(The previous model had a USB port for expanded storage.) Then again, given the sheer amount of streaming content available, you may not even fill the 8GB of internal storage. You can, however, expand the Shield TV’s storage via the microSD card slot. The new Tegra chip is up to 25% faster than the Tegra X1 chip in the previous Shield TV, according to Nvidia, but the storage capacity is half that of the previous model. Powering the Shield TV is Nvidia’s own Tegra X1+ processor and 8GB of flash storage. The Shield TV can also act as a Chromecast for streaming content from your phone, tablet or laptop. It lacks the HDR10+ format, which provides an even more realistic, dynamic picture – a feature you get with the Amazon Fire TV Cube. Unlike the last model, it also supports Dolby Vision, which is good news for watching 4K content on Prime Video, Apple, Netflix and Vudu. Like the previous model, the newest Shield TV supports HDR10 and Dolby Atmos. Both volume and power buttons were easy to set up and seamless to use. You can do the same thing in order to have the remote’s power button turn your TV on and off with the Shield TV. To get the remote’s volume buttons working, you’ll need to head into the settings of Android TV and connect it with your TV, speakers, or soundbar. It helps, however, that the buttons light up when you pick up the remote. I also still haven’t gotten used to the layout of the media control buttons – fast forward, play/pause, and rewind are lined up vertically. The bottom-most button is a Netflix button that I wish wasn’t so wide because I constantly hit it by accident. After testing the AI upscaling, I ended up setting the button to act as a mute button. Above the navigation ring are two buttons – the power button and a programmable button you can set to perform one of a variety of tasks, including opening the settings menu, muting the volume, or toggling AI upscaling on and off. Below are Home and Back buttons, media control buttons, volume buttons, and a voice search button via Google Assistant. It has a navigational ring that surrounds a Select button. The remote makes it easy to navigate the Android TV interface. And it has some heft to it – in large part because it’s powered by two AAA batteries instead of a smaller, rechargeable battery. Unlike those thin slivers, the Shield TV remote is triangular in shape and noticeably more substantial, like a Toblerone chocolate bar. The remote control is less likely to slip between your couch cushions than the previous Shield TV remote or the skinny remotes for Apple TV or Fire TV. There’s also a button that makes the remote emit a series of beeps if you ever need help locating it. Next to the HDMI port is a microSD slot for expanding the Shield TV’s internal storage, and an Ethernet jack sits next to the power port if you’d rather use a wired connection to your network rather than Wi-Fi. With an HDMI port on one end and the power connector on the other, it’s meant to be stashed behind your TV among your tangle of cables. Streaming boxes are usually cube-like in shape, but the new Nvidia Shield TV arrives in a drastically different form factor: the humble cylinder. Does its faster performance, AI upscaling and lower price make the Nvidia Shield TV the streaming box (or, in its case, cylinder) to own? Let’s dig in and find out. It’s also less expensive than the previous model ($150 MSRP, down from $200), no longer holding the crown of most expensive streaming box, a title the $179 Apple TV 4K now inherits.
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