Alexa Skill adds hands-free voice control to NVIDIA Shield TV

Alexa Skill added for NVIDIA Shield TV

NVIDIA Shield TV just gained an Alexa Skill, becoming the first streaming device that has hands-free voice controls with Amazon Echo and Google Home devices.

The new Alexa Skill officially launched in the US today, enabling hands-free control.

There was another cool feature announced today for Shield TV users in the Amazon ecosystem: Dolby Atmos passthrough support for Prime Video.

Earlier this month, NVIDIA began pushing out a software update that added hands-free voice commands through Google Home devices.

You can now use your voice to power the SHIELD on and off, launch Netflix and play music. The Alexa commands for Echo devices are pretty much the same. You can ask Alexa to help with navigating menus and watching favorite movies, TV shows and music. Support for the Alexa skill is currently limited to the US, but NVIDIA says they’re working to bring it to other regions.

NVIDIA announced a new promotion to celebrate the new voice controls. Through November 10, 2018, purchase a SHIELD TV from Amazon or Best Buy, and you’ll receive an Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for free.

Already own a SHIELD? SHIELD Rewards members can look for an exclusive discount on the newly released Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen).

How to pair Shield TV with Amazon Echo

Start by pairing an Echo to your NVIDIA Shield from within the Amazon Alexa app. This is the app you downloaded on your mobile device from Google Play or the App Store during Echo’s initial setup.

First, you’ll need to enable the skill. Open the Alexa app, click the menu button and select “Skills & Games,” then search for “NVIDIA SHIELD TV.” Select the skill and press “Enable.”

After accepting the terms, continue the linking process in the Alexa app by connecting your NVIDIA account. You’ll need to be logged into the same NVIDIA account on your SHIELD before completing this step.

The final steps in the app are to select the SHIELD and Echo devices you’d like to connect. Once finished, you’re successfully linked and can now control SHIELD with your Echo.

Alexa Skill: Voice Commands for NVIDIA Shield TV

Here are some of the voice commands that currently work, with more on the way:

Getting started: “Alexa, turn on SHIELD,” or “Alexa, turn off SHIELD.”

Controlling the volume: “Alexa, set volume to 80 percent on SHIELD.”

Opening apps

“Alexa, open Prime Video (on SHIELD).”

“Alexa, open HBO NOW (on SHIELD).”

Using media controls

“Alexa, pause (on SHIELD).”

“Alexa, play (on SHIELD).”

“Alexa, next (on SHIELD).”

“Alexa, previous (on SHIELD).”

“Alexa, fast-forward ten minutes (on SHIELD).”

Navigating SHIELD

“Alexa, go to settings (on SHIELD).”

“Alexa, go home (on SHIELD).”

“Alexa, go to control settings (on SHIELD).”  

(Note: Following the first command, Alexa will assume subsequent relevant commands are for SHIELD. Where “on SHIELD” is noted in parentheses, you can continue controlling SHIELD with just the command.)