Nvidia commits to Shield TV software updates, new hardware not ruled out

Nvidia says that it does not plan to stop updating the software of the Shield TV box. It is also exploring new hardware with AV1, HDR10+ and expanded Dolby Vision support.

Between mid-2023 and 2024, many believed that Nvidia had effectively stopped supporting Shield TV. There were no public software updates during that period, but in late 2024, updates suddenly resumed.

According to Andrew Bell, Senior VP of hardware engineering at Nvidia, the company never abandoned the product. Instead, it spent the time rebuilding the entire security stack to ensure that 4K video streaming would once again work reliably on the 2015 and 2017 Shield TV boxes. Bell shared these details in an interview with Ars Technica.

 Also read: Nvidia Shield update adds support for 120fps gaming


Commits to further updates
With the new security stack addressing the DRM video issues, Nvidia has resumed releasing software updates, although they are smaller in scope than in the past.

Shield TV is the longest-supported Android device, with more than 10 years of updates, surpassed only by Apple TV among media players. That said, Shield TV still runs Android 11, which is five generations behind Android 16, released by Google last year.


Even so, Bell indicated that updates are not stopping "any time soon", and elaborated:

- "We were all frustrated as buyers of phones and tablets that you buy a device, you get one or two updates, and that's it!," said Bell. "Early on when we were building Shield TV, we decided we were going to make it for a long time. Jensen and I had a discussion, and it was, 'How long do we want to support this thing?' And Jensen said, 'For as long as we shall live.'"

He added that sales volumes have remained consistent over the past 10 years.


New hardware not ruled out
Nvidia did not hint at concrete plans for new Shield hardware, but it did not rule it out either.

- "We've played with new concepts for Shield and we'll continue to play, and if we find something we're super-excited about, we'll probably make a go of it," said Bell. "We talk about it all the time – I'd love to."

Bell said that a potential refreshed Shield TV box would prioritize modern video codec formats such as AV1, along with expanded HDR support, including HDR10+ and newer Dolby Vision profiles for local media playback.

Fingers crossed.

- Source: Ars Technica