UPDATE: Representatives for Nvidia's Shield TV and Shield TV Pro have reached out to us to state that "due to recent fluctuations in exchange rates, resellers have adjusted SHIELD TV pricing. Based on current rates, most resellers are now selling SHIELD TV for $289.95 and SHIELD TV Pro for $399.95. This pricing may continue to change according to market conditions."
Original article continues below:
Following their release in the US late last year, Nvidia's excellent Shield TV and Shield TV Pro streaming devices are now available for purchase in Australia – a small yet significant comfort as we prepare to stay indoors for the foreseeable future.
We aren't overstating things when we say that Nvidia's next-generation streaming boxes are excellent – the Shield TV Pro received 4 and a half stars in our review of the device, while the redesigned standard Shield TV earned our 'Editor's Choice' award with its perfect five star rating, making it a 'Best in Class' device in its category.
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Both of Nvidia's new Shield TV products boast the company's new Tegra X1+ processor, which is said to deliver "25 percent more performance" than the last generation model – a major contributing factor to each device's exceptional upscaling and 4K streaming capability.
According to Nvidia, that upscaling has been achieved with AI that's been "trained on a deep neural network" for the purposes of bringing 720p and 1080p content up to 4K quality – a feature that TechRadar's reviewers were especially impressed by.
Along with their aforementioned accolades in Ultra HD streaming and AI upscaling, both Nvidia Shield TV models support the Dolby Vision HDR format, along with Dolby Atmos audio.
New and improved
In terms of design, the Nividia Shield TV Pro is visually identical to the company's previous model (albeit without the previously-included game controller), with the only real differences being additional memory (3GB) and storage (16GB), as well as the inclusion of two USB ports this time around.
Meanwhile, the standard Shield TV sports an all-new cylindrical shape that makes it easier to tuck away inside your entertainment unit, sporting both Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity options.
Both Android TV-powered devices are accompanied by Nvidia's redesigned remote control, which includes a mic for voice search and Google Assistant functionality, along with a "a built-in lost remote locator."
Priced at AU$249.95 for the Shield TV and AU$349.95 for the Shield TV Pro, both devices are available to purchase now from Nvidia's online store, Harvey Norman and a number of other specialist stores.
