The current market for set-top boxes is becoming increasingly crowded, but this doesn’t seem to faze NVidia as the company has recently launched its second-generation Shield TV. While the first box had some interesting ideas and had a superior design than the rest of its competitor, its price and compatibility only with Android TV OS were obstacles it did not manage to overcome.
However, it seems that the newest NVidia Shield TV promises to address some of the biggest concerns from users and potential customers, while at the same improving the overall experience as it comes with a new software update as well as changes to its peripherals.
One of the eye-catching aspects of the new Shield TV is its $200 price tag, which seems to be a remnant of the original device. At first, it seems that paying $100 extra for a set-top box with a sleeker design and better interface than the $100 Roku or $90 Amazon Fire, isn’t really worth it. However, its price is justified due to its great capacity in handling games. The Shield TV even comes with the Amazon Video app which was missing from the first-generation device.
Another important updated feature are the peripherals. While the first Shield TV required you to pay an extra $50 for the remote, the new device is now included in the price. Furthermore, the devices from each generation came with a game controller looking quite similar to the Xbox controller.
NVidia has improved its new gamepad as it is now both smaller and lighter and featuring automatically pairing with the system, which was absent from the original device. Furthermore, the controller also comes with an audio port which allows users to instantly stream all their audio content from the Shield TV box directly to your headphones. The controller also had a slight redesign as it now features the angular aesthetic of the box into its handles, which seems to be a point of contention among some users.
With the new Shield TV, NVidia managed to finally balance the capabilities of game and TV-streaming. The company announced that it will expand the gaming streaming service later this year by offering access on Day One of major games from Steam and Green Man gaming.
Image source: Nvidia