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NVIDIA Shield TV gets deeper integration with Google Home
- The NVIDIA Shield TV is now even more powerful with better Google Home integration.
- Certain features which were missing or inconsistent are here and working now.
- However, NVIDIA makes it confusing which features are new and which ones are old.
Even though the NVIDIA Shield TV is our favorite media streamer (and still the best Android TV device you can buy), it is by no means perfect (we’ll talk more about that in a second). Despite its imperfections, NVIDIA is working hard to make the device even better, with new Google Home integrations rolling out now.
After your NVIDIA Shield TV receives the most-recent update, you will have more voice control over what your Shield TV does through Google Assistant. All you have to do is make sure your Shield TV and Google Home smart speaker or smart display are connected to the same home network.
Now, this is where things get confusing and why the Shield TV is far from perfect. First off, the Shield TV has Assistant built right into it, so one would think integration with Google Home hardware would be a snap. However, that’s not the case and there are actually many features and commands which don’t work at all or at the very least inconsistently.
Secondly, the list NVIDIA published of “new” commands you can use with Google Home is mixed up with commands which have worked for a long time now. For example, the list includes, “Hey Google, play <title of video> on YouTube on Shield,” which is a command which has worked for at least a year now. With that in mind, it’s hard to tell you what’s new on the list and what’s not.
To keep things simple, here is the full list of commands NVIDIA says now work with Shield TV. All you Shield owners out there will likely know which ones already worked and which ones are updates:
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 <title of video> 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”
If you’re a Shield TV owner, let us know in the comments how these updates work for you!
NEXT: 2015’s NVIDIA Shield TV gets 20th update, laughs at other Android OEMs