The Cube only supports a specific limited range of Plex audio.īoth the Cube and the Shield support Kodi, another free software media player used for videos and music streamed from the internet.
Either way, if you’re a big Plex user, you’ll want to go with the NVIDIA Shield as it supports the full range of the Plex audio.
However, you have to upgrade to the Shield Pro if you want to run your Plex Server. Media Centers: Plex & Kodiīoth the NVIDIA Shield and Amazon Fire TV Cube can support the Plex Client. With apps like HDHomeRun, you can configure both devices as OTA DVR’s which allows you to record and save different shows and stream live TV through your TV antenna, including CBS, PBS, FOX, and NBC.
However, because it runs the official Android TV OS, there are more live TV and IPTV services available natively for the NVIDIA Shield. Over-The-Air Live TV StreamingĪlthough neither has a built-in tuner, both devices are capable of streaming live TV over the air (OTA). You do unlock many shows, music, movies, and other features if you are, but it’s not a requirement. Since the Amazon Fire TV Cube is so integrated with Amazon Prime Video, it’s worth noting that you don’t need to be a Prime subscriber to use it. That includes Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and much more. Other than that, all of the most popular streaming platforms are supported on both the Amazon Fire TV Cube and the NVIDIA Shield TV. Some services, like YouTube TV, aren’t supported by Amazon Fire TV because of Amazon’s disagreements with Google. Similarly, the NVIDIA Shield does not support DirecTV Now, and only supports Hulu on-demand, not Hulu Live TV. With a few exceptions, these devices will support whatever TV streaming service you’re subscribed to. Major Streaming Apps (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, etc.) Let’s get into the specific streaming capabilities of each. The main reason to get either the NVIDIA Shield TV or the Amazon Fire TV Cube is because you want the ultimate streaming device. You can check out my full review of the Amazon Fire TV Cube here. Originally released in 2018, a second-generation model was released in 2019. It’s embedded with Amazon Alexa, and can control all of your Alexa-enabled devices. Similarly, the Amazon Fire TV Cube is also primarily a digital media player for streaming video, audio, and games to your TV.
We’ll get into those differences in a bit, or you can check out my comparison article where I go into a lot more detail on all the changes that happened to the NVIDIA Shield over the years.īased on the official Android TV OS, the NVIDIA Shield TV can be used to stream digital media, or stream and play games from a PC or via a shared network. It’s also fully integrated with Google Assistant for full voice control. It’s available in two models: the Shield TV and the Shield TV Pro. The most recent Shield TV, nicknamed ‘The Tube’, came out in 2019 in an effort to make it more affordable. The NVIDIA Shield TV was first released in 2015, with a second, smaller version dropping in 2017. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each to help you figure out which is right for you. Each has different strengths, capabilities, looks, and styles. So in this article, I’m going to do a head-to-head comparison of the NVIDIA Shield TV vs. Recently I picked up a Fire TV Cube, just to see what Amazon’s flagship streaming device was like. I’ve owned three of them since they came out in 2015, and they’re still my go-to streaming device. If you’ve been following along on this site for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of the NVIDIA Shield. Finding one that runs everything isn’t always easy.
With what seems like hundreds of different streaming networks popping up every day, getting all of them to work well on a single platform has never been more vital. Sure there are other devices that are worth a look, but it’s tough to find a compelling argument for anything else. If you’re looking for the ultimate streaming device, it pretty much comes down to this: the NVIDIA Shield TV vs the Amazon Fire TV Cube.