NVIDIA began rolling out Android 6.0 Marshmallow to it’s NVIDIA Shield TV this week via over-the-air(OTA) update. NVIDIA Shield TV users should see a notification appear indicating the update is available for download and installation. Marshmallow brings a visual refresh, storage features, optimizations, Vulkan API and more. For more information on Android 6.0 Marshmallow features, I’d suggest checking out the official website.

NVIDIA wasn’t done with just they’ve also included additional changes –

• Upgradable storage and home screen customization
• Quick access to the power menu on the homescreen 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

They’ve also optimized and made available the following new games – Real Racing 3, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Oddworld Munch’s Oddysee, Dead Effect 2, Minecraft Story Mode and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

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We all know heat is one of the greatest enemies of electronics, what might not kill it right away could lead to a shorter life span for your device.

The Xbox One can get pretty hot under general use, according to Microsoft the Xbox One has built-in features to deal with heat issues. One of those features includes the ability to monitor temperature and when under thermal duress will either increase internal fan speed and/or reduce power usage, much like how a PC deals with heat. Although it’s nice to know it won’t kill itself with heat, if always hot the result will be a constant power reduction which will impact performance. In short, if it resides in an always warm cabinet then you’ll never see the full performance of your Xbox One.

There are ways to reduce the amount of heat with third-party cooling fans such as the Nyko Intercooler or the Antec X-1 Cooler which can dissipate the heat coming out of the Xbox One. Fans do generate noise, some maybe more/less than others and depending on your setup i.e. behind a closed-door there’s a chance you’ll hear the fan at some point, it might be during a quiet moment in a movie or a show or while your Xbox is in standby mode. Both the Antec and Nyko coolers only activate after the temperature breaches a certain threshold so the fan won’t always be on but there’s been times I’ve noticed the fan come on randomly.

Nyko Intercooler ~ $25USD

My Xbox One sits on a shelve with the front exposed so logically I thought the Nyko Intercooler with a front facing exhaust was the better choice. I hadn’t considered the fan would be pointed directly at me on the couch which led to increased fan noise but did dissipate the more effectively. The Nyko Intercooler blended very nicely with the front of the Xbox and could be locked into place by sliding a guide forward which extended hooks that latched into the Xbox’s vents preventing it from moving around. It’s got an integrated USB cord that easily plugs into a free USB slot on the back of the Xbox.

Antec X-1 Cooler ~ $30USD

The Antec X-1 Cooler sits perfectly flush with the front of your Xbox blending quite nicely. It has grips on the bottom there’s nothing really more holding it in place. The fan exhaust points to the rear of the Xbox One which in my case pretty much wasn’t as ideal as the Nyko Intercooler. The Antec X-1 Cooler has a USB and a Micro-USB port on the back which prevents the loss of a USB port. The Antec X-1 Cooler does have a temperature display on the top, it didn’t emit a ton of light and I couldn’t find a way to turn it off; honestly I didn’t ever find myself checking the temp this way ever. My first Antec X-1 Cooler was really loud and after contacting Antec they RMA’d it for another which was not as loud.

Summary

So do you really need a cooler for your Xbox One? Maybe, I think it depends on the situation. I use my Xbox One for gaming, a media center and for TV pass-through on my main TV so it gets a lot of use; In my case I think it I’d benefit by using one especially with it being boxed in, where if not boxed in I might hesitate to use one. I’ve used each of the coolers above for two weeks and then nothing for the last two weeks and I can tell you without a doubt I’ve noticed a decrease in the performance of my Xbox One. For under $30USD it might be worth the investment. Here’s a great article on just how hot the Xbox One gets – http://www.ps3hax.net/2013/11/how-hot-does-the-xbox-one-get/

I’m giving away your choice of cooler to one lucky reader(US Residents Only), just enter the Rafflecopter contest below. Winner will need to respond with their choice in 24 hours to secure your prize.

Since nobody entered and/or maybe a Rafflecopter glitch occurred I’m going to re-do this with a different entry service. Still restricted to US residents, ends February 1, 2016 @ 10am ET, Winner has 3 days to respond. Good Luck!

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Big news coming out of CES 2016 as Netflix announces it’s streaming service is now available in 130 new countries bringing the grand total to 190. This includes adding Arabic, Korean, Simplified/Traditional Chinese to it’s already 17 supported languages.

“Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global Internet TV network,” said Reed Hastings, Co-founder and Chief Executive of Netflix.

This kinda reminds me of the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies – 

As Netflix joins the global stage let us all remember John Antioco former CEO of Blockbuster who passed up the purchase of Netflix back in 2000 for $50 million, talk about a bad day at work.

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NVIDIA Shield plus remote on sale at Amazon for $175 and free shipping with Prime. Usual price for the NVIDIA Shield is $200 and an additional $50 for the remote which comes down to saving about $75. I just picked one of these up a couple of months ago and this thing is a beast, don’t let this deal slip away.

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About a year ago I replaced our aging Roku 2 XS in our bedroom with a Nexus Player, the device would be used mostly by my kids before bedtime. My Roku 2 XS was having issues with connectivity, living in a two-story house can make things difficult for wireless devices which wouldn’t be the case with the Nexus Player and it’s 802.11ac 2×2(MIMO) wireless. Resolving the connection issue wasn’t the only thing that sold me it was also the performance of the Nexus Player over my Roku 2 XS; Nexus Player comes equip with a 1.8GHz Quad Core Intel Atom Processor with 1GB of memory and a IMG PowerVR Series 6 Graphics 2D/3D Engine.

Getting around in the Nexus Player was quite familiar as I and my family only own Android devices, I found that it’s user interface was so easy to use that my parents could use it which was a great selling point for my wife. One draw back to the Nexus Player was that it didn’t allow you to use Amazon Video, unless of course you side load it which might not be easy for the average consumer. There was one issue I had that to this day I’m not sure if it’s the TV or the Nexus Player but every so often when you’d turn on the TV there was no signal from the Nexus Player and to fix it I’d need to power cycle the device; I tried everything from different HDMI cables, just unplugging the HDMI, trying a different HDMI port, pressing buttons on the Nexus remote, the only thing that worked was power cycling it. Of course this issue could be just my TV but it frustrated me as it’s not an easy task to power cycle something hidden behind your wall mounted TV.

The remote is entirely plastic and reminded me of the Amazon Fire TV remote only cheaper and it doesn’t include a headphone jack like the Roku 3/4/etc. I never purchased a gamepad as I felt I’d rather just use my PC or my Xbox One if I was going to play games and for that reason never could justify the additional $30-50 purchase. As for the Nexus Player device it’s fairly light, shaped in a circle with a cut out on the bottom for you to plug-in the power, HDMI and micro USB. It’s small shape 120 x 120 x 20 mm made it easy to hide behind the wall mounted TV or elsewhere.

The Nexus Player was released on November 4th, 2014 for $100 and for that same price you can buy one today even though there hasn’t been any upgrades to its hardware. That being said, the Roku 4 came out last month (October 2015) with a quad-core processor, 0.5GB more memory and the ability to stream 4K which except for the additional memory and 4K streaming brings it up to par with the Nexus Player almost a year later.

My review of the Nexus Player is long overdue but shockingly the Nexus Player still holds ground in the battle of media streaming devices, you just might want to score it at a discounted price as I’m guessing a new model is on the horizon.

1 of 5

The Good:
Android TV OS
Easy to set up and use
802.11ac 2×2 MIMI wireless
Under $100

The Bad:
Unable to use Amazon TV app without side-loading app
TV couldn’t find Nexus Player signal

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