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The streaming device you use with your home theater can make or break your viewing experience. Most modern TVs have smart functionalities built in, but the operating system, processing capabilities, memory, and transcoding hardware are often bare bones at best. Those who want a more high-end interface might enjoy the benefits of using a dedicated streaming device that manages all the processing work, allowing the TV itself to just function as a display. There are a few popular brands out there. Roku, Amazon, and Google all make some impressive streaming hardware, but those who want the best of the best are probably going to have their eye on two devices: Apple TV 4K and Nvidia Shield Pro.

Both of these products promise top-tier performance, with features like 4K HDR video, fast interfaces, and huge libraries of apps at their disposal. Unfortunately for those wondering which one is better, the answer is a little bit complicated because they’re very different from each other. Each of them has a plethora of unique features at its disposal, which might be more beneficial to certain kinds of users. This means that the Apple TV 4K streaming device might be the better option for some home entertainment systems, while the Nvidia Shield Pro is the better option for others. These devices aren’t cheap, though, so you might want to take a closer look at what each of them has to offer before making a decision. One of the best ways to choose the model that’s right for you is to review the specs and features available from each of these premium brands and see which one has the most features that suit your needs.

It won’t come as much of a surprise for anyone to learn that the Apple TV is probably going to be the better option for those who are already heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem. Do you use an iPhone, iPad, or Mac? Do you use HomeKit and/or a lot of Siri-controlled smart home accessories? Do you subscribe to Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, Apple Arcade, or Apple Music? If so, then you’ve probably already guessed that Apple offers a ton of cross-platform features with seamless integration across its devices and those of partner brands. You can use your iPhone as a secondary remote that can not only control basic functions, but also improve settings such as color balance. You can also use up to two sets of AirPods for shared listening with spatial audio and separate volume controls. Another option is to use the SharePlay function to watch movies and shows with any friends who also have access to an Apple device.

The hardware is impressive as well. There are two Apple TV 4K models available in the most recent generation: The 64 GB Apple TV 4K with WiFi ($129) and the 128 GB Apple TV 4K with WiFi and Ethernet ($149). Other than the difference in connectivity and storage, the 128 GB model also has thread networking support and Gigabit Ethernet capabilities. Both are powered by the same incredibly fast A15 Bionic chip that’s used in the iPhone 13, both support HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos spatial audio, and the Siri Remote. Add all this together, and you arguably have the strongest streaming box on the market, especially for those already invested in Apple.

The Nvidia Shield Pro was released in 2019, making it older than the current Apple TV 4K. Still, it has strengths that might make it more appealing to gamers, Android users, and home networking enthusiasts. Nvidia is perhaps best known as a computer graphics card manufacturer, so it makes sense that the company’s streaming box would also have some gaming capabilities. The Shield Pro can serve as a platform for the GeForce Now streaming service, as well as Google Play, and gamers can even use it to cast games from their PC to their television.

For those wanting smart home functionality, the Shield Pro is compatible with both Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa. This makes it an attractive alternative for users with non-Apple smart ecosystems. Another enticing feature is its ability to serve as a Plex platform and server. This allows you to stream media to and from your Nvidia Shield Pro from any networked device with an active account. These features make the Shield Pro, with its Android-based operating system, more flexible than the Apple TV 4K.

More than half a decade after its release, the Shield Pro’s specs are still impressive. The device is powered by the Nvidia Tegra X1 processor that has an integrated 256-core GPU, 3 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of storage. It has Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, DTSX surround sound, and AI upscaling up to 4K at 60FPS. It also benefits from full audio pass-through support, which allows the device to handle a wider range of encoding formats and connect to virtually any sound system without any loss in quality. In terms of connectivity, it has dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 5.0, and Gigabit internet.