Customer Ratings & Reviews

Hope you like ads strewn across 1/3 of your screen! Nvidia has allowed an "Update" that let Google push live ads to 1/3rd of the screen that you cannot disable that runs previews for streaming channels including Pride and Transvestite content you may or may not want to watch. I did NOT spend $200 for this trash.

It's obviously much more powerful than most streaming sticks or smart TV systems. The UI is snappy and it can handle everything I throw at it... Other than casting to YouTube. How can this still be an issue? I shouldn't have to navigate multiple menus to enter a 9 digit code just to cast a YouTube video. My old as dirt OG Chromecast still works better for casting.

It's okay, if you were maybe doing some light gaming, video is okay, and the unit seems to need to be unplugged every once in a while, as it locks up, network port failed, wi-fi is okay when it works, it drops connection when high end wi-fi router sitting 20 feet away in plain sight, I never had this issue with my Fire cube from Amazon it's over priced maybe if it had like more system ram like 8 or 16 and more storage, why do these companies thing 2 or 4 gigs of ram is enough, but yet our cellphones have so much more.

Had this thing for well over a year now. At least once a night, usually multiple times a night, it drops the internet connection, and I have to go back out to the home screen, then into the settings, and select the connection (which it claims it never dropped) and then go back to what I was watching. The cheap Chinese "MeCool" streaming box I have in my office has literally never once dropped the connection. I keep hoping a software patch will fix the issue, but alas, I remain disappointed a full year later

Everything was going fine, but after two weeks the device was getting hung at the Android boot screen. Nvidia in their infinite wisdom decided not to put a physical reset button on the device. So essentially I'm left with a paperweight.

It needs a refresh. They've been busy, this was developed before they became the largest public company in the world. Wouldn't recommend if your looking for latest and greatest. But TBH probably still is one of the best options out there, just hard to justify cost 6 years after launch.

***I returned this product*** I had never returned a product before at Best Buy, and rarely return products anywhere. Best Buy is not the reason why I returned it (everything went great from their part). The reason why I returned this product is because of what the manufacturer, NVIDIA, has done to this product recently, changing it into a much useful product than what it used to be, and what it is still erroneously advertised as of the date purchased, including in NVIDIA's website as of the date of purchase, creating confusion to anyone looking to buy it, as the information found in the manufacturer's website should be the most reliable. As of the time of purchase, there are pages in their website that have been removed or emptied (a dead end) even though other parts of their website link to it, including links from this product's page(s). Some other pages still include information about feature(s) that have been removed/discontinued by NVIDIA on this product, via a software update, but it is still not clearly informed to the consumer as of the time of purchase, and some retailer(s) still have the outdated information, overselling the item. If I had been able to find the updated information, I would have saved the hassle of buying this, having to return it, and saving the retailer from having one more open-box item. To make it worse, searching information about removed feature(s) in search engines still come up and links to the outdated product's page at the manufacturer's (NVIDIA) website. In addition to this, the removed feature(s) still shows on the product's settings, but it's disabled. I bought this product for two reasons, despite finding it expensive for what it does, as follows: 1) "Gamestream" - This product used to include a feature that allowed users to stream games from your PC (equipped with a qualified Nvidia graphics card) to the Nvidia Shield hooked up to your TV and other devices. This feature was removed in mid 2023, possibly in favor of an online service called GeForce NOW, that doesn't exactly offer the same, and doesn't need the NVIDIA SHIELD box, as it can run via a free app in most Smart TVs, so long as you create a GeForce NOW account, which takes me to the other issue I encountered—although they have a free account tier, no matter how much I tried, their website said the free tier was full/to capacity, leaving the paid ones right next to it as the only option, which also limit the amount of time you can game with it. To a gamer looking for these features, removing Gamestream makes this SHIELD box useless, as all there is left is a very expensive, ~$200 glorified smart TV app that does very much what a Firestick does, which is much cheaper, and pretty much all TVs today are smart TVs that include a Smart TV menu with about the same or better options, with the exception of the upscaler built into the NVIDIA SHIELD, which takes me to the other feature that put some weight towards my consideration to buying this. 2) “AI-Enhanced” upscaling - This feature called my attention, and it worked but not as good as what I saw advertised. I did extensive testing and comparison with and without the upscaler, and the sharpening was mostly on text and some objects in the foreground, however, to make it noticeably sharp enough (on Medium or High), text's borders would look wrong, similar to when you put your TV's sharpness to the maximum. Another issue is that it wasn't working with all content I tried it with. For some of the content, the AI said there was no upscaling needed, so it didn't activate (automatic detection) even though I was watching content in lower resolution than 4k. [-] Featured con of this product for those that get to use it long enough: The battery in the remote is not removable or meant to be removed by the user, and the remote does not have a plug to charge it. [-] It does not include an HDMI cable. Explanation for my rating on Best Buy: "Overall rating*" Fair (2 stars): Due to the video game streaming feature being removed, which was the main reason why I bought this product, a rather expensive upscaler that wasn't available/active for all content I watched/displayed on my TV, and a Smart TV app that many other current devices offer, on top of the product's price, I cannot give it more than 2 stars and would not recommend this product. "Value": Poor (1 star): At ~$200, this product is too expensive for what it does, especially after the removal/discontinuation of the "Gamestream" feature. There are better options for Smart menus, and much cheaper, and you can use the GeForce NOW app/online service on some/most current Smart TVs, so it pretty much leaves it to whether you would be willing to pay ~$200 for an image upscaler that works somewhat better than the one built into todays' Smart TVs, but not that much more impressive. "Quality": Excellent (5 star): I must give it to NVIDIA that they did make this product very high quality in terms of the overall build and looks. It is stylish, and the controller looks fancy in comparison to most remotes as of 2023. "Ease of use": Average (4 star): I found it to be OK'ish, simple enough but mainly because it barely has any settings; not really many options for the user.

Worked well fast lots of memory easy to use would definitely recommend

[Employee of bestbuy] Initially my experience was horrible until i updated it then it was ok. The UI was decent and I don't cloud game but thats probably the only good thing about the shield. The AI upscailing could be a lot better. The device is nearly a decade old and if they made a brand new unit im sure it'd be a 10/10. The current Apple Tv stream device is way better and its cheaper and im not even a apple guy.

Not overly impressed with this one. It’s not any better or faster than the older version that I replaced. Sorry I wasted the money.

This thing is not for everyone. I bought it for the Plex Server and the AI upscaling. The AI upscale is basically an over sharpen filter (just max out the sharpness on your tv and it comes close) its seriously not that great. However the Plex Server is bananas! It does GPU encoding, multi stream (for the fam) and the overall speed is great. Most people that do not need Plex would be better served with a Google TV. The controller although good lack and input button so I STILL have to have the TV remote to switch inputs (for the price this seems to be a MAJOR oversight) The other INSANE letdown is Game streaming (THE ONE THING THIS SHOULD DO FLAWLESSLY) It is very hit or miss. I ended up installing moonlight (funny that a third party uses nvidia tech better than nvidia) In other words unless you need a plex server pass on this device.

Nvidia and Google have made a glitchy mess out of what was my favorite streamer. Software after software update and the device has only gotten worse, not better. Now there are advertisements everywhere and core features like in home game streaming have been removed. I can't recommend this device in 2026.

I bought this device in 2024 to begin with and I believe this model has not been updated since 2019 and unfortunately it shows it's dated. I was having issues streaming and stuttering and looking online feels like a lot of people have issues with. Also no reason for this price in 2024 for a 2019 model...if it was cheaper I kind would understand...but for this price feels like better options out there if your usage is mainly streaming

I had the previous gen Shield Pro and eventually sold it and decided to give this one a shot since it now supports 4k. About 3 days after I got it I the now infamous Google TV firmware update happened and of course changed the whole interface changed. The whole reason I got it was for the streamlined android tv UI. Quickly returned it...eventually just got a chromecast. Same UI and about $150 cheaper. If you're not planning on installing gaming apps, emulators, and anything other than basic streaming apps it's not worth the money in my opinion.

Great audio, when you can get it to work. Having handshake issues, that was solved. Pain in the rear, issues with switching to match rate. Great if you want to tailor it to yourself, not working for me….

The remote stops responding, the shield pro has to be unplugged too many times in one sitting. Apps randomly crash, audio lags, graphics corruption when changing apps. These bugs have existed for since early 2021. Can't figure out why Nvidia won't fix them. There are so many bug reports and too many existing bugs to justify the price tag. The upscaling is incredible, but not that good to put up with this hassle.

The box itself worked well. Good picture and sound, but the remote is junk! It will change channel or input or launch another app while watching TV and that is very annoying. Or you even pick it up and boom there it goes. Needs to be redesigned.

Can do a lot but you need perfect connection and tbh I would rather play PC games on my PC and just buy an Xbox for my TV. On the other hand as a 4K streaming device it works well but if you’re not gonna play the games then just get a Fire Stick and save money.

I bought this for streaming and maybe a little light gaming.It was however very unstable, buggy, locked up and crashed often. I had to return it. Big disappointment.

The remote has triangle shape which is somewhat uncomfortable to hold, and Android TV feels pretty limited. No browser included, and the options for third party browsers are shady. Lots of things you would expect to be available in the app store are just not present, leaving you to hunt for APKs on third party websites. Mouse and keyboard support is spotty, working in certain apps and menus and not in others. For all intents and purposes you can't use the device without a Google account. No more GameStream is the frosting on the cake. Unless your sole purpose is to run Kodi or some other specialized app, I think there are much better value options out there.