Nvidia Shield TV
It’s taken a long time to reach Australia, but is this finally the one media- and game-streaming device to rule your lounge room?
Nvidia’s Android TV-powered Shield TV box may initially seem more suited as a device for those with older tellies with app deficiencies, although with 4K video output and built-in Google Cast capabilities, it can act like a supercharged Chromecast Ultra too — with a ton of extra features. Powered by Nvidia’s own Tegra X1 processor — the same one used in the Nintendo Switch — it’s also got lots of grunt for both media and game streaming, and powering Androidnative games and apps, too.
The Shield TV comes in two options in Australia — a media-minded kit with just the box and a TV remote, or one pitched at gamers, that adds an Nvidia-built gamepad.
That remote is simple but serviceable and the Shield’s interface is clean and straightforward, with a series of rows for different apps or services — such as Netflix, YouTube, Games and Google Play Movies/Music — which can be customised to a certain extent. Navigating and finding things is quick and easy, and thanks to voice search, you can press the remote’s Mic button to locate things more rapidly or find specific media content — say “Post-apocalyptic movies”, for example, and it’ll give you a list of flicks available on Australian streaming services and local video sources. That ‘local video sources’ area is also well catered to thanks to a built-in Plex server and player, so you can attach a USB hard drive with your personal video collection and get a polished, Netflixlike interface for navigating through them.
The Shield TV isn’t quite perfect when it comes to media playback though — at least not in Australia — as several major videostreaming apps aren’t available for Android TV. While Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime Video are all there (as well as Tenplay and 7plus for catch-up TV), at the time of testing, ABC iView, SBS On Demand and Foxtel Now apps weren’t Shield compatible, so if you use these services, you’ll need to rely on casting from your phone or tablet.
Being able to stream games from your PC is the Shield’s other major drawcard, with one slight caveat — you’ll need to BYO PC or laptop with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 or better GPU. You’ll also want a wired (or strong Wi-Fi) connection between the two devices. If you pass those hurdles, you can stream basically any game from your PC to the Shield hooked up to your TV. All the processing happens in your computer, with the Shield merely streaming everything back and forth. Titanfall 2, running from a GeForce GTX 1080 over Wi-Fi was near flawless, with barely perceptible input lag between gamepad and onscreen action.
Android gaming’s also possible, though the quality of the games — in terms of both their gameplay and technical measure — varies a lot, and not all Android games are compatible. The marvellous XCOM is off limits, but GTA: Chinatown Wars is fine. Nvidia’s controller is the classic Xbox scheme, and it’s a beauty of a gamepad.
If you see yourself using the game-streaming capabilities extensively and/or you’re a mad-keen media streamer who doesn’t like their TV’s own interface then the Shield TV is a classy and fairly-priced box for what it offers.