Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang revealed a couple of compelling products, including the updated Nvidia Shield TV during its keynote presentation at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2017.
The new Shield TV version is 40 percent smaller, runs on the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system, and can stream 4K HDR content. Experts have tested the new Shield TV version to see if the $199 is worth it. The gaming and streaming capabilities of the device have been tested, and it appears to have had no lags when it streamed Titanfall II from a high-powered gaming computer.
Nvidia has also introduced a new game controller for the device. It is being sold separately with the media streamer coming in two versions: a basic 16 GB streaming device and a Pro model which is a 500 GB home media server.
PC Advisor's Chris Martin noted that he is not sure whether users will still want to upgrade their Nvidia Shield TV to the new version. However, he admitted that he was impressed with the smooth 4K HDR playback.
"We haven't tested all the features yet, but the new model of the Nvidia Shield TV is certainly impressive with its ability to stream different things in different ways, whether you own a GTX PC or not. Users will benefit from the 4K HDR quality, and Google Assistant will make it even more useful when it arrives," Martin wrote.
Darrell Etherington of Tech Crunch said he appreciates the more optimized and improved 2017 Nvidia Shield TV compared to the 2015 model. He also expressed excitement about the new gaming controller.
"It's a big improvement overall, made even more impressive because most of the features will come to existing Shield devices via a software update," he wrote.
Chris Burns of Slash Gear said he was amazed by the new Nvidia Shield TV's 4K HDR streaming capability but was more impressed by the older version. According to Burns, those who do not mind watching at 1080p do not have to upgrade. However, he advised players to purchase the new game controller.