NVIDIA’s SHIELD Console Becomes SHIELD Android TV
by Ryan Smith on April 23, 2015 6:30 PM ESTNVIDIA updated their SHIELD website today with a bit more information on the SHIELD Console. And while an earlier $299 device listing ended up being erroneous – NVIDIA accidentally listed the developer edition console for a time – there is one other minor update that is true and bears mentioning.
With today’s site update, NVIDIA has updated the name of the SHIELD Console. All of their branding now refers to the device as the SHIELD Android TV, doing away with the “Console” branding. The original SHIELD Console name has been somewhat inconsistent on NVIDIA’s part – the company would call it the Console at times, and other times simply the NVIDIA SHIELD – so this slight rebranding is presumably NVIDIA settling on what should be the device’s final name for next month’s launch.
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Scribe42 - Sunday, April 26, 2015 - link
Does this device do that (extend PC games to another room)? It would be a big selling point for me. I know the Shield tablets do this, but I haven't been able to find anything from Nvidia that says this Shield Android TV will perform this function.chizow - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
Yeah, agreed. I think this branding will just confuse the market but it is obvious Nvidia thinks their best shot at market adoption will be in the Android TV market (I am not so sure about this).Otherwise, they are clearly taking a shotgun approach to what this device can do because there really is no clear market or purpose for this device. It basically dabbles in 6 different niche/emerging/prospective markets at once.
One interesting new development in their favor however is the new Silicon Dust HD HomeRun DVR project. If they could substitute and eliminate the need for Windows Media Center for a CableCard-based HTPC, that would be a huge plus mark for my personal usage patterns.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1275320038/hd...
keitaro - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
Could be worse... could've named it Some Huge Internet Electronic Lagging Device.epobirs - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
The console business is very hard to break into but the 4K TV market is wide open for new players to build a customer base. The widget is the same but the opportunity is different.Marc GP - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
They need to work hand in hand with Valve to bring an Steam Client to Android, even if it is only for Tegra devices where game ports are very easy because they support full Open GL.meacupla - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
Yeah, but why? Tegra graphics aren't that good, to begin with, and a GTX card streaming with NVENC will do the job better.Valve/nvidia have been pushing their in-home streaming for quite some time now, and SHIELD fits in exactly with what they're doing.
vanotter - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
Preventive strike against updated Apple TV.watzupken - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
I think this makes an interesting TV/ multimedia Android box, but not too certain about its future as a gaming console. Its definitely got the graphic muscle, but Android is still not quite the ecosystem for serious gamer. At least not at this point in time.MrSparky - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
That's exactly why I will buy one. I want an Android based media box. I looked at other cheaper offerings but this seem to have the best hardware to date and the gaming part is just a bonus. This is $60 box more then a Probox2 EX but the beefed-up processor, memory and WiFi + TV friendly OS and navigation justify that in my opinion.