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  • Sttm - Friday, December 22, 2017 - link

    It needs to be $100 without the controller. There is nothing it does that is so much better than what a $60 Roku Premiere + or Amazon FireTV does to warrant such a price difference.

    My $60 Roku does 4K HDR 10, has all the apps, has a fast interface. Why spend the extra $90? Maybe if it Dobly Vision and Atmos, I could see maybe to getting one.
  • ddrіver - Friday, December 22, 2017 - link

    It should be $100 with the controller precisely because the products isn't out of the ordinary. The controller is the only extra that sets it apart.

    You can get an Xbox One S or a PlayStation 4 (with bundles) for under $250. Why on earth would you buy a glorified media player for $150?
  • ddrіver - Friday, December 22, 2017 - link

    Checking the prices now it appears that the console bundles above even go for around $200. Nvidia will sit on these Shields for a while.
  • jordanclock - Tuesday, December 26, 2017 - link

    The extra $90 is for people like myself that want higher performance than a Roku, access to a large library of Android games and GameStream.

    It's cool that you're happy with your Roku, but the phrasing of your post and question make it sound like you're implying "well if it isn't worth it for me, why is it worth it for anyone?"
  • Sivar - Tuesday, December 26, 2017 - link

    I think the Shield TV is a bargain. It is the only platform besides a PC that runs Kodi with acceptable performance against a large local library, and outside of Kodi it offers the full Google TV suite of services including Google Assistant.
    Last I checked, Amazon chooses what you can install on your FireTV, and Kodi, among others, was banned. Has Roku ever supported Kodi?

    Shield lets me install any Android app I want, though some don't support the device because they are phone-oriented or other reasons, and I don't need nVidia's blessing to install what I want. Yes, supports Atmos, though if you have a proper Atmos setup it is unlikely that $90 will concern you.

    I think it's great that you are happy with your Roku, but I have always found the thing to be obnoxious to use. Last I set one up, I couldn't get it working without giving out my credit card number. Even if their support chooses to bless you with their ever-changing no-CC URL, there's no shady tactics on the nVidia Shield. It supports everything out there and has such powerful hardware that it has features that did not exist on release, it doesn't try to George Orwell me, and it "just works."
  • pixelstuff - Friday, December 22, 2017 - link

    Maybe they are also feeling the effects of the $250 PlayStation 4 with Star Wars Battlefront II bundle on Amazon.

    I mean, a $200 Shield TV (with controller) or a $250 PlayStation 4 (also with controller) and a game? Shield TV doesn't seem to be in the same league.
  • pixelstuff - Friday, December 22, 2017 - link

    Meant to also say, $169 (with controller) should really be their every day price and $149 should be the sale price. Or like Sttm said, for the remote only version the sale should be about $99.
  • Sttm - Friday, December 22, 2017 - link

    Yeah its a good point, the $189 XBox One S deal makes it hard bargain as well. That not only can play all your content in 4k HDR, but also 4K Bluray and real games like the PS4.
  • jordanclock - Tuesday, December 26, 2017 - link

    A $200 Shield TV to play almost all of my PC games from my couch was a much better deal than just about any console price because I would have to repurchase my games.
  • watzupken - Friday, December 22, 2017 - link

    The prices cannot sustain since the hardware despite being the best out there for an Android TV box. At its RRP, it is clearly facing tough challenge from the likes of an Xbox One S that is going for about 190 USD which can double up as a capable gaming and multimedia console. Also, I feel that Google does not put much focus on these Android TV box for gaming and multimedia, so there isn't much of a need for high end TV box like this.
  • StevoLincolnite - Saturday, December 23, 2017 - link

    It's also using an older 20nm Maxwell based Tegra chip... So it's not as fast or as energy efficient as it could be... And the price should reflect that IMHO.

    The other issue is on the software front, there really isn't a must-have game that justify's the requirement for a Tegra X1 IMHO.
    Certainly nothing that couldn't be run on a Android TV box at a fraction of the price.

    I was hoping we might see some games transition over from the Switch as it shares a similar hardware and software base, but that hasn't really materialized.
  • Ikefu - Saturday, December 23, 2017 - link

    I'm interested in it purely for the game streaming from my PC. But $150 is way to much for that alone. Give me a $50 option with no remote or extras and let me pair my Xbox One controller to it for game streaming. I'd do that
  • krazyfrog - Sunday, December 24, 2017 - link

    There is a typo in your title.
  • Hurr Durr - Monday, December 25, 2017 - link

    Its not a typo at all. They mean that you only stare at the price in disbelief and then move on.
  • StrangerGuy - Monday, December 25, 2017 - link

    These days you really have to try to get a TV that doesn't already have the usual streaming apps built in.

    Besides even if I needed a add-on TV box I would rather just get a refurb SFF PC which is way more powerful and flexible than any of these half-assed Android boxes.
  • fivefeet8 - Wednesday, December 27, 2017 - link

    The Shield TV does come with a price premium over other cheaper Android TV devices. And it does because it's also got the best hardware, driver support, and application support than other Android TV devices. The device gets updated regularly beyond just the Android TV OS updates. It's OpenGL and Vulkan drivers are a class above any other Android TV device.

    It's definitely not for everyone if all you want or need is a video streaming device.
  • speculatrix - Thursday, December 28, 2017 - link

    Now Staring at $149

    I'll stare at it a little longer!
  • Hrel - Thursday, December 28, 2017 - link

    This is part of why Anandtech has fallen so far, your writers don't even seem to have the most basic grasp of the English language.

    $30 is not "slashing" anything, "Nvidia trims $30 from..." is your headline.

    Now, go back to school until you've learned basic fucking English, or let someone who already knows do your job.

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