My favorite Nvidia Shield TV feature has nothing to do with streaming

Published Aug 19, 2026, 3:01 PM EDT Anurag is an experienced journalist and author who’s been covering tech for the past 5 years, with a focus on Windows, Android, and Apple. He’s written for sites like Android Police, Neowin, Dexerto, and MakeTechEasier. Anurag’s always pumped about tech and loves getting his hands on the latest gadgets. When he's not procrastinating, you’ll probably find him catching the newest movies in theaters or scrolling through Twitter from his bed. The Nvidia Shield TV Pro is one of the greatest consumer hardware products ever made. Nvidia hasn’t refreshed it since 2019, yet it remains more capable than almost every Android TV box I have tried. I've used the Shield for years and written extensively about its powerful processor, excellent codec support, AI upscaling, Gigabit Ethernet, USB ports, and ability to run a Plex media server. Every time I look for something that could replace it, I find another reason to keep it connected. However, my favorite Shield TV feature has very little to do with watching movies or TV shows. It’s GeForce NOW, which lets me pair a controller, connect my existing PC game libraries, and use the Shield as a living-room gaming system. The games run on Nvidia’s cloud hardware, so the Shield doesn’t need the storage or processing power of a console or gaming PC. The same little box that has handled Netflix, Plex, and Kodi for years can also give me access to full PC games from my sofa. GeForce Now turns the Shield into a console It comes preinstalled on the Shield Credit: GeForce Now comes preinstalled on the Shield TV, so all you need to do is sign in and connect a controller. Nvidia officially supports its own Shield controller, Microsoft Xbox controllers, and Sony’s DualShock 4 and DualSense. You can use the Shield remote to navigate the app, although you need a gamepad once you start playing. The service connects to stores and subscriptions you already use, including Steam, Epic Games, Ubisoft Connect, Xbox, and PC Game Pass. GeForce NOW gives you access to supported titles that you already own or receive through another subscription. Once I sync my accounts, the compatible games appear together in the GeForce NOW library. Nvidia runs the games on a remote gaming rig and sends the video to my TV while the Shield sends my controller inputs back. This also means I don’t have to worry about the Shield’s limited 16GB of storage or whether its Tegra processor can run a recent PC release (it can't, of course). The Shield is made for cloud gaming The Shield TV Pro has a proper Gigabit Ethernet port The Shield TV Pro has a proper Gigabit Ethernet port, and GeForce NOW gives me another reason to appreciate it. You need at least 40Mbps to play at 4K and 60fps, but speed alone does not guarantee a good experience. Cloud gaming also depends heavily on latency, which makes a wired connection far more useful. An Ultimate membership allows the Shield to run GeForce NOW at up to 4K and 60fps with HDR. That is lower than some of the resolutions and frame rates Nvidia now offers on newer PCs, but it works well for playing on a television from the sofa. Shield's two USB ports let me use wired accessories, including a keyboard, mouse, or headset. You can still consider a console if you want local games, physical media, or access to titles that GeForce Now currently does not support. I've come across a bunch of games that are not supported yet. For instance, Rockstar's GTA is missing, Sony's God of War is not there, and you also don't have games like Elden Ring. Nvidia says GeForce Now currently supports around 4,500 games, and availability largely depends on the publisher you choose. The Shield TV remains an incredible piece of hardware It’s one of the best devices out there I have tried several Android TV boxes over the years, and none has given me the same combination of performance, ports, software, and flexibility as the Shield. The current Shield TV Pro arrived in 2019 with the Tegra X1+ processor, a 256-core GPU, and 3GB of RAM. Those specifications are no longer the best, but the Shield still runs Android TV and demanding apps better than plenty of newer devices. Nvidia also gave it hardware that most streaming boxes continue to skip. The two USB 3.0 ports can handle external storage, controllers, keyboards, USB audio equipment, and other accessories. Its Gigabit Ethernet port is useful for cloud gaming, high-bitrate local media, and accessing files stored on my network. You can even connect a hard drive and run a complete Plex Media Server directly on the Shield. It also supports lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio pass-through, along with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which makes it particularly useful if you keep Blu-ray rips on a NAS. Nvidia has also continued supporting the Shield long after most Android manufacturers abandoned comparable hardware. My device is now more than five years old, and while drafting this article, I received a software update from Nvidia with bug fixes, which should tell you how nicely this product is aging.