Almost the lowest historical price on Amazon AU according to Camelx3 (Lowest price on Amazon was $248 in June)
About this item
- Comes with the new Shield remote
- The ultimate cinematic TV experience
- Enjoy the most 4K HDR entertainment
- The most advanced Android TV streaming media player
CamelCamelCamel.
Please bear in mind that this price for prime member
I just checked using Incognito, and the price is also $249. So Prime isn't required.
Tell me why I want this over a console or PC connected to my TV? I want to want one.
This is ozb. Buy now. Regret later.
Less power draw, AI upscaling
It just works. No drivers, conflicts, crashes (less hopefully).
I just moved to this and my PC just does torrents now. Got sick of the issues that comes with windows and trying to do media centre stuff on it. If you have the time, PC is better for customisation but now I have a baby, forget it, I need to plug and play.
Get a NUC for torrents, less power drain
Yes, it is a 7th gen nuc.
@magnitude: As in, compared to the other generations? Intel regularly release a new generation nuc with better specs. Saying what gen you have gives a rough indication as to what hardware you are talking about. Not much special about the 7th gen but from memory it was one of the first generations to support 4k HDR.
Or a NAS
Thin client + linux + USB drives = cheaper again and lower power.
Mine cost me $30 (without drives) and runs on 16-18W (plus drives).
@flux: 'Thin client' as in a system which is usually built to remote into a more powerful system over the network. Mostly Dells and HPs. To get around $30 it'd have to be one with an old AMD CPU.
@flux: No, second hand HP Thin Client (I think it's a T610 from memory). They come up on ebay pretty regularly when businesses retire them.
or a cheap second hand mac mini - I love my nuc though the fan started to get noisy
Does it do YouTube videos better than google's own devices? If so I'm sold as I watch mostly YouTube.
It doesn't support 4K HDR YouTube so it's not a great YouTube device.
https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext
No 4k HDR on smartube or official app due to codec licensing issues. 4k 60fps works fine though.
@7hours 44min ago: "codec licensing" nah mate it's a 7 year old piece of hardware that doesn't have the decoding functionality in silicon and isn't powerful enough to do it in software.
@tp0: It can do every codec I threw at it in hardware or software except AV1 4k (still managed to do AV1 1080p in software which is impressive for something designed well before AV1).
It’s really the lack of hardware AV1 decode that’s keeping me from buying a second.
My Hisense tv works great, no playback issues at all. All my files are x265.
Seems like a waste of money to me imo
So for those that dont have a hisense tv its not a waste of money then?
@xoom: I'm sure any tv these days will do a good job. Seems like a waste of money to me since this will be connected to a tv. And if your TV's not capable of running files it's probably due for an upgrade.
My tv is 4 years old, put an extra 250 and buy a tv 🙄
How long before Hisense stop supporting your TV though? Can you also run a Plex server on your TV? How about streaming Steam or GeForce Now? RetroArch? Does your TV give you casting too? Can you sideload apks to your TV and use your TV like a big Android tablet?
I have a 3 yo LG OLED too and it has many of the same apps but the Shield is arguably a far better implementation of them and substantially better hardware specs. It's not perfect, but it remains the best streaming box out there. Also allows you, if your TV doesn't have an ARC port, to send sound via a AV receiver for better sound too. I have 3 because they're a great device (1 into a projector/AV setup and one into a 15 yo Sony TV). There are lots of uses for them, I'm only scrapping the surface.
No conflicts or crashes? I wish. The Android 11 upgrade has been a frustrating experience, and don't get me started on that piece of crap Plex, which is always bugging out and takes up most of the storage, which is pathetic for the price. The upscaling is lousy compared to my TV, the remote needs a more user friendly design, and the Android TV interface is an advertising joke.
Apart from that it's pretty good, and Android TV does allow some customisation, compared to say Apple TV. Mostly it's the range of apps that make Android TV worth having, and the Shield Pro is currently the best way to deliver it.
I just wish Nvidia would put out a real upgrade at a decent price - $249 is getting there, sub $200 is more like the real worth - or someone else comes out with a more powerful, fully licensed box with more storage and ram.
Vastly better than a console (no forced HDR, significantly lower power consumption, wider selection of apps) and a lot more user friendly than a PC (also lower power consumption).
Fair enough, I'm a PC power user so I'll stick with that for now. I do appreciate the comparison for consoles though.
It has some good AI upscaling, Andriod TV, consistent interface and low cost to run.
When it works. Most things I've tried haven't (only recently acquired though).
Tell me why wouldn’t you and then I will well you why
Nice one, Gimli. ;)
It's not bad, always glitchy with updates. I've had mine over a year now, stopped updating to avoid issues. You'll need a fast SSD drive connected also. I will be going mini pc when this one goes tits up, its better than the Chinese boxes kinda but not really worth the extra cash.
What kind of glitches? I have had one for a few years without any problems…..it runs anything i throw at it.
The updates always change something or stop something. I had to reformat the external SSD drive and reset everything the last time as it couldn't update the apps that were using the external drive.
The ethernet then kept disconnecting, I had to set it to a static IP which it wouldn't save.
The null keyboard I set it too so I can use the external keyboard without the gboard popping up, keeps reverting to the gboard when the shield turns on and off.
It has problems with anything over about 5gb, any 4k 10gb+ files stutter or have some weird colour purple everywhere.
It's fine for what it is, but a high end mini pc will be my next one.
The 100$ Chinese one never had any issues it couldn't play anything over 3gb+ or 1080, a lighting storm knocked out the rj45 input, the WiFi still worked on it. Was expecting the shield to be a big jump up from it but have been disappointed.
@AuQld: Sounds like either a faulty unit or potentially problems with your files/external drive.
Mine is solid as a rock on the network and plays practically anything regardless of file size. Mine does stream from a NAS so I haven't tried plugging an external HDD into it, but I find that to generally be a flaky way of using media files in general.
@AuQld: I’ve had this for several years including over the major Android TV version bump, running a plex server with a DB off an external SSD and network shares for video. I once had an issue for 1 day with the major update that they quickly patched, and I had to manually remap the drives. Not bad for something still getting software updates 3 years after launch. If I didn’t update I’d have had no issues.
The ‘weird color purple’ means you’re probably trying to play Dolby Vision on a TV that doesn’t support it. Mine’s been rock solid with Dolby Vision since the android tv version bump, it’s the only thing I’ve found that plays 50gb+ DV MKV’s. The LG C9 won’t play them directly.
I never had any problem with non DV files even 50gb+ pre update and have to push it to 4K AV1 before I see a wobble now.
@Mantzy: Definitely not a smooth experience for myself and many others, I was expecting it to be more for the price. I'm glad you're happy with yours, I'll be getting a high end mini pc which will be more expensive again, the device does play Netflix etc visually better than the TV unit but needed a very good hdmi forget the stats cable for that to become apparent. The one I was using was good, it's not supposed to make a difference but for whatever reason it did.
It's just buggy and annoying when you have to reset things just because it won't save your preferences, and the fear of updating is genuine. Took hours just to get it back the way I had it.
I've found the same thing over the years. Each new update seems to break something else. I usually end up having to remove/reinstall apps to get them functioning properly again after an update.
If it's a NUC sized PC then fine, stick with that as a HTPC provides really good all-round capability but anything bigger would just look shit under a TV.
Instructions unclear. Tv now resting on a full server tower thats upright.
Has the best 4K upscaling, even better than a high-end Sony.
same
Hit up Amazon CS for difference in account credit
They don't do this. Prices fluctuate too much and they will not credit you. You can return your unopened device for a refund, and re-buy.. but no one will credit you a difference.
Unopened? Its amazon, they refund you basically as soon as you put the returned item in the post box. Doesnt matter the condition or whether its opened or not.
@BarryBargain88: They’re not consistent on when they refund (when posted or when it arrives, or when it gets lost in transit and you complain) but yeah, opened or not is irrelevant as long as it’s a reasonable % of your purchases. (People who do this constantly basically get banned.)
new Shield remote… anyone know the difference between new and the old?
I have the newer one and a family member has the older one, honestly I can't tell any difference aside from the following:
other than that, honestly can't tell any difference.
The new remote doesn't get lost in between couch cushions. I've had both and consider the new one way better. It also has an IR blaster which can be configured to support a home theatre set up if you don't/can't use HDMI-CEC to control volume on your receiver/soundbar.
The biggest con is the separate Netflix button that I tend to press unintentionally 99% of the time.
I swear the Netflix button is motion activated by going near it - or maybe air pressure as my hand moves towards the remote (or body to the couch). I press it allllllll the time too
@Domingo: My partner HATES this damn button. Button remapper doesn't seem to remap/disable this properly either :(.
@ReaperX22: The default behaviour is horrible.
I've successfully deactivated the button globally with Key Mapper (F-Droid, Google Play). I then remapped it to cycle subtitle language within Kodi, only. Also, be sure to install and enable a compatible on-screen keyboard.
@Domingo: Heh, yeh just get a cheap silicone cover for it, good for droppage and accidental netflix button pushes
It's almost as bad as the one on my Samsung TV remote.
All I know is that the old one sucks. Battery drain with button battery was awful. Realised it was due to the voice commands.
Anyway, I got a USB remote and that is a big improvement over the gen 1 remotes.
Do these still run ads?
Just the highlighted titles up the top that scrolls through. Not intrusive imo
Some find it very helpful. I prefer to install a 3rd party launcher and avoid recommendations completely, if I want to check recommendations I'll use Justwatch or similar app.
What launcher would you recommend?
I've used wolf launcher on my chromecast and it's fantastic. a little bit involved with setting it up, but once you're done, it's a very clean layout.
I use flauncher to replace the stock launcher. That giant banner ad is disgusting
@abadacus: Thanks! I'll look it up. I was pissed when they forced that disgusting banner on me a while ago.
I already paid top dollars for the device (at the time, I paid 400 bucks or so) and now you're forcing ads on me and I can't even turn it off? Screw you!
The default launcher looks really modern and fluid, I wasn't able to find a third party one that looking similar. My solution was to run the shield through Adguard home (PiHole works too). This changes the ads to a default of google play, YouTube, etc, which is much more palatable than some stupid ass reality show on some rando tv network.
Bonus, DNS filtering will stop ads in some other apps and stop telemetry.
Which DNS servers do you normally pick for your adguard?
@bargainerpro: You might have luck with the public Adguard DNS, but I have mine set up with Adguard home, which runs on a docker container on a rasp erry pi in my local network.
To see if the ads actually stop loading, I remember I had to clear either cache or data from the Android TV app on settings after I set the DNS stuff up.
@AncientWisdom: Only for the hardware, so an rpi or an old computer.
I have adguard home installed on Home assistant, which runs on my rpi, but if you want to set it up separately you'll need a bit of know how.
Please someone tell me this is a huge waste coming from a 2017 model..
Surely I should wait for the next iteration, right?
2017 tube model? Worth it. 2017 Pro? Waste
Yeah the Pro. Cool thank you everyone. Bought 3.
2015 model here, I better buy 5.
@xoom: Jokes aside i hope they replace that 2015 SOC in the next model, we're missing features we need in a modern media player now.
@xoom: Yup, that's why I'm still on the 2015. Nothing compelling enough for me to upgrade yet. The 2019 model almost got me.
@Click_It: There’s improvements but it depends on your media / sound system / tv as to whether it’s worth it. At this stage hoping they release a new one with hardware AV1 decode. If this wasn’t 3 years old I’d buy a second.
@xoom: If a new one is coming it won't be until the Nintendo Switch 2 comes out since this and the Switch share the same SOC.
@MrFunSocks: Exactly the point im making. Yes we all wish for upgraded specs. But its just not happening because these companies have their own timeline different to our expectations.
Absoloute waste.
No AV1, I believe it's a 2019 piece of tech.
Wait for the one which will be the same 'guts' as the Nintendo Switch 2. It might at leave have AV1, either way this is kinda old tech now.
Not only no AV1, also no VP9P2 (YouTube/Google Play Movies 4K HDR). That's what you get when you keep recycling a 2015 SOC.
Is jetson 2 or whatever it is, even out yet from nvidia?
It will play AV1 in software up to 1080p from my tests, but it chokes on 4k AV1. It’s the main thing I’m waiting for In a new model. For downloaded media there’s still nothing it won’t play that I’ve throw at it, but not future proof.
If you questioning your self, don't buy it. If you really want it, then go ahead.
Surely I should wait for the next iteration, right?
Nope. There is no official announcement about a new model, and when it does come it will be priced at at least $400. My advice is to buy now at this price. $250 is about the price used models start at on ebay.
Yeah but it will come, and this one is already 3-4 years old so I think I'll hold..it's not like this model is EOL so I can always get it later.
If you have even a half decent TV/AV setup and you don't have one of these, imo you're doing yourself a big disservice. These things just work
I struggled for so long to get 4K Remuxes to play. Xbox Series X wouldn't even do it, yet this just has no issue whatsoever
Do ittttttt
No HDR10 though
ditto. it just works, for everything, always, everywhere…. even makes old tv's become brand new again.
Wait… is this why I have so much trouble playing big 4K files (2160p >10GB) on my PC? I finally have fixed the burry pixels/colours issue by enabling hardware acceleration on VLC - but the audio desyncs within a minute of playing and no amount of playing with the manual audio delays will fix it until I skip to another part of the movie.
Is it that my PC can’t handle the files/PC is too old?
PC specs: i5 6600K 4ghz, RX5700XT, 970 EVO SSD, 16GB RAM
I didn’t think it’s that trash that it couldn’t handle 4K files :(
Not sure, I have an older i5 which can't play my files but I can stream to the shield without a hitch
I was about to post this but you beat me to it :P LOL
Please bear in mind that this price for prime member