It is a small 'hotfix', but Nvidia has evidently not completely forgotten about the Shield TV, which is still regarded as the best Android-powered streaming box.
Nvidia may be more focused on its data center business, which is experiencing explosive growth, but consumers still want the company to prioritize its consumer graphics cards and media streaming boxes.
The Nvidia Shield TV was first released in 2015, with hardware revisions in 2017 and 2019. All three have received a number of software updates, although that comes with some caveats as they are currently stuck on Android 11, up from Android 7 at launch, despite Android TV 14 now available for competing boxes such as the Google TV Streamer.
First update in a year
The new hotfix is the first update since another hotfix in July 2023. A hotfix is a collection of bug fixes on top of an existing firmware version; here Nvidia's 9.1.1 firmware.
The changelog highlights an enhanced match frame rate feature and a fix to the Shield's drive filling up for no apparent reason. It also resolves an issue with the GeForce Now app crashing after launch.
The Nvidia Shield and Shield Pro. Photo: Nvidia
Nvidia confirmed that the hotfix is rolling out, but it appears that users initially must sign up for it manually here. There is no way to roll back after installing the hotfix.
Update: Nvidia warns that the update is not currently Google certified, and adds:
"The next official release will have all certifications. The negative side affect we've noticed from this so far are listed below and others may appear as time goes on:
- You won't be able to install or update Disney+ from the Playstore if you haven't installed it yet or do a Factory reset on this image.
- HD Homerun DRM channels will not work."
Major updates soon?
Strangely, Nvidia announced a newer 9.1.2 firmware in November 2023 with support for Auro 3D audio, but then went quiet without making it available publicly.
Nvidia has not commented on plans for Android 12 or beyond, but it is still encouraging to see that the company has not entirely forgotten about the Shield TV.
There are no credible rumors about new hardware either.
Nvidia Shield update – changelog
| Second hotfix (33.2.0.252) deployed 10/8/2024:
- Match Frame Rate (beta) enhancement
- Resolves issue with SHIELD drive filling up
- Fixes the issue of No audio heard when headset is connected to controller and DAP is on
- Resolves issue of Geforce now crash after launch
- Ability to clear HDMI 1.4 flag via factory reset
- Fixed video distortion on "RGB 8-bit Rec.709" display mode
- Resolved USB HDD/Flash drive showing corrupted after hotplug
- NAS folder info shows 0 B and not the actual capacity
- Mounted storages aren't listed after upgrade
- Fixes occasional crashes in DRM apps |
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