NVIDIA launches two new SHIELD TV products

I've had two SHIELD TVs for a year and change now and I love them. One of the few things missing was Dolby Vision support, but that's been fixed. Today, two new SHIELD TV products have been announced and they're a little bit faster and feature a nifty AI upscaling feature.

The SHIELD TV and SHIELD TV PRO are two products for home theater customers who also want some great gaming features. Running on an updated Tegra X1+ processor also found in the new Nintendo Switch. NVIDIA claims this will provide a 25% increase in performance over the previous SHIELD TV.

Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos will be available on the majority of the streaming apps so watch your movies in awesome HDR and hear it in superb surround sound. Unfortunately, the hardware doesn't allow or VP9.2 so no YouTube HDR videos. That's one thing I think NVIDIA should have looked to include, but it looks like I'll have to default to my LG's WebOS YouTube app to watch those kinds of videos. I did ask NVIDIA if in the future it could support HDR10+ and they said it was a possibility so keep your fingers crossed. And no, older SHIELD TVs won't get an upgrade to get Dolby Vision support because of hardware limitations.

One of the really cool features looks to be AI upscaling where the SHIELD TV will upscale your video to 4K in real time. Using machine learning, it'll produce an upscaled pictured better than other traditional methods and this will work across the board on various apps and streaming services. Pretty cool.

There's no SKU with expanded storage or a controller, but you can bring your own controller to use such as an Xbox One X or PlayStation 4 controller and if you want more room, just plug a USB hard drive in the Pro or a microSD card in the SHIELD TV.

A new remote with backlit capabilities and the ability to find it in case it's lost is packaged with the SHIELDs. It's got new triangular design that's similar to my Sleep Number Bed remote and more buttons. No more capacitive volume slider, thank god.

The SHIELD TV, which has a tube design, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of storage with an expandable microSD slot, will sell for $150 while the SHIELD TV PRO which looks like the previous version but housing 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage and includes 2 USB ports will sell for $199. They are both available today.

Future of Streaming Entertainment Starts Today
with Launch of NVIDIA SHIELD TV, Starting at $149

New Tegra X1+ Processor and Deep Learning Technology Power Advanced AI Upscaling, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Oct. 28, 2019—NVIDIA today raised the bar higher still for streaming media players — unveiling the next generation of SHIELD™ TV, which delivers unmatched levels of home entertainment, gaming and AI capabilities right into the living room, starting at $149.

The two new SHIELD models — SHIELD TV and SHIELD TV Pro — provide exceptional visual and sound experiences. Their new Tegra® X1+ processor, delivering up to 25 percent more performance than its predecessor, helps bring to life Dolby Vision for ultra-vivid imagery and Dolby Atmos for extraordinary audio. Its computational prowess dramatically improves picture quality by using AI to upscale HD video streams into 4K resolution.

“These new models provide a big step up for SHIELD, which has consistently delivered groundbreaking innovations in the living room since its introduction five years ago,” said Jeff Fisher, senior vice president of the Consumer Business at NVIDIA. “They deliver unquestionably best-in-class entertainment, supported by Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision and our breakthroughs in using AI to improve video streaming playback.”

The SHIELD additions offer options that will appeal to everyone, from casual streamers to media and gaming enthusiasts.

SHIELD TV has a slim, stealthy design meant to disappear by blending in with, or behind, entertainment centers. It also has Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi for lightning-fast connectivity.

SHIELD TV Pro takes entertainment to the next level for the most demanding users. It is based on the previous generation’s iconic, sleek design and comes with additional memory and storage, plus two USB ports for running a Plex Media Server and connecting high-capacity hard drives or other USB devices.

Both come bundled with an all-new remote control, powered by two AAA batteries, that features motion-activated backlit buttons, a built-in lost remote locator and a mic for voice search.

SHIELD, as an Android TV™ device, provides access to over 500,000 movies and shows and more than 5,000 apps and games through Google Play. The Google Assistant enables users to quickly access entertainment, control smart devices and get answers on screen with their voice. SHIELD now supports “routines” — with one command, the Google Assistant will complete multiple tasks.

“NVIDIA pushes the boundaries of how media and entertainment are consumed in the home,” said Shalini Govil-Pai, senior director of Product Management for Android TV, at Google. “By bringing together Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos with Android TV, users of the new SHIELD TV media players receive an unmatched experience that well represents our platform’s rich content and capabilities.”

Spectacular Visuals and Sound

Dolby Vision transforms entertainment experiences with ultra-vivid imaging — incredible brightness, contrast, color and detail that infuse movies with refined, life-like images. It can deliver colors never seen before on a screen, with dramatic contrast, highlights that are up to 40x brighter, and blacks that are 10x darker.

Dolby Atmos represents a leap forward from surround sound, transporting listeners into an extraordinary experience with moving audio that flows around them. Listeners will feel like they are inside the action as the sounds of people, places, things and music come alive with breathtaking realism.

AI in the Home

SHIELD benefits from NVIDIA’s AI leadership to offer features lacking in competing devices. In addition to built-in Google Assistant and Amazon Echo connectivity, the new streamers use an AI upscaler to bring HD content to life. Trained on a deep neural network, the upscaler lets SHIELD owners watch 720p and 1080p content in beautiful 4K.

Amazing Games

SHIELD boasts the widest range of gaming content on a streaming media device with support for cloud gaming, local streaming and advanced native games. Gamers can enjoy hundreds of supported games in the GeForce NOW™ beta, including many recent releases and top free-to-play games like Fortnite.

Pricing and Availability

SHIELD TV and SHIELD TV Pro are available now and ship in the U.S., Canada and select European countries. SHIELD TV starts at $149 with remote. SHIELD TV Pro with remote, 3GB of memory and 16GB of storage is available for $199. More information, including where to buy, is available at http://shield.nvidia.com/.