NVIDIA teases what upgrades we might get from a next-gen Shield TV

There are maybe three kinds of Android TV users out there. We’ve got our Google fans, who will go with a device like the Google TV Streamer largely because — much like Pixel users with their phones — they want first look at all of Google’s latest features. Then we’ve got the budget crowd who just wants to find the most affordable streaming solution around. But then, there are the power users. They want hardware with versatile ports, the performance to game on their TVs, and they want to buy from a company that’s going to follow through with software support. And for a long, long time, that’s meant pretty much one option: NVIDIA Shield TV.

Over at Ars Technica, Ryan Whitham is taking a fascinating deep dive into the history of Shield TV, looking at NVIDIA’s inspirations, challenges along the way, and what’s been behind the endless drive that’s made Shield TV devices some of the longest-supported Android hardware anywhere. And while it’s a lot of fun looking at how Shield TV hardware got to this point, he’s also able to get NVIDIA talking a little about what we might hope to see next.

We haven’t gotten any new Shield TV hardware since 2019, and we’ve spent that time thinking a lot about what we want from the next Shield TV. And while nothing’s official just yet — not even the commitment that there actually might be a new device — NVIDIA’s senior VP of hardware engineering, Andrew Bell, tells Ars about a few changes we might hope to see if there ever is a new box released.

One big focus could be better support for the evolving face of media codecs. New silicon with baked-in support for things like VP9 Profile 2 (for HDR YouTube playback) or improved HDR 10+ and AV1 compatibility could help address some pain points with current Shield TV devices.

Another small quality-of-life change that Bell brings up as a possibility: doing something about that goofy-big Netflix button on the remotes. While we probably wouldn’t lose the button altogether, Bell seems optimistic that a future remote could eke by with a smaller, less conspicuous Netflix button (without ruffling the streaming giant’s feathers too much).

For now, though, NVIDIA seems happy to keep right on supporting — and continuing to sell — existing Shield TV models. Company engineers will keep tinkering away at possible follow-ups, but it sounds like NVIDIA’s not in any rush to drop new hardware anytime soon.