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.