Most people add on a USB hub and then plug in a USB -> Ethernet adapter.

Alternatively, the shield TV has what you're looking for.

Side note: those Android boxes running 4.4 or whatever are just using regular Android and have an HDMI out on them. They are not true Android TV devices, more akin to hooking a cheap Android tablet up to your TV. General rule of thumb: avoid them.

I would say the shield TV is the best way to go, it is such an amazing box you will never have issues with it

Why do you need gigabit ethernet

anyways like other people said just get a shield tv

What kind of files are your parents using, for which 100Mbit is too low a bit rate?

USB Ethernet adapter with Nexus Player is your best option

If you don't care about how much you're spending, get a Shield TV. I have one and it's fantastic.

However I also own a Nexus Player for another TV and I run a gigabit ethernet adapter ($11 from china) through the OTG usb port and it streams 1080p content over my network just as quick and easy as the shield does.

Sure the usb 2.0 port on the nexus player can't take full advantage of the gigabit adapter I am using, but it at least maxes it out as much as it can. Which last speed test I did was just over 100Mbps up/down. More than enough for 1080p streaming.

Unless you're expecting signal experience problems WiFi should be fine for videos on a NAS storage. 20mbps throughput is usually enough for high resolution H264 encoded videos. If you use H265, you'll get 2x the efficiency.

I do need ethernet on my Nexus player though because the HDHomeRun's HD channels are 1080i over MPEG2 and even with 5ghz 802.11AC connection, it's choppy.

I use this 3-Port USB 3.0 hub with Ethernet with this MicroUSB USB OTG adapter. I chose a hub since the Nexus Player only has one port and the hub will allow me to connect other devices without losing ethernet.

Just buy an ethernet adapter for the nexus player. I have this one and it works perfect. I had stuttering on all big videos over wifi, now I have zero issues. :)

10/100 would be perfectly fine. That should suffice to stream a high quality bluray rip no problem. If it really concerns you, a usb 3.0 gigabit adapter will work with the NP.

Besides TVs, the only actual Android TV devices you can get are the NP, Shield, and Forge. Both the Shield and Forge have gigabit ethernet, but a NP + dongle is far cheaper than either.

I have my Android player setup with kodi pulling from my nas over WiFi. The ac card it in does just fine even with seeking through uncompressed 1080p files. Most of my library is h264 or h265 but there are a handful of things that aren't. there isn't really much difference in loading between them except for major seeking through the larger files.

Thanks for the comments guys,

So general consensus is the Sheild TV is king so long as you dont mind paying a premium for it, and GB Ethernet isn't totally required.

We wired the house with cat6e and just personally id rather not have a 100mb based device, just incase any issues may arise from it (why risk it if you dont have to)

I am seeing a few reviews on one called the Geekbox, an open source AndroidTV box, sounds cool for only $100 USD

Also i guess id like to know what USB Ethernet adapters are compatible? i have a D-link DUB-1312 sitting in my cupboard that i could utilize

Hey guys,

I am pretty set on the Razer forge TV bundle from Amazon USA, I am aware of its limitations and lack of netflix but can easily root the device and sideload what i need, my main question is that since i am from Australia i need to know how the power cord works, if it connects to a USB wall charger, i simply need to know what the volts and amps are so i can buy the relevant wall charger here,

I would have gone the nvidia shield but i really dont need that much power for something that will just play videos