's holding me back is the fear of Shield TV 2019 being announced as soon as I press "buy"
The price drop should be a result of the maturing manufacturing process of the Shield and increased competition.
I expect Nvidia's next 'Shield' to be a Game Console, an 'Orin' based SOC with a RTX Titan level iGPU. Why?
Nvidia is expected to move from 12nm to 7nm next year. This is expected to improve performance by up to 40% while shrinking features up to 40%. If both of these numbers are true, Nvidia could tweak and shirk an RTX 2080 to get RTX Titan like performance, add their SOC magic and make it cost effective to sell a console well under $600AUD.
Orin is on Nvidia's road map as having RTX titan compute power (Orin is two 16 core SOC's with twice the compute power of one RTX Titan).
With their ray tracing tech it actually makes sense as a console upgrade even at 1080p. Nvidia could easily/cheaply use dedicated up-scaling and anti-analysing hardware on their SOC allowing ray tracing at "4k/60Hz"
this doesn't come with the gamepad right?
or does it….?
Nah not this version. Gamepad versions on sale are generally about 60$ more
It does not, however if you already own a PS4 controller or an Xbox One controller you can hook those up wirelessly via bluetooth without much issue. Great if you're already a console gamer.
Just a note for Xbox wireless controller use and the Shield:
You will need the new Xbox One controller that comes with the Xbox One S or X as the original Xbox One controller does not come with Bluetooth built into the controller so you cannot use it. The new controller has the same texture and colour around the Xbox logo as the rest of the controller.
Also the Xbox One controller for Windows 10 that comes with the USB dongle does
not work with the Shield either.
If you are happy to use a wired controller than all the Xbox One controllers will work with a USB cable.
Source: Have tested all Xbox controllers on shield.
PS. The Razer Wolverine does not work with the Shield either, much to my disappointment.
So not really that cheap then, but cheapest price if you don't want a bargain.
Bit off topic, but is the Chromecast Ultra the cheapest way to stream 4K to a 4K TV?
Vodafone TV has 4k chromecast and does much more for $72
Agreed. Maybe not important for some people but unlike the Shield, Vodafone TV has built-in TV tuner.
You can always add a USB or network TV tuner to your Shield (use Plex to watch).
Depends on if you want a remote or use your phone or computer to control it. Google home can be a pain with it
I will keep my powder dry until boxing day sale.
I pulled the trigger back when they where selling it without the controller for $168 only a couple of weeks ago so it might be worth waiting until it's that price or lower again.
Can I run US Hulu on this and AU catchup apps? I have getflix.
Does it require VPN?
Speaking of VPNs is the Shield able to maintain a good VPN connection at high speeds?
I know using 100Mbit across VPN requires an i5 core to get that speed due to encryption that the Government just voted to weaken. If the mainstream propaganda is covering that so anyone knows about it.
When would you need 100Mbit for one screen's viewing??
If Hulu or Getflix or whatever you use has an app on Android TV then yes it will work. I use Windscribe VPN and I can stream US and UK Netflix.
It was selling for 165$ couple of weeks ago
I've thrown so many video files at this thing and it plays everything perfectly, although some files will need you to load up Kodi first so thats worth installing. Everything from HD, 4K, and even a couple bluray iso's from my acursed region locked bluray films that wont play on my player. This thing is also a beast if you like emulation. I'm not just talking about your usual suspects of SNES, C64, MAME etc. This thing plays flawless saturn, dreamcast, gamecube, psx, psp, etc. Its an absolute beast of a unit. You can find videos showing off this.
A little tempting. My steam link bricked a few months ago and I really don't want to deal with that device again so this is really the only other (reliable) option.
I have a chromecast so I would really only be using this for games.
Bought one and had to return due to issues with wi-fi - kept dropping out and even though it connected to wi-fi, kept indicating no internet even while all other devices were fine. Apparently a common issue after some digging? Shame as I was keen on replacing my ageing Chromebox. Anyone experienced similar issues?
Can anyone please convince me why should I upgrade to this from my Xiao MiBox? :P
HDMI 2.0b support - at least the 4K HDR support is acceptable
USB 3.0 ports
Emulator support (for games)
Only get it if you need it.
Multiple ports is great. But is any USB3 aspect usable?
It looks like Shield TV supports using external storage as internal storage - so apps and games can go to the USB 3.0 device.
For media file playbacks, you probably don't need USB 3, but for apps and games, USB 3 should help.
Thanks. MiBox also has 1 USB2.0 port, I hardly use. Emulators can be installed on MiBox as well, with a bluetooth controller support. I think MiBox also supports 4K but I don't have a 4K TV yet. :)
There is absolutely no reason for that. Stay assured
Mine is back with service department of (very reputable) seller. Over about a week i lost about a day trying everything to get it to show on my network
Without that I can't stream media from connected HDD. And it's just so damn difficult. Don't get me wrong
I think this is an amazing device and can't wait to get it back
But I hope I get a replacement because of some fault with mine. It's just so damn hard. Internet is loaded with people with same difficulty
Does this thing do Dolby Atmos or whatever the APTV 4K does?
Pass through, yes.
They're out of online stock at Centrecom but you can get it for $175.50 on the Computer Alliance Ebay store using PXMAS10 and Ebay Plus:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NVIDIA-Shield-4K-HDR-Media-Playe…
It was $168 before from same seller. How can this one get more votes?
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/418730
please read the description for the deal as I've linked that exact deal in the first line.
The fact it missed upvotes would probably be due to being over crowded with other better deals on Black Friday.
I am tired of the cartel like pricing for this device. So much, I've been put off getting one.