Roku Ultra vs. Apple TV 4K vs. Nvidia Shield: Face-Off

[Marshall Honorof]

We put the Roku Ultra, the Apple TV 4K and the Nvidia Shield head-to-head-to-head to see which streaming player triumphed.

Roku Ultra vs. Apple TV 4K vs. Nvidia Shield: Face-Off : Read more

 

[matt.turner02]

Seriously, to setup the shield is easy if you have an Android device. Just Google "setup my device". Also, nice how you omit Google Assistant.

 

[jacksmith21006]

You forgot the best part by a mile on the Shield. The Google Assistant.

 

[john.hobbs]

Another streaming box review with no HD audio included as part of the comparison. No audio bitsreaming for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA is a non-starter.

 

[rdcash]

Yeah, this was pretty sparse and incomplete.

 

[joseluisrodriguezacevedo]

Weak comparison, Nvidia Shield blows those 2 out of the water, Goggle Assistant, its unlocked to install anything android , Games, Emulators and Media Players. It even has a game streaming service.

 

[anthony.koutstaal]

I felt that there was a lot of things missing from the Shield in this comparison. The Google assistant, and Chromecast built in are easily the most useful features and they were not included. I own the first generation Shield and cast content and ask the Google Assistant to seamlessly resume your show on Netflix. Another thing I use everyday is the Android TV remote. It has the ability to turn the device off and on. If you leave HDMI-CEC enabled you can also turn your TV off at the same time. The remote on the phone is extremely useful when it come to text entry too! Another thing to note is the setup process, I recently did a factory reset if my shield because I wanted to start over fresh as I had a lot of apps side loaded and custom configurations that I no longer wanted. I asked the Google Assistant on my Android Phone to setup my device. I was very impressed how easy that was!

 

[JonathanDeane]

I own a Shield TV pro and a Roku smart TV. Love them both but choice between the two? No contest Sheild TV, the only thing Roku has going for it in my opinion is some of the channels they have are really good. If Roku comes out with an Android app for streaming I would load that up for sure but I wouldn't give up my Shield.

 

[flagpole]

Duh what about using the Shield as a Plex server to use as a DVR? You left so many things off.

 

[flagpole]

U also missed using ur Shield as a DVR using Plex

 

[menon.touchpad]

Dolby Vision context looks breathtaking on my OLED. Which of these boxes support it?

 

[eriel.alvarez]

The shield has by far the better hardware specs as well. the controller included with it for gaming is awesome, why didn't you talk about that as well.....a gaming controller and a remote, plus the console for $170. While I own a roku, and love that its simple. you cannot side load apps like Kodi and mobdro. if you want just something for streaming apps get a roku. if you want gaming, apps and media players, by far the shield is a clear winner.

 

[mistereed08]

This is a terrible review! How could a shield device with google Assistant not be on top of the search result? Can any of the other boxes double as a smart hub to control your home? Can you use HD tuners for OTA channels as I do on a Shield? These other boxes seems pretty limited compared to a Shield. You do so much more than stream TV and movies on it (which is does better than anything) so to me no comparison which is the most complete and best bang for what you spend on it. It also sounds like the other boxes are for the less savvy user. It's not hard at all to determine where my games are and I gamestream from my PC, play on Geforce Now and install android games. That's not confusing that's freedom.

 

[wscribbler]

your review is wrong. the ROKU ultra has optical out. lazy.

 

[zoyj]

I am really surprised by some aspects of this review. I just gave my Nvidia Shield away and replaced it with an Apple TV 4k, and here are some of my thoughts:

Seriously, the reviewer finds the tacky design of the Shield better than the simple but elegant Apple TV?!! I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this is more like a case of bad taste.

The Shield's remote periodically stops responding to commends, for like half a minute - this is a know issue reported by many. The volume control is also the worst of the three listed here as far as accuracy and response to sliding up and down.

The Shield has the worst selection of apps of the three platforms (it doesn't even have an app for Google's own Photos). Roku has the largest selection, while Apple TV has the best designed apps.

The Shield's apps also crash much more often than those on the other platforms.

Yes, the Shield has games, but it doesn't support gyroscope or accelerometer features. Apple TV does and it's thus more pleasant for casual game play, particularly racing games.

The voice control with the Shield's remote is terrible! Half the time it doesn't detect speech, no matter how loud, and when it does, it often misinterprets commands. Both the Apple TV and the Roku are much better.

 

[zoyj]

I should add that Apple TV 4k is the only one of the three which currently supports Dolby Vision.