Katarzyna Petru
In the world of consumer electronics, where devices age faster than opened milk, NVIDIA Shield TV has achieved the impossible. The streaming device, which debuted in May 2015, has just crossed the barrier of ten years of regular technical support. This is a result that not only inspires admiration but outright shames the manufacturers of the most expensive flagship smartphones.
Product created out of... selfishness?
The most interesting thing about the history of Shield TV is how it even made it to market. It turns out that it was not based on a complicated market analysis, but simply the desire of the creators to have good gear for themselves. In an extensive piece by Ars Technica dedicated to the background of the 10 years of support for Shield TV, one of the project leaders, Ali Bell, candidly admitted:
“Somewhat selfishly, we built Shield for ourselves. We wanted a really good, high-quality, and efficient player that didn’t necessarily belong to the Apple ecosystem. We created prototypes and it inspired us so much that [CEO Jensen Huang] asked, ‘Why not release it and sell it to people?’.”
This approach can be seen in every aspect of the device. Since the engineers were building the hardware for themselves, they did not compromise, which usually undermines the durability of cheap electronics.
Why is Shield TV supported for so long?
The key was the custom processor Tegra X1. By designing its own chip, NVIDIA became independent from external suppliers. In most cases, support for Android devices ends when the processor manufacturer (e.g., Qualcomm or Mediatek) stops releasing driver updates. NVIDIA is a manufacturer itself, so it could update the Shield for as long as it wanted. As a result, hardware from 2015 today smoothly handles cloud gaming on the GeForce NOW service, supports the latest video codecs, and offers image upscaling to 4K using artificial intelligence.
Lesson for the Entire Industry: Longevity Pays Off
The success of ChooseTV is a powerful argument against the culture of "single-use" products. NVIDIA has proven that if a product is well-thought-out and the manufacturer values customer loyalty, the hardware can serve the user for an entire decade. In an age of combating e-waste and rising electronics prices, the ten-year journey of ChooseTV is a model that other manufacturers are only just beginning to timidly aspire to.
Source: Ars Technica
