Nvidia Shield TV is a great streaming media player for power users and pc gamers.
nVIDIA Shield TV Streaming Media Player Review
Design & Build
The dimension of the device is 0.5-by-6.0-by-3.7-inch (HWD). The Shield Controller is much lighter at just nine ounces. There is two version of Shield TV available: one version comes with a simple remote control and the other model includes both the remote and Shield Controller gamepad. I would highly recommend the later version as it is necessary for hands-free voice control with Google Assistant and also the Shield Controller costs $59.99 on its own. So having shield TV model is a better deal. However, both the models support 16GB of onboard storage space in which the 11GB of space left for the user. There are two USB ports to add additional storage.
Also Read – Apple TV 4k Review
On the top, a micro USB port is located which allows you charge the built-in battery or use the controller wired.
The controller features two analog sticks, a direction pad, four face buttons (A/B/X/Y, arranged in an Xbox layout), and two pairs of shoulder buttons. There is a silver panel in the middle of the gamepad. It features the Nvidia logo on a button that triggers the Shield’s voice search and voice control features. Back, Play and Home buttons are located at the bottom.The ends of the triangles aren’t spiky, and the controller feels comfy and fairly smooth in the hand.
Front top features matte black plastic with a few angular textured lines. Its front and right panels are in rectangular shape while the left and back panels are trapezoids.
Also Read – Google Chromecast Ultra Review
On the back side, it has HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and a connector for the included power adapter.
Hardware & Performance
The Shield TV runs on the latest software which is based on Android 7 (Nougat).
The microphone is one of the biggest hardware modifications we have encountered. It is designed to support hands-free voice control with Google Assistant, like a Google Home speaker.
Nvidia Shield TV is one of the most powerful devices available based on the performance test.
Shield TV offers remarkable gaming experience. The Shield’s capacity for gaming is the main highlight of the device. There are three ways to play: Android games with the Shield TV’s own Tegra X1, local PC games with GameStream, and streaming Internet games with GeForce Now. However, using GeForce now requires a $8-per-month subscription plan.
Nvidia Shield TV Tech Specifications:
- Operating system: Android TV 7.0 Nougat Google Cast
- Processor : NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor 256-core Maxwell GPU
- RAM : 3GB
- Storage : 16GB, Adoptable storage over USB
- Video output : 4K, HDR, 60fps
- Audio output : Dolby Atmos and DTS-X surround sound over HDMI, High-resolution audio playback up to 24-bit/192kHz over HDMI
- Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11ac dual-band, 2×2 ,MIMO, Bluetooth 4.1 LE
- Ports : USB-A 3.0 (2), Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0b w/ HDCP 2.2 and CEC
- Dimensions : 98 x 159 x 25.93 mm, 250 g
Verdict
Lots of excellent options out in the market, but the Nvidia Shield is an excellent streaming box.
