Nvidia Shield not available for sale - alternatives?

[Mister Steve 31]

The Nvidia Shield 2019 pro is out of stock everywhere and Nvidia announced a price increase to $300 if or when it becomes available again. Bad news either way.

What is an alternative device that runs Android TV, interfaces via HDMI, and supports side-loading and OS customizations like the Shield? It does not need to be as "beefy" as a Shield. 

Thanks

[marriedman 113]

Good lord... $300 bucks for 8 year old hardware? That's insane. At that price I would just get a NUC.

[ebr 16879]

53 minutes ago, marriedman said:

At that price I would just get a NUC

Not the same experience at all...

There are a number of other Android boxes these days that should come close to the Shield.  You might want to check out the Hardware forum.

[yocker 2007]

4 hours ago, marriedman said:

Good lord... $300 bucks for 8 year old hardware? That's insane. At that price I would just get a NUC.

The Shield can still not be beat. The age doesn't matter as it powerful enough to view movies without problems.
If you want to game on it then yeah.. That will be a problem.

[justinrh 292]

Zidoo is supposed to be grandiose. 

[marriedman 113]

6 hours ago, yocker said:

The Shield can still not be beat. The age doesn't matter as it powerful enough to view movies without problems.

Guess I am just the odd man out, I gave mine away to my neice because I just wasn't impressed with it.

[Mister Steve 31]

Does anyone have a suggestion on a device that

• runs Android TV
• interfaces via HDMI
• Supports side-loading and custom launchers. Aside from Emby I use SmartTube Next and a few other utils
• Costs less than $200

It does not need to be as "beefy" as a Shield. This device will drive a kitchen area TV.

[yocker 2007]

6 hours ago, marriedman said:

Guess I am just the odd man out, I gave mine away to my neice because I just wasn't impressed with it.

Passthrough of lossless formats and 7.1 is hard to find in streaming boxes.

[marriedman 113]

That's why I recommended the NUC. My NUC13 could do it. That and a 10 foot UI was pretty awesome. Before the RAM crisis you could get one for a song too.