The forgotten Android TV streaming device that was ahead of its time
Every once in a while a really great product comes out, but it doesn’t get a lot of attention. It’s easy to forget about streaming boxes when we all have smart TVs, spare streaming dongles everywhere, or an old Google Chromecast in a junk drawer. However, this streaming box is over 10 years old and I still use mine daily.
You all probably have a random Android TV box or Google TV dongle that you no longer use. Does anyone remember the Google Nexus Q? Streaming wasn’t as big 10-15 years ago as it is today, and many of these types of devices were ahead of their time, but none more so than the NVIDIA Shield TV and Shield TV Pro.
The NVIDIA Shield TV: a set-top box, a microconsole and much more
There are currently two versions of the Shield from 2019 still available for purchase, although they are quite old. These are the classic NVIDIA Shield TV and the Shield TV Pro. While both remain excellent products and a bit ahead of their time, the 2015 original was even more ahead of its time.
NVIDIA’s current Shield TV Pro comes with 16GB of storage, 3GB of RAM, two USB 3.0 ports for expansion, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Everything is powered by the Tegra X1+ processor. Yes, the same platform as the Nintendo Switch. Even by today’s standards, this is an extremely capable and powerful “streaming box”, if you want to call it that. NVIDIA marketed this device as a set-top box running Android TV, but also as a sort of microconsole for Android games. The company even sold a wireless game controller that looked like an Xbox controller. Honestly, I’d go so far as to say that the Shield TV was the gateway to modern PC game streaming.
However, before that, and as early as 2015, the company launched the first NVIDIA Shield TV. It had similar specs and the original Tegra X1 processor, but you could choose between a 16GB flash storage model or get one with a built-in 500GB hard drive expandable via MicroSD or USB.
I still own and use the 500GB model, which is packed with music, movies, TV shows, and a plethora of Android games. I remember playing all sorts of classic Android FPS titles, like NOVA, on my Shield and big screen TV in the living room. A few years later, in 2017, NVIDIA released the Shield Pro, which came with a 500 GB hard drive. Looking back on 2017, what an epic product.
Features like AI scaling, game streaming, expanded internal storage, and expandability have allowed these devices to be significantly ahead of their time. Not to mention pass-through audio like DTS:X and Dolby TrueHD to your receiver or soundbar, or all the on-device encoding that lets it play almost any file you throw at it.
Quick Tip: Plex Servers are Easy with NVIDIA Shield Pro Android TV
Setting up a Plex server seems expensive and complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. An Nvidia Shield Pro acts as a great Plex server, and it’s easy to set up and not that expensive.
And while all of that is great, it’s the RAM, storage, and USB ports that make these devices great. Not only are they powerful and flexible, but you can easily plug in a USB stick or hard drive full of ROMs, movie collections or even turn it into a Plex server. When it arrived, you could upgrade content much better than any software built into a TV. They added remote button remapping a few years later, among other features we now take for granted. None of this was common in 2015, even though it’s something we do with most devices these days.
Currently, both NVIDIA Shield TV models offer features like 4K streaming, Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos sound, excellent AI upscaling, GeForce NOW cloud gaming, and much more.
- Operating system
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Android Television
- Resolution
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4K
- RAM/storage
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3 GB / 16 GB
- Connectivity
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Bluetooth, Ethernet, Wi-Fi
The aging NVIDIA Shield Android TV Pro remains one of the most powerful Android TV devices available to buy. It can upscale all videos to 4K to Dolby Vision and play games via GeForce Now.
10 years later, and they’re getting updates
Best of all, NVIDIA still offers software support for these devices, something that can’t be said for many tech products released over the past decade. The company delivered a significant software upgrade in May 2025, which added 120 FPS gaming on GeForce NOW, new features, bug fixes for issues like Plex playback or Dolby stuttering, support for additional third-party remotes, and much more.
Then, last month, we received an update to SHIELD Experience 9.2.2 containing quality of life improvements. The latest Shield update is available for all Shield models, meaning anyone who purchased the model in 2015 is still getting new software. That’s pretty impressive, and all hardware makers could learn a thing or two from NVIDIA.
The NVIDIA Shield TV Pro is still worth buying
I remember being genuinely impressed with everything this had to offer in 2015, and it took the competition by storm. To some extent, most of these statements remain true today. I even have a 2017 model in the garage and have no plans to replace it anytime soon.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the original 2015 model is worth buying, NVIDIA’s latest Shield TV and Shield TV Pro models both remain excellent streaming devices that many people may not be aware of.
It’s a forgotten streaming device, ahead of its time, still very capable, still receiving software updates, and a fantastic alternative to the subpar software and underpowered hardware found in many modern TVs. Years later, the Shield’s performance simply can’t be beaten by many modern streaming dongles or boxes, especially budget models.
And even though the underlying Android TV experience and older Wi-Fi connectivity are finally starting to show their age, that won’t stop me from recommending the Shield TV over several other current options on the market. Enthusiasts are all passionate about the Shield, and it has a vibrant community on forums and Reddit.
If you want to improve your living room experience or are tired of the sluggish performance of the software that came with your TV, consider an older NVIDIA Shield TV Pro. And who knows, maybe we’ll eventually get the long-rumored and highly anticipated Shield TV 2 one of these years. We can hope.
