NVIDIA raised the Shield TV Pro to $299.99 and it is sold out. Resellers want up to nearly $600, while the new Apple TV 4K looks like a better buy.
NVIDIA's Shield TV Pro, a streaming box that first sold in 2019 for $199, now lists for $299.99 and is out of stock on the official store. Some third-party sellers on Amazon are asking more than $500 for it, and nearly $600 in some cases. How-To Geek argues that the new Apple TV 4K is the better way to spend that kind of money.
NVIDIA raised the official price earlier this month and blamed rising component costs. The box has a loyal following among home theater fans. It sharpens older 1080p video with AI upscaling, and it passes lossless audio formats such as TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio to a sound system untouched. It also works well as a player for Plex, a program for streaming your own media files.
The Shield's 2019 processor, called the Tegra X1+, reportedly stutters when moving quickly through today's heavy app menus. Netflix and YouTube are also moving to AV1, a video format that delivers good quality using less internet data. The writer says this is where the old hardware shows its age. Paying a reseller nearly double the list price for it, he says, makes little sense.
The new Apple TV 4K has Apple's A19 chip, which includes a dedicated AV1 decoder. It also has Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, HDMI 2.1 and 128GB of storage. Its software, tvOS, avoids the sponsored recommendations that the writer says fill Google TV screens. It also adds Siri AI for voice searches and conversation. The article notes that people were surprised by the price, but it does not give the figure.
Switching has costs. Apple's system makes it harder to install apps from outside its store, a freedom Android fans value. The other route is a new Google TV stick, which is cheaper. But the writer says its home screen pushes ads and offers little room to customize. Even removing the clutter can make installing apps harder.
Before paying a reseller $500 or more for a 2019 streaming box, compare the new Apple TV 4K and the trade-offs of a cheaper stick.
Disney+ is working on a free plan, more short clips and creator videos, according to a leaked internal deck. Here is what it could mean for your screen.
Read more: Disney+ plans a free tier, short videos and creator clipsA How-To Geek report says Windows 11 will soon let you silence the Sticky Keys pop-up without opening Settings, though no release date is given.
Read more: Windows 11 will let you silence the Sticky Keys pop-up fasterAnthropic unveiled two new Claude models, and one outlet says Google's Gemini lost its lead. The ranking is unconfirmed, so test before you switch.
Read more: Anthropic's new Claude models reportedly pass Google's Gemini
