You can now talk to your Shield TV with Amazon Alexa

Amazon Alexa has learned yet another skill - you can now control your Nvidia Shield TV streaming device using your Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Spot, or Echo Plus.

This means Shield TV can handle requests via Alexa as well as Google Assistant, which Nvidia says is a unique feature of its popular streaming device.

To use Alexa to navigate through TV shows, films, and music, you need to pair your Shield TV with your Amazon Echo via the Alexa app. Once that's done, you can enable the Shield TV skill, and you'll be able to control the streaming device using your voice. 

Right now, it's not clear whether this feature will be available on any smart speaker that's Amazon Alexa-enabled like the Sonos One, and it's only available to US customers at this moment in time. 

Atmos-pheric sound

Another cool feature for Shield users is that Prime Video content will now support Dolby Atmos passthrough, which means you should get fantastic immersive audio alongside your 4K shows and movies. 

If you haven't bought into the Amazon ecosystem yet and are thinking of buying a Shield TV, Nvidia is offering a special discount - if you purchase a Shield TV from Amazon or  Best Buy for $179.99, you'll receive a free Amazon Echo Dot. 

Already the proud owner of a Shield TV? Shield Reward members should be able to find a discount on the new Amazon Echo Dot in their inbox.

Olivia Tambini

Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.

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