My first deal, been waiting for this to drop again! enjoy!
Edit : BACK IN STOCK!
CamelCamelCamel.
Edit ah ok
This is a good investment for anyone who wasting their money on Dell Optiplex 9020 for media streaming.
Was just about to post this! Looks like they are price matching Harvey Normals
Been on the hunt for one to drop to a good price to upgrade my Raspberry Pi Plex server and do some light gaming(hopefully with cloud game streaming)
For those with Amex $20 cashback, this would a good pick up from either Amazon or HN.
GeForce Now is bloody impressive, even on 50/20. They should soon be launching the "3080" tier as well. Recommend the Xbox Series S controller to pair with it.
How does this compare to the android TV off the latest android TVs in performance
If your tv has all the apps you need and it's fairly new, you should be find for couple of years. When the manufacturer stops update and you still want to keep the tv, then shield comes in.
Most times a lot better, as it'll have a better CPU, GPU and memory than your Android TV. It'll also get updates more regular than your TV, most likely.
Shield TV has frequent updates to their system software plus apps are continually kept up to date with the latest version.
Smart TVs with Android are at the mercy of the manufacturers at keeping up to date. I have had both Sony and Panasonic brands and they have eventually become 'stranded assets' after a couple of years. Units still works, apps no longer supported.
I have had a Nvidia Shield Pro (2017 edition) for four (4) event-free years now. It was purchases to replace a WD-TV and then an Asus Nexus Android TV box, both of which became stranded assets too.
Not much point comparing the Shield TV with all the cheap 'yum-cha' stb's and Android TVs churning out of the same factories in China…. Take a tour through Whirlpool.net.au and search for a longer-lasting unit that hasn't made its way to landfill 2 or 3 years after purchase.
After my earlier mistakes, the TCO (total cost of ownership) for my Shield TV would be lower than replacing it with a few yum-cha Android TV stbs. At least my Shield TV keeps my 'smart' Sony TV alive and well instead of being stranded with apps that no longer work.
I find the Nvidia is much faster and better UI. This is from the previous generation. I would expect the current model to be even better
What is a cheap yum cha Stb?
"Yum cha STB". A "no-name" set-top box. Hundreds of 'brands' rolled out of factories is China at very low cost, little to bugger all support and warranty. Plenty of examples dumped onto the market with little or no support and warranty. Usually Android O/s for mobile devices but rarely Android TV o/s… yes, there is a big difference. Never Apple iOS, and one of the main reasons why there was never a big impact in the market place with this type of Android stb.
Runs a hell of a lot better than my TCL's android OS. Also the shield runs a plex server and does 4k upscaling which is really nice. Very happy with my purchase.
Been waiting for the price drop! Thanks OP
Few questions:
- does this support multiple profiles (unlike the CC w/ GTV)?
- will this support Plex direct play with with Dolby Vision/HDR from another computer, or should I make this the server? My files would have to remain on said computer though…
- is the look/feel exactly the same as the CC w/ GTV?
No multiple profiles yet. I'd love for that to arrive on the Shield.
yes supports direct play. My plex server is on nas and use shield as client. I do play all the file as direct play in original quality
4k Remux?
yep, works great for 4k remuxes with DV
@thrillho556: To play mkv files with DV and full Atmos / DTS-X I have to use the just player app. Kodi only plays Dolby vision mp4 with lossy audio. I did hear that Plex has updated to run DV with ts and mkv files now, but still can be a bit hit or miss with it
@Whisper Quiet: I find Plex to be pretty good with MKV DV remuxes, but I generally have to switch the audio to AC3 or DTS for it to work consistently. I don't have an AVR or anything though so I think that might be why. If I play with Atmos or DTS-X tracks on it sometimes transcodes the audio which then doesn't trigger DV.
@thrillho556: That's exactly what I found. Only a handful work with the full audio. So I just stick with just player to get everything. Id rather watch it directly off the usb than rely on internent bandwidth anyway which can sometimes not give you the best picture which you should have.
Yeah, this is one of the biggest reasons that Shield TV is fantastic. No transcoding, so can store files on a potato NAS and still play the highest quality.
Shield is an incredible piece of kit, considering it has the same chip used in the Switch.
Had an Amazon Uk deal on order with a two month delivery wait at $289 which was a good deal. Deleted the Camel and this comes along. All good though, guess the UK one is going back as ordered this one. Ta
Can you use the shield remote to change inputs on your TV and change regular TV channels along with TV volume control ?
The Shield remote is extremely basic. Why would you want to do that? And the answer is no, it works the other way around where you can use your TV remote to control the Shield.
The latest Android update on my Sony TV has bricked the remote. Currently using Chromecast with Google TV remote to change inputs but it can’t change channels.
Do you have an Android phone? You should be able to just use the built in TV remote
@shizzle: Yes, I’ve done that on a spare phone and I find it inconvenient. It’ll be great to just have one remote. I don’t understand why Sony and Android can’t get their sh!t together when they roll any updates. It’s a common problem with no solution.
Why would you want to do that?
Most TV remote controls are too big with too many buttons that aren't useful.
And the answer is no
This article says that you can at least use the Shield TV remote to turn on the TV/soundbar and control it's volume.
Can confirm, I control TV volume with my shield remote as it has an IR blaster. Works a treat. Does not work for channel and input changes as far as I know.
@reloxation: I can confirm this as well as i setup one recently and the remote is able to turn on/off and volume. Same goes for the chromecast google tv remote.
You cannot change channels or use regular TV functions. The stuff you've just mentioned is is very basic which works as a part of HDMI CEC function.
The shield remote is not a good remote IMO. However, each to their own on how they wish to use it.
@thousandsuns: Yeh not a fan of the shield remote, it is very basic, so I used a remap app to add some shortcut controls to make it more useful, eg 3 presses of the netflix button to open plex.
I've complained about it before but it's also flimsy, mine fell from approx 40cm in the first few days of owning it and it has a permanent rattle. Since then I've found it on the ground more than any other remote I've ever user, the narrow profile and the height help it to roll off couches and laps.
As for the shield, I prefer it over the chromecast with tv I just picked up. Not a huge difference but the shield does have ethernet and the up scaling feature is nice. They both have a similar UI, with the shield being slightly less busy, still for most I don't think it's worth the 3x in price as both are really solid options.
If you opt for the chromecast tv just prepare yourself for google's crappy setup process. It took about 45 minutes of retrying to finally get the thing to connect and even then the setup failed twice. Every other android tv device was plug in, connect to wifi, sign in, max 1 to 2 minutes.
You can control volume with the shield remote. Works on my Hisense TV. Can't change channels though i think.
You can do the other way round, use tv remote to control shield instead, if using hdmi cec mode
I figured out this just recently after owning shield for last 4 years or so 😊 I even bought a new shield tv remote after my shield controller stopped working.
Now I just either use tv remote or shield tv ios app to control shield
Why not a second hand pc?
Size, power consumption, apps, voice remote, chromecasting.
control, polished.
I got a couple free NUCs, tried installing different OSs on them to make them as easy to control, no where near as polished as even my Vodafone TV.
OEM solutions just work. specially if you just want to use a remote, and not screw around with keyboard and mouse… which isnt very polished.
ohh and widevine support!!! thats massive, so you watch netfkix (and youtube?) in high res
Speaking as someone who was a HTPC enthusiast for many years, Shield is a better all-round device. It’s very convenient to have all your DRM streaming and local media playback in one device that ‘just works’.
Noob question but can I use the shield as a plex server? (I don't have a NAS and currently my laptop acts as a server).
You sure can!
Awesome!
Welcome Back!
You'll need some NAS or usb or hdd attached. Internal memory will not be enough for you. I've got a 4tb connected for plex.
I've got a 2tb external hdd I could probably use so that'll hopefully cut it as I add and remove content as I go. Have they removed the google ad or whatever it was that people complained about earlier this year?
Google ads will always be a part of Android devices.
Does attaching a portable USB disk works? What is the file system USB disk need to be?
I have Vodafone TV and could not make my WD Passport drive work without using a 3rd part app (JS USB OTG)
SHIELD TV is compatible with the FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, and HFS+ file systems.
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/support/shield-tv-pro/co…
Yep, i use mine for my plex server. Hdds in my old pc with network storage connected to the shield. Works great. Think you can just run off a portable HDD if you wanted too.
How is it at transcoding can I ask?
not too bad, few friends use my plex and none have complained about slowness or bad quality. Most of my stuff is 1080p not 4k so couldn't tell you about that.
@dinglejerry: Yeah, had the wife watching Simpsons on Lounge tv while mate was watching movie at his place and dad was watching a show at his house and no one complained.
I've had mine running as a plex server for years (old 16GB 2015 version). Points to shared network drives (two portable 2.5 drives plugged into my asus RT-AX86U). Almost all of my content is now 4k x265. Drives connected to the router spin down when not in use.
The standalone remote is on sale ($44) at HN too:
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/nvidia-shield-tv-remote-2020…
does it work with previous gen? thanks
Yep. I use one with my 2017 Shield, and have had it working on my 2015 Shield too.
Top remote for Google TV. But it's a shame it's at Harvey Norman. I'm looking for someone else to match the price.
Perfect timing. Also my local HN has stock. Thanks OP.
Hi - what are the headline reasons to buy this over say the current top of line chromecast, cheers
Auto upscaling of non-4K tech, Gigabit ethernet and microSD ports, NVIDIA GeForce Now gaming, can be used as Plex server and has more storage. Google chromecast TV have very limited space and less powerful hardware.
Not to mention lossless audio for those who've digitised their libraries.
thanks johnyBgood - is the GeForcing gaming available now / soon in Aus?
Yes. There’s an Australia west coast and east coast server.
Ok Google … what are the benefits of Nvidia Shield over a Chromecast (Nvidia shield has a built in Chromecast).
The Shield’s faster CPU, greater storage and connectivity have it all over the chromecast but it depends what you want to do. If you just want to run a few commercial streaming service apps, the chromecast does an excellent job at a much cheaper price. Upscaling (it’s not really 4K) on the Shield is nice but my Samsung TV’s built-in upscaling is marginally better. The Shield is the go for gamers and power users who want to run lots of apps or a Plex server.
Damn! I ordered this from the good guys over a week a go using a gift card and it's still not in stock :/
Edit: I got the good guys order refunded and then got a discounted harvey norman gift card and ordered one through harvey norman lol
Sooo, anyone interested in a slightly discount Good Guys gift card woth $335? Or know anyplace that would be good to sell/transfer the gift card?
Classifieds on this very site.
Awesome, thanks very much mate. Have been on here so long and didn't even know there was a Classifieds section.
Is there much benefit to having one of these over a Google TV?
AI upscaling on non-4k content, expendable storage, running as a PLEX server, game streaming?
If the usage is simply streaming contents from netflix, D+ or youtube, Google TV should meet most of the requirements
Can't the Google TV run as a plex server? Expandable storage, maybe not as tidy as the shield but I believe you can use a usb-c hub and plug in a portable hdd. Parsec works fine on Google TV, I've seen Geforce now not being an issue on the Google TV either. Maybe emulation purposes? As you can see I'm trying to tell myself I need this. lol
I think Google TV will not be powerful enough to run as a plex server (and not designed to always on anyway)
it can install the plex app and stream content from the plex server tho
Well, it appears that the Google TV doesn't support lossless audio passthrough such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, or 3D audio with DTS:X.
If you want that you still need a NVIDIA Shield.
Not if you already have a chromecast and it does want you want. The Shield is the best Android TV device, but the chromecast is the best device for the money.
Thanks OP, I've been waiting for this to be discounted again!
Does this indicate a new model coming soon?
NVIDIA can't even manufacture their GPUs fast enough, I doubt they'll move fabs away from their main market.
Especially since they're releasing their flagship GPU next month.
This or 4 Amazon Fire 4K Max sticks? :)
Merc or a mini ?
Depends on what you want out of your viewing. If viewing Netflix, Prime etc, then Fire is fine. If you want to watch movies form HDD or NAS etc, then Fire won't be able to handle NFTS format such that you'll only be limited to 4GB files (for FAT32).
I have both a Fire 4k and a 2015 Shield TV pro. For day to day use, I find the Fire more easy to use also because of the remote. I just use the shield TV for movie nights
My firestick can play videos beautifully from my NAS. The underlying FS of the NAS is irrelevant to the firestick.
Correction to my post - Fire won't handle NTFS for USB/HDDs that are connected to it directly.
@spasto is correct that if used over NAS, then file size/type won't matter
https://www.consumerreports.org/streaming-media-devices/what…
Had the Shield on my streaming device upgrade roadmap for a long time but that's dampened my enthusiasm - has there been any good news since?
What's your alternative?
I think this is across the board now with all android tv based devices, it certainly isn't unique to the shield.
Thanks for that, put me off buying one
Just install a different launcher. I use ATV Pro
Yep, this is an Android TV issue not a Shield issue. If you want to get rid of ads and recommendations, just use the built-in Apps menu. Installed apps can be reordered to put your favourites first.
The other main alternative is Apple TV, a great device, but no Kodi or hacked apps and less options for power users.
Very, very solid 1st post OP. Thank you. 6.5 year posting wait absolutely worth it, appreciate it.
LOL! thanks.
Amazing first post! A must for home theatre!
Great price, I have 4 of these of varying versions running my household. It's used to delivery my EMBY content and other streaming services. I had previously upgraded from Roku devices.
You can also game on these via the streaming gaming service, but have never used that feature to any extent.
Pricematching Harvey Norman