Nvidia is finally rolling out another update to the Nvidia Shield TV box that’s used to transform regular televisions into a much smarter version with streaming and cloud gaming capabilities.
The Nvidia Shield is widely considered to be one of the best streaming boxes on the market, thanks to its sheer power, but it has been somewhat neglected, with the last update coming in early 2023. As such, many users might have experienced some glitches or bugs, which this update is intended to address.
In a blog post, Nvidia explains that the update is a hotfix rather than a new version, so don’t expect any new features. The underlying operating system, Android 11, isn’t being touched.
Among the improvements, Nvidia said it’s enhancing the Match Frame Rate feature, and fixing a few bugs that cause GeForce Now to crash sometimes, as well as some annoying issues relating to video and audio playback.
For instance, the fix should help to resolve issues such as the Shield’s drive filling up for no apparent reason, and no audio being heard when the headset is connected to a controller. It also fixes the problem of GeForce Now crashing immediately after it launches, as well as a video distortion problem that appears in the "RGB 8-bit Rec.709" display mode.
Other issues it intends to resolve include a problem that sometimes occurs, showing that the USB HDD/Flash drive is corrupted when it's not. It also fixes the problem of the NAS folder info not showing its actual capacity, and mounted storage space not being listed after the fact.
Users should note that Nvidia is requiring users to manually agree to the update, and it warns that once they do so, they’ll no longer be able to install the Disney+ app via the Google Play Store, or even update the existing app. That’s because the update is not yet Google-certified. So if you need Disney+, it might be wise to install it (or update it if you already have it) before implementing Nvidia's upgrade.
The company does promise that its next update will have all of the certifications required, so hopefully this issue won't be a permanent problem.
Whether or not this means the Nvidia Shield will soon be getting an upgrade to Android TV 14, the latest version of the operating system, remains to be seen. But it does at least seem to indicate that the company does have something in mind for the future.
