NVIDIA Launches the New Shield TV

[AleksandarK]

NVIDIA today raised the bar higher still for streaming media players — unveiling the next generation of SHIELD TV, which delivers unmatched levels of home entertainment, gaming and AI capabilities right into the living room, starting at $149.

The two new SHIELD models — SHIELD TV and SHIELD TV Pro — provide exceptional visual and sound experiences. Their new Tegra X1+ processor, delivering up to 25 percent more performance than its predecessor, helps bring to life Dolby Vision for ultra-vivid imagery and Dolby Atmos for extraordinary audio. Its computational prowess dramatically improves picture quality by using AI to upscale HD video streams into 4K resolution.



"These new models provide a big step up for SHIELD, which has consistently delivered groundbreaking innovations in the living room since its introduction five years ago," said Jeff Fisher, senior vice president of the Consumer Business at NVIDIA. "They deliver unquestionably best-in-class entertainment, supported by Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision and our breakthroughs in using AI to improve video streaming playback."

The SHIELD additions offer options that will appeal to everyone, from casual streamers to media and gaming enthusiasts.

SHIELD TV has a slim, stealthy design meant to disappear by blending in with, or behind, entertainment centers. It also has Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi for lightning-fast connectivity.

SHIELD TV Pro takes entertainment to the next level for the most demanding users. It is based on the previous generation's iconic, sleek design and comes with additional memory and storage, plus two USB ports for running a Plex Media Server and connecting high-capacity hard drives or other USB devices.

Both come bundled with an all-new remote control, powered by two AAA batteries, that features motion-activated backlit buttons, a built-in lost remote locator and a mic for voice search.

SHIELD, as an Android TV device, provides access to over 500,000 movies and shows and more than 5,000 apps and games through Google Play. The Google Assistant enables users to quickly access entertainment, control smart devices and get answers on screen with their voice. SHIELD now supports "routines" — with one command, the Google Assistant will complete multiple tasks.

"NVIDIA pushes the boundaries of how media and entertainment are consumed in the home," said Shalini Govil-Pai, senior director of Product Management for Android TV, at Google. "By bringing together Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos with Android TV, users of the new SHIELD TV media players receive an unmatched experience that well represents our platform's rich content and capabilities."

Spectacular Visuals and Sound
Dolby Vision transforms entertainment experiences with ultra-vivid imaging — incredible brightness, contrast, color and detail that infuse movies with refined, life-like images. It can deliver colors never seen before on a screen, with dramatic contrast, highlights that are up to 40x brighter, and blacks that are 10x darker.

Dolby Atmos represents a leap forward from surround sound, transporting listeners into an extraordinary experience with moving audio that flows around them. Listeners will feel like they are inside the action as the sounds of people, places, things and music come alive with breathtaking realism.

AI in the Home
SHIELD benefits from NVIDIA's AI leadership to offer features lacking in competing devices. In addition to built-in Google Assistant and Amazon Echo connectivity, the new streamers use an AI upscaler to bring HD content to life. Trained on a deep neural network, the upscaler lets SHIELD owners watch 720p and 1080p content in beautiful 4K.

Amazing Games
SHIELD boasts the widest range of gaming content on a streaming media device with support for cloud gaming, local streaming and advanced native games. Gamers can enjoy hundreds of supported games in the GeForce NOW beta, including many recent releases and top free-to-play games like Fortnite.

Pricing and Availability
SHIELD TV and SHIELD TV Pro are available now and ship in the U.S., Canada and select European countries. SHIELD TV starts at $149 with remote. SHIELD TV Pro with remote, 3 GB of memory and 16 GB of storage is available for $199. More information, including where to buy, is available at https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/.

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[cucker tarlson]

I never even knew what shield is.Is it a console ?

 

[Space Lynx]

I never even knew what shield is.Is it a console ?

In the same boat, it is a bit confusing. Either way I know it is not for me, I can't game at 60hz anymore. /shrug

 

[Solaris17]

I never even knew what shield is.Is it a console ?

In the same boat, it is a bit confusing. Either way I know it is not for me, I can't game at 60hz anymore. /shrug

Man I’m so happy I’m not the only one that never found out wtf this is.

 

[cucker tarlson]

maybe it's just a fancy shield.

from the description it looks like it's like an extended smart tv,let's you play some light games and stream some.

 

[Mussels]

I never even knew what shield is.Is it a console ?

Top-tier android box, useful for android level games, media playback and... stuff

 

[Space Lynx]

Top-tier android box, useful for android level games, media playback and... stuff

Seems useless, as basically all TV's have Roku or something like it built into them already. Not sure I ever met a single person who plays android games on their big screen lol

Nvidia flop product imo

 

[cucker tarlson]

Top-tier android box, useful for android level games, media playback and... stuff

Do you have one?
Seems it like it fills a niche,but one nobody asked for.

 

[erixx]

How much is "Netfix" paying manufacturers for putting their bloody button on every remote? I also found it on my new Toshiba TV. What a waste of space.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

These things are actually great.
They can be used as a link to your Nvidia gpu based PC for gaming...@4k
They are great for online tv providers and offers the best picture quality that no built in in smart TV can match.
Trust me for those that don't want cable or Roku/FireTv/Apple TV and want the best this is it by far.

 

[cucker tarlson]

These things are actually great.
They can be used as a link to your PC for gaming...@4k

Can't you just use a cable?

 

[Space Lynx]

Can't you just use a cable?

Cable is probably more stable anyway, so yeah again not sure of the point.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Can't you just use a cable?

Not the same.
Another way to look at these...
Your smart TV still has a good picture but has become slow with software updates or lacks new features.
You can also integrate these with home security.
Can be integrated with Emby.

I'm not using the shield because it doesn't have the Spectrum tv app... Only Roku, Xbox and Samsung has it.

 

[Mussels]

Seems useless, as basically all TV's have Roku or something like it built into them already. Not sure I ever met a single person who plays android games on their big screen lol

Nvidia flop product imo

more for local uses, definitely a product i'd own by now if i hadnt got an android TV in the first place.

 

[R0H1T]

Seems useless, as basically all TV's have Roku or something like it built into them already. Not sure I ever met a single person who plays android games on their big screen lol

Nvidia flop product imo

Doesn't the same (previous gen) SoC go into the Switch? These are probably left over inventory or something

 

[Space Lynx]

Doesn't the same (previous gen) SoC go into the Switch? These are probably left over inventory or something

I think so yeah, I do remember reading something about that. I'd avoid this product personally, better off just getting a little Roku stick if your TV is not a smart tv. /shrug

you can also buy 15ft DP cables to run your PC direct to your 4k tv with no lag... just get a bluetooth extender for a xbox controller or ps4 controller... there is really no reason for this product to exist imo, unless you want to play laggy over wifi 4k games streamed from your PC to your tv. no way its as a fast as a direct connection.

 

[silentbogo]

Man I’m so happy I’m not the only one that never found out wtf this is.

I don't think Nvidia did either. Shield TV is a nice and quite powerful device, but it had a crisis of identity.
I'd get the updated version just for gigs: it can run L4T and supports all APIs for their Jettson dev kits.

 

[TheLostSwede]

So much hate in this thread for what?
First of all, both devices have Gigabit Ethernet, so no need to use Wi-Fi for game streaming.
It's obviously designed to work with GeForce Now for streaming games, not something I'd personally use, but at least for now, it's free to use if you get a Shield.
In addition to that, it's supposed to be one of the best, if not the best standalone Android TV devices out there, of which there admittedly aren't too many.
Nvidia has also been really good in terms of offering software updates for their previous Shield products, whereas a lot of so called smart TVs get maybe one update in their product life time, which simply isn't good enough, especially from a security standpoint.
Yes, it's expensive, but so is the Apple TV 4K. It's not for everyone, but guess what, you don't have to buy it, so no need for the hate. If you just want a device for streaming TV shows, get a Roku or a Fire TV, they'll do the job just fine.
And yes, it's more or less the same hardware as inside the Nintendo Switch, just not optimised for battery usage.
And to be clear, I don't own one, as I don't really need it.

 

[silentbogo]

Doesn't the same (previous gen) SoC go into the Switch? These are probably left over inventory or something

Yep, looks like it. The main difference from the first revision is 16nm and a decent 20% clock boost.

there is really no reason for this product to exist imo, unless you want to play laggy over wifi 4k games streamed from your PC to your tv. no way its as a fast as a direct connection.

It's 802.11AC (1.3Gbit/s). With a decent router there is not much difference from wired GbE, and if you are still skeptical, then just plug in the wire. It has a decent GbE interface.

And yes, it's more or less the same hardware as inside the Nintendo Switch, just not optimised for battery usage.

I'd rather call it "optimized for max performance" ))))

 

[Deleted member 185088]

Maybe it made sense a few years ago, but now most TVs have very good multimedia capabilities, and then you can get a console for similar price which is better in everything.
Maybe it's for people who don't have a smart TV or an older model that doesn't offer the latest apps and streaming capabilities.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Maybe it made sense a few years ago, but now most TVs have very good multimedia capabilities, and then you can get a console for similar price which is better in everything.
Maybe it's for people who don't have a smart TV or an older model that doesn't offer the latest apps and streaming capabilities.

No, they don't, as the manufacturers tend to be terrible in terms of software updates. My Samsung TV has had one update over three years and they're not bringing any new apps to this now, in their mind, outdated platform. I wish I'd bought a "dumb" TV, as the so called smart ones, aren't smart, as the "smarts" get outdated way before the actual screen is having issues. In fact, the "smarts" are just making it slower to use, as it takes longer to turn it on, the UI is a bit clunky to use and some things takes a long time to load, for no reason and overall it's worse than most third party media players. Friend of mine got a higher-end model from Samsung and it's the same, just that he has an even worse UI as he's got a previous years model. Also, their Wi-Fi and Ethernet is pathetic. Running the built in Netflix network test, neither of us get more than 6-7Mbps (wired or wirelessly), whereas my Fire TV gets me 40Mbps and in both cases, that's being less than 5m of open air from the router.
So no, the built in capabilities in most TVs aren't very good.

 

[R0H1T]

Yes, well in such cases fire TV stick or cube is better wouldn't you say? Provided you aren't looking to play games or something.

 

[Mussels]

those devices only stream video from cloud services.

This is for local use. local playback. local streaming from nvidia PCs.

 

[viTRifY13]

I own a pretty high end home theater system (lg OLED c7) with av separates (cx-a5100). The biggest frustration with tv built in apps, even in high end TV's, is the lack of support. The TV is meant to display, not output high quality audio so the best audio codec that is returned (via HDMI Arc) to the receiver is DTS. This shield is perfect as I can now passthrough lossless audio to the receiver (DTS-HD MA / Dolby atmos) along with pass very high quality video to the tv.

With the LG Plex tv app, it was reasonably reliable, but quite slow to respond and would crash every once in a while as it's trying to run on a very resource limited TV.

Think of shield as an upgrade to your smart TV where you can fully enjoy much better audio if you have a home theater system

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

One application is playing ROMs with an emulator, though you can accomplish that in other ways, too.