Expensive but exceptional product.
As an Android TV device, it has three main functions:
1. Media player/streamer with a powerful processor. It has YouTube, Netflix, etc. But the magic happens if you install Kodi, which may require some searching. It's not a plug and play program, so you need to read a guide, like the one from pcsteps in Greek or an extensive video on YouTube, like Sotiris Unboxing Specialists. There are some differences in installation compared to Windows, so if you like experimenting, you will figure it out gradually. If you're the type of person who doesn't know where a file ends up when extracted, then don't bother. It's aimed at more advanced users. It may be headache-inducing at first, but it's worth it. The access to all movies and TV series with subtitles is invaluable. Of course, you can do this on a computer as well, so what does it offer? The ease of use, its remote control is incredibly ergonomic, you don't need a keyboard or a mouse, etc. The viewing experience is very smooth. If you've tried Kodi on a humble laptop with a Celeron processor, you'll notice a big difference. 1080p videos play smoothly. Even 4K videos play, although there are limitations due to your home internet connection in terms of buffering, as well as the limited availability of 4K content. It's the best media box, forget about those cheap TV boxes that often struggle or freeze due to their 1 or 2 gigabytes of memory or weak processor. The Nvidia Shield offers Tegra and 3GB of RAM. More than enough.
Of course, you can fill it with/download movies and music in any format (up to 4K) to use it as an offline media player. Naturally, we're always talking about content that you've paid for in some way, respecting its intellectual property rights. The fact that it can't be verified whether you've actually purchased the Game of Thrones DVDs and you just prefer to watch it online through Exodus, or if you've simply decided to watch it for free without giving credit to the creators who worked hard for copyrights, doesn't make it any less illegal or unethical.
2. Home console. Okay, it won't replace a PlayStation/Xbox since you'll mainly be playing mobile games, which means mostly single-player games. Personally, I connected a second Bluetooth controller for testing, but it didn't change anything because the games are designed for individual use, even if they're fighting games like Soul Calibur. Despite its solitary nature, the system is a gem. It runs heavy titles flawlessly, such as Grand Theft Auto, Bully, Real Racing 3, Mortal Kombat X, Batman, FIFA, Another World, Worms, etc. The controller, apart from its good design, has incredible integration because for some reason, game developers didn't consider a second player, but at least they thought that some people would play with a controller, so you'll rarely come across games that require a touch screen (which TVs in living rooms don't have) to play. Personally, this only happened with Crazy Taxi, but even there, if you connect a mouse to the USB, a cursor appears and does the job for you. Finally, it works perfectly with Android emulators like PSP or SNES. Enthusiasts can make it work with Hyperspin, but the process requires many hours of work and only applies to those who have patience (I gave up quickly and couldn't load any games).
3. The last function that I personally don't use is to connect it to a powerful computer (let's say in the next room as long as it is equipped with an NVIDIA graphics card, for example, GeForce GTX 960) and play on the couch with the wireless controller, leaving the desktop to do the heavy work remotely without having to carry it into the living room. Personally, I find this function a bit irrelevant and I didn't bother with it because my PC has a weak GTX (920m).
In short, the Nvidia Shield is a powerful Android device (like a Samsung Galaxy) without a screen that connects to the TV, so you can imagine its capabilities. HOWEVER, it is not the regular Android version, but the TV version, which means it has limitations for obvious reasons. For example, it doesn't support all applications, and there is a reason for that. While it has YouTube and a file manager, you can't install Facebook and Gmail apps because it is a shared device for the family, not a personal mobile, so that someone doesn't play and receive notifications for someone else's messages. It is also not intended for browsing. You can install a stripped-down version of Chrome, but that's about it.
I bought it with the 16GB storage version instead of the 500GB one, and in the end, I ended up buying a small USB stick (about the size of a wireless mouse dongle) with 128GB from Lexar to load things onto it. If you go, for example, to the Play Mob website, which has all the games for download (I don't recommend it because they are free, pirated games, while it is correct to buy them for 5-10€ each, and I mention it as a website because it specifies the size of each game unlike the Google Play Store), you will see that today's sizes for good titles easily exceed 1GB each. The same goes for PSP roms, each game is about 500MB. Here, it should be emphasized that whether it's the data/obb of Android games or games like PlayStation and Nintendo, we should not download them illegally because it may be very easy, but it remains illegal and unethical. It is only allowed for testing purposes if you have already paid for the corresponding copyrights of the game and have it on your shelf.
It was tested wirelessly with a miniature keyboard/touchpad from RII, as well as with a simple keyboard/mouse set, and it works perfectly. The same goes for a USB hub. Be careful, the 2017 model you see only has two USB ports and no SD card slot.
The gamepad also functions as a controller for YouTube/music/movies, etc. It is rechargeable (lasts for many hours), while the remote control uses a watch battery and lasts for several months.
It is a gem of a device, but not for everyone.
