Shield Experience 6.3 for NVIDIA Shield TV Adds Spectre Mitigations, Apps, and More

It’s been a few months since the NVIDIA Shield TV’s last major software update, but the team’s been working hard to fix bugs and add new features to the set-top box. Shield Experience 6.3, which started rolling out this week, includes mitigations for the Spectre vulnerability, application updates, and region-specific changes.

First up are updated Shield TV apps. The Plex client now optionally removes DVR-recorded shows after you’ve watched them, and the upgraded VLC app supports 360-degree video playback and picture-in-picture mode. And starting with Shield Experience 6.3, Sirius XM and Tidal now ship pre-loaded on the Shield TV.

A number of changes in Shield Experience 6.3 are region-dependent. If you live in the United States, for example, you’ll be able to control networked Nest Cameras (try saying, “Show me my front door camera”) and 1,000 other smart home devices using the Google Assistant, and you’ll see new applications including Cartoon Network, VH1, and Lego TV. Meanwhile, if you live in Europe, you’ll get the Eurosport app after the update, or the TV NOW Plus app and Moviestar+ apps if you’re in Germany or Spain, respectively.

The rest of the enhancements in Shield Experience 6.3 are heading to all devices regardless of region, and they include the aforementioned Spectre fix, improved Bluetooth and Wi-Fi performance, better low battery reporting for Shield accessories, and more. Here’s the full changelog:

Shield Experience 6.3 for the Shield TV Changelog

New Features and Apps to Try on SHIELD

• PLEX: Automatically remove DVR recorded shows
• VLC: Adds 360 video and PIP functionality
• New Apps: Sirius XM, Tidal

[US Only]

• NEST: View your Nest Cameras on SHIELD using Google Assistant. Say “Show me my front door camera”
• Smart Home: Control over 1000 devices with Google Assistant
• New Apps: Cartoon Network, VH1, and Lego TV

[EU]

• New Apps: Eurosport

[Germany Only]

• New Apps: TV NOW PLUS

[Spain Only]

• New Apps: Moviestar+

Additional Enhancements 

• The latest monthly Android security updates including mitigations for “Spectre” (not known to be vulnerable to “Meltdown”). See NVIDIA Product Security Page for more details
• Improves reporting for low battery status for SHIELD Accessories
• Adds new USB compatibility mode for users with attached USB storage/accessories to improve Bluetooth/wireless performance (Settings > System).
• Support for playback of YUV 8 bit BT 2020 videos
• Adds developer option for rooted systems to always prefer full system upgrades – recommend for rooted systems
• SHIELD controller (2017) upgrade to version 1.18
• SHIELD remote (2017) upgrade to version 1.28
• SHIELD remote w/ headphone jack upgrade to version 1.22
  • Firmware update for SHIELD remote (rechargeable) to resolve recharging issues. If update fails, connect remote to charging cable and hold Home + Back + Voice Search buttons until LED flashes (~20 seconds)
• Latest accessory firmware versions:
  • SHIELD controller (2017): v1.18
  • SHIELD controller (2015): v1.96/99/3.71/0.32
  • SHIELD remote (2017): v1.28
  • SHIELD remote (rechargeable): v.1.22

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Source: NVIDIA