I abandoned the Google TV thingy because it was great when it was new a year or so ago, but now after all the updates it frequently stutters when playing media from Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, etc. Apple TV is silky smooth and works perfectly.
You're the first one I've read that has had issues with streaming performance on the Nvidia Shield. I have the non-Pro nvidia shield and its been rock solid for streaming external content and local content. Including 4k. I even ran it as a plex server for a while. Are you using wireless or plugged into ethernet?
It’s most likely just because of new codecs. If you got a newer cheap device it would probably not stutter (until the next round of codecs, but Apple TV requires the same upgrades)
I don't think so, x264 and x265 haven't changed in the past 12 months, or even the last 2+ years. My suspicion is Elgoog releases Android system updates without thoroughly testing them on existing released hardware.
My friends have Apple TVs that don't stutter, for 3+ years.
At $200, it was 4x the price, though.