NVIDIA SHIELD TV with Remote

Up until now, I have had to keep togglign between different devices to be able to stream all my stuff, due to limitations of individual devices.For example, a Chromecast, great as it is, will not/cannot support Amazon Prime Video (due to the Google/Amazon war). On the other hand my Fire TV stick no longer supports youtube due to the same war between the above!Neither of the above can play from my NAS as an SMB drive (not uPNP), without some serious hacking around, and still are not perfect, and even then have poor support for lossless formats such as DTS MASTER/DOLBYHD, and atmos, if supported seems only via Dolby Digital Plus.My WDTV, which although handles my NAS well, does not support any modern streaming services such as netflix, does not support 4k, and has not been updated since 2015, is effectively eol.My Samsung tv, despite being 4k and HDR, has almost no support for HDR in its Youtube or Netflix apps, only on its Amazon prime app. Plus its Google Play app, does not support 5.1 DD output!!! Its local streaming support is also not great, thoguh it does support H265 playback. My blue ray player has different issues, and doesnt suppport H265 (which i use extensively more my own personal home video archives)The PC on a stick was good for steam game streaming, but awkward for anything else.The point being, I was getting fedup switchign between different devices based on what I wanted to watch (add to the fact I also have Sky). After a bit of research, i finally bit the bullet and bought the Shield, and I really havent look back since.This is an absolutely fantastic device that does EVERYTHING it says on the tin.- a real Android TV device, that is fully supported and frequently updated- an extremly powerful NVidia Tegra processor (same as the one on a nintendo switch), which is cabable of very good application and graphics perfromance.- 2 USB 3 ports, and one Ethernet port.- snappy decent performance- perfect Netflix/Amazon Prime/ Google Play/ BBC iPlayer playback via real android apps, not HTML apps. far better perfromance, as well as fully featured, including 4k UHD, HDR, ATMOS on both Netflix, Prime and Google Play Movies service- Brilliant Kodi support (just download the official android app from the google play included, or download some optimized forks). Also able to bitstream out Dolby True HD/ATMOS/DTS Master, etc.- can load android APKs- Recently recieved an update to enable DD 5.1 output from youtube if the content contains a DD5.1 stream (bit rare at the moment)- Brilliant game streaming from my PC Upstairs to the TV downstairs, usign either Steam or Nvidia streaming, and also supports Geforce live, where games are streamed from nvidias own datacenters.- Althoguh i use an XBOX one controller for gaming, connected via bluetooth to the shield, I have heard good things about NVidia's own Shield game controller.- Brilliant HDMI control, can both switch on and switch off my tv and my onkyo amp, as well as setting correct inputs on both when turned on or off, no device I have does this as well and as flawlessly as this device.- Google Assistant built in.All in all I have now got rid of all my other external devices (Except my sky box and my Blu ray player, for obvious reasons!) and this hasif there are any downsides, they are:-price... thoguh that is only initially when compared at face value to other streamers including the Apple TV. When you actually look at what this thing is capable of, it suddenly becomes REALLY good value, and the others actually feel like less value. Look at it another way, they others may be cheparer, but when you need to buy multiple streamers versus one they may actually start working out more expensive.- when using a wireless keyboard, you need to use an USB extender cable for the USB radio tranciever, otherwise the USB port can intefere with the wireless single from the transciever, though I have heard this is common with many USB 3 ports, on many devices- also do not place next to the Sky Q box!, it seems the two when places directly next to each other, inteferes with the blutooth remotes for each devices, causing lag.

It's incredibly fast and the interface is always instantly responsive.It has support for everything I use, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, ITV, BBC, YouTube as well as the added bonus of Chromecast so you can stream videos from your computer/laptop/phone via Chrome to the Shield in an instant top!It's also technically Android TV so it includes the Play Store app where you can install various other games and apps that you cna out on most phones, there are some that don't support the shield though.I purchased the Shield with only the remote and I use an Xbox One wireless controller with it for GeForce Now, Gamestream and Android games. I've had zero issues with the Xbox controller and the Nvidia Shield remote is also brilliant however the touch sensitive volume control is pretty awful.It's not so bad if you're just controlling the volume of the shield but after configuring it to control my LG sound bar volume it's really unresponsive, two simple up and down buttons would be much better.You also often raise or lower the volume by accident by simply handling the remote.At the time of writing this review the shield also includes the GeForce Now free beta which I understand will later become a paid subscription.This allows you to play supported PC titles you own on Epic, Uplay and Steam on the Shield but actually streamed to the Shield from a dedicated system maintained by Nvidia. This allows you to play games like the Resident Evil 2 remake, The Division 2 and other recently released AAA titles in 4K resolution at frame rates well above what the latest PS4 and Xbox 4K consoles are capable of due to the fact GeForce Now is powered by the latest Nvidia hardware.The only negative about GeForce Now is the input delay but a solid high speed Internet connection helps to greatly reduce this although it's still noticeable, more so in games that require precision and speed, such as multiplayer shooters.I also use the Nvidia Gamestream feature to stream games over my local network from my desktop PC housing an Intel i9 9900K and a 2080 Ti.There are downsides, such as being limited to the resolution of the monitor connected to your desktop PC, in my case its not 4K.Input lag is hardly noticeable in comparison to GeForce Now because you're only streaming from your local network.My desktop PC obviously offers better performance than GeForce Now so I'm able to sit downstairs playing F1 2018 on my Xbox controller in 1080p with over 300 fps.The future of Gamestream is a little uncertain as various forums and communities are under the impression Nvidia are throwing their everything into GeForce Now.All in all, the Shield is brilliant. It's a wicked TV box, a great gaming solution and even more so if you're strictly a PC gamer.If you go the console route you have repurchase games you already own in PC and with the Shield you don't.Sorry for the long review but I must add thst in my opinion devices like the Shield are the future of affordable small factor gaming.At the time of writing the PS5 was just recently announced and lists a 3rd generation Ryzen with an AMD graphics solution capable of 8K gaming and this is rumoured to release in 2020.The only affordable GPU capable of truly playable 4K gaming at good graphics settings right now is the 2080 Ti and they retail at £1000+.Theyre also unlikely to drop in price in the next 6-12 months and AMDs new 7nm process has resulted in rumours of cards equivalent to the 1080 Ti/2080.Unless the PS5/Xbox next gen is going to be retailing at over £1000 its still going to struggle with 4K at 60 fps, especially with stuff like Ray tracing.This makes the Shield and devices like it much more affordable in the future because it costs a fraction of the price and has the power of £3-4K of hardware streaming games directly to it.