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Nvidia's Shield TV gains Amazon Music streaming
Android set-top box Shield TV has already added Alexa and a fully-featured version of cloud game streaming service GeForce Now, but it's making room for another significant update in the lead up to Christmas. Chief among the new additions is an Amazon Music app, which joins the growing list of music streaming platforms (Spotify, Google Play Music, Tidal, Pandora) already on the streamer.
Alexa can take charge of your Shield TV
If you've always wanted to control your Shield TV using your Amazon Echo, now you can. Yes, Nvidia's set-top box has launched a dedicated Alexa skill that lets you switch it on and off, change channels, control the volume, fire up apps (like Amazon Prime Video and HBO Now), and more. The Android-powered device already integrated Google Assistant last September, making it the only streamer you can control with the rival voice assistants.
NVIDIA Shield update includes in-game voice chat support
NVIDIA is rolling out a Shield software upgrade today, bringing users new features as well as the return of one old one. The company's new GeForce Now beta was released not long ago and today's update introduces some improvements to the streaming service including in-game voice chat support for popular games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and the ability to connect a headset and mic to the Shield controller. Additionally, NVIDIA is tweaking its keyboard and mouse experience, introducing smoother and more accurate mouse movements, keyboard shortcuts and a Keyboard and Mouse Games row on GeForce Now. More day-and-date releases are on the way as well, like the upcoming Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
NVIDIA Shield gets a full-featured version of GeForce Now
NVIDIA's GeForce Now uses the power of the cloud to turn your Mac or Windows PC into a high-end gaming machine, even if your computer is a piece of crap. Confusingly, NVIDIA has offered a service of the same name for its $200 4K Shield, but it's not exactly like the one on PC and Mac. That's about to change, though, as it's launching a new GeForce Now service for the Shield that's identical to (and compatible with) the one for personal computers.
NVIDIA's Shield TV is the latest home for Google Assistant
Last month at IFA, we heard that more Google Assistant-integrating speakers and appliances were on the way. Today, NVIDIA's Shield TV joins the list, adding the search giant's digital assistant SDK to its retinue of entertainment features. In short, instead of a paltry speaker, you'll be able to use your entire home theater setup to command your life, one 'OK Google' at a time. In fact, Google says Assistant is coming to Android TV on the whole, so if you have another device running that platform, voice control is likely coming soon.
The best gear for building a home theater in your dorm
To the extent that your shoebox of a dorm will be your home for the next nine months, you should do whatever you can to make it feel cozy and inviting. To that end, we've included some home-theater items in our back-to-school guide, and we've ensured everything is reasonably compact (you can hold off on your first 65-inch set until you have your very own pad). From media streamers to speakers to a handful of small- to medium-sized TVs, you have options if you want to upgrade from watching Netflix off your 13-inch laptop.
NVIDIA will power self-driving cars in China
NVIDIA has already forged self-driving alliances with big car manufacturers like Audi, Toyota and Volvo, but its latest is a particularly big deal -- at least if you live in China. The chip designer has unveiled a partnership with Chinese internet giant Baidu that will see the two work together to boost the use of AI. Most notably, NVIDIA's Drive PX tech will find its way into Baidu's Apollo self-driving car platform and autonomous vehicles from "major" Chinese firms. The automotive pact is important enough that Baidu chief Robin Li traveled to the event in one of his company's driverless rides -- even though it was against the law.
NVIDIA's Shield TV upgrades to 4K for Cast and Google Play movies
Despite all the 4K material NVIDIA's Shield TV can handle, there have still been a few gaps: you couldn't play Google Play Movies & TV content in 4K, for instance, and you definitely couldn't Google Cast the 4K videos of your choice. Thankfully, NVIDIA is plugging those two holes today. An update lets all Shield TV boxes play both the content you Cast and Google Play titles in the ultra-sharp resolution, so you don't have to be quite so picky when looking for material beyond 1080p.
Pros and cons: Our quick verdict on NVIDIA's new Shield TV
NVIDIA's new Shield TV is a lot like its old Shield TV -- at least, on the inside. Still, the revamped Android TV set-top box is a lot smaller; it has a vastly improved game controller; and it's a much better deal at $200, since it includes the remote that used to cost an additional $50. The Shield TV also packs in a newer version of NVIDIA's GeForce Now game streaming service, and it can pipe over titles from your NVIDIA GPU-equipped gaming PC with full support for HDR. Eventually, it'll also include Google's Assistant.
NVIDIA's new Shield TV is more of the same, with a better gamepad
We expected NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang to introduce a revamped Shield TV at CES; what we didn't expect was for the new device to be practically a carbon copy of the original. Sure, it's a lot smaller, but inside, it's running all of the same hardware we saw in 2015. And yet NVIDIA claims it's still much more powerful than any other set-top box. That's a testament to how robust the company's X1 chip is, but it's a disappointment for anyone who was hoping for something fresh. On the bright side, the new $200 Shield comes with a new controller that's light-years ahead of the last one. It's not revolutionary, but you can think of it as a refined spin on NVIDIA's original set-top box concept.
NVIDIA's original Shield TV gets the new model's smarts (updated)
NVIDIA unveiled a new Shield TV box at CES, but the list of upgrades was pretty slim. It has a funky new controller, with a mesh of triangles peppering the grips, but otherwise it's the same hardware with some extra software bells and whistles. If you have the older model, good news -- today, you're getting all those non-hardware additions too. They include a new foundation -- Android 7.0 Nougat -- and a bunch of new apps including Amazon Video, Twitter, the NFL, Comedy Central and Vimeo.
NVIDIA Spot brings Google Assistant to every room in your home
There's a common gripe with the Amazon Echo, Google Home and other voice-guided helpers: You have to stand within their listening range to make use of them. Not quite the Star Trek future you were promised, is it? NVIDIA, however, might have a fix: It just introduced the Spot, a hybrid mic and speaker that brings Google Assistant to every nook and cranny in your home. You need the new Shield TV to serve as the central hub, but you're otherwise free to turn on lights, ask questions and otherwise use Assistant knowing that you'll be heard.
NVIDIA's Shield is now an all-in-one Plex box
Everybody loves Plex, but it's always been a stumbling point for novice users that it still needs a dedicated, always-on PC to run the show. Thanks to the power of NVIDIA's Shield TV, that's no longer the case, and Plex has revealed that the device can act as a dedicated, standalone Plex server. Rather than having to tend to that media center machine you've got tucked under the stairs, the box under your TV can now handle it all, including remote play to mobile devices outside the home. Naturally, while both the Shield and Shield Pro can do the business, it's the latter unit that'll really come into its own, thanks to its 500GB of built-in storage.
NVIDIA's Shield TV goes on sale in the UK and Europe tomorrow
In the six months since NVIDIA launched Shield TV, we've put it through its paces and called it best Android TV box money can buy. Consumers in the US have been able to get their hands on it since May, but now it's time for Europe to get in on the act. That's right, from tomorrow (October 1st), consumers in the UK, France, Germany and Scandinavia can buy the base 16GB model for £150/€200 or the 500GB Shield Pro for £230/€300.
GeForce Now puts PC games on your NVIDIA device for $8 per month
NVIDIA's GRID service wasn't the be-all, end-all of its cloud gaming ambitions... if anything, the company was just getting started. The crew in Santa Clara has unveiled GeForce Now, an $8 per month subscription service that streams PC games to all of NVIDIA's Shield devices, ranging from the original handheld through to the Shield TV. It's still streaming at GRID's 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second, but you'll get a brand new interface with better parental controls. There are over 50 (mostly) major titles to start, including most of the Batman games (but not Arkham Knight), numerous Lego games and Ultra Street Fighter IV. You can buy other games outright, such as The Witcher 3, and there are promises of future games reaching GeForce Now as soon as they launch. The service goes live on October 1st in the US.
