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Most of video game history has been an ongoing quest for better graphics and faster processing. Early video games made little effort to endeavor towards life-like verisimilitude because the hardware power to render life-like images didn't exist on a consumer scale. As hardware advanced, so did the ambition of game developers. What was once considered impossible for home gaming is now a fact of life.
A Plex server is a popular method for accessing your media files from almost anywhere as long as you have a compatible device. The key benefit here is viewing your entire media library, such as music, movies, or photos, and streaming them over your private home network. The NVIDIA Shield is one of the best Android TV streaming boxes since it's a powerful yet versatile device. As such, using the built-in Plex server feature on the NVIDIA Shield is one of the easiest ways to stream your media files.
Nvidia cranks up GeForce Now’s frame rate big time with new RTX 4080 tier
The new card is exclusive with a new subscription tier called “Ultimate”
Nvidia made it possible to gain access to machines in the cloud powered by its GeForce RTX 3080 in 2021 despite the global chip shortage that brought GPU production to a halt at the time. The RTX 3080 was regarded as the company's most significant GeForce Now upgrade in years, promising incredibly low latency and stellar performance that outperformed many game consoles and PC gaming rigs. Bringing the power of this GPU to consumers via subscription made life easier for those who struggled to buy one physically, and it’s now doing the same favor with the RTX 4080. Nvidia is upgrading GeForce Now with RTX 4080 GPUs, and it comes with a new subscription tier called “Ultimate.”
Nvidia is giving up on GameStream to the dismay of Shield TV owners
Well, at least some Shield TV owners aren't happy
There are way too many ways to play video games these days. It's a shame about being able to play them however you'd like, though, especially when you're dealing with different hardware platforms tied to different screens. There are ways to fill those gap, though; one of them being Nvidia's Shield TV, which lets users stream PC games to their living room sets. The company has announced, however, that it is bowing out of providing that crucial connection next year.
God of War comes to GeForce Now with high frame rate support
It's GFN Thursday, and Nvidia brings the pain to Olympus
Every Thursday, Nvidia announces the new games coming to its GeForce Now game streaming platform, and this week the company has a doozy. God of War is officially launching on GeForce Now, along with eight other titles, including MotoGP22 and Twin Mirror. Of course, God of War is the star of the show, and it supports gameplay at up to 1440p at 120 FPS on PC, and even mobile users can take advantage of high frame rate support at 120 FPS, though a subscription to the RTX 3080 membership will be required to hit those high frames and resolutions.
Nvidia last updated its long-lived family of Android TV boxes in 2019, adding a very unboxy base model Shield. That device is still among the most powerful media streamers you can get, even with its 32-bit limitations. The Shield TV Pro was refreshed at the same time, but it gets less attention because of the higher $200 price tag. That's a lot to pay for a streaming box in the era of $30 Fire TV Sticks and $50 Chromecasts, but this is a special device. It's not perfect by any means, but if you care about audio/video quality, the Shield Pro has no equal.
The new Stratus+ controller from SteelSeries gets the GeForce Now thumbs up
That's right, it's GFN Thursday
One of the best controllers on Android has just gotten a little better. The SteelSeries Stratus Duo is our Editor's Choice here at AP, and SteelSeries has just updated the Stratus Duo, now called the Stratus+, and just like its predecessor, the Stratus+ is part of the GeForce Now Recommended program, so says Nvidia in its weekly GFN Thursday announcement. While much hasn't changed between the Stratus Duo and the Stratus+, gamers can expect the phone clip to now ship in the box (it used to be a separate purchase), with a fresh redesign to the clip that makes it easier to attach to the controller and smartphone.
After a very publicized purchase bid that ultimately ended up failing, Arm is currently undergoing a post-Nvidia reorganization. We already knew that its parent company SoftBank went public with the news to receive a $1.25B break-up fee from its former prospective buyer. In the meantime, Arm plans to cut a significant amount of its workforce.
Nvidia GeForce Now is one of the best game streaming services you can get right now. It's backed by one of the biggest names powering PC gaming, offering a more comprehensive range of games and offerings than competitors like Stadia (whenever Google actually remembers it exists). In December, GeForce Now got a new, more expensive RTX 3080 subscription tier, providing gamers with a top-tier gaming experience without having to fend off scalpers online. While it previously required a six-month commitment, it's now much easier — and cheaper — for newcomers to enjoy high-performance cloud gaming.
In late February, the cyber gang calling itself Lapsus$ broke into Nvidia's internal network and managed to steal a lot of sensitive data, from hashed login credentials to critical trade secrets behind the company's chips. The hackers demanded Nvidia remove the lock on its newer GPUs that automatically slowed them down when mining cryptocurrency and was given until March 4 to comply — or Lapsus$ would release those trade secrets. The cybercriminals have started making good on their threats, and now the fallout from their data dump threatens to help malware avoid detection.
Just after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, US-based chipmaker Nvidia was hacked. It wasn't a minor incident — cybercriminals managed to take down vital services including email and developer tools. While the timing there fueled suspicion that the attack could be connected to the invasion somehow — after all, Nvidia chips are in devices everywhere, making it a valuable target — it's since become apparent that we're instead looking at a crypto-motivated shakedown attempt.
Nvidia’s bid to buy Arm has all but failed. As the company has announced in a public statement, it is terminating the previously planned transaction that would have it acquire chip behemoth Arm from SoftBank, whose chip designs power virtually all of the best smartphones and other mobile devices out there. The businesses are citing “significant regulatory challenges” that prevent them from further pursuing the deal. Instead, Arm is looking to prepare for a public offering as its CEO steps down.
Nvidia's making GeForce Now gaming on your 2019 Shield TV look a whole lot better
GFN Thursday brings the noise this week
Every Thursday, Nvidia announces its newest games, features, and news for its game streaming service GeForce Now. If you weren't aware, today is Thursday, and so Nvidia has just announced that resolution upscaling options are finally available within the GeForce Now service, and this includes AI upscaling for select GPUs as well as the 2019 Shield TV. What this means is that those who stream GeForce Now games on their 2019 Shield TV will finally be able to take advantage of the AI upscaling built into the 2019 Shield, which should result in a clearer image for your GeForce Now streams.
Nvidia’s plan to take over Arm has been stalled by a lot of anti-competition resistance since its first announcement. Probes from European regulators, an FTC lawsuit, and even growing concerns in China ensured the buyout was dead upon arrival. After all that, Nvidia now looks set to walk away from the acquisition, according to the latest reports.
Android 11 for the Nvidia Shield is breaking apps and Plex servers
Scoped storage is probably to blame, but there's a partial fix
Nvidia released the first Shield Android TV boxes back in 2015, and it's still updating them in 2022. The various generations of Shield just recently saw an update to Android 11, but owners have reported numerous apps, including the device's built-in Plex server, have stopped functioning. Nvidia is still working on a patch for the software, but you can (probably) get it fixed now if you're impatient.
Nvidia's latest, greatest Shield TV Pro is $20 off right now
Not often you even see the word 'deal' next to 'Shield'
Nvidia Shield TV devices are quite precious. So much so, in fact, that you don't really see them on sale. So, if you've been pining for a Shield TV Pro for a while and have been waiting for a sale to pounce on... this is it.
The FTC just tossed a wrench into Nvidia's plans to acquire ARM
Turns out this deal is as anti-competitive as everyone assumed
We've been hearing about Nvidia's attempts to acquire chipset maker ARM since last year, but thanks to some not-so-surprising concerns from the US government, the purchase has yet to be made official. After both companies confirmed in October that the ongoing antitrust probe was far from complete, it seemed like the deal's future was murky at best. Now we know the conclusion of that investigation: an FTC lawsuit meant to put an end to the sale.
I replaced my Chromecast with a Shield, and you should too while it's on sale for Black Friday
You get what you pay for
The Chromecast with Google TV was easy to recommend when it launched last year at just $50, and it's still a good device now. However, I've been on the hunt for a more powerful streaming box—something that can handle uncompressed audio and whatever video formats I throw at it. There's really only one game in town that gets close, and that's the Nvidia Shield. It has all the streaming prowess of the more expensive Pro box but at a much lower $150 price. However, the Shield is on a rare sale this Black Friday for $129, and I couldn't resist.
The powerful Nvidia Shield TV dongle gets a rare discount
Perhaps the best tube you'll have in your house?
What remains to be one of smart TV's most versatile dongle is on sale: Nvidia's Shield TV is worth getting if you want to fully enjoy watching the shows and movies you want and especially at this price.
You can now pre-order the biggest GeForce Now improvement in years
Before today only Founders and Priority members could pre-order
GeForce NOW is Nvidia's game streaming service, and starting today, the company is rolling out pre-orders for a new membership tier for Founders and Priority members. This new tier is called the GeForce NOW RTX 3080 membership, and as you can guess, Nvidia is using custom RTX 3080s as the backend for this tier. Six months will run you $99.99, with availability rolling out for the US in November and the EU in December. Subscribers can expect 1440p support at a max of 120FPS (this is the important bit since a high framerate should lower latency), and 4K HDR support is coming exclusively to the Shield TV.