I left the first Chromecast I purchased in a hotel room during a stay this weekend. I e-mailed the hotel, but I doubt it will be of any help. With coast of the Nexus Player down to $50 I'm contemplating on getting it instead of another Chromecast. I sometimes see mixed feelings about the Player in other threads, especially from those who own both it and a Shield. Which would you pick at this point?
I picked up my Nexus Player during the Great Target Sell-Off of '15 because $25. I assumed we would still mostly use the Cast functionality. Initially used Netflix and Hulu just like I did with the Chromecast. I already had a server with my media and a HDHomeRun that I had been using with my Windows Media Center for years, so I added Kodi and Live Channels app and only need to go back to the Media Center for DVR and ESPN. Then I added some emulators and the awesome ARC Browser and now have some nice games that are easy to get too. I always wanted that on the Media Center but it was never seamless enough for me to use often.
As for performance, the only issue I have had is steaming a high bit rate 1080p file in Kodi. I have an USB-Ethernet adapter en route that I think (hope) will solve that.
So, if you are thinking of getting another Chromecast, spend the extra $15.
I had a NP and sold it to upgrade to a Sheild. I was getting pretty constant audio dropouts they required a reboot, probably every other day. I didn't feel like RMAing it, so I sold it for $40, purchased a Shield on black friday and sold the controller as I don't have a use for it. All in all I am super happy with the shield - kodi / youtube / netflix / casting is a dream come true
I just picked one up. Love it so far, does what I need it to, which is stream/play videos. If I want to game, I fire up my PS4.
It's really simple, the only variable is cost. Shield > Nexus Player > Chromecast.