UPDATED 17:15 EDT / MARCH 04 2015

NEWS

Nvidia announces Shield streaming set-top device for TV | #GDC2015

Jen-Hsun Huang Nvidia ShieldThe Shield portable game streaming device by Nvidia Corp has been called “impractical” by some critics, but now Nvidia is taking its Android powered device into the living room with a new TV set-top console announced this week at Game Developers Conference 2015 in San Francisco.

“I believe that someday everyone will want a smart television experience,” Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said during the company’s GDC session. “This is likely a multi-billion unit market. It is just the beginning. I believe we can make great contribution here.”

Huang introduced Shield as Nvidia’s answer to the need for a better cloud-based device for living room entertainment. Shield supports 4k resolution video as well as a 4k decode, and Huang described Shield’s video quality as “absolutely gorgeous.” Huang demonstrated the device’s video capabilities with a clip from The Avengers, joking that the film’s SHIELD organization stole his device’s name.

 

“Why now?”

 

“Why now?” Huang asked, referring to the timing of creating an Android-powered streaming device. “Finally we have an operating system – Android TV– and the folks at Google really did a bang up job on it. I think they really cracked the TV operating system.”

Huang listed Android’s wide adoption rate, huge app library, cross-platform syncing capabilities, and “incredible voice search” as some of the reasons he loves the operating system and chose it for the Shield set-top device.

He demonstrated several streaming options for Shield, including movies, music, video files, and more. Huang also showcased the device’s remote, which is designed to be sleek and minimalistic with a focus on Shield’s voice control capabilities. The remote also sports a headphone jack, which allows users to listen to their TV audio privately, and it is USB rechargeable without the need to ever replace batteries.

According to Huang, both the Shield device and its remote are designed with aesthetics in mind, saying, “[Shield] has to be modern. It has to look elegant. And it has to look elegant whether it’s sitting flat or sitting on its edge.” He boast that the set-top device looks different from every angle and comes with a custom made anodized die-cast aluminum stand.

As for the device’s scheduled release for in May, Huang says, “Hold on to your money. It won’t be much longer.”

Image credit: Nvidia (c)

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU