Table of Contents
We analyze the NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2017, the multimedia entertainment system, which has 4K HDR technology and allows us to play without problems.
The arrival of smart televisions would make many think that external devices that are connected to these televisions, such as media centers, no longer make the slightest sense, but there are very interesting solutions that really are. The most interesting is the NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2017, a media center device for the living room of our house with multiple capabilities, among them and most outstanding, gaming via streaming in our living room or playing games directly on television using this device, something that with other solutions is not possible.
NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2017 is a solution that goes beyond a traditional multimedia platform, it is a multiple solution. This console is based on the NVIDIA Tegra X1 SoC, which has 256 CUDA Cores. The most interesting are its multiple functions, such as the Google Assistant utility, NVIDIA GeForce Now or the 4K HDR video output. This NVIDIA Shield TV was presented during CES 2017 at the NVIDIA conference and now it reaches stores and competes with other, less complete solutions.
Thanks to NVIDIA for allowing us the NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2017 for analysis.
Designer
This new version of Shield TV is very similar to the 2015 version, where the current and the previous version share many aspects, where we can see an angular design with a mixture of matt areas and glossy surfaces that give it a very attractive and elegant design and in addition, it is more compact than the original version. The first Shield TV had dimensions of 21x13x2.5cm, while this version of 2017 has dimensions of 16 × 9.9 × 2.5cm and has a weight of 848 grams.
The controller changes a lot in design, which has a somewhat more compact and stylized appearance than the previous Shield TV and its design is polygonal. The original control had as a great counterpart the weight and dimensions, which was very tiring for the user, something that changed in the new version of this control. It has a more angled design, with a basically triangulated structure in its parts, in addition, this new remote is more compact and lightweight, which allows it to be more comfortable to use.
Features
There are big changes between the Shield TV from 2015 and the Shield TV from 2017. The standard version of this advanced media center has a 16GB storage option with a 16GB storage option, while in the 2015 version, it had a solution. storage via microSD card. There will be a second option, for those who do not want to connect a USB drive or an external hard drive, NVIDIA will sell the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro, a slightly more expensive version, but which will have 500GB of storage.
We have in this new Shield TV support for 4K HDR solutions, with a video playback at 60FPS, something really impressive in resolution and quality, to enjoy the contents of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, only compatible on televisions with HDR technology. Those who do not have a television with HDR support, theoretically will not notice much difference in 4K video quality, compared to the Shield TV 2015.
Regarding the hardware, the Shield TV has an NVIDIA Tegra X1 chip, which is more powerful than any other solution from the competition. This SoC has 256 CUDA Cores and 3GB of RAM. As we have mentioned, the basic version will have 16GB and the Pro version will have 500GB of storage that can be expanded thanks to the two USB 3.0 ports. The console also has 802.11ac WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth 4.1LE and a Gigabit Ethernet network port. Connectivity ends with the HDMI 2.0b video connector, which features HDMI CEC and HDCP 2.2 support.
This console has the Google Android 7.0 operating system, which allows us to use all the usual applications that we could use on our smartphone and other multimedia solutions, such as GeForce Now, game streaming and NVIDIA Share, to share games directly to the internet . What's more, it has, among others, Steam, NVIDIA Games, Netflix, Amazon Video and YouTube installed as the most outstanding applications.
Specifications
- Android 7.0 Nougat (Android TV)
- Nvidia Tegra X1 processor with a 256-core GPU
- 3 GB of RAM
- Up to 4K HDR playback at 60fps
- 16GB and 500GB storage options
- 802.11ac 2,4 GHz and 5 GHz 2 × 2 MIMO Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 4.1 LE
- HDMI 2.0b with HDCP 2.2 and CEC support
- 3.0 2xUSB
- Micro-USB 2.0
- 210x130x25mm, 654g
NVIDIA GeForce Now
One of the most interesting elements is GeForce Now, a technology that allows us to play computer games, through the cloud, directly on television. We must take it as a subscription similar to Netflix, where for € 9.99 per month we can enjoy a large library of games powered by Pascal GPUs, thanks to an NVIDIA server farm.
Base titles are updated on a regular basis and keep players active as long as possible, also allowing to play new titles that can be purchased on GeForce Now. We have for example the No Man Sky, which has a price of € 50, it is available remotely, but that's not all, since NVIDIA will allow us to play it through GeForce Now, but they will also give us a Steam code to access the game from our computer.
This application is very interesting, but of course, the free games that are available are already a bit old, but due to the monthly cost, which is quite tight, we can access a really large list of games. For casual gaming, this is a great solution, since we don't have to buy a good team and then the different games that are coming out, only to gain access to the games that interest us. For children it is an interesting option, since it has some LEGO game titles.
GeForce Now has very good parts, but there is a problem, the WiFi is not good enough for this practice. The 802.11ac WiFi is not enough and raises some stability problems in the frames, with big drops and some audio problems. This is solved by connecting via network cable, instead of WiFi. It does not differ much from 1080p @ 60FPS resolution, in terms of graphic quality.
Software
The Shield TV of 2015 had Android 5.1 Lollipop installed, while the Shield TV of 2017 has the Android 7.0 Nougat version, so we will have access to a large number of applications through the Play Sotre, among many other features. For its part, the user interface is very clean and it is very easy to navigate, even for those who are not very knowledgeable in Android. Shield TV has Google Cast 4K natively, which allows us to broadcast content, which will allow us to connect devices such as a smartphone, as if it were a Chromecast connected to the television.
The Google Assistant solution, which was announced in Ces 2017, which allows us to interact with Google, asking questions and performing tasks such as making an Uber request, changing the lighting or adjusting the thermostat intelligently, is not yet available. Google Assistant will probably arrive at Shield later this year and until then it is a function that we will not enjoy, but that are there. This is a very interesting detail, which we must take into account, which will allow us to use the Shield TV at home, thanks to the microphone and the speaker.
Conclusion
The NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2017 is much more than a multimedia device, it is a solution that allows entertainment in different ways. It differs from other solutions, with gaming, either with games through GeForce Now or we can through GeForce Experience connect our equipment with the NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2017 and enjoy the games on our PC in the living room or in any instance where we have connected this excellent device.
This new NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2017, has great improvements over the previous solution. It still has the NVIDIA Tegra X1, but the dimensions of the device have been reduced, as well as an important improvement of the control, since it is more compact and lighter than the previous version, two very important points in a multimedia entertainment device and gaming, thought about the number of hours of use, in addition, that the NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2017 has smaller dimensions.
Having Android 7.0 Nougat is something to take into account, since it is the latest version of the operating system, with which we have functions that are not in others and improves the performance of the system. Also having practically the entire catalog of Android applications is another factor that we liked. The multimedia remote is very compact and small, which is also very interesting and has a voice command system, something remarkable. In general, we really liked this multimedia system, designed for entertainment and gaming.
With wifi b / g / n would it be enough to play even at 720p 30 fps? I'm talking about streaming from the pc to the shield.
Yes, it should be more than enough, what's more, possibly you can also 1080p with 30fps, everything will also depend on the quality of the signal.
But I am referring to streaming from my PC to the room where I would have the shield, I understand that in this case only the bandwidth between my PC and the console matters, that is to say that the internet speed does not influence because everything is sent directly from me PC to console.
The Internet has nothing to do with it, but the signal that reaches it does. If there are walls or the signal is not good enough we can have a loss of quality. You have to fix the WiFi signal of your mobile.
It hits the top, there's only one wall in between. And the game by streaming from the Nvidia servers with 6-8 mb will there be something to do? I imagine that it will not go very fine with this internet speed.
You will be able to play without problems. Regarding playing through streaming based on NVIDIA servers, the company has already made it clear that if you don't have more than 30Mb, don't bother.