GeForce Now expands and the latest beta of the app looks like will soon add support for televisions with Android TV. A piece of news that will be especially liked by all those users who want to enjoy their own console or PC titles on their television without the need to invest in expensive equipment. To which, perhaps, they would not get much use out of it if they are casual players.
GeForce Now comes to Android TV
The latest version of GeForce Now adds support, for now in beta phase, for Android TV devices. This ranges from small set top boxes to televisions that already have Google's operating system integrated as a Smart TV platform. For example, in South Korea you can already buy the LG U+ UNH-3, a small player with Android TV optimized to be compatible with the service.
This is great news for all users in general and for Nvidia itself in particular. Because until now GeForce Now was only compatible with Nvidia Shield TV, PC or Mac computers and some Android devices with at least 2.0 GB of RAM and system version 5.0 or higher.
This limitation of devices where the application could be run had advantages such as being able to better control the experience. By considering fewer hardware variants there are fewer issues and performance is also optimized. Without forgetting that the development cost is lower because you spend less time solving possible problems. But it was also limited in terms of growth.
Today it is not only necessary to have a good product, but also to have a good user base to be able to stay in such a competitive market. So it is what Nvidia seems to be doing little by little it is more than correct. What's more, all of us who have tried GeForce Now at some point wanted this.
GeForce Now requirements for Android TV
At the moment there is no confirmation of which Android TV devices GeForce Now would reach. It is logical to think that the requirements would be similar to those demanded by the service for those other compatible Android devices that are not your Nvidia Shield TV. That is, a capable processor with sufficient power, 2 GB of RAM and version 5.0 of the system. Because even running everything on Nvidia servers, some optimization and power are required to manage the video signal that arrives and the information that it has to send to allow control as if you were playing locally.
Therefore, when the final version is released, your Android TV may not be able to run GeForce Now due to power issues. Luckily, soon it should also be presenting the new Chromecast. This would improve the options and versatility of the current Chromecast. For example, not only at the level of independence from the smartphone, but also because it could access Stadia and now presumably also GeForce Now.
So for now, stick with these facts. GeForce Now may soon expand its support for Android TV devices, there will be new Chromecast and it is likely that only certain users with specific interests think that in the future they will need a good PC or a console to enjoy the world of video games. For now you can liven up the wait by trying some of the games for android tv that you will find in Google Play.