Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Results: Display Measurements

Nvidia Shield Tablet And Shield Controller Review
By

Brightness

Brightness (also known as white level) measurements are taken by recording the luminance output of each device displaying a full white pattern, with the device's brightness slider set to both minimum and maximum values.

The Shield Tablet takes a step backward from the Tegra Note 7 in maximum brightness. While not ideal for outdoor use, it’s still comparable to other tablets.

In order to make device comparison possible, the rest of our display measurements, along with our battery testing, are performed with the screen set to a standardized white level of 200 nits.

Black Level

Our black level measurement is the luminance output of a full black pattern after the luminance output of full white has been standardized to 200 nits.

The Shield Tablet’s black level is very low, even lower than the high-quality display in the iPad Air. This improves the contrast ratio and overall image quality.

Contrast Ratio

Contrast ratio is the difference between a full white pattern and a full black pattern.

Limited by its max brightness level, the Shield Tablet achieves a reasonable contrast ratio, falling just below the iPad Air.

Gamma

Gamma compensates for the linear brightness levels displayed by a screen, versus the nonlinear way our eyes perceive light. A gamma curve of 2.2 is what we optimally want to see, as a screen with a gamma less than 2.2 appears brighter and with less shadow detail, while a gamma larger than 2.2 displays heavy shadows with fewer highlights.

The Shield Tablet again falls short of the Tegra Note 7, deviating furthest from the ideal value of all the tablets in our chart.

Color Temperature

Color temperature is a measurement in Kelvin, which is used to describe how “warm” or “cool” a given display is. Ideally, as long as you're not viewing your device in direct sunlight, this should be in the 6500 range. Higher color temperatures result in a cool, bluish hue, while lower temperatures deliver a warm or reddish tone.

Color temperature for the Shield is spot-on, improving color accuracy.

Color Gamut

Our volume measurements are compared against both the sRGB and AdobeRGB color gamuts. A reading of 100 percent on sRGB and 72 percent on AdobeRGB is the optimal reading for viewing the vast majority of digital consumer content. A lower reading is typically accompanied by an overly red or yellow image, and a higher reading is usually too blue/green.

The backlight used in the Shield Tablet’s screen is not capable of covering the full sRGB color gamut, unable to even reach an 80% reading. This issue is most noticeable with reds and blues. In practical terms, there will be no color gradation beyond the 77.2% gamut coverage area. Rather than a smooth transition between color shades, you get a solid splotch of color. Apparently, Nvidia was willing to sacrifice some screen quality to hit its aggressive price point.

Add a comment
Ask a Category Expert
React To This Article

Create a new thread in the Reviews comments forum about this subject

Example: Notebook, Android, SSD hard drive

Display all 23 comments.
  • 0 Hide
    blubbey , October 3, 2014 12:40 PM
    Those GPGPU benchmarks are ridiculous in comparison. It looks like a great bit of kit from what I've seen so far. A die shrunk Maxwell should be fantastic. Maybe even a lower clocked version just for power consumption? It'll still perform as well, if not better than the K1 at 750MHz (assuming 2 SMMs) I'd assume.
  • 1 Hide
    Memnarchon , October 3, 2014 12:41 PM
    "Based on these results, Tegra K1 must be “a neural net processor; a learning computer” sent back through time to destroy all of the other SoCs that could lead a rebellion in the post-apocalyptic future."

    Lol this is epic! xD
    Anyway, great and unique review. Especially for the so many GPGPU benchmarks.

    Nvidia tablet at $299 seems to be a great buy.
  • 1 Hide
    aberkae , October 3, 2014 12:52 PM
    If maxwell brings double the performance per watt on the same node the next tegra chip on 20 nm node should be a home run for the company
  • 1 Hide
    HardyHarHar , October 3, 2014 1:23 PM
    I am blown away by this tablet.
  • 1 Hide
    deftonian , October 3, 2014 2:43 PM
    Impressive, but I feel it's still missing that "umph" to get me to buy this and carry it around as an added device, next to my phone (Note 3). Maybe I just don't game enough on the android market or steam. Either way, I think it is impressive for a mobile gaming device and all the things it offers. I think they've started a great line and hope it grows into a successful tablet/gaming brand.
  • 1 Hide
    TheMentalist , October 3, 2014 2:48 PM
    Holy....that tablet is a beast!
  • 0 Hide
    aberkae , October 3, 2014 5:23 PM
    If maxwell brings double the performance per watt on the same node the next tegra chip on 20 nm node should be a home run for the company
  • 0 Hide
    gio2vanni86 , October 4, 2014 12:41 AM
    The streaming a game while i'm at my friends house using my PC at home is what has me very interested. Plug into his TV and play amazing games he can only dream of. I'm in.
  • 1 Hide
    iknowhowtofixit , October 4, 2014 9:09 AM
    Wow, nVidia will literally sell HUNDREDS of these tablets until the battery life can catch up to the performance. Why bother with a tablet when you are forced to be constantly tethered to a power source.

    I know people are excited about the raw performance of this tablet. But, other than raw GPU power, EVERYTHING else is compromised.
  • 0 Hide
    eklipz330 , October 4, 2014 11:11 AM
    this is great, there aren't many good 8" android tablets.
  • 0 Hide
    CRITICALThinker , October 4, 2014 5:50 PM
    When was a HDMI to mini HDMI cable included? mine never came with one.
  • 0 Hide
    vithrell , October 6, 2014 4:24 AM
    Just wait for Intel's Core M. It wont match the price (CPU alone will cost $300), but in fanless tablet form factor it wont have worthy competitor. Early GPU benchmarks give Core M 55k graphics score in Ice Storm, so more than 1.5x more power than Tegra K1. AND you can run full Windows on it. I wish Nvidia took x86 path with its cpu cores.
  • 0 Hide
    Niva , October 6, 2014 8:02 AM
    Only thing I'm worried about with this tab is Android L and what their software/OS refresh capabilities will be. Has nVidia made any statements about that? Getting this and being stuck with kitkat would bite.
  • 0 Hide
    matt64 , October 6, 2014 10:27 AM
    I asked Nvidia about updating the Shield devices to Android L. Nvidia will update to the new Android version soon after it's officially released by Google, though Nvidia couldn't provide an exact date at this time.

    -matt64
  • 1 Hide
    matt64 , October 6, 2014 10:30 AM
    "When was a HDMI to mini HDMI cable included? mine never came with one."

    After clarifying this with Nvidia, only the press kits included the cable. The retail boxes do NOT include the HDMI cable. I'm sorry for the confusion and we'll update the article to correct this.

    -matt64
  • -1 Hide
    Roger Rogers , October 7, 2014 6:15 PM
    I have a Great product concept for the K1 gaming tablet. Vastly increase sales. But who to take it to...
  • 0 Hide
    Iriman , October 9, 2014 5:28 AM
    Typing from my shield now. I love this decide. As a gaming tablet, its unmatched. As a media device, its extremely hard to beat. Its responsive and I find myself using it more then my moto x and my computer combined. It has plenty of oomph to handle anything I throw at it. WiFi isnt the best out of all the devices I've played with, but in no way is it nearly as bad as the transformer prime was back when it was released. Fantastic device. Gaming is unmatched!
  • 0 Hide
    Roger Rogers , October 14, 2014 6:10 PM
    It has a serious design flaw as far as gaming is concerned from my PoV (which would only be easier for you to understand if you knew the specifics of my PoV [design issue that affects every user and potential user]).

    P.S.
    How is the heat on the thing after a few hours in warm weather?
  • 0 Hide
    CRITICALThinker , October 14, 2014 7:15 PM
    it does have some heat to it, though throttling should be minimal, I am only having a few issues with the lock screen freezing and requiring a manual reboot.
  • 0 Hide
    lookanlearn , October 15, 2014 8:54 AM
    Quote:
    it does have some heat to it, though throttling should be minimal, I am only having a few issues with the lock screen freezing and requiring a manual reboot.


    Heat can cause lock ups (as you will know); but maybe its a software thing that will be ironed out.

    I was hoping it would be smoothe and excellent; but I knew it would get hot. Too slim you see. Look at the PS Vita as comparrison. Chunky and cool.
    The heat was not an issue I was thinking about when I mentioned a design flaw for gaming (I have a neat solution for).
    Although the heat issue did give me the idea for a slot on the back of the unit (maybe magnetic) to put 6mm thick (30mm diameter) frozen metal wafers in located on the back near the CPU/GPU housing, so that it can drop the heat off a bit during an hours play. You get a kit of two or three or somthing; keep one in the freezer and swop them.
    Nobody plays them all day do they?
    For general browsing, should not be required; but when you start pushing the graphics, they be pretty handy on a hot day.

    My Terga 4 smartphone has automatically shut itself down due to overheating itself a hundred times in summers in the Far East..

    10,000 ideas.
    nice.



Display more comments
React To This Article