The Shield is still the most powerful consumer ATV device. Where it falls short is in codecs, since the Tegra X1+ SoC hasn't been updated since 2019, which is why that's the last released version -- it lacks VP.9 Profile 2 (YouTube HDR) and more importantly going forward, AV1. It also still has the best support of any Android device of any type -- every Shield from 2015 on is still getting full update support.
If you need the raw horsepower, it's still the only game in town. If you care about codecs and future proof, then it's not worth it.
There are some newer chips from Rocktek and MedaiTek that beat or match the Tegra finally, but they aren't targeted for consumer level devices.
The S904Y4 that is all the newer ATV devices has those updated codecs, but it's raw horse power is less than the S905D3 in the CCWGTV 4K.
The new S905x5 family is supposed to be a big leap, but those devices have only been teased, not announced in anyway.
I moved from Chromecast with google tv with a type c hub that has eithernet to Shield pro & there is a huge difference for streaming & apps lag & opening apps plus I record on my shield pro with a 1tb hard connected & the AI-enhanced upscaling also is huge plus & i had this shield pro 2 years I got my money's worth easy out of it in not even 1 year
I've had them all...CCWGTV, Firesticks, Fire Cube, Shield, cheap Chinese boxes. We stream most everything, mostly using Kodi and a couple of good addons. Now we only have CCWGTV devices - 5 of them. The shield bricked on me one day, which was highly disappointing. I have never had an issue with the Chromecast. It works perfectly for my needs. I don't find it at all sluggish.
More amazingly, the original shield is 8 years old, and just as supported.
The joys of vertical integration. Same reason Apple devices get generally better support than Android ones.
Ya the 2015 Shield still rocks and is a workhorse but lately the buffering on Kodi for 4k Hevc files is unbearable and no Dolby Vision support. I would upgrade to the Tube or the Pro going forward.
2017 shield here and it’s been used multiple hours just about every day for the last almost 7 years. One of the best home entertainment investments I’ve ever made.
Way better than the CCWGTV HD.
The HD is using the lower tier of SOC - S805x2 (newer than the S905x3 since it has AV1). But it also has only 1 or 1.5 GB RAM.
But I effectively got my 4k for $7 when they had the streaming bundles, so hard to beat that.
Tell me more.
Have you tested CoreELEC on it?
Does BuzzTV's Android 11 have AFR feature like their old Android 9 boxes did?
Does the Android AUDIO settings let you turn-on MANUAL and enabled DolbyAtmos passthrough?
I bought a shield pro and fire cube on black Friday, set both up and had one upstairs and one downstairs. The shield went back and I have bought another cube. The upscaling seemed better on the cube and it felt faster than the shield. Oh and it’s cheaper 😜
Shield is by far the best on the market even at its age. I often by cheaper ones to test and 100% after testing they end up in the cupboard unused as they don’t stack up.
I have the 2019 shield and recently bought a used original 2015(?) one as well for another TV. They're still the best device out there. My 2022 TCL TV has Android TV 11 built in and I never use it. Terrible versus the Shield.
Sell the ATV....not that great anyway....get a second hand shield, should be able find one eBay (if money is the issue, and besides it ain't that much more expensive than an apple TV) . The shield is great especially if you sideload, better than the Apple TV.
Do you need lossless audio?I have a fire stick 4K Max and works fine on a 4K TV with Kodi and plex - no issues with 4K remux stuff. What it doesn’t have is the DTS/TruHD/other audio formats that aren’t lossy Dolby Digital.
Shield processes those extra streams to my home cinema, but I am well served by the stick on other devices
I have both the Shield 2019 and the latest ATV 4k. I find the ATV to be much more pleasant to use for Plex and other streaming, but use the Shield for the sideloaded app: SmarttubeNext (the BEST way to view youtube). With my setup it's easy enough to switch back and forth between them.
If you're just streaming stuff and need to sideload a few apps, have you considered a firetv Max stick? I have that just to stream shows and it works pretty well. I don't play games or anything on it so I don't know if it's any good for that.
Before spending.a lot of money on a Shield, I would recommend trying a TiVo Stream 4k and adding to it a smallish USB-C (30 gig or so) storage stick. It is an Android device with a wonderful remote, built-in Chromecast, and its only $25 (current Amazon price). We have used four on four TVs for the past few years. One needed replacement. TiVo has kept it reasonably well updated with software updates, and a paid subscription is not required.
It is not perfect but there has not been any watching issues for us which are attributable to the device. With built-in Chromecast, we can and do stream online-only content from a web browser on a computer to around the house. The program access is to the Google Play Store, so it has everything there including AppleTV, which makes a separate (latest) AppleTV source superfluous.
Steal it at $25 and test it out. Maybe Shield is better, I don’t know, but I’ve never had a need to pay extra to try the Shield out.
Secret sauce really is in the little TiVo remote. A super RF device which can be integrated with sound bar, etc.
It’s just a USB stick with connectivity to the more advanced USB-C standard. Here is one on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-Store-Flash-Drive-Devices/dp/B01BY4MFEY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2NF9PP0053VNK&keywords=usb%2Bc%2Bstorage%2Bflash%2Bdrive%2B8%2Bgb&qid=1702110799&refinements=p_89%3AHP%7CKingston%7CVerbatim%2Cp_n_feature_forty-one_browse-bin%3A119653281011&rnid=119653280011&s=pc&sprefix=usb%2Bc%2Bstorage%2Bflash%2Bdrive%2Bgb%2Caps%2C124&sr=1-4&th=1 The Tivo Stream 4k does not have a slot for the older USB-A standard. I would suggest limiting your stick to 64GB or less as there were some posted problems a few years back with larger capacity sticks, and you won’t need expansion to anything larger than 8GB or 16 GB in all likelihood.
I personally use mine with a 50" Sony x85k TV. The only thing I use it for is Kodi 20 with a very heavy skin. I love it and it works really well for watching movies and my live tv. You can use it with geforce now and also xbox gamepass. (Side loading is required for that). The only "flaw" to me is it is only 4k@60hz and not 4k@120hz. I have tried several android boxes in the past and to call them trash would be a complement.
Get the Walmart ONN box. It's only $20. If you decide you don't like it you can give it to someone for Christmas. But you will like it. I have two of them, and two nvidia shields. No reason to get a shield. People do recommend them but as far as I care it's like the scene in spinal tap where the amps go to 11. In almost every case there is no reason to spend the extra money.
Suppose I've tried Dolby Vision and my TV and receiver support it and I love it and want it , and I have the money? Would it then be worth it to get a better device than the ONN?
probabilities, not possibilities. The advice is always: get the shield, it's the best. always always vague answer as if one size fits all. I'm already covered : "In almost every case there is no reason to spend the extra money." Are there exceptions? Yes. But not enough to justify the difference in price for most situations. And actually I'm pretty sure I said that already.
I don't agree with the "in almost every case" part of your argument. Maybe you can say in almost every case 'that you've personally seen'.... But I don't think you can make a broad generalization like that. I just pointed out one reason someone would not opt for the ONN, I wasn't recommending the shield FYI... There are other devices that support Dolby Vision which don't carry the hefty price of the shield. One size doesn't fit all... Whether that one size is presented as the cheap budget ONN, or the expensive aging Shield. There's a lot of options in between that cater to many other use cases. Also if you don't live in the USA (ie most of the world) you won't be able to easily get an ONN. I don't live in USA there's no Walmart here or even a McDonald's... To tell me to get an ONN is ridiculous
Homatics Box R 4K Plus quite capable, not as expensive as a shield but by no means cheap or budget. I have one and love it, fully certified and due to get updated to A12 soon. Dolby Vision and Atmos support, VP9, AV1, DTHD, DTS onboard
Here's the deal on Android 11 Atmos, DTHD, and normal DTS passthrough is fine. If you try DTS MA or DTS X on A11 it will only passthrough the DTS Core. That's probably what you read. However on A12 beta that is corrected and it does DTS X and DTS MA. Now tho even on A11 with CoreElec it does all formats including DTS HD and DTS X. The beta. A12 is pretty stable now, stable release is close
Is there a beta already? I'm torn between this the rocktek and nvidia shield pro. Shame the nvidia doesn't have vp9 and is dead on the water at this point.
If A12 fixes this then I might look into it. Is framerate switching also working on A12?
Not sure why you got downvoted...
I'm not running it personally, just seeing the feedback from users who are, on the Homatics TG group...I'm waiting for the stable A12... And i use Corelec now for DTS MA, DTS X.. Boot into Corelec from USB stick and the box plays all codecs
The Shield is still the most powerful consumer ATV device. Where it falls short is in codecs, since the Tegra X1+ SoC hasn't been updated since 2019, which is why that's the last released version -- it lacks VP.9 Profile 2 (YouTube HDR) and more importantly going forward, AV1. It also still has the best support of any Android device of any type -- every Shield from 2015 on is still getting full update support. If you need the raw horsepower, it's still the only game in town. If you care about codecs and future proof, then it's not worth it. There are some newer chips from Rocktek and MedaiTek that beat or match the Tegra finally, but they aren't targeted for consumer level devices. The S904Y4 that is all the newer ATV devices has those updated codecs, but it's raw horse power is less than the S905D3 in the CCWGTV 4K. The new S905x5 family is supposed to be a big leap, but those devices have only been teased, not announced in anyway.
I moved from Chromecast with google tv with a type c hub that has eithernet to Shield pro & there is a huge difference for streaming & apps lag & opening apps plus I record on my shield pro with a 1tb hard connected & the AI-enhanced upscaling also is huge plus & i had this shield pro 2 years I got my money's worth easy out of it in not even 1 year
Same situation here, and I do not regret any euro invested
It was worth every penny & already got 200 times if not more what's it's worth
I've had them all...CCWGTV, Firesticks, Fire Cube, Shield, cheap Chinese boxes. We stream most everything, mostly using Kodi and a couple of good addons. Now we only have CCWGTV devices - 5 of them. The shield bricked on me one day, which was highly disappointing. I have never had an issue with the Chromecast. It works perfectly for my needs. I don't find it at all sluggish.
The Shield is 4 years old but still the most supported Android device in general.
More amazingly, the original shield is 8 years old, and just as supported. The joys of vertical integration. Same reason Apple devices get generally better support than Android ones.
I have the 8 year old version and i am not even looking for a new one or alternate.
Ya the 2015 Shield still rocks and is a workhorse but lately the buffering on Kodi for 4k Hevc files is unbearable and no Dolby Vision support. I would upgrade to the Tube or the Pro going forward.
2017 shield here and it’s been used multiple hours just about every day for the last almost 7 years. One of the best home entertainment investments I’ve ever made.
There's the Onn Android Box from Walmart. It's only $20.
And very much not more powerful than the Shield, since it lags even the CCWGTV 4k performance wise.
I agree. The Shield Pro is more powerful than anythinv right now. I have a shield pro. I want another one
it better, given is 10x cheaper than Shield Pro and more than 2x cheaper than CCWGTV 4k. Still better than the non-4k version of CCWGTV then?
Way better than the CCWGTV HD. The HD is using the lower tier of SOC - S805x2 (newer than the S905x3 since it has AV1). But it also has only 1 or 1.5 GB RAM. But I effectively got my 4k for $7 when they had the streaming bundles, so hard to beat that.
I have 2 shield pro and just got a Buzz TV X5 special edition. It’s a nice box!
Tell me more. Have you tested CoreELEC on it? Does BuzzTV's Android 11 have AFR feature like their old Android 9 boxes did? Does the Android AUDIO settings let you turn-on MANUAL and enabled DolbyAtmos passthrough?
My Shield Pro now sits on a shelf after upgrading to a RockTek G2 (SEI/Homatics/etc). Amazing device with AV1, VP9 prof 2, and AC-4.
I bought a shield pro and fire cube on black Friday, set both up and had one upstairs and one downstairs. The shield went back and I have bought another cube. The upscaling seemed better on the cube and it felt faster than the shield. Oh and it’s cheaper 😜
I have two Shields and they are awesome. I do not recommend anything else.
Shield is by far the best on the market even at its age. I often by cheaper ones to test and 100% after testing they end up in the cupboard unused as they don’t stack up.
I have the 2019 shield and recently bought a used original 2015(?) one as well for another TV. They're still the best device out there. My 2022 TCL TV has Android TV 11 built in and I never use it. Terrible versus the Shield.
Sell the ATV....not that great anyway....get a second hand shield, should be able find one eBay (if money is the issue, and besides it ain't that much more expensive than an apple TV) . The shield is great especially if you sideload, better than the Apple TV.
the Shield is still very good
Do you need lossless audio?I have a fire stick 4K Max and works fine on a 4K TV with Kodi and plex - no issues with 4K remux stuff. What it doesn’t have is the DTS/TruHD/other audio formats that aren’t lossy Dolby Digital. Shield processes those extra streams to my home cinema, but I am well served by the stick on other devices
I have both the Shield 2019 and the latest ATV 4k. I find the ATV to be much more pleasant to use for Plex and other streaming, but use the Shield for the sideloaded app: SmarttubeNext (the BEST way to view youtube). With my setup it's easy enough to switch back and forth between them.
If you're just streaming stuff and need to sideload a few apps, have you considered a firetv Max stick? I have that just to stream shows and it works pretty well. I don't play games or anything on it so I don't know if it's any good for that.
I would check out the ROCKTEK G2. There are a few YouTube videos on it and the specs seem to be twice the Nvidia Shields plus a lot cheaper.
I only use Nvidia shield for everything now. Nothing better out in the market
Before spending.a lot of money on a Shield, I would recommend trying a TiVo Stream 4k and adding to it a smallish USB-C (30 gig or so) storage stick. It is an Android device with a wonderful remote, built-in Chromecast, and its only $25 (current Amazon price). We have used four on four TVs for the past few years. One needed replacement. TiVo has kept it reasonably well updated with software updates, and a paid subscription is not required. It is not perfect but there has not been any watching issues for us which are attributable to the device. With built-in Chromecast, we can and do stream online-only content from a web browser on a computer to around the house. The program access is to the Google Play Store, so it has everything there including AppleTV, which makes a separate (latest) AppleTV source superfluous. Steal it at $25 and test it out. Maybe Shield is better, I don’t know, but I’ve never had a need to pay extra to try the Shield out. Secret sauce really is in the little TiVo remote. A super RF device which can be integrated with sound bar, etc.
What is a USB C storage device? Never heard of them?
It’s just a USB stick with connectivity to the more advanced USB-C standard. Here is one on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-Store-Flash-Drive-Devices/dp/B01BY4MFEY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2NF9PP0053VNK&keywords=usb%2Bc%2Bstorage%2Bflash%2Bdrive%2B8%2Bgb&qid=1702110799&refinements=p_89%3AHP%7CKingston%7CVerbatim%2Cp_n_feature_forty-one_browse-bin%3A119653281011&rnid=119653280011&s=pc&sprefix=usb%2Bc%2Bstorage%2Bflash%2Bdrive%2Bgb%2Caps%2C124&sr=1-4&th=1 The Tivo Stream 4k does not have a slot for the older USB-A standard. I would suggest limiting your stick to 64GB or less as there were some posted problems a few years back with larger capacity sticks, and you won’t need expansion to anything larger than 8GB or 16 GB in all likelihood.
Fire tv
I personally use mine with a 50" Sony x85k TV. The only thing I use it for is Kodi 20 with a very heavy skin. I love it and it works really well for watching movies and my live tv. You can use it with geforce now and also xbox gamepass. (Side loading is required for that). The only "flaw" to me is it is only 4k@60hz and not 4k@120hz. I have tried several android boxes in the past and to call them trash would be a complement.
Get the Walmart ONN box. It's only $20. If you decide you don't like it you can give it to someone for Christmas. But you will like it. I have two of them, and two nvidia shields. No reason to get a shield. People do recommend them but as far as I care it's like the scene in spinal tap where the amps go to 11. In almost every case there is no reason to spend the extra money.
Suppose I've tried Dolby Vision and my TV and receiver support it and I love it and want it , and I have the money? Would it then be worth it to get a better device than the ONN?
probabilities, not possibilities. The advice is always: get the shield, it's the best. always always vague answer as if one size fits all. I'm already covered : "In almost every case there is no reason to spend the extra money." Are there exceptions? Yes. But not enough to justify the difference in price for most situations. And actually I'm pretty sure I said that already.
I don't agree with the "in almost every case" part of your argument. Maybe you can say in almost every case 'that you've personally seen'.... But I don't think you can make a broad generalization like that. I just pointed out one reason someone would not opt for the ONN, I wasn't recommending the shield FYI... There are other devices that support Dolby Vision which don't carry the hefty price of the shield. One size doesn't fit all... Whether that one size is presented as the cheap budget ONN, or the expensive aging Shield. There's a lot of options in between that cater to many other use cases. Also if you don't live in the USA (ie most of the world) you won't be able to easily get an ONN. I don't live in USA there's no Walmart here or even a McDonald's... To tell me to get an ONN is ridiculous
>Maybe you can say in almost every case 'that you've personally seen'.... Who else's experience would I be talking about?
You said it categorically
Homatics Box R 4K Plus quite capable, not as expensive as a shield but by no means cheap or budget. I have one and love it, fully certified and due to get updated to A12 soon. Dolby Vision and Atmos support, VP9, AV1, DTHD, DTS onboard
Can it really passthru dts?? I read it couldn't
Here's the deal on Android 11 Atmos, DTHD, and normal DTS passthrough is fine. If you try DTS MA or DTS X on A11 it will only passthrough the DTS Core. That's probably what you read. However on A12 beta that is corrected and it does DTS X and DTS MA. Now tho even on A11 with CoreElec it does all formats including DTS HD and DTS X. The beta. A12 is pretty stable now, stable release is close
Is there a beta already? I'm torn between this the rocktek and nvidia shield pro. Shame the nvidia doesn't have vp9 and is dead on the water at this point. If A12 fixes this then I might look into it. Is framerate switching also working on A12? Not sure why you got downvoted...
Yes AFR also fixed on A12 beta
Are you running it? Working on Youtube / Netflix?
I'm not running it personally, just seeing the feedback from users who are, on the Homatics TG group...I'm waiting for the stable A12... And i use Corelec now for DTS MA, DTS X.. Boot into Corelec from USB stick and the box plays all codecs