- Nvidia considering new Shield ‘if we find something we’re excited about’
- Priorities would include VP9 Profile 2, AV1 and advanced HDR decoding
- Shield may be a relatively ad-free Apple TV 4K rival
10 years is a long time in the tech and TV industries, so it’s to Nvidia’s credit that its 10-year-old Nvidia Shield is still a popular streaming device. According to Andrew Bell, Nvidia’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, he would “love” to see a new Shield TV box. And me too.
This doesn’t mean a new Shield is imminent, or even underway. But as Bell says: “We’ve been playing around with some new concepts for Shield and we’ll continue to play around, and if we find something we’re excited about, we’ll probably give it a try.”
Although the Shield range is 10, the newest model is newer: it was released in 2019. And as we said in our Nvidia Shield (2019) review, it’s an excellent TV technology for both console and streamer, and completely convincing thanks to its excellent upscaler and powerful processor. But there are still some improvements that could be made – here’s what I’d like to see from a next-gen Shield.
1. 4K 120Hz support
As I wrote last year, when the Shield received a 120fps cloud gaming upgrade, the Shield only has HDMI 2.0 plus a now somewhat aging processor, which limits what it can decode and output; “It has similar hardware to the original Nintendo Switch and still runs Android 11, and while it’s great that Nvidia continues to update it, it seems like it’s time for a new one – not least because it faces more and more rivals.”
Nvidia GeForce Now, its own cloud gaming platform, can do 4K 120Hz, and this is supported on some LG TVs – but the Shield can’t offer that. A new version with HDMI 2.1 for 4K 120Hz and enough processing power to handle that seems like a breeze.
2. Up-to-date wireless connectivity
Besides the HDMI and CPU updates, the most obvious upgrade points are Bluetooth (currently 5.0 – newer versions may offer lower latency) and Wi-Fi (currently 802.11ac – I’d like to see Wi-F 7, of course). And the Android version on the Shield is currently Android 11, which also requires an upgrade.
3. Modern support for HDR and formats
Bell told Ars Technica that for this so-far imaginary device, priorities would include VP9 Profile 2 hardware decoding for YouTube HDR; the AV1 codec; the HDR10+ standard; and Dolby Vision profiles – the latter two would definitely be at the top of my list.
5. Keep the software flexibility it has now, so we can beat the ads
The above hardware would bring the Shield up to date, but as important as the hardware is, the Shield’s software also means a lot to its fans – and with many platforms’ increasing use of advertising and data collection in interfaces, the Shield’s current customization capabilities are worth highlighting: While it’s by no means ad-free (it’s Android after all), and I doubt that will change, many customers have abandoned the default interface and opted for options like the ad-free Projectivity launcher.
There’s certainly an engaged group that wants TV streamers that don’t fill their home screen and navigation areas with obnoxious ads, which is why I got an Apple TV 4K rather than a cheaper streaming stick – but the Apple ecosystem isn’t for everyone.
Although the Shield’s default interface serves ads, having a device where you can turn them off relatively easily is a big plus. So let’s hope that if a new Shield is in development, it will still be open to customization by the customer.
4. A much smaller Netflix button on the remote
Useless!
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