There’s No Streaming Console Better Than the NVIDIA Shield TV

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If you are serious about cord-cutting, then I’m sure you’ve heard of Fire Stick and Roku, but let me just put it to you as simple as it can be: None of them can hold a candle to the NVIDIA Shield TV.

Over the course of the past month, I’ve all but done away with the extra hubs and remotes cluttering up my living room and opted for nothing but the NVIDIA Shield TV. I’m at the point where I’ve honestly asked myself, “Why pay cable companies for excessive cable boxes, expensive monthly access fees when I can do it all myself?” All I really need is Netflix, Hulu, DirecTV Now, and just the typical streaming companion apps, right? Well, there’s a whole new world with the Shield TV. Before I dig into the nitty-gritty, let’s start by giving you some of the specs.

Processor

NVIDIA® Tegra® X1 processor with a 256-core GPU and 3 GB RAM

Video Features

4K HDR ready

Up to 4K HDR playback at 60 FPS (H.265/HEVC)

Up to 4K playback at 60 FPS (VP8, VP9, H.264, MPEG1/2)

Up to 1080p playback at 60 FPS (H.263, MJPEG, MPEG4, WMV9/VC1)

Format/Container support: Xvid/ DivX/ASF/AVI/MKV/MOV/M2TS/MPEG-TS/MP4/WEB-M

Audio

Dolby Atmos and DTS-X surround sound pass through over HDMI

High-resolution audio playback up to 24-bit/192 kHz over HDMI and USB

High-resolution audio up-sample to 24-bit/192 kHz over USB

Audio support: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, WAVE, AMR, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, PCM, WMA, WMA-Pro, WMA-Lossless, DD+/DTS (pass-through), Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD (pass-through), DTS-X and DTS-HD (pass-through)

Storage

16 GB (Note: portion of storage occupied by system software).

NVIDIA recommends these USB 3.0 flash drives for best performance and compatibility on SHIELD TV:

Wireless

802.11ac 2×2 MIMO 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi

Bluetooth 4.1/BLE

Captive Portal support

Interfaces

Gigabit Ethernet

HDMI 2.0b with HDCP 2.2 and CEC support

?

Two USB 3.0 (Type A)

Weight & Size

Weight: 8.8 oz / 250 g

Height: 3.858 in / 9.800 cm

Width: 6.26 in / 15.900 cm

Depth: 1.02 in / 2.593 cm

Operating System

Android 7.0 (Nougat) powered by Android TV™ and Google Cast™ (Chromecast built-in)

Software Updates

SHIELD software upgrades directly from NVIDIA

Power

40 W power adapter (5-10 W typical consumption)

Gaming Features

NVIDIA GeForce NOW™ game streaming service

NVIDIA GameStream™

NVIDIA Share

Included Accessories

SHIELD Controller

  • Mic for voice search
  • Hands-free voice support
  • Headset jack for private listening
  • Dual vibration feedback
  • IR blaster for TV volume & power control
  • 60+ hour gaming battery life

SHIELD Remote

  • Mic for voice search
  • IR blaster for TV volume and power control

Included Apps

NVIDIA Games

Netflix

Amazon Video

YouTube

Google Play Store

Google Play Movies & TV

Google Play Music

VUDU

PLEX

Photos and Videos

Alright, now that we’ve covered that, let’s get to the actual features of the NVIDIA Shield TV. One thing I knew for a fact that I wanted from my streaming device is 4k. That’s one of the glaring features that the updated Shield TV boasts and does with ease. HDR is there as well, but if you’ve been attempting to transition into the 4K scene, this is a welcome start for you.

Essentially a micro-console, there is virtually nothing that this baby can’t do. Coming complete with it’s own handheld controller, for $199, this is better than you would get from the Apple TV for sure, and the fact there’s an option for expandable memory via USB flash drive or external hard drive, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any competition on the market better than this.

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About the Author

Greg Alston
Diehard Apple fanboy, and lover of all things tech. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Greg enjoys spending time with his wife, family, and friends, live sporting events, good bourbon, Tetris, and pizza. In that order.