Most TV users tend to stream content directly through their smart TV interfaces, but buying a specialised streaming device has its advantages. You usually get additional features, better apps and services, and new capabilities such as game or music streaming. One such device range popular with gamers is Nvidia Shield. Nvidia has now launched its latest devices in this segment – the Shield TV and Shield TV Pro. Priced at $150 and $200 respectively, the new Shield TV devices are now available to buy through the company’s online store, as well as select offline locations in the United States.
The Nvidia Shield TV and Shield TV Pro are powered by the Tegra X1+ processor, which is a slight update over the ageing X1 chipset. The devices can stream at 4K resolution with support for HDR up to the Dolby Vision format, as well as audio format support for Dolby Atmos. The devices run on the Android TV 9 Pie platform, with voice assistant support and Chromecast 4K built-in.
The devices are controlled using a dedicated remote, which comes with various controls for navigation, volume, and playback, apart from having a Netflix hotkey. Nvidia claims to also offer AI upscaling, which is said to make 720p and 1080p content look like 4K content in real-time, as the content is being streamed.
The more affordable Nvidia Shield TV has a tube-like shape and comes with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage for apps on the Android TV interface. The device has an HDMI port, microSD card slot and Ethernet port, apart from the power input. The more expensive Shield TV Pro has 3GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and two additional USB 3.0 (Type-A) ports for external device connectivity. It can also be used as a Plex Media Server.
Although no controllers are included with the devices, you can purchase additional compatible controllers for use with the Shield TV and Shield TV Pro. Nvidia GeForce Now and GameStream are supported, along with regular games that can be downloaded on the Google Play Store. There’s no word on whether these new devices will be available in India, but you can purchase these in the US and Canada right now.
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