Podcast #725: Nvidia Shield 4k Review

Nvidia Shield 4k Review

The market for streaming boxes is pretty crowded. You’ve got the Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast just to name a few. The market for 4k streaming boxes is even getting pretty crowded lately. So is there still room for one more? Nvidia would like to think so. And we love everybody, so we were willing to give yet another set top streamer a chance. This one is called the Nvidia Shield 4k (Buy now, $193).

About the Nvidia Shield 4k

NVIDIA SHIELD is an 4K Ultra HD (as well as Full HD) home entertainment system, delivering incredible resolution in favorite apps like Netflix, HBO, HULU, YouTube, Major League Baseball, NBA, KODI /XBMC, and PLEX. Vivid 10-bit color and rich Dolby 7.1 surround sound make this a true home theater experience. Or plug your headphones into your SHIELD controller or SHIELD remote for a private listening experience. Say "Oscar-winning movies" or "launch Netflix" and let Google's advanced voice commands find content for you on your Android TV. Get personalized recommendations on your home screen. Even cast a show or pictures to your TV from your PC, Android, or iOS device with built-in Google Chromecast support. SHIELD makes your smart TV experience fast and easy.

Download premium Android games – from family games and indie hits to the most advanced Android TV titles with rich gameplay and intense multiplayer action. Or join GeForce NOW to connect to NVIDIA's gaming supercomputers and enjoy unlimited streaming of popular PC games or buy newly released games from the online store. Enjoy what the Wall Street Journal calls “the highest performing streaming TV set-top box ever made”. NVIDIA SHIELD is over 4x the performance of new Apple TV, new Fire TV, or Roku 4. NVIDIA SHIELD comes with 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for external storage, 802.11 2x2 wireless AC with MIMO, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports as well as a game controller as well as an HDMI cable.

Setup

Setup is pretty easy. It includes all the cables you need to get it plugged into power, your TV and to charge the included game controller (which also serves as your remote). The included HDMI is a nice touch, many streamers don’t include one, but it is a bit short. We used one of our own so we could have it installed in the right spot. Then you connect to Wifi (hard wired is also an option) and log into your Google account. There’s a simple way to do it using a laptop, and a code from the Shield, but we couldn’t get that to work, so we went the more cumbersome email address and password route.

After you sign into Google, the Shield kicks into an automatic software/firmware update. This took For. Ev. Er.  Perhaps the slowest update we’ve ever seen, certainly not snappy.  This is more than coffee break time in the setup routine. For us it took over an hour. After the update, you have the option to update your controllers as well. This only took a few seconds, luckily. Then you’re in an ready to start using the Shield.

Performance

Streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube work perfectly. They are very fast and very responsive. Often when using an app like this in a TV, you get sluggish performance. The cursor struggles when you’re typing in a password or searching for content. Things take a while to load, etc. But with the Shield, things are incredibly snappy. The videos look as good as any other streaming box we’ve used. Nothing to complain about. If you’re an Apple user, of course you can’t get to that content. No Vudu either. But if you’re a Google user, you’re set. You can side load the Amazon video app if you use prime video alot. Online rumor mill says Nvidia is working on the deal with Amazon, they just don’t have it in place yet. Might be able to side load Vudu as well. We didn’t try.

Local media playback is awesome. You can cast to it from an Android or iOS device. There is a built-in playback app. In addition to that, Plex comes pre-installed so you can use it as a media zone in your whole house video server setup. Listen to last week’s show for a full review of Plex as a media server option. You can also install the VLC app to get access to a wide array of file types and encodings that you may not have support for in the other apps. The Shield has a couple USB ports you can plug portable or external drives into for local playback and to increase the storage of the unit itself.

In addition to local media playback, there is an HDHomeRun app you can use to play over the air television directly on the Shield. It’ll set you back a cool 99 cents, but if you can swing it, the app does convert your Shield into a cord cutter’s dream. If you want to supplement that with live cable channels, you can add the SlingTV app and subscription as well. You’ve got the likes of Netflix, Google Play and Hulu for new release and catalog content, local media playback, OTA HD content and cable content from SlingTV. It’s quite an impressive array of possibilities.

Gaming is the best we’ve had on a streaming box. Certainly not Xbox One or PS4, but better then the Roku or FireTV if you’re a serious gamer. You can play any adroid games you can get on other platforms, plus additional games built specifically for the Shield. In addition, the GEForce Now service allows you to stream PC games directly on the Shield. They were great. And very fun. We aren’t hard core gamers, but they seemed the same as playing directly on another platform. This is where it got really, really close to Xbox or Playstation quality. And they are games you’ve heard of, Lego games like Batman and Marvel, Borderlands, Saints Row, Batman: Arkham Origins. In addition to the games you get as part of the $7.99 monthly subscription, you can also purchase other games to your heart’s content.

Conclusion

Is there room for another streaming box in the market? Sure. For the Shield, that’s like asking if there’s room for Ferrari in the automobile market. Choose for yourself what brand you would identify each of the existing streaming boxes with, but none of them would be a Ferrari. Yes the Shield is considerably more expensive, but it also does so much more. As always, if you’re an Apple fan and have all your content in iTunes, this isn’t the box for you. But for anyone else, and especially for those serious about cutting the cord, the Nvidia Shield deserves a serious look. After all, who wouldn’t want a Ferrari if you could pick it up for under $200?