It's a powerful piece of technology, even if Android TV is still a bit of a mess. Left: Google Chromecast, Right: Nvidia Shield TV Proįor people who really value audiovisual fidelity, the Shield stands alone in the market. That's something most TV interfaces simply don't have. On the other hand, you actually can multitask with the Shield. Its age does show a bit at times-apps might hiccup while loading, and multitasking is sluggish. While the company has made a few newer Tegra models, they've all been development kits or automotive modules, so I'm not sure where Nvidia can go from here. As far as a piece of AV equipment goes, this is a monstrously powerful chip with its Maxwell-based GPU and capable but aging CPUs. The Tegra X1+ in the Shield has eight CPU cores, but they're the relatively ancient Cortex A57 and A53. The move from 20nm to 16nm is the only significant improvement for the Tegra X1 line since its 2015 debut in the original Shield (current Qualcomm and Apple parts are 4-5nm). The current Shield Pro runs the Tegra X1+ SoC, the original version of which was a real hot chip back in 2015. It doesn't happen on all DV content, so I'm not certain what the cause is. The Shield seems to lag behind adjusting the HDR profile on Dolby Vision content, which can make the brightness changes quite distracting. Unlike HDR10, Dolby Vision prescribes brightness profiles for every shot instead of using one for the whole movie. The only AV format that seems to have issues is Dolby Vision, which was new on the 2019 Shields. Heck, you can even run a Plex server on the Shield Pro. I host Blu-ray rips on my Plex server, and the Shield is the only device I've found that reliably plays everything without transcoding. The Shield is prepared for anything you throw at it, even uncompressed True HD Atmos, DTS Master Audio, and Dolby Digital Plus. Most online media streams with Dolby Digital sound, which plenty of devices can understand. Support for high-end audio-video formats is a major strength for the Shield TV. Like past Shield remotes, it has a microphone for voice commands. I was initially feeling positive about the Toblerone-like shape, but it seems even better than the average remote at burrowing into my couch cushions. The Netflix button is also too large and easy to trigger accidentally. I'm not a fan of the button layout, which has no rhyme or reason. I can't imagine that being good for battery life. However, it's so sensitive that just setting something down on a table next to the remote will cause it to light up. I also like that the buttons are backlit and illuminate automatically when you pick up the remote. It uses regular AA batteries, which is preferable for a remote control in my experience. There's always something wrong, but I do like the 2019 remote more than the previous versions. Nvidia has struggled to make a good remote for its streaming boxes, and it just can't quite get there. There's also a small cooling vent on the rear, which is necessary because the Shield is tuned to take advantage of its constant supply of power-there's no chipset throttling here. The Shield Pro shows its age a bit with the lack of USB-C for either power or data, but I'm not going to scoff at two high-speed USB ports, even if they're USB-A. There's a gigabit Ethernet port, an HDMI 2.0b, two USB-A 3.0 ports, and a power outlet that looks like a USB-C but isn't. Around back, the Shield Pro has more connection options than other media streamers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |