Many people rely on streaming services for entertainment, so much so that streaming apps are often built into smart TVs. However, don’t count out devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick yet, as they typically load apps faster than smart TVs. If you’re looking for the best streaming device on the market, you might be surprised to learn that it’s not an Amazon product, or even an Apple one.
According to Consumer Reports, the best streaming device you can buy is the Nvidia Shield TV Pro, powered by the Android operating system. This device is frequently marketed as a cloud gaming platform that allows users to play PC games on a TV with 4K HDR visuals, Dolby ATMOS audio, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080-level performance. Of course, you need your own controller, a library of games on platforms like Steam or GOG, a solid internet connection, and a GeForce NOW subscription. You can sign up for free, but if you want to play for more than an hour at resolutions higher than 1080p (and avoid ads), you’ll need to pay a monthly subscription.
So what makes the Nvidia Shield TV Pro a great streaming device and not just a cloud gaming powerhouse? Access to streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV, that’s what. Some of these apps are included with Shield TV Pro, but you’ll need to download others through the built-in app store. As with game streaming features, you need an active subscription to each service to watch their respective programs. And that’s on top of the Shield TV Pro’s $200 price tag through the official Nvidia store.
What makes the Nvidia Shield TV Pro so special
While Consumer Reports’ top recommendations for “4K streaming media devices” include the Roku Ultra, Amazon Fire TV Cube and Onn 4K Pro, the outlet’s highest rating goes to Nvidia Shield TV Pro. How did this device stand out when it was more expensive than the competition? What does he have that others don’t have, besides gambling? Nothing; it’s just a tighter package.
In Consumer Reports’ review of the Nvidia Shield TV Pro, the device earned top marks in several categories, including “Features” and “Picture Quality.” The outlet praised the Shield TV Pro’s responsive interface and stunning picture quality, although the latter depends on your TV: the device supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision, but you need a TV that outputs images in those formats to use them. The same is generally true for other highly rated streaming setups, but the Fire TV Cube and Onn 4K lost points for being more finicky.
The real deciding factors in the competition between streaming devices were “data privacy” and “data security”. These were the only metrics the Nvidia Shield TV Pro failed to pass, but the others were even less lucky; The Roku Ultra had worse privacy and security across the board, and while the Fire TV Cube matched the Shield TV Pro in privacy and security, the Onn 4K lagged behind in privacy. These issues weren’t huge, but they were enough to earn the Nvidia Shield TV Pro the top streaming device recommended by Consumer Reports.