The Best 4K Streaming Device Just Got Better Thanks To Google

I’ve had plenty of good things to say about NVIDIA’s Tegra X1-based SHIELD Android TV device since the original model’s release a couple of years back. On more than one occasion I’ve called the SHIELD the best media streaming device on the market. And as 4K televisions and content have become more pervasive, the SHIELD’s strong line-up of apps that supported 4K made it even more appealing.

Although it was already one of the best streaming devices on the market, some new updates from Google have only solidified the NVIDIA SHIELD’s strong position in the current landscape of devices.  Google just updated its Google Play Movies And TV app to add 4K support for NVIDIA’s SHIELD. The SHIELD also support casting in 4K now as well. That’s something only Google’s own Chromecast Ultra supports.

The list of apps that officially support 4K on the NVIDIA SHIELD now looks like this...

As you can see, there is nothing else currently available, that comes close. Devices from Apple, Amazon, Google, and Roku all fall short of NVIDIA’s SHIELD in terms of 4K application support.

The SHIELD, however, is much more than just a media streamer. There are a wealth of native Android games optimized for the SHIELD that look and play great on the device. Owners of GeForce GTX graphics cards can also stream their PC games to the SHIELD, provided their network is up to snuff. And NVIDIA has its own in-house GeForce Now streaming service as well, for users that may want to stream triple-A PC games from the cloud.

There is also a huge community of users that support the NVIDIA SHIELD with numerous emulators that make the device great for retro-gaming. And when the NVIDIA SPOT ships, the SHIELD can also be the hub of a smart home, leveraging Google Assistant.

Ultimately, there is a lot to like about the NVIDIA SHIELD. Google’s latest updates simply improve what was already a great product.