Gadgetory

the word shield has become synonymous with gaming thanks to Nvidia and a new version of the popular line of devices updates their Android TV box to a slimmer but more powerful companion for one's entertainment center if you've never pulled the trigger on a smart hub for your large TV this might be the one you've been waiting for it's J VTech T what's going on everybody and this is a review of the new 2017 Nvidia shield TV while the Nvidia shield TV never really did take up a whole lot of room next to our televisions the latest bass Edition is significantly smaller a larger shield TV pro is also available that adds a micro SD card slot and a much bigger built-in hard drive but in this version of the shield of those two missing features still leave room for two USB ports and Ethernet port and the HDMI port where all of the magic flows out connected drives can be used as a removable storage to transfer data to and from the internal 16 gigabyte drive but most users may want to install a USB 3.0 solid-state drive like I have formatted to be used as device storage with this solution I was able to add a much-needed 200 plus gigabytes for apps and app data the included remote is very similar to the previous model showing an apparent focus on voice search with the large microphone button there's also a touch sensitive area beneath it where users can slide a finger in order to change the volume and it's pretty slick the same sliding action can be done on the bottom of the updated shield controller which has also been slimmed down and now has much more of the angular lines and shapes found in much of Nvidia divine language buttons for general navigation are found in the center and an audio jack underneath can be used for routing sound and recording to one's headphones we really like the build quality of every piece of kit in the Nvidia shield TV but the updated controller definitely completes the gamer focus package it's still one of the best controllers we've ever used in android period let's throw ourselves right into the Leanback interface of the shield TV operating system I can show you this easily because of the powerful built-in recording and broadcasting capabilities of the shield where I can record high quality footage of not just the games but also the overall interface commentary is recorded using either the microphones on the controllers or via inline mics unplugged in headphones the audio isn't all that great and you don't have a whole lot of control over the volume of the voice recording or even the volume of the game audio as they're all recorded at the same time so this may not be the best solution for any hardcore gamers really looking to share their playthroughs the shield has always been focused on gaming and that experience has been updated since the previous model Nvidia grid is now GeForce now the streaming service that marry a subscription streaming with full game purchases not every game is available in GeForce now but a pretty sizable library is included with the $8 a month subscription the most recent triple-a title put on GeForce now is no man's sky and games like Batman Arkham origins and Tomb Raider can be launched immediately after starting one subscription GeForce now in a nutshell allows gamers to stream content straight from Nvidia zone servers with the right internet connection it is almost surprisingly effective user input was good enough to get through fight scenes without any issues as Batman in the Batman game or Wei Shen in Sleeping Dogs and despite some loss of quality when the internet connection got a bit weak the experience was still smooth and I could feel capable of doing full fun playthroughs if you have a powerful enough router you can have a smooth experience but I would highly recommend taking advantage of the Ethernet connection for best results your gaming mileage may vary however I can see a vyd gamers not really buying into GeForce now when they already have all of the games included and when games they want aren't going to be supported by the shield personally I didn't have an issue with this because I have yet to play or finish many of the included titles what a completely different level of gaming can still be achieved even without in videos backing and that's through the Android side many Android games have been properly ported over to Android TV and Nvidia makes it as close to a comfortable console experience as ever I've made the point before that Android is a great place to revisit or even introduce people to classic titles like Final Fantasy 9 and Jade Empire both of which are happily installed here and when the gamepad is supported the gameplay is immensely better on the bigger screen and without the touchscreens of one tablet or smartphones some titles are missing oddly enough many of rockstars titles are absent like bully or many of the 3d Grand Theft Auto games but with the large number of existing games already in the Play Store there should be enough to keep someone busy on what can really be described as their Android console the viewing experience is still incredible with everything from Netflix the network apps like Comedy Central available for Android TV I find it odd that basically any podcast application is missing but that is easily fixed with the built-in Google cast support where I find a bit of a hole in the new shield TVs features is Google assistant Nvidia made a huge deal in their announcement that Google assistant was going to be a part of it but it seems that the existing Google Voice Search just got a facelift to look more like it for example Google assistant on the shield TV doesn't do the daily briefing instead showing me the search term results from YouTube there are a few other functions that I use on Google assistant with my Google pixel that somehow did it make it over to the shield TV I believe that Google assistant on the shield should be as good as Google home especially if someone is using it first thing in the morning or in the background for any other daily household tasks but even then the new shield TV is a worthy update to the original but might not appeal to previous owners if they don't own a 4k HDR capable TV many of the features of this newer version have come to the previous shield TV via software updates but we will admit that upgrades from the Tegra k1 to the x1 might be enough to entice users for anyone that has waited to make their televisions as smart as possible with the shield this new version is a powerful little Android console with a delightfully short list of caveats NVIDIA has continued to provide the most capable apparatus for making mobile gaming a little bit more grounded and thus potentially that much more enjoyable it's a simple equation when it comes to the Nvidia shield TV you come for the TV but stay for the game give it into Andhra 34 even more about to be in video shield TV and more about Android TV in general we do think it's a great way to play games primarily on a bigger screen but it's still one of the best ways to create a smart experience for your existing television the Nvidia shield TV is available now for 199 dollars but the shield TV pearl is available at 299 dollars if you want the extra features and a little bit more harddrive space keep it into Android 34 even more about this and beyond MWC is only a month away so you can stay tuned for all of our coverage of that and even more because we are your source for all things Android