NVIDIA SHIELD TV Gains Deeper Google Home Integration And Expanded Voice Controls

NVIDIA's "do everything" SHIELD TV is an incredibly potent media streamer + gaming platform, and it already features native support for the Google Assistant. However, the current implementation of voice control with the Google Assistant leaves a lot to be desired and is quite limited in its capabilities.

NVIDIA is rectifying this issue with a new update that provides "deeper integration" with Google Home devices currently on your network. You can simply call out to your Google Home and tell it to specifically play a movie or a TV show on your SHIELD. For example, you can say "OK Google, open Sling TV on SHIELD" or "Hey Google, set volume to 90% on SHIELD".

Shield TV 4K HDR 3

As you might expect, you can also issue voice commands to have the SHIELD turn itself off once you've completed your “Stranger Things” binge-watching session. Below is the full list of commands hands-free voice commands that are available with SHIELD when using in conjunction with Google Home:

Basic Commands

“Turn on SHIELD”

“Turn off SHIELD”

“Open [name of app] on SHIELD”

Volume Control

“Set volume to 50% on SHIELD”

“Increase/decrease volume on SHIELD”

“Mute/unmute volume on SHIELD”

Playback Features

“Play [name of Netflix, HBO NOW, CBS, Viki, or Starz show] on SHIELD”

“Play [name of song] on [name of app] on SHIELD”

“Watch [name of channel] on YouTube TV on SHIELD”

“Play [video title] on YouTube on SHIELD”

“Pause on SHIELD”

“Play on SHIELD”

Photos and Smart Home

“Show me my pictures from Egypt on SHIELD”

“Show me my pictures from last weekend on SHIELD”

“Dim the lights”

“Set the temperature to 72 degrees”

Now before you run to your SHIELD TV expecting to see the latest SHIELD Experience Software Upgrade waiting for you, NVIDIA says that it will begin rolling it out to users starting later this month. However, if patience is not one of your strong points, NVIDIA says that if you go ahead and restart your SHIELD TV, the update will automatically be pushed to your device within 24 hours.