Nvidia has officially discontinued the base model of its Shield TV streaming device. This marks the first significant change to the product line since its initial launch in 2015. The company cited rising costs of essential components, particularly DRAM, as the primary reason for this strategic shift in its hardware portfolio.
Simultaneously, the price of the Shield TV Pro has increased by 50 percent, reaching $300. This new pricing structure took effect globally on October 2. Despite the price hike, the hardware specifications of the Pro model remain unchanged, featuring the Tegra X1 platform with 256 GPU cores, 3 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of internal storage.
The device continues to support 4K HDR, Dolby Vision, and HDR10 standards, along with AI-powered upscaling to 4K at 60 fps. Nvidia attributes the memory price surge to manufacturers reallocating production capacity toward HBM for artificial intelligence systems. Morgan Stanley analysts suggest that DDR4 prices could rise by 50 percent in the third quarter.
