Nvidia just released to the consumer public this past Tuesday its new Shield set-top console. Known for making some of the most powerful graphic processors on the market, NVIDIA now joins a very competitive set top console market. Question is does it stand out from th rest, let's deeply examine
NVIDIA is dubbing the new Shield the "worlds first Android TV console " it's multifaceted device that will play video, music and will have dedicated apps, as well as have games from several sources.
At first glance the thing that stands out is the build. Very thin compact with an all shiny black design,if you wouldn't have known it, you literally think the Shield console is a tablet as you can literally hold it in the palm of your hand.
The big selling point with the Shield console is its hardware, sporting the latest NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor and the Maxwell GPU. Surprisingly there's only 16GB of embedded storage, there is though an expansion microSD card slot that supports up to 128GB. The console supports 4K video and for connection it has 802.11ac WiFi and a Ethernet port. Present is a IR receiver that's compatible with Logitech's Harmony remote controls.( The Shield console also has 2 USB 3.0 ports and 1 HDMI port)
Gaming on the Shield will be made possibly by accessing NVIDIA's grid service,this will stream real time game play from an array of PC games from NVIDIA's remote server farm. Recommended connection for uploading games is a minimum of 5Mbps for the Grid. For higher resolution gaming, NVIDIA recommends 15Mbs.
Disclaimer
Much like what you have with other consoles on the market, the NVIDIA Shield gaming console is includes a based configuration controller which if you look very closely resembles the Xbox controller which should give gamer's a comfortable feel right from the start while gaming.
The pending success of the Shield console,it all depends on consumers acceptance to a new set top entertainment system in an already crowded market. Based on the success of the NVIDIA Shield tablet, I say consoles future looks bright. Not sure if the Shield console would pose a strong rival to the Xbox one and PS4, that all depends on media and gaming content.
Availability of the NVIDIA Shield console will be in May 2015 in the US for $199.Remote control for media playback will be sold separately.