My only slight worry is that it's running on Android TV, so there's always a chance google bans something.
I switched from Roku to Shield when the first Shield came out in 2015. That device is still going strong, still plays everything I throw at it, has excellent support with Kodi and Plex and every single catch up TV app is available for it.
6 years later, and NVIDIA is still issuing regular Android updates for it. The only Android device that's getting official support from OEM 6 years after release.
highly recommend.
I used to run various PC based home theatre bits of software, but they're all inevitably a pain to manage, don't work right, and require fiddling.
Got the Shield TV pro 2019(?) version, pointed Plex at my NAS, and it plays content flawlessly. Youtube, Amazon Prime, Netflix all work well too.
In theory it also plays games - but Nvidia's game service isn't launched here in Australia, and I've not found a game on the Google Play store that's isn't outright terrible. Steam Link theoretically works, but none of the games in my Steam library are suited to play with a controller. Theoretically there's emulators for various consoles which I've seen people saying is excellent, but I've never been able to make any of them work.
Like just about any modern device - it does need to be rebooted occasionally, but for the most part it's just turn on and go.
If I'm going to play those sort of games I'd rather just go sit at my desk. Not really a good way to use those on my lounge.
I got a controller for the Shield with the idea that I could play more console-y type games.
I've basically disabled everything on my Shield, just leaving Netflix, Disney+, etc. activated and it's made it much more responsive and stable. I had the feeling some of my slowdowns were occurring as apps polled back home to see what content they should be displaying on the home screen, downloading thumbnails, etc. and sure enough, it's now zipping along like the old days.
Just to add to everybody else, I've had this box for nearly 6 years and it's as good as the day I bought it and has kept up with technology in an amazing way. 4K HDR with whatever surround format you throw at it is incredible. Especially as it acts as a Plex server in the background with no major power consumption. I seem to remember only paying £125 for it on an Amazon deal as well. One of my best tech purchases of all time.
But to be honest I miss Amazon's voice search. It worked much better to find thing from the Netflix and Prime Video catalogs than Google assistant does now.
And on the other hand I actually would like to get the new Google TV interface of the most recent Chromecast. It looks way prettier than the plain Shield home screen and its universal watch list sounds very useful.
Yours and responders' enthusiasm puts the shield on my list for if my roku stops seeing youtube.
But the assistant isn't always listening, you need to push a button to turn it on. Considering the remote runs off a couple of AAA batteries which last over a year, it would be impossible for it to be always listening.