NVIDIA SHIELD TV with Remote

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.

Still the best around, which is saying something for something made originally in 2015 and re released in 2017. You will never be able to handle a Fire TV stick after you've gotten used to how snappy and responsive this is. There's no denying that it's still just a platform for your Netflix / Amazon Video / etc accounts, but as far as that goes this is the king / queen and whizzing around the interface is worth the price of admission alone (I started wondering how much time I had wasted overall looking at spinning disks while apps loaded on nameless other platforms). With the power from this thing voice searching, installing and even Web browsing is not only viable but works as it actually should!If you are running or building a 4k setup then all the better cause most of the alternatives won't give you the option. In short, if you want 4k and hdr on Android, this is your best option.Streaming is great cause Chromecast is built in so even when you can't be bothered to install an app you can always cast whatever you've found on your phone to the TV instantly, which is something I never thought I'd use initially but was surprised to find incredibly useful. Listening to a podcast on my way home? Get inside and you can just cast it straight off.If you're a PC gamer with an NVIDIA gfx card then this is also the only platform that will let you stream games to your TV through. It's smooth and almost always lag free but bear in mind it makes things play like they do on a console so whilst this is fine for 90% of people, certain PC gamers will find the tiny bit of input lag noticeable or even intolerable!Its not perfect of course, the app selection is spartan and you won't get some of your mainstays like all4 without serious grief and sideloading, so bear that in mind if you're a big user of certain apps and check the compatibility upfront because the play store is not like the one on your phone. The remote also suffers from what I call the SkyQ problem with touch capacitive not-buttons. Manufacturers need to quit this. I used the controller oddly until I bought a suitable Harmony universal remote. If you plan to do the same make sure it works with Bluetooth cause the standard shield doesn't have Infrared (IR).Quick word on the pro as an alternative, the pro is useful in that it has ir and a AUX jack in the remote for headphones, but these are fairly rare use cases. It also has 500gb extra storage but the regular versions storage is expandable so this is something that can easily be overcome. The price difference is usually around 120 so you decide which suits you but personally I was more than happy to save while still buying a big USB stick for storage.