Some Amazon Prime streams are failing to hit 4K – but this new update should fix that
On Nvidia Shield TV, at least
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If you use aNvidiaShield TV to accessAmazonPrime Video, you may have been having trouble accessing4K UHDplayback for thoseAmazon Prime showsand films. If that’s the case, you’ll be glad to hear that a new update for Nvidia Shield TV devices is set to fix the issue.
While it’s unclear how widespread the problem is, it’s serious enough that Amazon is rolling out a new update in the coming days to get your Amazon Prime Video streams back up to4K.
In a post to Nvidia’s officialwebsite forum, a staff member wrote that “Amazon has started rolling out the new app to Shield devices, the first step to getting UHD back,” adding that it could take up to “five days” to reach all users – or April 26, given when the comment was posted. However, it seems that “the full rollout of the new app” is another few days away, meaning the changes may not fully kick into gear until the start of May.
According to forum users, the issue seems to have affected both theNvidia Shield TV (2019)and beefed-upNvidia Shield TV Pro.
Shield me from HD
There are plenty of 4K shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video – and if you’re watching on an HD screen, you won’t have been affected. But those with a 4K TV or monitor will have seen 4K content streaming in regular old HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, with a drop fromHDR(high dynamic range) to SDR (standard dynamic range) too.
The drop in resolution is especially timely, given thewidespread resolution restrictions adopted by Netflix,YouTube, Amazon, andDisney Plusacross Europe – to help internet providers cope with increased bandwidth demand during lockdown.
This seems unrelated, and appears to only have affected Nvidia Shield TV users, so is likely just a bug that needed ironing out.
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ViaPocket-Lint
Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.
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