Last month NVIDIA exhorted Europe to Rule The Livingroom with the release of the SHIELD Android TV - console-like hardware for gaming natively, online or streaming from your PC. Powered by the Tegra X1 SOC, a design with many of the hallmarks of their Maxwell GPU architecture, the SHIELD Android TV in combination with GeForce NOW cloud gaming can provide a smooth 1080p 60fps experience in over 50 PC games; pair it with a NVIDIA-powered PC and your options increase up to 4K resolution streaming over a home network. Impressive.
However, with all the boasting of the hardware's immense gaming potential, the SHIELD Android TV's potential as a living room local and streaming media player has tended to be lost in the discussion. Today NVIDIA aim to change that, re-emphasising this strength by bundling the SHIELD Remote with both 16GB and 500GB models. At launch the SHIELD Remote was priced at a hefty £39.99, so that's a not insubstantial amount of value.
The remote itself is a deceptively unassuming piece of lightweight kit. Interfacing with the SHIELD Android TV over Bluetooth, the remote only features three buttons and a circular dial. The killer feature is hinted at by the lowest of the buttons, marked with a microphone. Press this and the SHIELD Android TV will respond to voice commands through the remote, unlocking new navigation options within the SHIELD OS.
To celebrate the new offer NVIDIA dropped a living room out the back of a C-130 Hercules, the same plane used in the infamous Plane Drop scene in Furious 7. Or did they? Tricky thing about NVIDIA - it's often difficult to tell what's real and what's hyper-realistic computer graphics. Check the stunt out for yourself here:
#RULETHELIVINGROOM indeed.
In the U.K. the SHIELD (16GB) Android TV costs £149.99 while SHIELD Pro (500GB) is £229.99, both of which now come with SHIELD Controller and Remote as standard. The stand costs £24.99 and an additional SHIELD gamepad controller costs £49.99.
SHIELD is available at select partners, including Amazon in U.K., France and Germany as well as MediaMarkt, Saturn, Game and Elkjop.
