The Nvidia Shield lives! A new update adds a Dolby Atmos competitor, and a load of other fixes | usagoldmines.com

• Nvidia Shield’s latest update, v9.2, adds a new 3D audio format
• The support comes two years after Nvidia first voiced plans to do so
• However, there’s no sign of a new Shield TV model

A new update to the Nvidia Shield TV streaming box has arrived, with software version 9.2 now rolling out to Shield TV devices with a host of new fixes and changes, reminding us that the ageing streamer may still have some life in it yet.

The flashiest change is the addition of Auro-3D, a three-dimensional audio format in the vein of Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. Nvidia voiced its intention to support Auro-3D back in 2023, but it’s taken around two years to finally get here.

Developed by Denon, Auro-3D works in a similar way to other three-dimensional formats, configured for a sense of height and surround sound immersion alongside traditional horizontal speaker arrangements. You’ll need a minimum 9.1 channel speaker setup to get the full experience, mind.

The format isn’t widely supported compared to Dolby Atmos, which you’ll find on the best streaming services such as Netflix, but it’s still a contender making its way to devices, Blu-rays and other platforms – and for those with a suitable home theater system, you’ll likely want to check it out for yourself.

Other changes for version 9.2 include added parental controls in French, increased security measures for 4K DRM playback, and a long list of bug fixes for video and audio playback, app launching, and smart assistant integration issues.

The patch notes mention that the update will remove your Shield TV from Google Home integration, too, so make sure you reconfigure your setup if that’s something that affects you.

Will there be more Shield TV hardware to come?

It’s an interesting time for Nvidia’s TV streaming box. The Shield TV range first launched in 2015, with the latest Shield TV and Shield TV Pro models releasing in 2019, meaning the current hardware is getting a little long in the tooth – especially given it still runs on Android 11 rather than the latest Android 12 OS.

As we wrote in 2024, though, the Shield TV is still an excellent streaming box, even if its updates are now few and far between. It’s a capable 4K HDR streamer for any smart TV, with countless Android apps and services, including the jam-packed GeForce Now streaming service with access to over 1,800 games.

But with plenty of other streaming devices to choose from, games consoles that double as streaming boxes, and reports that Valve may be looking at creating a Shield TV competitor, and it’s hard to see how long Nvidia’s box can hold on without releasing a new hardware iteration in the near future.

I can at least assure you that Matt Hanson, our Managing Editor for Computing and TR’s foremost Shield fanatic, brings it up with Nvidia literally every time he speaks to the folks there, which has been pretty damn regularly recently – so when Nvidia finally breaks and promises a new one to shut him up, you’ll know who to thank.

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