So I think I have decided to go with the nexus player. I'd like a shield but just can't afford it. That being said I'm reading reviews and seeing that storage USA major problem. Does the nexus support external HD storage? I'd like to be able to install apps to it. If not, does the new version of android that was just released support this?
As a side note, if it doesn't support external storage then how do you side load apps. The device is mainly going to be used for Kodi, but I'd like to have the option for other items as well.
In brief: it currently works fine on Lollipop with external storage for media files, but not for installing apps unless you want to do some hacking. Marshmallow will allow this eventually, once its actually working as designed, but you'll need to dedicate an external drive to it (it will be encrypted and unusable by any other device).
You'll feel the pinch of the measly 8GB (actually more like 4GB usable) if you want to play a lot of games on it, but Kodi and other apps should be fine (bear in mind that you'll probably be installing fewer apps on your TV than say your phone).
Edit: see also https://www.reddit.com/r/nexusplayer/