Nvidia Shield TV PRO 2019 Review

A few weeks ago I unboxed the Nvidia Shield TV Pro I was sent over for review. I was pretty impressed with the features available and liked the look of the remote and couldn't wait to get it set up and see it in action. I'm now back with my final opinion to let you all know if I think the Nvidia Shield TV Pro is a must have streaming device despite the £199 price tag. 

Gallery: 

Specifications: 

• PROCESSOR: NVIDIA Tegra X1+
• GPU: 256-core
• Memory: 3GB RAM
• Storage: 16GB (Portion of storage occupied by system software, Expandable using USB flash or hard drives)
• Weight: 8.8 oz / 250 g
• Height: 3.858 in / 9.800 cm
• Width: 6.26 in / 15.900 cm
• Depth: 1.02 in / 2.593 cm
• Wireless: 802.11ac 2×2 MIMO 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth: 5.0 + LE
• OS: Android 9.0 (Pie) powered by Android TV™ with Chromecast 4K built-in
• Power: 40 W power adapter (5-10 W typical consumption)

Connectivity: 

• Gigabit Ethernet
• HDMI 2.0b with HDCP 2.2 and CEC support
• Two USB 3.0 Ports (Type A)

Video Features:

• 4K
• Dolby Vision
• 4K HDR Ready
• Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10
• AI Upscaling

AI-enhanced upscaling:

• 720p/1080p to 4K up to 30 FPS
• Up to 4K HDR playback at 60 FPS (H.265/HEVC)
• Up to 4K playback at 60 FPS (VP8, VP9, H.264, MPEG1/2)
• Up to 1080p playback at 60 FPS (H.263, MJPEG, MPEG4, WMV9/VC1)
• Format/Container support: Xvid/ DivX/ASF/AVI/MKV/MOV/M2TS/MPEG-TS/MP4/WEB-M

Audio:

• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Audio Support (Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos)
• DTS-X surround sound (pass-through) over HDMI
• High-resolution audio playback up to 24-bit/192 kHz over HDMI
• Audio support: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, WAVE, AMR, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, PCM, WMA, WMA-Pro, WMA-Lossless, DD+ decode, Dolby Atmos decode, Dolby TrueHD (pass-through), DTS-X (pass-through), and DTS-HD (pass-through)

Voice assistants: 

• Google Assistant
• Alexa
• Built in Voice Control
• The Google Assistant
• Hands-free Voice Control†
• Google Home compatible (Google Assistant)*
• Amazon Echo compatible (Works with Alexa)*

Shield Remote: 

• Microphone for voice search and commands
• Motion-activated backlit buttons
• Bluetooth connectivity
• IR blaster for control of volume and power on TVs, soundbars, or receivers
• Remote locator for finding a lost remote
• 2x AAA batteries included

Pros:

• AI Upscaling actually works and improves the experience on a 4K display
• Very easy to set up and get started
• Nvidia Shield APP has a good amount of functionality
• Remote lights up and is pleasant to use
• Can plug in controllers, Mice or keyboards into the USB ports
• Great for Gamers with Geforce Now and Geforce Game stream
• Good range of Apps
• Very quick and responsive to use

Cons:

• Netflix button on the remote is annoying and cannot be allocated without 3rd party app
• Google Assistant can be a little temperamental
• Geforce Now queues are long

You can find the Nvidia Shield TV PRO for sale HERE 

Kitguru says: The Nvidia Shield TV Pro combines a great media streaming experience with pretty extensive gaming functionality and despite the price tag I think it is well worth buying if you want the ultimate device to connect up to your 4K TV. 

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