NVIDIA Brings Android 6.0 ‘Marshmallow’ To SHIELD TV, Introduces Initial Vulkan Support

NVIDIA has long claimed that its SHIELD TV is the best streamer on the market, and to help make sure that nothing changes, it’s just rolled-out a new update for the device that adds a number of improvements and feature updates, including an upgrade to Android 6.0 ‘Marshmallow’.

Marshmallow in itself brings with it a number of enhancements, but for the most part, those moving up from 5.0 ‘Lollipop’ (on any device) are not going to see stark differences. Most changes that will be seen likely come from other software updates, not the Android version boost alone.

In the case of the SHIELD TV, the home screen has gained improved customization, and long-pressing the “Back” button will pop up some power options. Other notable perks include the ability to force 1080/60 on a 4K television, 4:2:0 YUV color support, and improved support for Denon receivers.

SHIELD TV Android 6.0 Update

• Upgradable storage and home screen customization
• Quick access to the power menu on the home screen by long pressing the “Back” button
• Seamless switching between surround sound and headset audio in Netflix app
• Wireless support for SHIELD controller when charging via USB, including headset audio and voice search
• Improved color support for YUV 4:2:0 video playback
• Option to set 1080p 60Hz resolution on Ultra HD TVs
• Option to set RGB Full Range via Settings > HDMI > Dynamic Range
• Improved support for Denon receivers and CEC volume control for more audio receivers

What’s not mentioned in the bullet-point list above but is quite important is the fact that SHIELD TV now supports the Vulkan graphics API. As we covered last week, all of the major graphics vendors have begun throwing their weight behind this low-impact API, including NVIDIA with its desktop and mobile graphics cards. Because of the inherent design of mobile platforms, we might end up seeing that Vulkan makes a more notable difference on those rather than the desktop, since the hardware is much more conservative.

If you have a SHIELD TV, you should have already seen a prompt to upgrade, but if not, you can manually force a check in the system menu. If you’re upgraded and want to experiment with Vulkan, you can go here to download a sample (“Thread Rendering” includes an APK). You can also grab Vulkan-specific GeForce drivers for Windows/Linux at the same spot.