These connectors are all tucked inside a cutaway cove in the player itself, which helps protect the ends from damage in case something falls behind your media center. The reason for this, according to Nvidia, is to allow you to tuck it into the back of your entertainment center – away from your TV – which they say cause signal interference.Īdmittedly, we didn’t notice a massive difference in wireless performance from the Nvidia Shield and a more traditional player like the Amazon Fire TV Cube that sits right next to the TV, but the cylindrical design is aesthetically unique if nothing else.Īlso unique is that the inputs and outputs of the player are located at each end - on one side is the power and ethernet connectors, while on the other you’ll find HDMI-out and reset button. While the Nvidia Shields of years past looked like a proper micro console, the 2019 iteration of the Shield looks more like a sideways Amazon Echo than it does a streaming video player. There is a substantial difference in performance and feature set for the price differential, but the new Shield is definitely not the player for people looking for 4K streaming on the cheap. Now, obviously, that price tag is quite a bit higher than the entry-level 4K video streaming players out there like the Roku Streaming Stick+ and Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, both of which are available for a third of the price at $49.99 (£49). It’s worth noting that neither of the two configurations include the Nvidia Shield Controller, however both units are compatible with both the DualShock4 and Xbox One controller – as well as the newer PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers.

The former is available for $149 (£129), while the latter comes in at $199 (£179). The new Nvidia Shield comes in two configurations, the widely available cylindrical Nvidia Shield (reviewed here) and the Nvidia Shield Pro that has 1GB of added RAM and a larger hard drive.

Just make sure you keep an eyes on the step-up Nvidia Shield TV Pro for some extra RAM, or our guide to the best Black Friday TV deals this year to see what screen to pair your high-powered streaming device with. But, in spite of some minor issues – and two whole years passing since its launch in 2019 – the Nvidia Shield is one of the best streaming players on the market.

Nvidia shield ai upscaling plex