Is the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro RIGHT FOR YOU?

The NVIDA Shield TV Pro is one of the go-to streaming devices in quite a few home theaters, but is it the right streamer for you? In this video, I'll break down my overall experience having owned the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro over the past 8 months, talk about what it does well and where it falls short and why I STILL use my Apple 4K TV for streaming apps.

Thanks for watching! Interested in buying one of the streaming devices I talked about in the video? Check out the links below!

Calibration tools worth considering:

SVS Subwoofers
(Above are affiliate links. As an SVS affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases)

My Home Theater
PS5: (basically won the lottery)
Apple 4K TV
SVS PB10-ISD Subwoofer (linked to PB-1000 Pro):

My Gaming/Editing PC

TIMESTAMPS
Intro - 00:00
Not really a review? - 00:15
Do you own a streaming device? Let people know! - 00:42
Why did I buy the NVIDIA Shield? - 01:03
Let's start with what I LIKE... - 02:07
PLEX and PLEX Server - 02:16
AI Upscaling - 03:11
Connecting bluetooth/wireless devices - 03:58
NVIDIA's GameStream - 04:20
Did it meet my expectations? - 04:56
What I DO NOT like... - 05:07
PLEX Issues - 05:13
YouTube buffering - 06:22
GameStream setup CAN be a nightmare - 06:53
Lack of auto frame rate switching - 07:37
Does Match Frame Rate (beta) work? - 08:57
Other devices have this auto frame rate option - 09:48
Would I recommend the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro? - 09:58

[xMIIONx]

At last a deeper dive into this product by someone who knows what they are talking about rather than the superficial unboxing videos where they act like a kid in a candy store. Whilst the 2021 Apple TV seem a good option, lack of HD audio pass-through is a no go for me. Hopefully Nvidia announce a revised model for 2022, addressing the frame rate issue and offer updated hardware and a beefier processor. Until then think I'll wait. Thanks for the vid.

[andreavocino]

No VPN allowed on Apple TV. Yes you can configure it in your router but it’s not ideal if you switch different countries very often.

[skippyturtle]

I bought the Nvidia Shield Pro because of the Plex server. I had it setup and working fine, until one day it just stopped working. I had to remove the app and reinstall (a few times). I went back to using a mac mini as my server. The streaming works great for the most part, I get HDR and Atmos when available. Everything is smooth and looks great. After the last update, it freezes, can't resume hulu streams, force was thinking about getting the Apple tv 4k 2nd gen just because of this frustration. I really hope they can get this stuff sorted out.

[americanbullies]

Did you figure out the issues, mine has ran perfect

[cod]

I own 2 Apple tv 4K (2021) devices for watching tv channels, Netflix, YouTube etc..
It's absolutely fantastic! I am planning to buy another one.

[freeworld]

Wow. Without auto frame matching, how is the Shield Pro considered as the best? I understand this is not supported at OS level for anything older than Android TV 12, but this is just unacceptable. I was planning to buy one, believe it or not today, and knowing it lacks this very important feature, I am cancelling my plan.

[anandit]

I am a person who is sensitive to judder and I do agree with you on the judder issue. I haven't played around with settings after updating the latest 9.1 experience. I have never heard anyone mention this on their reviews. Really appreciate your unbiased review.

[marksapollo]

I have the Apple 4K TV, the new model, and I love it. But I only use it for streaming but it's fast and easy to use and I love how it adds all your watch into a last watched timeline for easy selection, however if they redesign the Shield TV 'Pro' I would add that too for the game streaming and native games, because I've had several before and had a collection. Don't have a Shield TV currently.

[fernandoruz]

I own both (Apple TV 4K & Shield TV Pro) . The Shield for about 6 month and swich from one to the other from time to time. For me the Apple TV 4K is better. For some reason, the shield loses the
Dolby Vision and I have to reboot the shield to bring it back. It happens watching movies to Disney Channel. No issues with the Apple 4K TV.

[dangerale]

I'm glad you mentioned these small things. I was close to buying the shield but the autoHz feature is something that sealed the deal here. No other reviewer has mentioned this from what I can tell and it's these small things that make or break a device for me. Thanks!

[ThatsCrazyBro]

I haven't bought a streaming device since 2017 when I bought a Roku ultra. And I haven't even used that in the last 3 years. But now I have 2 new TV's and I'm planning on using an atv4k 2022 for the living room and an Nvidia shield for my basement/home theater. Best of both worlds I guess

[Ademarcus]

2019 Nvidia shield pro. I bought it it replace my x900f android tv os. Main reason was for atmos. It also made a big difference with the speed of the system.

[c.]

I got this and the Apple TV 4K and the shield is just so buggy compared to Apple TV. I always had to force close streaming apps on the shield. I have no experience with the gaining side of the shield. But I will say that when the shield does work, the upscaling is really nice. It’s not worth the price in my opinion.

[JFLTX]

The Shield would be perfect for me if it had auto refresh rate matching and HDR10+ support. Great non bias review btw.

[pabsgabs]

All I heard was tons of instructions for the NVidia Shield. That’s why I chose AppleTV, it just works.
I bought one for my mom who is 76, and to this day, she hasn’t called me ones for problems, it just works. (She calls me every week for any other electronics, except this one)
It works.

[jalapaeno]

Long time user of the 2017 shield and I understand completely about the framerate switching. There is an app that will enable auto detecting and setting the frame rate, along with some finer granularity in the options, and its made a huge difference. Im just putting this out there for new users. Great video, I bought the latest shield (nonpro) and with some extra effort, it looks excellent. Thanks for vid!

[zero]

Time for a new video. Xbox series x vs nvidia shield. I have an xsx and I'm trying out plex for the first time with some 4k movies, but I'm getting lots of buffering even tho everything is wired. So I'm considering getting a nvidia shield. Both atmos and dolby vision is important to me

[robertivey]

They are still good for me. I currently have two of the 2019 units and they are great for my needs.

[madyoss]

It’s a shame that this review did not include steam link coverage. Must have been an easier setup for game streaming and I am wondering how it performs .

[KrikkeBeest]

Great content! Indeed the biggest issue at the moment the Shield has is no auto frame rate option, the beta frame rate detector gives issues with my AV receiver, stops the content on the Shield and force me to change it manually. Hope they introduce this feature in the near future, then the Shield should be perfect.
Have no issues at all with you tube content, it works smoothly here.