Nvidia Shield Retired
After 10 years of use, I think its time I retired my Nvidia Shield devices. Just as Nvidia decided to raise prices on these devices. There were a few quarks I found
- They are outdated running an updated OS android tv11
- 3Gb of Ram
- 16gb of Storage
- WiFi 5
- No AV1 codec support
What I could not fathom was the price hike for outdated hardware. I understand the RAM crisis driving up the cost, what I don’t understand its outdated hardware to a degree. Going forward AV1 codec is being used on YouTube, Twitch and other platforms and going forward. Many are in transition of converting over media to AV1. Why? It uses a lot less storage compared to h.264 and h.265. In addition there is no license/royalty fee to use AV1 compared to other media codecs.
Found 2 Android TV devices that looked promising and I chose the BuzzTV G-Series for the following reasons.
- 4GB of Ram (Less Lag)
- 64gb of Storage (Less worry of hitting the limit)
- Micro-SD slot for extra storage
- WiFi 6 (Faster Internal Network Speeds)
- Android TV 14 (more “current” OS)
- AV1 supported (Future Proofing for the next few years for optimal viewing)
The runner up was the Google 4k Stream box. It has a simpler remote control, using WiFi 5, 1gb Ethernet, 4GB and 32gb of Storage and no micro-sd slot. The winner goes to BuzzTV for the same price and get a bit more options. Very hesitant on using anything Google. Main reason is that Google tends to give up on their products mid way through support. Google bought NEST and they had great Smoke Detectors. Then gave up just as the Gen2 were ending support. Same applies to Nest Thermostat, Google Certs, Google Device the list is huge. I enjoy their Google Pixel Phone it is great along with the option of using GrapheneOS. Even though it has allegedly 7 years of support, let us see if the hardware can keep up for 7 years.
After setting them up and using them in the home. The G-Series android tv box feels fast, no lag, processes streams without issues. Have them hooked up via ethernet and one on WiFi just fast responsiveness. A great upgrade in the midst of RAM Shortages.
