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Electronic equipment usually gets cheaper over time. Nvidia, however, decided to go in a completely different direction. The price of the Shield TV Pro, which debuted back in 2019, has risen by as much as 50%. Interestingly, the device hasn't seen any major hardware upgrades in seven years. So where does such a huge price increase come from?
As of October 2, the Nvidia Shield TV Pro costs $299.99 in the United States, up from $199.99. A similar change hit the European market, where the list price rose from about €220 to €330.
We're talking about a device whose specs have practically not changed since launch. The Shield TV Pro still uses the Tegra X1+, 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. However, it offers features that still make it an interesting option for home theater enthusiasts, such as Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, AI upscaling to 4K, and the ability to act as a Plex server.
The AI boom hits consumers' wallets
Where does such a drastic price hike come from? Nvidia explains the decision by citing a significant rise in component costs, above all memory. The market situation is worsened by huge demand for components used in data centers and AI systems.
The whole situation is all the more interesting because Nvidia itself is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, supplying chips used to train and run advanced models. But that's not the end of the changes. The manufacturer has also stopped selling the cheaper, base Shield TV, which debuted at $149.99. Only the pricier Pro model remains on offer, although its availability in stores is currently limited.
The price increase shows that rising component costs are affecting more than just the newest devices. Even a seven-year-old media player can now cost significantly more than it did at launch. The only question is whether, at $300, it's still as attractive a purchase.
Sources: FlatpanelsHD, Ars Technica
