Would a nexus player or fake android TV device be better?

by fenonce

So I hear a lot about how the nexus player is so much worse than the Sheild. I am not paying $200 though and that is final. My question is what are all the problems the nexus player had that makes it bad? I mean it is around like $60 and a decent fake android TV is $80ish. Those are ones with like 2GB ram and hdmi 2.0 and ac wi-fi and all the things. So I was just wondering how bad the nexus player is? Maybe a list of all the problems you had when you had one. Also would the Fire TV for like $90 on sale be better then the nexus player? Or can you not side load android on that. Also I see this "This subreddit is intended for "Android TV" branded devices. Posts about generic android set-top boxes belong elsewhere." Idk if I am breaking the rules since I am still talking about nexus player. Sorry if I am. If I am where is a subreddit to talk about them.

Andrroid

Stop looking at hardware specs. They mean nothing when the software is just slapped on top and customer service is as reliable as a deadbeat dad.

NashGuy73

If you can hang on a bit before buying, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi will be coming out with an Android TV streamer called the Mi Box soon (rumored to hit 9/30). It will have official Android TV (shipping with 6.0 but reportedly will soon update to 7.0), along with full access to the Google Play app store and all the popular streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, HBO Now, etc. which generally are not available on generic open-source Android boxes. The Mi Box has pretty good specs, with 4K UHD HDR 60 fps video, voice remote, etc. It won't be at the level of the Nvidia Shield TV but then it won't cost nearly as much, probably $99, possibly a little less. Although it's not a Nexus device directly from Google, the Mi Box is effectively filling the price/feature spot in the Android TV world that a Nexus Player 2 would have filled. http://www.mi.com/en/mibox/

JimboLodisC

The NP is worth $40. That's how much I paid for it, and it did it's job. Then I decided to spend the $200 on a Shield to get my library over to HEVC, and the thing is worth every penny. The most flawless Android experience I've ever had. No lag. Everything loads right up. Gaming is awesome. Remote is industrial grade awesome. If it's in the budget, it comes highly recommended.

As others have mentioned, the new affordable Android TV device will be the Xiaomi Mi Box since they discontinued the Nexus Player a few months back.

FireTV runs a different fork of Android that is not Android TV. If you use Prime Video and just the usual services like Netflix or Hulu, it'll do the job. A lot of people put Kodi on it and are very happy.

I can't recommend any of those janky Android boxes. Stick to products from a company you know and trust. I know of /r/settopboxes and /r/AndroidSetTopBox but I dunno how active they are. There's at least one other sub for it that I can't recall.

TheRealSilverBlade

Wait until the Mi Box to come out. That's what I'm doing.

rmbarrett

I love how responsive AndroidTV is, even on the nexus player. The UI is great too. I've ditched Kodi completely in favor of apps with AndroidTV interfaces and it just feels so much more comfortable and consistent.

fleker2

The Nexus Player isn't bad, just mediocre compared to the Shield. It's still really good as far as STB go. Sometimes it's sluggish and the remote doesn't feel too good. It also lacks Ethernet and a simple USB port (you need an adapter for either), two things the Shield has included.

letsief

What do you want to do with it? If you just want a box for Kodi, then a cheap, Chinese Android box would be fine.

But, if you want to stream Netflix, then you definitely want a real Android TV box. Why? Because the cheap Android boxes can't stream Netflix in HD.

The other problem you run into is that regular Android apps often aren't remote control friendly, whereas the Android TV apps have been designed for a remote (rather than touch).

pawdog

The Nexus Player has gotten better and better. I have no problems with stuttering or anything like that. If you can find one for 50 or 60 bucks grab it.

Kodi with a Plex back end, every major streaming service and the best 10 foot interface available. Latest Android version. Far more plusses than minuses