Nexus player vs Fire TV (3 months later)

[SWD]

I've been a devoted Apple fan for years. I've had all 3 versions of the Apple TV. But if Apple doesn't do anything in this space at their next event in March, I'm moving on.

I want something faster, with faster wifi (I also finally ditched Apple routers and I'm happy). Apps like spotify and plex, and a better UI. We're big Netflix/hulu users, as well as Prime members, though we rarely watch prime video. I don't use plex now with very young children but I see a future where it is useful, and I have hundreds of dvds I would like to backup to a home server.

The only reviews of these two boxes are at release, and I'm wondering if they have improved since launch. Has either voice search gained functionality into Netflix/hulu? Does either put Netflix/hulu content in the recently played list? Any other improvements since launch?

It seems Fire TV had better reviews than the Nexus Player, though I think I like the UI a bit more. How are the Netflix/hulu apps on either? I've always liked Apple's UI over apps on Blu-ray or our Panasonic tv. It seems higher resolution, which is also why I'm avoiding the roku.

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I have the Fire TV stick and it's very fast. Netflix and Hulu run flawless.

If you're into mirroring, the Nexus player will be a better choice.

Other than mirroring, Fire TV is pretty flawless. Mirroring sucks on both the Fire TV and the Fire TV stick.

I have limited experience with the Nexus player though. But I set one up for a senior citizen neighbor, it's typical Google. Shouldn't have problems with eithier choice.

I would also give the lastest Roku a look. Roku is pretty damn good.

 

[SWD]

We do like to mirror, but pretty much only use iPhones for mirroring. It also looks like both have apps that allow for airplay capabilities.

I don't like the UI of roku, it's just not very sharp.

Has there been any significant software updates to the fire TV? Is search universal? Can you access content from any platform from the home screen? Like you can easily continue watching house of cards and alpha dog right there?

 

[mattopotamus]

We do like to mirror, but pretty much only use iPhones for mirroring. It also looks like both have apps that allow for airplay capabilities.

I don't like the UI of roku, it's just not very sharp.

Has there been any significant software updates to the fire TV? Is search universal? Can you access content from any platform from the home screen? Like you can easily continue watching house of cards and alpha dog right there?

I may be wrong, but I think roku is the only one with a universal search. I know the voice search on the fireTV is limited to Prime.

 

[kathy13xia]

For me, Fire TV may be my choice prior to Apple TV because Amazon Fire TV comes with tons of online media content. For anyone who wants to stream local movie library to Fire TV, Plex for Amazon Fire TV is widely used for its outstanding ability to stream nearly all kinds of videos. This is my answer.

 

[mattopotamus]

At this point the apple TV is the only choice for me b.c of HBO. I believe it will be a 3 months exclusive deal, which is a pretty big deal to me. I love HBO.

 

[numlock]

I've been a devoted Apple fan for years. I've had all 3 versions of the Apple TV. But if Apple doesn't do anything in this space at their next event in March, I'm moving on.

I want something faster, with faster wifi (I also finally ditched Apple routers and I'm happy). Apps like spotify and plex, and a better UI. We're big Netflix/hulu users, as well as Prime members, though we rarely watch prime video. I don't use plex now with very young children but I see a future where it is useful, and I have hundreds of dvds I would like to backup to a home server.

The only reviews of these two boxes are at release, and I'm wondering if they have improved since launch. Has either voice search gained functionality into Netflix/hulu? Does either put Netflix/hulu content in the recently played list? Any other improvements since launch?

It seems Fire TV had better reviews than the Nexus Player, though I think I like the UI a bit more. How are the Netflix/hulu apps on either? I've always liked Apple's UI over apps on Blu-ray or our Panasonic tv. It seems higher resolution, which is also why I'm avoiding the roku.

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks for your opinions.

i recommend the amazon fire stick. i assume the box is similar only more powerful

btw why did you give up on apple routers?

 

[shyam09]

i recommend the amazon fire stick. i assume the box is similar only more powerful

btw why did you give up on apple routers?

the box also has an ethernet port vs just sticking to wifi on the fire stick.

 

[SWD]

i recommend the amazon fire stick. i assume the box is similar only more powerful



btw why did you give up on apple routers?

We've got a bigger house now, and it didn't seem to be reaching everywhere at a strong signal. Even to the living room on the same floor, the Apple TV was only 4/5 for signal. I also may have been blaming the router for my poor wifi in my iPhone 6. I can't AirPlay with it, and it often hangs, on both routers. My wife's iPhone 6 and our iPad 2 air plays with no hitches.

I am happy I upgraded though. I received a kindle fire (for buying a van) but it would not stay on the wifi at all. As soon as I got the netgear router is had no issues. Not that I really use it but still. And we're going to run CAT6 in several rooms in the house anyways, so it really won't matter anymore.

BTW, I ended up ordering a fire TV. With the Sling tv deal, it's basically $10 to try their service for 3 months. Unfortunately it won't arrive until early April. I'm not interested in a stick. I want the full power.

 

[numlock]

We've got a bigger house now, and it didn't seem to be reaching everywhere at a strong signal. Even to the living room on the same floor, the Apple TV was only 4/5 for signal. I also may have been blaming the router for my poor wifi in my iPhone 6. I can't AirPlay with it, and it often hangs, on both routers. My wife's iPhone 6 and our iPad 2 air plays with no hitches.

I am happy I upgraded though. I received a kindle fire (for buying a van) but it would not stay on the wifi at all. As soon as I got the netgear router is had no issues. Not that I really use it but still. And we're going to run CAT6 in several rooms in the house anyways, so it really won't matter anymore.

BTW, I ended up ordering a fire TV. With the Sling tv deal, it's basically $10 to try their service for 3 months. Unfortunately it won't arrive until early April. I'm not interested in a stick. I want the full power.

which netgear router did you get?

i understand with the fire tv. i just wanted to try something cheap for kodi but ended up using it for netflix.

btw if you are anxious amazon is also selling refurbished fire tv at $79

 

[SWD]

Netgear n6250

 

[tbayrgs]

I've been using Apple TVs since the first gen models but recently picked up the Fire TV stick when it was offered to Prime members for $19 at launch--figured why not at that price. I have to admit, it's a pretty slick unit. In fact since moving a month ago, I only recent just hooked up the Apple TV.

The UI is really quick and unlike the Chromecast (which I also like), having its own dedicated remote (and not IR to boot) made it far more family friendly. It's got a pretty significant library of apps (well, at least everything I need--PLEX, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Sling TV) and having quick, easy access to Amazon Prime streaming content is great (vs. using AirPlay on the Apple TV). There's even an iOS remote app for it. Only significant feature I miss using it is AirPlay. The parental controls also are pretty lacking.

Unfortunately, a bit of the luster has worn off because I'm finding it to be quite unreliable. It loses connection to my wifi network at least once a day and the only way to correct the issue is to disconnect power (a pain the butt because it's plugged into the HDMI port behind the TV) because there's not even a menu item to restart/reboot the device. I also had to uninstall and reinstall Netflix today as anything I tried to play resulted in an error message. So begrudgingly, I've been forced back to the Apple TV. It may be 3 years old and lack much of the functionality but it's at least reliable. When I want to quickly watch a episode of a show, I don't want to jump through hoops to get my device working.

 

[Fanaticalism]

I have a nexus player and I enjoy the UI and has been very reliable. I haven't had any connectivity issues at all. The one issue I had was at setup where it wasn't showing as a castable device. I had to reboot and its been solid since (I purchased the same day they hit B&M).

 

[apolloa]

hehe, I looked around for a compact streaming box and went for the Amazon Fire TV for my birthday present. Reason being I have never personally owned an Amazon device, but I know they are fantastic for kindle etc and it fitted with what I wanted.

I signed up to Prime for the year, realised next day Sunday delivery is soooo cool, plus I love it! I mean it's a totally silent, powerful, fast box. It also streams in 1080P and surround sound, and Netflix works great.

This is the way to do it, I have an app to watch live TV although that's not in HD, still not too bad. I also bought the new Hunger Games on Sunday and watched it, it's my first digital film on the service, plus it has a 2 hour making of documentary and it cost the same price as the standard film!

I would like to see all the catch up services on it, for the moment I have the BBC and Channel 5 in HD. And Netflix.

I haven't used the Nexus player, but in my mind I really like the Amazon interface and way of doing it. Plus these days when it comes to films, the pricing is pretty much the same across different services anyway.

I plan to pick up the games controller at some point as for a cheap games console it's also great. It's not trying to take on the Xbox and Playstation like the new Nvidia console seems to, but just gives you the option to play some games if you want.

Either way, I think Android streaming boxes are showing Apple how it's done with the hardware and additional services, I await to see if Apple does well with the streaming TV services it is now rumoured to be involved in. Plus I see that HBO deal is only a timed Apple exclusive.

----------

Unfortunately, a bit of the luster has worn off because I'm finding it to be quite unreliable. It loses connection to my wifi network at least once a day and the only way to correct the issue is to disconnect power (a pain the butt because it's plugged into the HDMI port behind the TV) because there's not even a menu item to restart/reboot the device. I also had to uninstall and reinstall Netflix today as anything I tried to play resulted in an error message. So begrudgingly, I've been forced back to the Apple TV. It may be 3 years old and lack much of the functionality but it's at least reliable. When I want to quickly watch a episode of a show, I don't want to jump through hoops to get my device working.

I would perform a full restore on your Fire TV and then ensure it has the latest firmware, also check the remotes firmware as that gets updated too.

And if you press and hold the select and play buttons together the Fire TV will reboot itself, no need to go hunting for the power lead

 

[tbayrgs]

I would perform a full restore on your Fire TV and then ensure it has the latest firmware, also check the remotes firmware as that gets updated too.

And if you press and hold the select and play buttons together the Fire TV will reboot itself, no need to go hunting for the power lead

Thanks for thr suggestion, will give it a go. And double thanks for the reboot Easter egg, much appreciated.

 

[Sensamic]

What's going on with the Nexus Player? Seems like a forgotten product.

Haven't heard anything about it since it was released... Where is it available? Is it available in Europe? Does it have access to the normal Play Store or is it device specific? Has it received updates?

The Apple TV with the App Store is coming, so I'm kind of interested in the Nexus Player.

 

[Fanaticalism]

What's going on with the Nexus Player? Seems like a forgotten product.

Haven't heard anything about it since it was released... Where is it available? Is it available in Europe? Does it have access to the normal Play Store or is it device specific? Has it received updates?

The Apple TV with the App Store is coming, so I'm kind of interested in the Nexus Player.

Still getting updates. 5.1 just started rolling out.

Available at Amazon and BBY here in the states as far as I know.

 

[ozaz]

What's going on with the Nexus Player? Seems like a forgotten product.

Haven't heard anything about it since it was released... Where is it available? Is it available in Europe? Does it have access to the normal Play Store or is it device specific? Has it received updates?

The Apple TV with the App Store is coming, so I'm kind of interested in the Nexus Player.

Don't know about rest of Europe, but it's just become available for pre-order in the UK. Release date is 26th March.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SN1FNQO?

Nexus Player is running the Android TV platform ( http://www.android.com/tv/ ) rather than full Android, so it doesn't have access to the full Play Store. This is a good thing IMO as I don't want to run tablet/phone-optimised apps on a TV.

However if you do want full Android, there are various streaming boxes that do run full Android. Confusingly, the manufacturers of these boxes also refer to them as Android TV. For example, here's one that was mentioned on a different thread: http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/NEO-X8-H-Plus-Android-TV.html

I'm pretty interested in Android TV (the platform). A standalone device optimised for TV with open app store and Google Cast (Chromecast) functionality is very appealing. But I'm not so keen on the Nexus Player due to lack of ethernet port. I might have a look at the Razr Forge TV or the NVidea Shield Console, both of which will run Android TV.

 

[TheBigKing]

i have fire tv stick with kodi best of the word!