Android’s best streaming box just got even better with a $20 price drop

I’ve been using a Shield streaming box since the first model, which launched in 2015. Nvidia still supports that box, along with its newer offerings, the Shield TV Pro and the tube-shaped Shield TV. Of course, I upgraded my TVs with a couple of Shield TV Pros when they launched in 2019, bringing with them my favorite feature, AI upscaling. No longer do I have to suffer watching my ripped DVDs in 480P; I can watch them cleanly upscaled on my 4K TV thanks to the Shield TV Pro’s AI-enhanced upscaling.

Sadly, this kind of performance doesn’t come cheap, as the Shield TV Pro (2019) typically retails for $200. Worse, the box rarely goes on sale, and even when it does, the lowest price we’ve ever seen is $30 off. Today, you can grab a Shield TV Pro from Amazon for $180, which is $20 off, a solid savings for what is easily my favorite Android streaming box.

What’s great about the Shield TV Pro

So, so much

In an age where big screen TVs are dirt cheap, often packing underperforming chips that struggle to run apps, finding a quality streaming box to improve your experience is certainly key to building a worthwhile home theater. And the Shield TV Pro is as good as it gets when it comes to streaming on Android, no matter what kind of streaming you enjoy. Not only can you easily roll your own Plex server to watch your locally stored content even when out of the house, but you can also keep things offline with home theater apps like Kodi. Plus, the Shield TV Pro offers two USB ports, which is very handy for expanding storage. I have a couple of 4TB external SSDs connected to each of my Shield Pros, where I store content I rip myself, all the things I can’t find through streaming services.

This is what’s so appealing about using a Shield. Not only can I stream from all of the Android apps I subscribe to, like Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu, but whenever those services come up short, I fire up Amazon to order a physical copy that I rip onto my hard drives. There’s nothing better than having full control of your media, which is precisely what the Shield TV Pro facilitates.

Sure, Google has busied itself over the years adding more and more ads to the UI of Android TV, but you can easily install a third-party launcher and never see an ad in the UI again.

Basically, you are in control when you use a Shield TV Pro. So, if you’ve been keeping an eye out for a sale to take the plunge, today is that day. You can grab a Shield TV Pro from Amazon for $20 off the retail price, bringing the cost down to $180, which is the second cheapest price we’ve seen since its release in 2019. Don’t let the age fool you; in my opinion, there is no better streaming box that runs Android, and I say that as a habitual user of Shield TVs for the last ten years. Oh, and if you absolutely need to spend less, the regular Shield TV is on sale for 13% off.