Experts recommend Roku Ultra more than Nvidia Shield
As of 16 Jan 2025, experts prefer Roku Ultra over Nvidia Shield, but both Streaming Players have solid expert endorsements.
As per this month's meta ranking, Roku Ultra received 5 recommendations: from Business Insider (1 Nov 2024), Reviewed (25 Jul 2023) PCMag (26 Nov 2024) and 2 others. By contrast, Nvidia Shield received only 6 recommendations from CNET (17 Dec 2024), Digital Trends (3 Jan 2025) The Verge (15 Feb 2023) and 3 others.
| Rank | Change | Price | Streaming Player | CNET  | Digital Trends  | Business Insider  | Reviewed  | The Verge  | PCMag  | IGN  | Tom's Guide  | TechRadar  | WIRED  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | - | $73 |  Roku Ultra The Roku Ultra 2022 is a versatile streaming device that offers a wide range of content, excellent picture and sound quality, easy setup, and some gaming capabilities, making it suitable for various streaming preferences.
| - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| 5 | - | $150 |  Nvidia Shield The Nvidia Shield Streaming Player is a versatile and powerful streaming device that offers a wide range of content, exceptional picture and sound quality, easy setup, and comprehensive gaming capabilities. | 7 | 3 | - | - | 5 | - | 4 | 5 |
3 | - |
Curious to see this month's entire TV Boxes and Sticks ranking? It's here
Endorsement summary:
- On 2 Jan 2025 IGN ranked Roku Ultra as #1 and Nvidia Shield as #4
Rank Streaming Player Comment #1 out of 9 Roku Ultra Best Overall Streaming Device... ... ... #4 out of 9 Nvidia Shield Best 4K Streaming Device... ... ... Source: www.ign.com - On 17 Dec 2024 CNET ranked Nvidia Shield as #7
Rank Streaming Player Comment ... ... ... #7 out of 7 Nvidia Shield Best for hardcore gamersSource: www.cnet.com - On 3 Jan 2025 Digital Trends ranked Nvidia Shield as #3
Rank Streaming Player Comment ... ... ... #3 out of 5 Nvidia Shield The next-best streaming device... ... ... Source: www.digitaltrends.com - On 15 Feb 2023
Rank Streaming Player Comment ... ... ... #5 out of 5 Nvidia Shield The best streaming player for gamingSource: www.theverge.com - On 5 Dec 2024 Tom's Guide ranked Nvidia Shield as #5
Rank Streaming Player Comment ... ... ... #5 out of 13 Nvidia Shield Best Android streaming device / Editor's Choice... ... ... Source: www.tomsguide.com - On 7 Oct 2022 TechRadar ranked Nvidia Shield as #3
Rank Streaming Player Comment ... ... ... #3 out of 9 Nvidia Shield The best 4K streaming device for power and performance... ... ... Source: www.techradar.com - On 1 Nov 2024 Business Insider ranked Roku Ultra as #1
Rank Streaming Player Comment #1 out of 5 Roku Ultra Best overall... ... ... Source: www.businessinsider.com - On 25 Jul 2023 Reviewed ranked Roku Ultra as #1
Rank Streaming Player Comment #1 out of 7 Roku Ultra Best Overall / Editors' Choice... ... ... Source: www.reviewed.com - On 26 Nov 2024 PCMag ranked Roku Ultra as #4
Rank Streaming Player Comment ... ... ... #4 out of 7 Roku Ultra Best Roku Streamer... ... ... Source: www.pcmag.com - On 7 Oct 2024 WIRED ranked Roku Ultra as #4
Rank Streaming Player Comment ... ... ... #4 out of 9 Roku Ultra The Best Roku... ... ... Source: www.wired.com
After counting and adding up the 76 expert endorsements of the January rankings, Roku Ultra outranks Nvidia Shield. This is not to say that Nvidia Shield is a bad option. Like Roku Ultra, it is recommended by experts, but less.
As can be seen below, Roku Ultra outranks Nvidia Shield by 2 positions. This indicates that, as of 16 Jan 2025, Roku Ultra is more critically acclaimed than Nvidia Shield.
| Rank | Change | Price | Streaming Player | CNET | Digital Trends | Business Insider | Reviewed | The Verge | PCMag | IGN | Tom's Guide | TechRadar | WIRED |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | $247 |  Apple TV 4K The Apple TV 4K (2022) has received positive reviews for its content availability, picture and sound quality, setup, and gaming capabilities, making it a versatile streaming device suitable for users who want a comprehensive range of streaming services, impressive picture and sound quality, easy setup, and seamless integration with other Apple devices. | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4
| 1 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | - | $38 |  Roku Streaming Stick 4K The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is a versatile streaming device that offers a wide range of content, high-quality picture and sound, easy setup, and the option for casual gaming experiences. | 2 | 2 | - | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 3 | - | $73 | Roku Ultra The Roku Ultra 2022 is a versatile streaming device that offers a wide range of content, excellent picture and sound quality, easy setup, and some gaming capabilities, making it suitable for various streaming preferences. | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| 4 | - | Check price |  Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is a versatile streaming device that offers a wide range of content options, 4K resolution, HDR and Dolby Vision support, fast navigation, and gaming capabilities, making it a recommended choice for users seeking a user-friendly and high-quality streaming experience. | 4 | 4 | 4 | - | 4 | - | 2 | 6 | 8 | 5 |
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Expert reviews [16]
Total expert reviews: 16
- with a score: 11
- without a score: 5
| Highest score by The Guardian | 100 |
| Average score based on 16 reviews | 86 |
| Lowest score by CNET | 77 |
Score distribution:
| 80-100 | |
| 60-80 | |
| 40-60 | |
| 20-40 | |
| 0-20 |
Expert reviews [3]
Total expert reviews: 3
- with a score: 3
- without a score: 0
| Highest score by excitingtechnews.com | 90 |
| Average score based on 3 reviews | 84 |
| Lowest score by PCMag | 80 |
Score distribution:
| 80-100 | |
| 60-80 | |
| 40-60 | |
| 20-40 | |
| 0-20 |
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