Nvidia Shield Upgrades to 1080p, 60 FPS Streaming With New Patch

[Michael Epstein]

Nvidia Shield Upgrades to 1080p, 60 FPS Streaming With New Patch

A new update can give the Nvidia Shield a substantial boost in the streaming department, among other things.

When I think about how software updates make hardware better, I think of maintenance and fixing bugs, not increasing functionality; but that's just what the newest patch for the Nvidia Shield does. The patch, which launched today, allows the Android-based handheld to stream PC games to a TV at 1080p, running at 60 frames per second, according to a post the Nvidia blog [http://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2013/12/02/shield-experience-gets-better-still-with-latest-software-update/].

The upgrade builds on the Shield's new "console mode," which arrived with a patch released in October. In console mode, players can stream and Android and PC games to a TV via HDMI and play with a bluetooth controller.

Not everyone will be able to run games at the new, higher frame rate. In order for the Shield work at its maximum settings, the PC the Shield streams from must use a Kepler-class GTX graphics card and an ethernet connection, according to Nvidia. Otherwise, the maximum resolution/framerate ratio for streaming via the Shield will still be 720p at 60 frames per second.

At the moment, only a handful of the 63 PC games that can utilize the Shield's Gamestream feature are officially support the new resolution, including Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, Batman: Arkham Origins and Skyrim. Nvidia expects to add more games to the list on a weekly basis.

The new update also builds on the device's system-level button-mapping, allowing players to move motion-based controls to any button or analog stick, as well as a user rating system for player-designed control schemes.

Sources: GeForce [http://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2013/12/02/shield-experience-gets-better-still-with-latest-software-update/]

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[josemlopes]

And then people wonder why some PC games are so terribly optimised, at least with a console exclusive the devs only have to worry about the game running well on that specific platform instead of trying to make it work on whatever mix and match system the user has.

Its not that I am defending consoles but there have been a shitload of new systems like this that just seem useless and in the end arent really trying to compete with anything worthwhile.

The Occulus Rift and VR in general may end up getting fucked if everyone is bringing their own special VR set where in the end you have 5 games for VR-X, other 5 games for VR-Y and then some other 5 games for VR-Z instead of having all games in VR-X.

I know that everyone wants to jump in on the bandwagon but to have 10 different companies making their own shit and then having everything fragmented isnt going to help anyone.

 

[Kahani]

the Android-based handheld to stream PC games to a TV

the PC the Shield streams from

Wait, what? I assumed we were going to be talking about streaming games from the Shield to a TV. But you're saying that what it actually does is stream games from a PC to the Shield, then from Shield to a TV? What the fuck would be the point of that? If you want PC games on your TV, why would you want to stick another device in the middle for no reason other than to restrict you to not being able to play most games at any decent quality?