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so its time for me to upgrade, i owned a g box and it was cool at the time year or 2 later it starts to give me problems its slow most things dont work ect so iv been using my pc to watch movies via xbmc, now i want to stop and look for a new xbmc media player and seen the nexus player and looks promising, and been looking around a bit about xbmc for it, is this recommended buy? id like a box that is fast able to use xbmc and more less problems lol
DayDaysTech said:
so its time for me to upgrade, i owned a g box and it was cool at the time year or 2 later it starts to give me problems its slow most things dont work ect so iv been using my pc to watch movies via xbmc, now i want to stop and look for a new xbmc media player and seen the nexus player and looks promising, and been looking around a bit about xbmc for it, is this recommended buy? id like a box that is fast able to use xbmc and more less problems lol
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At this time I would wait just a few weeks as both Razer Forge and Nvidia are releasing new boxes which have better specs.The Nvidia is a little more pricey at $199 the forge will be $99 according to the options you choose. Both will be better boxes if I had to choose. Roku is also due with the Roku 4 anytime now. There will be allot of choices by June.
Im currently using my nexus player solely for xbmc, ive unlocked and rooted it. And ive installed xbmc launcher. Actually im technically using the alpha nightly of kodi. Its amazing. Ive installed genesis, and aeon nox skin. I use the nexus player remote to control kodi. Unles you plan on using the nexus player for kodi, it's useless. But running kodi its damn near perfect.
i love my nexus player. it is not great for everyone though.
first of all you need a mouse and keyboard. and a gamepad.
second and most important you must have a thirst for tinkering to appreciate what you have.
if you just want to consume media stick with chromecast or a cheaper roku.
Kodi runs great on the Nexus Player...the only 2 things for me is the frame rate is locked to 60fps and the inability to play VC-1 (it plays but its pretty unwatchable as I believe it uses software instead of hardware).
What about if you want to play emulators?
if a tablet will run it you can most likely get it to run on the nexus player with some hackery.(lollirock rom will run most tablet apps without much fighting).
my bluetooth controllers work great with the emulators ive tried.
I still think for gamers there are better options coming up. I have the adt1 its a great box guess I am just waiting for the Android Tv box with strong specs. Nvidia Shield?
Don't buy it, I've had mine since 1/22/2015 and I have been having issues with it.
Netflix crashes when I try to choose a show/movie.
Slow at times, including having to fully reset it due to extreme slowdowns.
Remote feels very fragile, buttons feel bad.
Unresponsive when using the remote sometimes.
Voice search is terrible, it's laggy and unreliable. Not to mention it doesn't work with many of the apps.
Wifi connection only, unless you get Micro USB to Ethernet adapter.
No normal sized USB connector, meaning you absolutely need a Micro to Normal USB adapter.
Rooted apps require a mouse and keyboard, the remote most of the time does not work on them. (and remember to hook up a mouse and keyboard you need micro to normal usb adapter)
I feel bad for this Asus/Google product, and wish I could take back my purchase of this item.
Edit:
Most of these issues weren't noticeable when I first got it, but after a while all these things become a big issue.
Here is my take on the Nexus Player:
I've rooted, and installed Droidmote. This allows for controlling sideloaded apps. I have entered custom DNS values to allow for region restricted apps. I transfer apps using the SendAnywhere app. There is much more flexibility with this box than with ones that are locked down. It is more what it can do, than what it does out of the box. There are weaknesses with all streaming media players, but this does everything I need in one box. I haven't had any problems with the Netflix app. For those that like to tinker with android, the Nexus Player is ideal. For those that want an out of the box solution, time will tell.
I regret buying the Nexus Player. It freezes,Bluetooth controller/remote disconnect all the time,lack of apps even with side loading, various app crashes (Netflix mostly),voice search sucks and it just feels like a beta product at best.
DayDaysTech said:
so its time for me to upgrade, i owned a g box and it was cool at the time year or 2 later it starts to give me problems its slow most things dont work ect so iv been using my pc to watch movies via xbmc, now i want to stop and look for a new xbmc media player and seen the nexus player and looks promising, and been looking around a bit about xbmc for it, is this recommended buy? id like a box that is fast able to use xbmc and more less problems lol
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I think the Android TV platform is great. But the nexus player doesn't seems as good as what is coming soon hardware wise. I'd wait for the Razer forge tv or nvidia shield console.
cheeto said:
I think the Android TV platform is great. But the nexus player doesn't seems as good as what is coming soon hardware wise. I'd wait for the Razer forge tv or nvidia shield console.
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Yeah the nvidia looks pretty sweet.
I love it!!
I have had many devices including ATV1,2,3 and the WD TV. The Applee 3 is still used for mirroring from Idevices. The WD was second device as it had and external HDD port but it was constantly rebooting. With my Nexus player I enabled devleoper mode and enabled the USB support. I bought an USB to go cable and installed file explorer. Now it's my favourite device. It can do HDD movies, netflix and Kodi.
Well worth it in my mind. Also had custom roms available if you don't like android TV and want to go to lollipop.
If you can find an Android ADT-1 (the developer's Android TV box), then you'd be better off with that. Much better specs - I've been using mine for nearly 2 months now and since the 5.0.1 update about 7 weeks ago it's been running flawlessly.
Lokke9191 said:
Im currently using my nexus player solely for xbmc, ive unlocked and rooted it. And ive installed xbmc launcher. Actually im technically using the alpha nightly of kodi. Its amazing. Ive installed genesis, and aeon nox skin. I use the nexus player remote to control kodi. Unles you plan on using the nexus player for kodi, it's useless. But running kodi its damn near perfect.
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Hi there,
Were you able to get Navi-X up and running?
This is my main reason for wanting to buy the nexus player. This way, I'd not need to hook my laptop up to the TV and could just access Navi-X from the Nexus Player.
Please advise if you (or anyone else) has been able to get Navi-X running on the nexus player.
Thanks!!
I think the biggest plus for the nexus player would be regular android updates directly from google for a long time.
I currently have multiple Chromecasts, a laptop, and rotate between Androids and iPhones.
What can this do that I cannot do with the above?
I see this is on sale for 69 bucks at best buy, and I believe it is rootable, many of the reviews say its ok but literally just a chrome cast with a few more limited apps.
IS it worth the buy or is this another Google item that we are just Beta Testers for?
I just got one and will be keeping it. Here's what it has over just using Chromecast with phones:
1) You can play games from the Nexus Player. You can't really enjoy a game like NBA Jam from your phone while trying to cast the screen. But Nexus Player can play NBA Jam and many other games natively. So you get to play possibly some of your Android Game library on the big screen easily. The only other way I've been able to do this, is hooking a cable into the TV from a device. So Nexus Player makes playing some games much easier.
2) Suggestions from apps on the Player Home screen. The more content you play on the Nexus Player, the better the suggestions on the Home Screen get. For content you may want to see. The suggestions can be disabled per app.
3) Easier to have other people use than your phone/table, when they want to watch something on your TV. And Nexus Player supports Restricted Profiles.
Far as streamers go, I use my Roku more because it has way more channels. But the Nexus Player has better games than Roku. And the channel apps that are supported on the Nexus Player, look nicer than their Roku equivalents. The only thing Nexus Player needs to be make it better than Roku, is more channels. Especially since Roku has nothing such as Restricted Profiles.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
Darnell_Chat_TN said:
I just got one and will be keeping it. Here's what it has over just using Chromecast with phones:
1) You can play games from the Nexus Player. You can't really enjoy a game like NBA Jam from your phone while trying to cast the screen. But Nexus Player can play NBA Jam and many other games natively. So you get to play possibly some of your Android Game library on the big screen easily. The only other way I've been able to do this, is hooking a cable into the TV from a device. So Nexus Player makes playing some games much easier.
2) Suggestions from apps on the Player Home screen. The more content you play on the Nexus Player, the better the suggestions on the Home Screen get. For content you may want to see. The suggestions can be disabled per app.
3) Easier to have other people use than your phone/table, when they want to watch something on your TV. And Nexus Player supports Restricted Profiles.
Far as streamers go, I use my Roku more because it has way more channels. But the Nexus Player has better games than Roku. And the channel apps that are supported on the Nexus Player, look nicer than their Roku equivalents. The only thing Nexus Player needs to be make it better than Roku, is more channels. Especially since Roku has nothing such as Restricted Profiles.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
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Are you referring to side loading games and playing them via emulators you side loaded, or games actually made for/compatible with the nexus player via the dedicated app store?
CashmereEsquire said:
Are you referring to side loading games and playing them via emulators you side loaded, or games actually made for/compatible with the nexus player via the dedicated app store?
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Games actually made for the Nexus Player/Android TV, and are in its play store. There are emulators there too, but I don't use them.
Be sure you get the Game Controller when buying a Nexus Player. Or you won't be able to enjoy many games.
---------- Post added at 03:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:50 PM ----------
Games for Android TV/Nexus Player
I bought a Nexus Player to cut the cord. I installed Kodi on it, and enjoy it mostly for streaming of video through that, Plex, and Netflix.
I think it brings everything together nicely and easier to navigate than say a PC.
MaesterB said:
I bought a Nexus Player to cut the cord. I installed Kodi on it, and enjoy it mostly for streaming of video through that, Plex, and Netflix.
I think it brings everything together nicely and easier to navigate than say a PC.
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Yea, I use things like Popcorn time and stuff via chrome cast from my Mac, never used Kodi, but I hear its set up where you have "live channels" and such.
I use Kodi(XBMC) on mine as well. There's a Kodi add-on called US TV VOD which basically lets you easily stream shows off of the TV Stations' websites. It's pretty slick. So with the NP, I have a single box that does everything we need (Netflix, Hulu, youtube, chromecast, games, music, and Kodi for local streaming and current TV episodes). If you have a backend DVR like MythTV, Kodi will also stream live TV and any shows that you've DVR'd. The only thing missing is Amazon Prime, but we don't use it very often.
bakaz said:
I use Kodi(XBMC) on mine as well. There's a Kodi add-on called US TV VOD which basically lets you easily stream shows off of the TV Stations' websites. It's pretty slick. So with the NP, I have a single box that does everything we need (Netflix, Hulu, youtube, chromecast, games, music, and Kodi for local streaming and current TV episodes). If you have a backend DVR like MythTV, Kodi will also stream live TV and any shows that you've DVR'd. The only thing missing is Amazon Prime, but we don't use it very often.
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Do you run your games via emulators? Outside of Casting, netflix, and Kodi I would like to be able to run emulators and games (Reicast for Dreamcast stuff would be the biggest thing I`d want along with other stuff). From what I understand the Nexus Player only has 5 or so gb out of 8gb total of free space, and you CANT expand the storage, is this true? That would be a deal breaker compared to me just getting a tablet to use as a Nexus Player type device.
CashmereEsquire said:
Do you run your games via emulators? Outside of Casting, netflix, and Kodi I would like to be able to run emulators and games (Reicast for Dreamcast stuff would be the biggest thing I`d want along with other stuff). From what I understand the Nexus Player only has 5 or so gb out of 8gb total of free space, and you CANT expand the storage, is this true? That would be a deal breaker compared to me just getting a tablet to use as a Nexus Player type device.
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I don't use emulators on my NP. Can the storage be expanded via and external drive or thumb drive on the USB port? I know the NP will recognize a USB hub, but I've only used that for network adapters and keyboards/mice.
bakaz said:
I don't use emulators on my NP. Can the storage be expanded via and external drive or thumb drive on the USB port? I know the NP will recognize a USB hub, but I've only used that for network adapters and keyboards/mice.
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AFAIK, you can't expand the storage. I've read plenty of attempts, but nothing I've read is reliably successful. Storage is the one matter to keep in mind with the NP. Although it's a 8GB drive, only 5GB is supposedly usable. But I just got another new NP yesterday. Soon as I did the initial setup, I checked storage and only 4GB was free, since 1GB of that "5GB usable" had already been consumed by auto-downloaded stuff. And I didn't want to remove the auto-downloaded stuff, it was stuff I wanted. So pretty much out the gate, 4GB for me for other software.
Imagine a phone or tablet with just 4-5GB of space. How much can you get on it? You won't have some of the big apps you may use on a phone or tablet, like GPS navigation map apps. But there are some games, that can consume half or nearly all of the available space. Especially since some games in the Play Store may claim to use maybe 500MB, but after startup, they take up over 1GB additional.
Having said all that. I've read that Android M may bring some reliable expandable storage support. But there's no telling for certain.
It's good enough for me and the kids ,so I'll be getting more. I already have plenty of Rokus. But the Roku can't do what the NP does. And I doubt channels like Haystack TV will ever be implemented on Roku. So I'll have to enjoy the best of both NP and Roku and have both.
If you have extra money, and you want the Nexus Player Experience and then some, go with the Nvidia Shield Android TV. It's got everything the Nexus Player has and then some.
Sgt.JimmyRustles said:
If you have extra money, and you want the Nexus Player Experience and then some, go with the Nvidia Shield Android TV. It's got everything the Nexus Player has and then some.
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Sure does, and there are games such as Sonic, which appear from advertising to play on the Shield, but not NP.
I went ahead and bought 2 nexus players, since Best buy has them for 69, and I had a 10 dollar coupon. Signed up for Sling TV which seemed cool, will look more into the Hacks too
CashmereEsquire said:
I went ahead and bought 2 nexus players, since Best buy has them for 69, and I had a 10 dollar coupon. Signed up for Sling TV which seemed cool, will look more into the Hacks too
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Amazon has them for $66.83 and Best Buy does price match. Maybe you could get a little of your money back ?
I currently have the FireTV (have a few days left before 30 day window is up) and just purchased the Nexus Player to see how it compares. I much prefer the Nexus Player UI and love android, but trying to see if all the extra work is worth having the Nexus Player. I haven't had a chance to mess around with it too much, but did notice a severely limited number of apps available through play store. I knew this was going to be an issue - but still surprised me. First I will outline what type of user I am and then I am curious your thoughts on Fire vs NP
User:
Pretty basic user. I will use my box for Kodi and then a few apps such as HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Youtube, etc. I do like the idea of this being android and another option for casting from my phone. I am a entrenched with the google suite of products so I see this as a plus as well. I am able to do some basic operations such as sideloading and such, but typically have to follow a step-by-step process. I loaded Kodi.TV just fine on my FireTV.
I am looking for a somewhat simple solution, but am willing do a small amount of work if the UX/UI is definitely better. I guess I am starting to wonder if a NP is going to be a constant fight and worth it to considering I won't be gaming, or other things that may be great on the NP.
What is everyone's thoughts? Feel free to ask me questions as well and thank you in advance for your help.
I own and use both(different rooms) and the firetv does amazon instant where the nexus player doesn't(kodi addon is hit or miss). I have also had less issues with kodi on the firetv. I had to disable sleep to get kodi to work right on the nexus. I have not seen an hbogo app on the nexus player where the firetv has that. The plus side to the player is it is easy to do what u want on it.
With as much as I like the firetv once my prime is up I'm getting rid of it for another nexus player as amazon has **** customer service when it comes to the firetv devices. I had a tv stick I used that died and after fighting with their cs for a few hours I hung up and went and bought the nexus. Also the fire devices are Android they are just not stock. Sideloading on both devices is the same process(adb or a file explorer).
With HBO and Amazon Prime aren't I able to sideload those apps on the the Nexus Player? If so how do most popular side loaded apps perform?
u can use the normal amazon prime app but u need a mouse to nav it, same with the habogo. there was an androidtv amazon app from a sony tv but amazon blocked it from working on anything but the sony tv. if the app doesnt work well with the remote(most dont) u need a mouse
Im looking for a mirroring app that will allow my friends to watch what im doing while playing the the VR. Lately ive been using "MirrorOP sender for galaxy" but it has very low FPS and is quite laggy. I know the chromecast and firestick use to work but with one of the more previous android versions theyve stopped working. So im wondering if anyone has found a good one that works with the s7 edge? Thanks
Wow, I didn't think that anything like this would be possible. I really hope someone has a solution for you because I think my wife would love to watch as wearing the VR herself seems to hurt her eyes/headaches
It is already possible! Its no longer in 3d or as exciting but, if you install the aforementioned app on your phone, then download its counter part onto your computer, then hook your computer up to you TV, it works. However as i have mentioned it is very low FPS.
Did you try the chromecast with its dedicated app? I don't have my gear myself yet, but casting your screen still works flawless. Just start casting your screen with the app and put it in the gear afterwards.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
most reports are saying that chromecast doesn't work after 5.1.1 android, i was wondering if it has started to work again with the s7 before i go buy one.
Hummm.. I have a newer sammy tv.. I can mirror pretty easy on this thing.. dont think I need an app.. will have to try it out if my vr ever shows up.
How do the tablets compare?
With prime day it is at a decent price and my poor Nexus took a trip down some stairs.
Can the HD8 cast to chromecast?
Can the ads be removed without paying?
Just bought one today. The price was finally right for the hardware, went on a group buy with some coworkers and got a 3 pack of 32 GB HD8's for $210. We'll see what can be done with it. As to the ads, i doubt we'll be able to do anything about that without rooting it, but I also doubt it'll take long before it's exploited.
Gamma Ray said:
How do the tablets compare?
With prime day it is at a decent price and my poor Nexus took a trip down some stairs.
Can the HD8 cast to chromecast?
Can the ads be removed without paying?
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I got my Fire 8 HD today and I can now confirm that YouTube, VICELAND, Google Play Music, and my random 3rd party podcast app (AntennaPod) all are casting perfectly to my Chromecast. Also casting perfectly to my Google Home as a speaker for the audio apps.
Unfortunately I don't currently have a Hulu or HBO account to test with.
But Netflix... I am very confused about Netflix. So I tapped the Chromecast button in the Google Play version of the app, and it gave me the option to cast... to the Roku Stick in my bedroom? Huh? That will be useful no doubt, but I was trying to send to the Chromecast in my living room. My Chromecast unit is not showing at all in the Netflix options, despite it showing for all the other apps mentioned above.
For the ads, nothing was showing when I first booted the device, but it soon installed a system update after which some obnoxious ads started showing as the lockscreen. I think only money or root will get rid of them.
Yep, I'm not able to cast Netflix either to my Android TV. YouTube casting works fine. Also, to get rid of the ads, just start a chat with Amazon, they'll probably disable it. Ask nicely.