The streaming box Nvidia Shield TV is currently enjoying increasing popularity amid the corona crisis. Because people around the world are increasingly spending time at home and in front of their own TV, they are buying the appropriate hardware – and also Nvidia's Shield TV in the current 2019 version.
At the same time, the Shield TV has a plus point that could currently be of particular benefit in times of Corona: upscaling with the help of artificial intelligence.
4K quality despite throttled data rate?
While Netflix and other streaming providers are throttling transmission rates so as not to overload the data networks with 4K streams, owners of Nvidia's TV Shield can use upscaling as an alternative.
How exactly does Nvidia's Shield TV AI upscaling work? The streaming box has an Nvidia Tegra X1 + processor, which extracts HD image material (e.g. from Netflix) fed in using an AI algorithm in real time to 4K resolution.
How well that works is analyzed by the YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips in the following review video for Nvidia's streaming box – and he is quite impressed.
What does Nvidia Shield TV cost and where can I buy the streaming box? Anyone who is toying with the purchase of an Nvidia Shield TV can choose between two hardware variants:
- Nvidia Shield TV for 159 euros (street price May 2020)
- Nvidia Shield TV Pro for 233 euros (street price May 2020)
To what extent the two versions differ from each other in detail and generally have them to offer, you can read in our separate overview article on Nvidia Shield TV:
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Nvidia Shield TV Pro: Faster streaming box and new tubular shield stick
However, there is a catch at the moment: The box is currently sold out in many places because production has stalled due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Nvidia has already promised supplies, which according to official information is already on the way to the trade (via 9to5Google).
