Nvidia announces Shield set-top box

Nvidia CEO Jenhsun Huang announced at the GDC keynote that the company will be introducing a new hardware device called the Shield which is a set-top box running Android TV. The video graphics company hasten taken a new step into the world of hardware by launching the new Shield box which cost $199.

This is not the first gaming device that Nvidia has launched. The company already owns an Android based gaming handheld device as well as a high end tablet. The announcement seemed to be more about a device which combines the power of both a TV and a gaming console but instead Nvidia presented the people with the new Shield which is more like a Razer’s Forge TV device.

It was evident from the way Nvidia was showcasing the device at the event by focusing on the non-gaming related areas of the device that it is more than just a gaming console. Major part of the unveiling focused on how the Android TV system works. There is a remote control that is used to navigate the Android interface just like the one offered by other TV set-top box OEMs. The use of built-in voice inputs was also demonstrated at the event. Nvidia also demoed 4K video content at the stage.

Nvidia’s Shield will be using company’s latest Tegra X1 chip. Nvidia CEO compared the X1’s GPU with Xbox 360 stating that X1 has twice the processor power and consumes almost 1/20^th the amount of electricity. However, being an Android based device, it doesn’t require that much processing power to run things smoothly.

Shield is said to have more than 50 exclusive titles and it also supports Nvidia’s GRID service which will launch later this year.