Nvidia Shield TV Gets Enhanced ‘GeForce Now’ Cloud Gaming Service: uPlay and Steam Library Now Remotely Accessible
Nvidia Shield TV, a powerful Android streaming and gaming console has received the support of Nvidia’s GeForce Now service, which grants access to AAA game titles
Nvidia Shield TV will now have support for Nvidia’s GeForce Now service. The powerful Android TV box that rivals modern-day dedicated gaming consoles did have a very similar service earlier, but the new identically named service neatly integrates all the services and benefits of cloud-based gaming.
With the introduction of the new Nvidia GeForce Now, there are two identically named services that the company offers. There’s the GeForce Now service meant for the PC/Mac. And now the company has just introduced another one specifically for the Shield TV. The latter of the two services allows gamers to access and play large games that are hosted on remote servers or the cloud. Nvidia GeForce Now can be considered the “Netflix for gaming”, and hosts some premium AAA titles. Nvidia has promised the updated and stable GeForce Now service will land soon. With the inclusion of the update, the service will be indistinguishable from the one that’s meant for the PC/Mac.
The Nvidia GeForce Now is essentially a “Remote Desktop” service for gaming. Gamers pay a small price to gain access to a powerful Virtual Machine (VM). Premium games from Steam and Uplay will also be available on the service. Gamers can grab new titles from Steam, directly from within the Shield TV. Nvidia has allowed users of the Shield TV to retain access to normal Steam account.
Nvidia GeForce Now Service: Specifications
With the Nvidia GeForce Now service, gamers can access and play games that are beyond the specifications or capabilities of their Shield TV. Commercially speaking, Nvidia has segregated the games in two price slabs. The company claims to offer access to games that usually require GTX 1060 and GTX 1080 graphics cards to play smoothly. Needless to mention, these graphics cards carry a premium price-tag. However, with the GeForce Now service, gamers can still pay and play such graphics-intensive games without paying a hefty premium for a powerful gaming PC with these high-end graphics cards.
Owing to the cloud based processing, the Nvidia Shield TV can play certain titles at Full HD 1080p resolution with 120 FPS frame-rate. These are highly impressive numbers that only high end graphics cards can comfortably offer. But with the Nvidia GeForce Now service such high quality is now accessible and within the means of Shield TV owners.
Of course, gaming at such quality does demand reliable internet service with excellent bandwidth. Incidentally, the Nvidia GeForce Now service does use adaptive bitrate streaming. In other words, the service can dynamically alter the quality of the streaming based on the available bandwidth. If gamers insist on Full HD 1080p/60fps stream they must ensure at least 25 Mbps connection. Nvidia urges gamers to secure at least 15 Mbps connection for 720p/60fps stream.
Nvidia GeForce Now Service: Availability and Price
Currently, Shield TV supports more than 200 PC games. Gamers can certainly buy more directly from Steam and Uplay. Nvidia stores the games in the cloud, and hence, they don’t eat up local storage. According to some users, the service costs $8 (Rs. 550 approx.) per month. But for now, the GeForce Now service is free for the Shield TV. The service is free perhaps because it is still in beta not only for the Shield TV but also for Mac OS and PC. Nvidia hasn’t offered any information about when the service will exit beta or what would be the tariff for the stable release.
