Streaming · Review
Nvidia Shield TV Pro
The enthusiast's box, and still the gold standard years on - if you can stomach the price.
No BS summary
The most capable streamer money can buy, and it's not close. It plays basically every file format you can throw at it without choking or forcing a quality-sapping conversion, it runs full Android TV with sideloading, its AI upscaling genuinely sharpens older HD content, and it's still getting software updates years after launch. The catch is the price and the age: you're paying flagship money for silicon that hasn't been refreshed in a while. It remains, somehow, the one to beat.
Score: 9/10
Kudos for
- Plays virtually any file without a stutter
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos done properly
- AI upscaling that genuinely improves HD
- Full Android TV with sideloading and an Ethernet port
- Years of software support and counting
Dropped the ball
- Expensive - the priciest box here by a margin
- No recent hardware refresh
- The remote divides opinion
Why it's still the one
Most streamers are fine until you hand them an awkward file, at which point they either stutter or quietly convert it to something lesser. The Shield just... plays it. Big, high-bitrate files, unusual formats, the lot - straight through, no fuss. Add genuinely useful AI upscaling that sharpens older HD towards 4K, a wired Ethernet port for rock-solid streaming, and full Android TV with sideloading, and you have a box that does everything and complains about nothing. It's the one we reach for when a file defeats everything else.
The remote
The 11pm test - find it in the dark, hit the right button? The Shield's remote is the divisive bit: some love the slim, angular shape, others lose it down the sofa precisely because it's so slim. It is at least backlit and motion-activated, which is more than most here manage, so it half-wins the dark-room test. My usual bugbear applies, mind - there's a hardwired streaming-app button that's easy to catch by accident and bump you out of what you were watching. One-press access if you love that; I'd happily live without it.
Performance in normal use
Flawless is not too strong a word. Nothing we played gave it pause, menus are instant, and wired over Ethernet on our TalkTalk gigabit line it never so much as blinked at a 4K HDR stream. Plugged into the 65-inch Philips Mini LED, Dolby Vision looked exactly as intended, and the upscaling did real work on older HD.
What's missing
Honestly, features aren't the problem - value is. What I'd carry over from elsewhere is the Google TV Streamer's price. The Streamer gets most people 90% of this for a fraction of the cost; the Shield's last 10% - the bulletproof file playback and the upscaling - is real, but you pay dearly for it. A modern refresh at a kinder price is the only thing on the wishlist.
Who should buy this
The enthusiast with a big, varied library who's tired of files that won't play cleanly, and who'll genuinely use the upscaling and the no-compromise playback. If you want the best and price is secondary, this is it.
Who should skip it
Anyone who mainly streams from the big apps. If you're not wrangling awkward files, the Google TV Streamer gives you Android TV, an Ethernet port and lovely performance for far less, and you'll never miss the Shield's extra muscle.
Specs at a glance
| Resolution | 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Android TV (sideloading supported) |
| Standout | AI upscaling, near-universal file playback |
| Network | Wi-Fi + built-in Ethernet port |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos passthrough |
| Remote | Backlit, motion-activated |
Where to buy
Pick your country. We may earn a small commission on some links once our affiliate programmes are approved - you pay the same.
| UK | Amazon UK · Currys |
|---|---|
| US | Amazon US · Best Buy |
| CA | Amazon CA · Best Buy CA |
Links go live as each affiliate programme is approved.
Final word
Years on, nothing else quite matches it - the Shield plays everything, upscales the old stuff, and just keeps working. It's expensive and overdue a refresh, and most people genuinely don't need it. But if you've got the library to justify it, it's still the best box on the shelf, and the one we'd grab when nothing else will play the file.