Nvidia SHIELD Pro Vs Tube Which Should You Buy?
While the Nvidia SHIELD Tube and SHIELD Pro are Both Excellent Media Streamers, Here's What Sets Them Apart
Nvidia SHIELD Tube or Pro?
The SHIELD Tube is the more compact version media streamer from Nvidia. Its design makes it more portable, and unlike Streaming Stick media streamers from Amazon and Roku, the Tube is not really a Stick. So it still attaches like any other external media player by a HDMI cable, instead of plugging it into a television's HDMI port directly.
The biggest advantage to the lower cost SHIELD Tube is the price. But there are a few other limiting factors which may make some opt to get the more expensive SHIELD Pro model.
Storage and Ram are two things that set them apart with the nod going to the Pro with double the internal storage and 1GB more RAM.
The other limiting factor is if you want to use your SHIELD for Smart Things home automation and as a Plex Server. Then you will also need to spend the additional money for the Pro SHIELD model.
For a basic media streamer, the Tube can hold its own against a Fire TV or Apple TV, all day long. But for more advanced games, the Pro would be the better choice.
64 and 32 Bit Apps is another consideration when choosing between these two Nvidia media streamers. The Tube can only run 32 Bit apps, so emulators which run on 64 Bit won't work unless you have the Pro.
Since Google plans on phasing out 32 Bit apps from their Play Store. The lifespan on the Tube could be more limited as well.
One major difference between the two is the lack of USB ports for external storage on the Tube. So you can't add a SmartThings hub, or external USB storage drives unless you have a Pro. But the Tube has a MicroSD port for external storage.
4K performance sometimes on the Tube, especially with Plex is sub-par to the Pro. Unless you plan on streaming or gaming a lot of 4K content, this would not be a deal breaker. But it's something else to consider when choosing between both models.
The Number One Reason to Buy The SHIELD Pro
With the Android green back-light displayed across the futuristic-looking case, the Nvidia SHIELD Pro is much cooler looking than the toilet paper roll looking Tube. Although, both are equally nice media streamers and either one will run circles around a Fire TV.
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Nvidia SHIELD Pro Nvidia SHIELD Tube
| Features | SHEILD Tube | SHIELD Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $149 | $199 |
| CPU | Tegra X1+ | Tegra X1+ |
| Storage | 8GB | 16GB |
| RAM | 2GB | 3GB |
| USB | No | Yes 2/Ports |
| MicroSD | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| AI Upscaling | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet | Yes | Yes |
| Smart Things | No | Yes |
| Plex Server | No | Yes |
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Use of third-party trademarks on this site is not intended to imply endorsement nor affiliation with respective trademark owners.
We are Not Affiliated with or Endorsed by Roku®, Apple, Google or Other Companies we may write about.
