If anyone is watching this 2 years later, it is definitely still worth it. Nvidia has been so good about updates. I'm using the 2017 model. As far as I know, the 2015 model still gets updates. Who else updates something for 8 years?

Killing it on the quality videos. Nice work. Also, one of the huge upsides to the Nvidia Shield (Reg or Pro) is its game streaming (particularly if you have an Nvidia GPU in your main rig).

This is my device I have set up in my living room and it does it all. I did my research and I’m more than satisfied with my experience!

I have 3 of these... I bought one in 2017, before amazon was available in Australia. It came with a US power pack, which i still run off a travel adapter. I bought another one later when amazon finally launched in australia, and then bought the 2019 pro when it released. Still the best box to have plugged into your tv, 6 years after I first bought one. Nice video - found it while looking for some emulation tips.

Oh that was me! I'm one of the ones who have been waiting for this video, and I'm using a Shield TV Pro to watch this video right now, thanks Russ!

Would be so nice to have a dedicated review on emuelec compatible boxes. Really want to have a retro gaming solution on my TV but i would like to use emuelec frontend but can’t really choose/decide which one I should buy or what options do i have. Would be nice to have comparison between several boxes that can run emuelec and their performance/cost ratio. One more thing Russ. Thank you so much. Really appreciate all the effort you put into this channel. I own a 351p and absolutely love it. All thanks to your tutorials and reviews of course. Great content. The community thanks you. Keep doing this cause…man…so good! Thanks again 🙏

I got the Nvidia Shield TV when it first came out back in 2015. I use it for everything from streaming TV shows, Playing android games, Streaming PC games. However it was the emulation capabilities that sold me on this machine back then and in my opinion it is still the best Android TV box you can buy

Great video! Very informative and to the point. Exactly the information I was looking for...thank you!

I've had a shield for a few years now and I'm continually impressed and impressing my friends. I even learned a few new things from this excellent, well produced and informative review. I look FWD to all your videos. Ignore the naysayers, Russ.

Cheers Russ, enjoyed that. I knew it was good but seeing the emulation performance was still a pleasant eye opener.

Thanks for doing this video. I've never actually seem one of these in action so it's a real help! I ended up buying a small Lenovo PC (M93P Tiny) which I installed Batocera on, and it's a treat! For me it's better than the Shield as it can run GameCube no problem. Only caveat is setting your emulation to run at 720p. 1080p is just too much for it sadly, but at 720p it's absolutely awesome, and for the price I paid (£100 with a 250gb Samsung SSD) a complete bargain. Now, back to F-Zero GX!

Excited for your front end for Android video. I would love to see dig, arc browser, launchbox that just rereleased, retrox, reset collection, pegasus, RetroArch and lemuroid as well as the atv launcher.

Just found your channel right on bro. Nice video and also a fellow local from hawaii. I alwaysbwondered if there was hawaii people that do the same things that I do with emulators and streaming. Keep up the good work with your channel game on.

Amazingly thorough and well thought out video. Best one I could find concerning this topic. Quality content, thumbs up :D

Subbed. What a great no nonsense, INFORMATIVELY useful video. If only more were like this. Thank you.

Now I got another best retro games channel. Love you mate ❤️ coz of you I’m able to play all my childhood games on my ipad

Great video as usual mate,I have the 1st ever shield they made still working well today also came with 2 USB ports and an SD card slot. only use mine for streaming altho I should use it for emulation but I use a Pi 4 for that.

Shield has been the gold standard in android emulation for a while now…primarily due to community support.

dude thank you so much for making this video, i was literally looking at how to make my shield into a more feature rich device and this came up in my suggested videos and it was only uploaded an hour ago! btw do you have any info about using the AI upscaling while using emulators?

Great overview video. I still need to setup my retro arch stuff on shield. Mainly use mine for Plex music server and streaming apps keep it up

I've got two pro's. An older model that's in the kitchen and the newer model that is now in the living room. Gamming wise I use them to stream games from my PC. They are brilliant devices and the upscaling on the new pro model is brilliant bonus.

🔥 great vid, i have the 2017 model. i been thinking about upgrading . keep up the good work

You keep growing by the minute! Keep up the good work!

Got one this past weekend thanks to this video. Love it.

Oh my god. I bought one of these months ago to set up a Plex server. I had no idea that it could emulate so well! It knocks Dreamcast AND Saturn out of the park!? I'm beyond stoked to set this up.

Great review. Underrated thing that isn't discussed is the controller that comes with the Shield Pro. It's a fantastic Bluetooth gamepad.

My favorite Android emulation box. Paired with RESET Collection this thing is killer! Awesome vid!

There’s several important emulators that don’t have a 32bit version which to me is far more important than the onboard storage or ports of the smaller shield

Good stuff as always Russ.

This needs a updated look

Great review! I have the 500gig Shield and love it!

This was an amazing video. Thanks

I appreciate the feedback! Thank you!

So crazy I wanted to see if I could play Killer Instinct on the shield before I buy it. Kept watching your vid, and nope lol. Thank you for the vid!🤘🤘

I'd be really interested to know if this can output either 240p and/or 480i over the HDMI, I could totally see this being my CRT emulator

I have this with a 8th hard drive hyperspin front end also chipped wii with a 2th hard drive I’m in retro gaming heaven with this set up 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Another bit that may be important for emulation on the Shield TV vs the Shield TV Pro, is the Shield TV (Tube) is only 32bit Android where the Shield TV Pro (And all past Shield TV/PRO's from 2015/2017) are 64Bit Android. And the only Shield TV That has a onboard HDD is the original Shield TV Pro from 2015. However the best thing to do with that model is to replace the onboard 500G HDD with a 500G SSD which greatly improves performance and completely fixes any slowdown that often seemed to happen with the original Pro. Updates that used to take over an hour now take minutes with the SSD, and overall it continues to be an absolutely fantastic TV Box that my family uses daily.

I have the old school Nvidia Shield, the first model they put out. I have the Pro model of that which came with an internal 500 GB hard drive. I've loved the thing. I mostly got it because it was capable of playing back all my really high quality media, which the Raspberry Pi Kodi setup I had been using up till then just couldn't. The emulation performance was just a plus for me. I also like it for the Nvidia Gamestream, and the Shield was the only option for a while till the Moonlight project came along.

I was playing F Zero GX on Gamecube on the Shield a few months ago. Settings can definitely be tweaked to make it playable, though the sound was still off.

I originally got an nVidia Shield TV for the purpose of playing videos & music from my PC over the KODI app, which allows access to shared folders off of your PC through the network. KODI is probably the best app on an nVidia Shield for playing your own media & also has it's own emulator plugins, so I play most older emulators through the KODI app by accessing them from shared directories from my PC. Not all ROMs will work flawlessly with KODI, but the majority that I've tried work without any problems at all. Additionally, you can use bluetooth gamepads, which works with very little response latency if you are playing realtime games on the nVidia Shield itself, however it's better to use an input device connected to the PC itself if you are streaming from the PC to the Shield (as I've found with the Steam Link app); an additional note regarding the Steam Link app is that if you are using a keyboard/mouse that is connected to the PC (like a bluetooth or wired keyboard/mouse) rather than connected through the nVidia Shield TV, it not only reduces (or eliminates) input lag, it even allows you to FULLY remote access your PC through the Shield (some keys on the keyboard will function differently when connected to the Shield & not allow full PC functionality if not connected directly to the PC). So it's not technically necessary to have the games on the device itself, provided you are using an app that has network functionality (like KODI), nor is it necessary to attach a USB drive or insert an SDMicro card to use those games on the Shield, even transferring through the network is possible with other downloadable apps (like Network Browser) if you simply need to transfer the game to the Shield prior to using it (as I've found is the case in KODI when you are attempting to mount disc images, not being able to mount them in ISO format).

I love my Shield and it's a joy that I can enjoy Dreamcast, a console that I've never had back in the days... But at the same time got me a little sad that GCN is the hit and miss point... (I didn't owned that one either so I have a huge backlog there). I have my SD 865 phone for that I guess...

Hey Russ, could I use the Shield along with the Kinhank portable HDD drive? I was thinking of doing a setup like that or a laptop. Seems like this will be cheaper, but I'm thinking the Drive would work better with a Laptop or a Mini desktop.

Ninja Baseball Batman bay-bay!!! You’re the best my dude, definitely getting a 👍 on this one!

I've been using a shield for about 4 years now and it's been perfect. I use arc browser as a front end and it's been great

It's a solid device even if I do just use it as a moonlight streaming machine. I use mine all the time. Still, we could really do with a chipset refresh!

Muchas gracias, fantástica review. :)

That Banjo art at 19:54 is completely terrifying wtf this cannot be official CAN IT

I really love my envidia shield TV, I have the 2015 version of it. Would buy another if they come up with another one with an up to date processor for ps2 emulation.

I really like playing MGS HD collection on my Nvidia Shield. They play great too!

i just bought this device and i think it would be nice to test its perfomance on Dolphin, PPSSPP and Citra, after two years this emulator have greatly improved

Thanks a lot for the video. I want to test this on my android Mii box to see if emulation works well (or I’ll use a rasperry pie)

The one I have been waiting for

Now with the steam link of the shield and the Retroarch included in steam there are fewer limitations (there are still a lot of cores missing on the retroarch steam but new ones arrive regularly)

Planning to get me an Nvidia Shield Pro for my TV to play some retro games 😀

Great video, was waiting for this! Is PS2 or Wii possible?

The nVidia Shield was hands down my best tech purchase of 2015. Adopted by the family from day one (the Harmony remote helped).

Hey Russ. I've a real quick question. Can you use your 8bitdo arcade stick on the Shield Pro? I love my Shield and honestly I'm giving very serious consideration to getting a reasonably decent arcade stick. Price isn't really a consideration but compatibility sure is. Thanks lad.

I have the 2015 Nvidia shield tv, and it has been great. That said, we are way over due for new generation instead of a refresh. I think I would like a mini PC if I could figure out a way to switch it on while my butt stays on the couch.

Nice video so far - just only one thing. Is it possible to use a nvidia shield pro WITHOUT a Google account? On Smartphones that is possible easely but on Tv Boxes?

What controller were you using? (I didn't hear you mention)

It's also probably the best living room solution for GeForce Now, which I used (on a low spec PC) for the GOG version of Cyberpunk and had a great 80 hours with it after I steered clear of the PS4 version. :P

Great vid, but to clarify, I have 4 yr old shield, has HDMI, and 2 USB ports, but no micro SD, I used 2 128gb USB sticks for content, it is an amazing device, for the price, Since moved to xbox1s for daily use. But you have inspired me, to start fresh, and mount it to the back, of found free, flat screen tv,( 27 Max,) and just dedicate it, with both storage drives to be just emulator s for what you have shown works best on this I have the Xbox like wireless shield controller,so will be cool, then I'll find someone to give it away to, thanks for your vids.

I'm a little confused... I thought Plex was discontinued a while back (might be out of the loop)? otherwise love your videos! thanks

I love the Nvidia Shield TV! I got it for free when I signed up for an internet plan thru Google Fiber back in 2018. I couldn't believe it! I love to play Steam games and the emulation as described in this video runs pretty well.

Thanks for making this. Crazy how one of the better tv emulators can just barely manage the performance of a handheld that was released in 2001? GameCube und Xbox also feel long overdue. 🤷🏻‍♂️

You can set up the ds stylus on the second stick. Theres even a control option in drastic for first person shooters.

I've connected my NAS over SMB to the Shield and i play all my ROMs from there. Also tried out Reset anf the other frontends, it's really worth it.

What sucks is that before the GPU insanity you used to be able to get a SFF Optiplex and a LP 1050ti for around $200 on the used market. That would have made an interesting challenger.

Hey mate, on your videos and online written guide, you recommend micro SD storage, is there any reason not to use an external hd for storage? One I'm looking at is usb3.0 but wasn't sure if there was any reason not to use this over a micro SD? Thanks mate

@Retro Game Crops I'm hearing that the Nvidia Shield tv can't do 4:3 aspect ratio, do you know if the pro can do that? It seems like an amazing candidate to mod an arcade1up if aspect ratio is right.

This video is exactly what I was looking for. Can you please suggest an affordable DS4 gamepad clone? I know that you suggested BETOP D2E Wired Gamepad, but that looks to be designed for PS3. Is there a similar product for PS4? Thank you!

Reset Collection is awesome. Super easy to add your own artwork

I've had mine for years. I love it.

NVidia shield is my go-to for video streaming- it’s the only box compatible with disc-based Dolby atmos. Psyched to try out Saturn games!

The shield is absolutely worth the money. It's very flexible, you can do a lot of different types of things on it. I've had mine since 2018 and never worried about the gaming aspects of it. Mostly use it for plex, streaming, movies in general...... Decided to grab a controller and take it to the next level though so I'm about to unlock its gaming potential and steam link and all kinds of great stuff. I still haven't even done a home security system set up on it but I have investigated how to and it would be glorious if I chose to pull that trigger. The right software for that is already in the Play Store, it's up to me when I want to add a few cameras around my property and get that going. Being in a small town there's not a huge need to do that though but perhaps one day. I completely disagree with the devices you claim are its main competition. It stands alone in it's category and doesn't really have good competition. All of those alternative devices are cheap Chinese boxes that are junk. Not officially supported, don't get updates, not nearly reliable long-term like The Shield is.

Hi. Which controller did you use with your Nvidia Shield Pro for the best emulation experience?

While Snes9X will run special chip games like Star Fox at full speed 60fps, cycle grade emulators like bsnes and Messen-S will run Star Fox at about 40-50fps with audio issues on the Nvidia Shield Pro. Not a big deal but worth pointing out.

Would you be willing to make a video on arkOS 2.0 for the rg351mp?

might wanna take a look at some type of steam link... true a lot of configuration on the pc side, but if you're gaming on a TV, you might wanna merge your steam library as well. Some emulation is perfect too on steam side.

I am picking one of these up later from currys. Do you know if I can add an 8tb external drive? I tried Googling the max external storage I can add but not finding it.

Can you rotate the screen for portrait mode? I have some pinball games I'd like to play in portrait mode. Playing pinball in landscape mode really sucks.

are you able to show us a screenshot of what settings you use for PPSSPP on the shield please?

This or X Box Series S for emulation?

It seems like a great device, I think a newer/stronger version will destroy the competition completely

I did emulation on the shield and my only complaint was that the bluetooth was not the best. Wireless controllers often lagged or momentarily dropped out. YMMV, but you might be better off with wired controllers on the shield.

What type of controllers are you using? I'm trying Xbox one controllers. However I'm having issues mapping buttons, it seems both controllers share mappings which is only letting me use one controller instead of two. Thanks

A quick question : what kind of controller do you use ? I tried at my friend's home the "official" controller from Nvidia and i wasn't blown away. Any xbox controller can be used ??

Hi! Any easy way of exporting your RetroArch settings/cores/info etc? Since I've been trying to set up RetroArch on a Shield TV Pro, but every time I try to launch ANY ROM/emulator it results in a black screen, then the app closes without any warnings or error messages. It's been extremely tedious, so I ended up streaming RA through Steam Link. But It's not optimal at all. Any help would be appreciated!

I love the shield tv pro, very recently got it, use the plex media server and a synology 2 bay cloud server with 6tb internal and a 4tb USB external HD. the only thing I couldn't stand was the remote, luckily I found a Logitech Harmony Elite complete on ebay for $100 as a buy it now while others were anywhere from $500 to $1200

Things a beast! It starts slowing down, crack it open, blow out the fan and away you go for a few more years! ☺

I've bought a Shield TV a long time ago and tried some emulating on it. It's reasonable powerfull but it has some disadvantages like paying for emulators which are free on other platforms like Linux and Windows. And for instance ... is there a decent PS2 emulator yet?

Hey Russ this may be a stupid question but what's more powerful....this....or the Beelink android TV box? (The one they use for the super console x king or whatever the hell they call it) and by more powerful i just mean what can actually play more and what would you say is a better experience?

Bro what a video👍👍👍👍👍👍

Don't usually like to go online and do these things but genuinely good video my brotha. I just wanna say if you're really into emulator and don't mind tinkering around, the xbox series s or x are beast of a emulator machine. That's if your lucky to get your hands on one. Series emulate even PS2 games, and even PS3, tho completely unplayable for compatible reasons but just shows potential. Dev owners of a PS2 emulator even updates their emulator for xbox specific patches in mind, so if you don't want to shell out for a pre built PC which in 2021 standards it's way better option than building. You could go into a Series S or X without regret.

I know they're discontinued now, but I'm curious if you could do anything with the Steam Link. That thing was an interesting little box.

super mario sunshine on the dolphin play store version got me full speed a year ago

I've been emulating on the Nvidia Shield (2017) edition,and I have not had any problems. Finding the best front-end has always been the stocking point with my Shield. But now that the LaunchBox front-end has returned to Android, my experience will be much better.

So, I tried setting up ATV Launcher Pro, but evidently I can't do much with it, as the app tells me the "device is not rooted." This sent me down a deep rabbit hole of figuring out how to use ADB to modify the Shield TV Pro, and after about a week of struggling, I'm stuck. Any chance you could guide us through that bit?

I’ve had a Shield TV Pro since the refresh and shockingly I only just recently tried out GeForce Now and I am blown away. I focused my shield gaming sights on retro emulation since I brought it home and I’ve been very pleased. But connecting a keyboard and mouse and playing games from my limited Steam library (I haven’t had an actual PC since like ‘07) with the 3080 tier GeForce Now on my 4K panel has been nothing short of stellar.

Damn, look how far Russ has come... Turning a side quest into the main story quest...