The VUDU app on Android TV’s NVIDIA SHIELD was recently updated and along with that update came support for HDR content. The SHIELD is one of the most powerful Android TV devices on the market and one which can provide playback of HDR content through a number of apps, with VUDU being the more recent of which to be added to the list.
Although the VUDU app is now available on a number of other Android TV devices (after being released from its SHIELD exclusivity), the newly added support for HDR will only really be usable on the SHIELD. Therefore, this is really only news for owners of a SHIELD device. Although for those who use the service for the SHIELD, the option of playing content in HDR will be a welcomed one. In addition to the newly-added HDR support, the VUDU app on Android TV is also now capable of making use of Google Assistant functionality. This is a feature that was only recently introduced to Android TV and is still one that is in the process of rolling out to supported Android TV devices. So even though this is a VUDU feature which is now accessible to Android TV devices in general, it is one which will be dependent on whether or not the Android TV device in use has received an update supporting Google Assistant functionality. At the moment this is a pretty limited list with the Nexus Player having been the most recent device to gain the support. The SHIELD of course, was the first device to be updated boasting support for Google Assistant.
Which means SHIELD owners can now not only play HDR content through the VUDU app but can also make use of Google Assistant integration to find and engage with content on VUDU. As is usually the case with Google Assistant, once the SHIELD is listening, it is just a matter of using a voice command such as “OK Google, play The Dark Tower on VUDU” and the system will take over. Likewise, once content is playing, Google Assistant allows the viewer to use voice commands to control the watching experience, such as “turn the volume up,” “stop playing and return to main menu,” or “rewind two minutes.” This should work for content that you want to rent or buy through VUDU, as well as content you might already have stored in your VUDU library. The updated version of VUDU with the new supports should already be live on compatible devices.