NVIDIA announces updates to SHIELD Android TV, VR initiative

Android 6.0 Marshmallow heads to SHIELD Android TV, which was launched in May 2015. Announced in a blog post in conjunction with CES, NVIDIA notes that Marshmallow will help users to "super-size" storage capabilities as external memory will be recognised by the SHIELD Android TV as internal memory. The startup process is also quicker, and more customisability added.

NVIDIA also announced that Konami’s video game Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is coming to SHIELD from January 7.

Source: NVIDIA.

Other recently added SHIELD apps include UltraFlix, a streaming network with the world’s largest library of 4K content.

NVIDIA separately unveiled a virtual reality (VR)-ready programme yesterday. The company has partnered with PC and notebook makers and add-in card providers to deliver GeForce GTX VR Ready systems and graphics cards that deliver an immersive VR gaming experience. The programme minimises confusion regarding which equipment is necessary to play the range of VR games and applications now coming to market.

According to NVIDIA, delivering a great VR experience demands seven times the graphics processing power of traditional 3D games and applications – driving frame rates above 90 frames per second (fps) for two simultaneous images (one for each eye)*.

"For customers, navigating an emerging technology like VR can be daunting," said Jason Paul, GM of emerging technologies at NVIDIA. "We're working with trusted partners worldwide to simplify the buying process with a GeForce GTX VR Ready badge that will let customers quickly identify PCs or add-in cards that are capable of handling the demands of VR."

NVIDIA GPUs are at the heart of the VR ecosystem and are powered by the NVIDIA Maxwell graphics architecture, which was created with VR in mind. In addition to powering fast frame rates, it includes unique VR features, such as support for NVIDIA Multi-Res Shading, which boosts performance by up to 50% while maintaining image quality and reducing latency**.

"As trailblazers in gaming and graphics, Alienware and NVIDIA are committed to providing great turnkey VR experiences. The programme will guide customers to the products that will delight them. Maxwell-based GPUs are a great match for VR experiences, and cards like the GeForce GTX 970 help Alienware PCs set the industry standard," said Frank Azor, GM, Alienware.
Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about NVIDIA's collaboration with Volvo on self-driving cars

NVIDIA will update its blog for all of its announcements from CES 2016

Hashtag: #CES2016

*A gaming PC running 1,920x1,080 at 30 fps on a single screen compared to a VR headset running at 1,680x1,512 at 90 fps on each of two screens.
**At VRX 2015, Epic Games achieved a 50% performance increase to its landmark Bullet Train demo by applying NVIDIA Multi-Res Shading.