SHIELD TV Now Supports 120 Hz Refresh, Ups Wi-Fi Bandwidth for GeForce NOW
by Anton Shilov on September 17, 2018 9:00 AM EST
NVIDIA has released its SHIELD Experience Upgrade 7.1, adding numerous new features and fixing bugs with their popular STB. Among the new capabilities are added support for a 120 Hz refresh rate on appropriate TVs and monitors, as well as compatibility with non-QWERTY keyboards. The update also mproves mouse movement accuracy and increases Wi-Fi bandwidth significantly for GeForce NOW.
The key feature that has made it to headlines is of course added support for 120 Hz refresh rates at sub-4K resolutions, at least on televisions and displays that support it. Specifically, the HDMI 2.0 spec supports 1080p120 resolution with 4:4:4 subsampling as well as 1440p120 resolution with 4:2:2 subsampling, so the set-top-box should technically be able to support both now (it is more likely that only 1080p120 is supported though). With that said, it's worth pointing out that 120 Hz video content is very rare, so I suspect the target audience is gamers who will stream games from a local GeForce GTX-based PC or NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW service.
Speaking of gamers, it is noteworthy that the SHIELD Experience Upgrade 7.1 also brings support for non-QWERTY keyboards (e.g., AZERTY, etc.) and improves accuracy of mouse movements in GeForce NOW by disabling Android mouse acceleration. Both features should benefit gamers who use keyboards and mice with the SHIELD TV STB.
Meanwhile, there is a particularly important bug fix that improves the usability of NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW service with the SHIELD TV platform. The SHIELD EU 7.1 resolves a Wi-Fi bug that was limiting the available bandwidth to the GeForce NOW app; according to NVIDIA fixing this bug means they've been able to increase bandwidth to the game streaming app by upwards of 5x.
While the enhancements brought by the SHIELD Experience Upgrade 7.1 are not exactly breakthrough per se, they show that NVIDIA is going to continue to tailoring its SHIELD TV and GeForce NOW services not only to casual users, but to demanding gamers as well.
Related Reading:
- A Budget Home Theater & PC Setup: 4K, HDR, UHD Blu-ray, and More
- NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Console Adds Support for Vudu, HDR and 4Kp60 Content
- NVIDIA Unifies GeForce NOW Service Across PCs and SHIELD TV STBs: 200+ Games Supported
- Google Assistant Released For NVIDIA's SHIELD TV; Other Vendors To Follow Shortly
- NVIDIA Launches SHIELD TV: Smart Home Functionality, More 4K HDR Streaming Services
- Google Assistant Released For NVIDIA's SHIELD TV; Other Vendors To Follow Shortly
- NVIDIA Releases Android 7.0 Update for 2015 SHIELD TV, Adds Amazon Video App
Source: NVIDIA
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pixelstuff - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
The Shield TV was released in May 2015 right? I wish all Android devices had this kind of support lifespan.The trashiness of other Android vendors makes me hesitant to buy an older unit like this. I keep thinking, surely this is the year they replace it with a new model so they can stop supporting the old model. Yet somehow the nVidia Shield TV not only remains on sale, but is the flagship Android TV device across all vendors. Even 4 years after it was released.
olafgarten - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
They are still supporting GPUs that were released in 2012 so it's not a huge surprise for Nvidia, the only surprise is in comparison to other Android Devices.Zeratul56 - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
I got the shield a few years ago and it has paid off in dividends. When it came out, it was the only device that supported 4K 60p over hdmi. It has also been continually supported up to now adding many features along the way. It was buggy for awhile in the early years but is very stable . Definitely worth the premium over other boxes. Only wish it had an integrated or optional Blu-ray drive so I wouldn’t have to switch over to my ugly, old stand alone blu Blu player.norazi - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
I only buy Shield and Google Nexus/Pixel. It costs a little more but in the long run its worth it for the quality of life improvements.Impulses - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
They did re-release it and made the more compact version at some point in the last couple years, didn't they? AFAIK all of them share in the updates tho... I'm curious whether their tablet is as well supported tho, it was tempting for a while... I'm still using a Nexus 7 occasionally even tho it lost support several Android versions ago.Sivar - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
I bought a first-generation Shield the day it was released. Best Android purchase I have ever made. No one predicted it would be so well supported years later, and because the hardware was so advanced, there has never been a need (or, admittedly, an opportunity) to buy an upgraded device.Diji1 - Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - link
>No one predicted it would be so well supported years laterNo one predicted that Nvidia would go on doing what it's done forever and support devices?
kanati8869 - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
Best tv set top box out there. Bar none.TheJian - Thursday, September 20, 2018 - link
Better upgrade the hardware if you want gamers involved. Far too long since that shieldTV and the handheld have had their hardware ignored. Please put two socs in or one that is ~85w, make it more like a PC with far more power than currently in it and I'll buy the shieldtv :) Start spending more money getting exclusives from small devs on your platform. Fund 25 ~$4mil games each year for it until you build a base worth buying hardware for. You have to have games that take advantage of the hardware before gamers pay much attention. PONG stuff won't work...LOL.You can build a good enough version just buy slapping a 7nm soc in it probably (or two! like msft/sony) and maybe 4GB HBM or GDDR6 on chip if you don't go the full 85w type (hopefully a slot for discrete cards!). That would sell a lot of units because it can actually do more than stream a flick. Quit shrinking the box, grow it and stick better stuff in it so people who want to game will buy it.
Sea Shadow - Friday, October 5, 2018 - link
Or just use gamestream to link your desktop rig to your tv? Why pay to maintain another gaming device when really all I need is one? Especially so with proper keyboard mouse support.