Best answer: Not exactly. NVIDIA winded down production of the 500GB Shield TV Pro in 2018. It's no longer available from retailers such as Amazon or Best Buy but still appears to be for sale direct from NVIDIA's website for $299 (linked below). Alternatively, you can find consoles on eBay selling for as high as $500 but please do not spend that much on an NVIDIA Shield TV Pro. Your best bet at this point is to just buy a 16GB NVIDIA Shield TV for $149 and then upgrade the storage as needed by mounting a USB drive if you need more.
- NVIDIA: NVIDIA Shield TV ($149)
- Amazon: SanDisk Ultra Fit 128GB 3.0 Flash Drive ($31)
- NVIDIA: NVIDIA Shield TV Pro ($299)
The Shield TV Pro is what you make of it
For a time, the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro stood atop NVIDIA's Android TV lineup as the premium offering, with it's biggest differentiating feature being the 500GB of internal storage. In terms of performance, it offers the same hardware specs and operates just the same as the non-Pro model, including support for 4K TVs. But it was all that extra space that gave consumers more possibilities for making the Shield your own.
The extra internal storage included with the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro is only worth the money if you plan to make the most of it.
As popular as media streaming has become there's still something to be said for the simplicity of offline content. Let's say you've got a massive library of movies, TV shows, and music — with the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro, you could load all that great stuff on and enjoy it using Plex, an outstanding media player that's included with each Shield. NVIDIA also included the Plex Media Server app pre-installed, which lets you keep your media library instantly accessible on the Shield, and streamable to other devices (phones, tablets, video game consoles, etc.) running the Plex app.
However, maybe you're eyeing the Shield TV because it's great for gaming. There are a ton of great games available across the Google Play Store, NVIDIA Games, and GEFORCE Now libraries, along with NVIDIA GameStream which lets you stream games from your PC to your Shield. With all that storage space, you're also able to set up retro emulators and then load up the Shield with all your legally acquired ROMs.
That was the allure of the Shield TV Pro — it was versatile enough to let you make it your own with all your favorite media, games, and apps while remaining portable to be easily set it up anywhere. On the software side, the Shield TV Pro will continue to receive regular updates, and NVIDIA has done a good job at keeping the Shield experience fresh and exciting with new features continually added over the past three years.
However, if you don't need that much storage or want to save some money, it's not worth it to get the Pro, especially since it's been discontinued. Again, you can still find them on the NVIDIA store or eBay, but prices vary wildly.
You're paying $150 for an extra 484GB
The decision whether to spend an extra $150 on the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro will ultimately come down to the importance of having that extra storage on hand. It's way more convenient to never have to worry about your Shield running out of storage, especially if you plan to continually load up content to enjoy offline.
You've still got options for expanding storage if you opt for the 16GB NVIDIA Shield TV. While the newest model did away with the microSD slot, you're still able to mount extra storage via USB flash drive — and the 128GB SanDisk Ultra Fit ($31) is a sizeable and affordable solution.
Bottom line
The NVIDIA Shield TV Pro is officially discontinued so you might be able to snag one of the last ones from NVIDIA, and there's good value to be had with all that extra internal storage space. Whether you want to load it up with offline media or a ton of awesome games, the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro can be the core of your home media entertainment — but at this point we have to recommend the standard NVIDIA Shield which is more widely available, half the price, and lets you expand that internal storage as needed.
Our pick
NVIDIA Shield TV
Control your smart home
One of the better Shield bundles includes a SmartThings Link that connects via USB to convert your Shield into a Zigbee and Z-Wave smart home hub. This lets you connect and control an ever-growing number of compatible smart devices right from your couch. A great deal that makes the Shield that much more useful.
More storage
SanDisk Ultra Fit 128GB 3.0 Flash Drive
Feels like it's wearing nothing at all!
This ultra-slim flash drive is the perfect way to add an extra 128GB of content to your Shield. Load it up on your computer, then install it in the back of your Shield and you're off to the races!
Discontinued
NVIDIA Shield TV Pro
Get it before it's gone for good.
NVIDIA seems to hold the remaining stock of the 500GB NVIDIA Shield TV Pro, so if the idea of all that internal storage is worth the $300 price tag get after it while you can.
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