NVIDIA Launches the New Shield TV

[Deleted member 158293]

Guess I don't get it... A refreshed soc and minimum 16 GB RAM in an end of 2019 product?! Needs more marketing...

 

[jabbadap]

I'm actually interested that AI upscaling these things have. MadVR like experience on streaming device, anyone have idea how good it is?

 

[silentbogo]

those devices only stream video from cloud services.

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

That's a bit misleading. Nearly all generic AndroidTV boxes, and most SmartTVs (with USB ports) can do local playback. The only exception is IPTV STBs, but those don't run android or any other capable OS, and even there in some cases firmware still includes local playback (with very limited codec selection and bad HW accel.).
Shield can also do both. It's primarily geared and marketed, contrary to your point, towards online streaming.

Game streaming was the main selling point, but it was also artificially limited by NVidia. There were (and still are) reverse-engineered clients for NV GameStream protocol, which do not require shield hardware and work quite well on Snapdragon, Exynos, and even shitty Mediatek devices for local streaming. Steam streaming pretty much made it obsolete and irrelevant.
GFN can also work on android, but once again - Nvidia. They did an announcement recently, and even released an APK for a short time, but now it's unavailable for any device except their own Shield TV and Shield Tablet (at least none of my SD600/SD800 devices are compatible anymore via PlayStore).

I'm actually interested that AI upscaling these things have. MadVR like experience on streaming device, anyone have idea how good it is?

It's fairly new feature, so not much info on the actual quality difference. I was only able to find this:

Spoiler

 

[Eskimonster]

"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 "

what a awefull waste of money !!!

 

[juiseman]

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.

Thanks man, I also didn't understand WTF shield was.....some kind of nerd I'm am huh?...kind of embarrassing,....
I'll never buy this as it is now; but in the future I think this is where gaming is headed unfortunately....
All cloud based stream gaming baby....I hate this idea personally. It just doesn't seem right; the idea of my computer not setting next to me. Just this stupid "terminal" that's got no real ballz of its own...
Makes me want to cry or something.

 

[Deleted member 172048]

I think this is good, it has gigabit Ethernet compared to the fast Ethernet of Roku and other devices, and it has the ability to be both a client and a server if you have Plex media server or similar.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I have two Shield TV 2017 models and they're used mostly for accessing Emby but can be used for a great number of Android TV apps (Netflix, YouTube, ESPN, HGTV, etc.).

25% improvement from a model that's 2, going on 3 years old...is kind of sad. Can't say I'm inclined to change the ones I have.

 

[Diverge]

Guess I don't get it... A refreshed soc and minimum 16 GB RAM in an end of 2019 product?! Needs more marketing...

16GB is storage, not RAM...

memory == RAM == volatile; in other words, it's contents go poof when it loses power. - this is the space the system uses to do work in, and store temp variables, etc.
Storage == NAND == non-volatile; it's contents remain when the power is off. - this is where the all software is stored (OS, programs, etc).

 

[Cheeseball]

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

Err.. more like niche product. Smart TVs have shitty integrated implementations that they abandon after one or two years (speaking from experience, I have had a 55" Samsung and a 65" LG after).

I would not use this for dedicated gaming but this thing is a great streaming/HEVC/H264 box if you don't want to build a HTPC.

 

[Crustybeaver]

"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 "

what a awefull waste of money !!!

It really isn't but feel free to explain your point. Anyone who's ever run a client with a media server knows that they don't come better for the money than the Nvidia Shield. With more processing power and codec support than any other box on the market, they're the go to device for media playback. For most the additional features are just extra bonuses. The addition of Dolby Atmos should mean it remains a great option. But you just bury your head in the sand, and make pointless claims about products you know jacksh$t about.

 

[Steevo]

My samsung TV supports mouse and keyboard and smart things allows me to stream from my PC to it wirelessly (or to and from my phone to watch live TV and whatever is on), and I know there is a mod community out there. I guess I see the point of this, if you didn't buy a decent smart TV with a lot of connection options or a older one that doesn't support some standard that you feel the need to have. Very niche.

 

[Space Lynx]

I use a dedicated DAC for all my audio, Schiit Modi 3, and I'm 95% certain it sounds better than the DAC on this piece of plastic.

 

[Crustybeaver]

My samsung TV supports mouse and keyboard and smart things allows me to stream from my PC to it wirelessly (or to and from my phone to watch live TV and whatever is on), and I know there is a mod community out there. I guess I see the point of this, if you didn't buy a decent smart TV with a lot of connection options or a older one that doesn't support some standard that you feel the need to have. Very niche.

Does your TV have a gigabit LAN connection? The Shield can play the highest quality bitrate 4K HDR content from your media server without having to worry about bandwidth limitations of a 'smart TV'

I use a dedicated DAC for all my audio, Schiit Modi 3, and I'm 95% certain it sounds better than the DAC on this piece of plastic.

Why are you comparing a dedicated DAC to the Shield? They're two completely different pieces of hardware. It's like me saying I bet the Shield can play games better or display an MKV file in better clarity than that piece of metal.

 

[tetrapak]

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

Seems useless when someone who doesnt even have device say its flop, amazing. Shield is best android box in the market right now. Kodi, IPTV, PLEX, netflix + streaming all my games 2 rooms away from my pc to tv without any lag, thats priceless. I have last gen shield, i will buy pro aswell.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I use a dedicated DAC for all my audio, Schiit Modi 3, and I'm 95% certain it sounds better than the DAC on this piece of plastic.

Hmm...

I literally ran upstairs and looked at my Shield 2017 and it doesn't even have analog audio output (DC in, RJ45, HDMI 2.0 out, 2 x USB 3.0 type A). In other words, the Shield 2017 doesn't even have a DAC: it's exclusively digital audio.

 

[Space Lynx]

Seems useless when someone who doesnt even have device say its flop, amazing. Shield is best android box in the market right now. Kodi, IPTV, PLEX, netflix + streaming all my games 2 rooms away from my pc to tv without any lag, thats priceless. I have last gen shield, i will buy pro aswell.

I imagine there is lag, anything wifi related there will be at 4k. Check reviews before you buy.

Does your TV have a gigabit LAN connection? The Shield can play the highest quality bitrate 4K HDR content from your media server without having to worry about bandwidth limitations of a 'smart TV'


Why are you comparing a dedicated DAC to the Shield? They're two completely different pieces of hardware. It's like me saying I bet the Shield can play games better or display an MKV file in better clarity than that piece of metal.

I was responding in general to someone earlier in the thread who stated if nothing else it would be a good audio upgrade. Too lazy to scroll back up and get actual quote for you.

Hmm...

I literally ran upstairs and looked at my Shield 2017 and it doesn't even have analog audio output. Audio/video is from a sole HDMI port. In other words, the Shield 2017 doesn't even have a DAC. It's exclusively digital audio.

Which makes your setup inferior to mine. Modi 3 beats $500 dac's in side by side sound tests I have heard, with some high end planar speakers, etc. My setup will destroy any shield and digital audio surround setup, for around similar price points.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Which makes your setup inferior to mine. Modi 3 beats $500 dac's in side by side sound tests I have heard, with some high end planar speakers, etc. My setup will destroy any shield and digital audio surround setup, for around similar price points.

Dude, the DAC is in whatever you plug it in to. Right now, for me, that's a Samsung TV and Vizio TV. In the case of Vizio, it routes sound via optical cable (still digital) to an older receiver which has the DAC. They sound good enough especially considering those speakers on the Vizio/receiver overpower the sound of a running treadmill by a lot.

Point is, this DAC talk has no business in this thread. It's completely off topic.

 

[Space Lynx]

"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 "

what a awefull waste of money !!!

I was simply responding to this quote. So I don't know.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Eskimonster is correct in regards to smart TV. That's basically what a SHIELD does: give any HDMI-capable TV smart TV capabilities...and then some...because not many smart TVs have Tegra-performance hardware. Audio doesn't matter much...EXCEPT...that's apparently a big new thing for the 2019 (or is it 2020?) model. It's not a selling point for me but I never cared for anything Dolby Digital in the first place.

Edit: Yeah, Dolby Vision is video effect and Dolby Atmos is a sound effect. I would never enable either of them.

 

[Vayra86]

Can recommend this device with any smart TV. It can replace most of its functionality and does most if not all of it much better, faster, and is well maintained too. Pairs well with Nvidia's in home streaming as well, I tried that a few times, gaming was smooth, somewhat noticeable latency.

Still have my old one somewhere. Collecting dust...

 

[Crustybeaver]

Eskimonster is correct in regards to smart TV. That's basically what a SHIELD does: give any HDMI-capable TV smart TV capabilities...and then some...because not many smart TVs have Tegra-performance hardware. Audio doesn't matter much...EXCEPT...that's apparently a big new thing for the 2019 (or is it 2020?) model. It's not a selling point for me but I never cared for anything Dolby Digital in the first place.

Edit: Yeah, Dolby Vision is video effect and Dolby Atmos is a sound effect. I would never enable either of them.

There would be no point if your TV didn't support DV or you audio setup couldn't play Atmos. The Shield appeals to people who run home media servers and want the best in video and audio codec support.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I did some digging and it doesn't appear Dolby Vision nor Dolby Atmos are encoded into the stream, they are affects applied to existing streams. There's no circumstance that I'm aware of where they are required. They are optional features. NVIDIA no doubt added them to try to differentiate their product from competitors.

 

[viTRifY13]

I did some digging and it doesn't appear Dolby Vision nor Dolby Atmos are encoded into the stream, they are affects applied to existing streams. There's no circumstance that I'm aware of where they are required. They are optional features. NVIDIA no doubt added them to try to differentiate their product from competitors.

That's false, do more digging.

I've got video files that I can play via Kodi from my laptop into my receiver and I get Dolby atmos being passed through.

For a technology site, I'm surprised there are lots of uninformed individuals casting their opinion...

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Yeah, you're right. They're both different means of encoding data so if you have content encoded using them, you would need hardware, software, and license to decode it.

 

[medi01]

Seems it like it fills a niche,but one nobody asked for.

They've bumped it for Nintendo Switch and thought "why not release it in our own package" perhaps.