Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Google Nexus Player

I

I Am Designer™

macrumors regular
Original poster
Google just released the Nexus Player - an Apple TV comepititor that seems to do most things that people with an Apple TV have been calling for for a long time... namely Apps and Games...

Honestly, its the first Android device that has pinged my interest.

Here's hoping Apple has a TV update tomorrow, if Google manage to sell these like hot cakes then it'll be much harder for Apple to break into the living room of the average consumer if Google have got their first with a 99$ device...

http://www.google.com/nexus/player/
 
It had better have a better interface than Google's previous attempts otherwise it'll miss its intended market entirely.
 
After the false start joke they had with the Q.

I'd be cautious. Wait 3-6mo to see if they are gonna stick with it. Google likes to half-ass things, then yank it out from under their early adopters.
 
Between Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and now Google, Apple really needs to step up and make an Apple TV app store, or this market will mature without them and will it will be too late.
 
oneMadRssn said:
Between Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and now Google, Apple really needs to step up and make an Apple TV app store, or this market will mature without them and will it will be too late.
Click to expand...

One has to be careful of what you say of Google with the failed Nexus Q and also the failed attempt at Google TV. They're not in the habit of making user friendly devices.

Despite everything else, and the amount of I WANT APPS type people out there, you are not the majority of who the Apple TV market are aimed at, nor why the Apple TV sells.
 
orestes1984 said:
One has to be careful of what you say of Google with the failed Nexus Q and also the failed attempt at Google TV. They're not in the habit of making user friendly devices.

Despite everything else, and the amount of I WANT APPS type people out there, you are not the majority of who the Apple TV market are aimed at, nor why the Apple TV sells.
Click to expand...

Huh?

I have two ATVs, so I am the "market." But I am ready to dump them if this puck is better. It looks better, at least on paper and Google has come a long way in terms of design.

I also have the Roku 3, sitting in a drawer because the UI is so ugly.

I have Chomecast too, but use it rarely, as it needs a source like a phone to use (like AirPlay), which is easy, but more hassle than using a remote on a 10ft UI. Plus there are tons of Android apps which can use AirPlay so I just use ATV. With ATV I can use my universal remote control to control playback, while Chromecast cannot do this. I expect that this Google TV will also be capable of control with a universal remote, sans voice control.

I am ordering one Google TV on the 17th to try and if it is better than ATV, my ATVs will join the Roku in the drawer.
 
orestes1984 said:
One has to be careful of what you say of Google with the failed Nexus Q and also the failed attempt at Google TV. They're not in the habit of making user friendly devices.

Despite everything else, and the amount of I WANT APPS type people out there, you are not the majority of who the Apple TV market are aimed at, nor why the Apple TV sells.
Click to expand...

To say that The ATV isn't aimed at a mass market or to those wanting 3rd party apps is completely short sighted.

The previous Google devices needed a 2nd device to make them useful. The Nexus Player is a standalone device, it's basic features are on par with the Apple TV but it goes further - by adding apps and games. The apps alone have the potential to turn the device into anything the user needs.

The Appke TV sells because it's a simple and cheap streaming box. The UI isn't particually beautiful nor perfect. But it does what it says on the box and does it very well. Google have just matched, and exceeded that expectation.

Now imagine a world where the original iPhone owners who saw the potential of this little device and were crying out for apps were told 'you're not who Apple is targeting'. Android comes along and has said 3rd party apps and Apple is entrenched in their position of no App Store... Which devices would feel more desirable?... The App Store came along and changed how the whole world interacted with their phones.

It's high time the Apple TV got the same treatment.
 
I Agre, I have never bought the apple tv because I have a dedicated HTPC, which only runs plex HT. It does the job, and it does it very well. But if apple launches an app store, I would get to install plex on it (yes, I know there are already some hacky solutions) and it would support games and other apps too. This is really a breaking point to buy or not buy the apple TV.
 
I Am Designer™;20103335 said:
It's high time the Apple TV got the same treatment.
Click to expand...

There has yet to be a function I can't duplicate on my Apple TV3 within the Apple ecosystem that can be done with jailbreaking except perhaps playing media off network attached storage. That last issue doesn't bother me at all to be honest.

I think the whole issue is overrated by a minority of people that like to hack their devices who use the excuse "I'm different, just because..." to justify what they're doing.

If you really want to you can install Plex Connect on an AppleTV 3 and be done with it, then you pretty much have everything anyone bothers jailbreaking an Apple TV for.

I'm not saying apps are a bad thing, they're just extremely overrated by a minority who want to hack their devices to be "different, just because" when if they learned the nuances of the beast they were working with they could do 99.9% of the things they do with a jailbreak within the Apple eccosystem.

With regards to "the sky is falling" comments, I'll watch this space and see if Google actually sticks with a media player they've created for any more than a few months before they abandon it again.
 
Last edited:
orestes1984 said:
There has yet to be a function I can't duplicate on my Apple TV3 within the Apple ecosystem that can be done with jailbreaking except perhaps playing media off network attached storage. That last issue doesn't bother me at all to be honest.

I think the whole issue is overrated by a minority of people that like to hack their devices who use the excuse "I'm different, just because..." to justify what they're doing.

If you really want to you can install Plex Connect on an AppleTV 3 and be done with it, then you pretty much have everything anyone bothers jailbreaking an Apple TV for.

I'm not saying apps are a bad thing, they're just extremely overrated by a minority who want to hack their devices to be "different, just because" when if they learned the nuances of the beast they were working with they could do 99.9% of the things they do with a jailbreak within the Apple eccosystem.

With regards to "the sky is falling" comments, I'll watch this space and see if Google actually sticks with a media player they've created for any more than a few months before they abandon it again.
Click to expand...

First, PlexConnect is a hack - having a proper app store is not a hack. PlexConnect is not a good solution at all because it relies on a glitch - a glitch that Apple can easily fix if they so choose.

Second, I don't want apps to be different or to hack anything. I want third parties to be able to take advantage of the ATV interface, which I actually think is quite nice. Amazon, Tablo, and ETVNet (for my Russian-speaking relatives) are two specific apps that I would like to see. And no, air-playing from iOS is not a good solution either. It's a nice feature, but it's far from an ideal way to experience TV.
 
Then don't update the firmware on your AppleTV. I'm not going anywhere near iOS7 with my AppleTV for various reasons which should be abundantly clear by now. There's no need to worry about the issue, and particularly if you were going to jailbreak anyway with Apple updates breaking that as well.

I agree more apps aren't necessarily a bad thing, what I don't agree with is all these "sky falling" comments that have popped up all of a sudden. It seems like everyone here has suddenly got a case of chicken little syndrome.

I honestly don't think there is anything much at all wrong with the Apple TV as it is... When you use it as specified it's a perfectly serviceable and usable media player particularly once you convert all of your existing media to the MP4 standard.

I don't really ever think Apple is going endorse piracy, so it's not likely we will see official apps for XBMC, Plex, and etc and the majority of reasons why people go down that pathway.
 
Last edited:
orestes1984 said:
There has yet to be a function I can't duplicate on my Apple TV3 within the Apple ecosystem that can be done with jailbreaking...

I'm not saying apps are a bad thing, they're just extremely overrated by a minority who want to hack their devices to be "different, just because" when if they learned the nuances of the beast they were working with they could do 99.9% of the things they do with a jailbreak within the Apple eccosystem.

With regards to "the sky is falling" comments, I'll watch this space and see if Google actually sticks with a media player they've created for any more than a few months before they abandon it again.
Click to expand...

Bonkers summation.

Jailbreaking is far from a mass market experience. You almost advocate it as if it's something Apple should get written on the Apple TV box! By your logic, nothing should be a superior experience out of the box, I could buy a bike, and build a frame around it made of cardboard boxes that looks like a Rolls Royce - it won't make it a Rolls Royce.

You're looking at this through the lens of someone on a tech website - you can jailbreak, you can hack 'the beast' - bravo, but the vast vast majority of people want to buy something, plug it in, and have it be awesome.

Again, imagine if Apple decided, 'Apps are overrated, lets not do anything with 3rd party apps for the iPhone...' - its short sighted and lacks imagination to think that having a mini computer that only streams video and can't be extended with further layers should be as good as it gets. If that was the case wouldn't be all still be using candy bar phones, playing snake or a javascript version of blackjack?...

Not sure where the sky is falling comments in this thread are - but it does seem that people that love their Apple TVs do wish they could do a little more.
 
Thats called homekit which is referenced in the specifics for the latest iOS release for Apple TVs and its coming.

I would wager a pretty penny that the next Apple TV update will be software only and that its also likely to coincide with the full scale release of Yosemite.
 
I Am Designer™ said:
Google just released the Nexus Player - an Apple TV comepititor that seems to do most things that people with an Apple TV have been calling for for a long time... namely Apps and Games...

Honestly, its the first Android device that has pinged my interest.

Here's hoping Apple has a TV update tomorrow, if Google manage to sell these like hot cakes then it'll be much harder for Apple to break into the living room of the average consumer if Google have got their first with a 99$ device...

http://www.google.com/nexus/player/
Click to expand...
I'm not buying it. I got suckered with the original Google TV, touted as the end all, be all device.
Google is going to have to do a lot more than release a NEW TV set top box in order to get me to even look at it. What's this, their 4th or 5th attempt now?
 
mercuryjones said:
I'm not buying it. I got suckered with the original Google TV, touted as the end all, be all device.
Google is going to have to do a lot more than release a NEW TV set top box in order to get me to even look at it. What's this, their 4th or 5th attempt now?
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly...
 
mercuryjones said:
I'm not buying it. I got suckered with the original Google TV, touted as the end all, be all device.
Google is going to have to do a lot more than release a NEW TV set top box in order to get me to even look at it. What's this, their 4th or 5th attempt now?
Click to expand...

This is just silly.

It's like me saying the "I got suckered by the original Newton" so I will never try an Apple made mobile device.

Or, "I got suckered by the original Front Row" so I will never try another Apple-made Home Theater experience.

I have no idea if this Google TV is great or if it's terrible. But from what we've seen it looks like it is well-designed, capable and the UI looks good. On paper it is better than ATV and I for one, am hoping it is really better. If it is, it will be good for us - Apple is not your "best friend" but a corporation....

Google took four versions to get Android OS right, but since v.4.2 it became overall better than iOS. iOS 8 caught up in most areas, and it prompted me to get back to an iPhone 6+ as my main device, but Google just came up with Android 5.0 and it looks pretty good.

I am glad we have choices and I really hope this Google TV is good. I also hope the new ATV, whenever it comes, is better. Competition is good.
 
macUser2007 said:
This is just silly.

It's like me saying the "I got suckered by the original Newton" so I will never try an Apple made mobile device.

Or, "I got suckered by the original Front Row" so I will never try another Apple-made Home Theater experience.

I have no idea if this Google TV is great or if it's terrible. But from what we've seen it looks like it is well-designed, capable and the UI looks good. On paper it is better than ATV and I for one, am hoping it is really better. If it is, it will be good for us - Apple is not your "best friend" but a corporation....

Google took four versions to get Android OS right, but since v.4.2 it became overall better than iOS. iOS 8 caught up in most areas, and it prompted me to get back to an iPhone 6+ as my main device, but Google just came up with Android 5.0 and it looks pretty good.

I am glad we have choices and I really hope this Google TV is good. I also hope the new ATV, whenever it comes, is better. Competition is good.
Click to expand...
Not really.
Now, if Apple had put out the Newton and it was crap and then came back with the all new Newton 2, which was more crap and then 3, 4 and 5, then it would be the same.
As it stands, it took Google about 4 tries to finally get something worth owning in this market space (ChromeCast). And now, they want to go back and try to corner the all in one device market again? No thanks.
 
mercuryjones said:
Not really.
Now, if Apple had put out the Newton and it was crap and then came back with the all new Newton 2, which was more crap and then 3, 4 and 5, then it would be the same.
As it stands, it took Google about 4 tries to finally get something worth owning in this market space (ChromeCast). And now, they want to go back and try to corner the all in one device market again? No thanks.
Click to expand...

Or, you can say that it took Google 4 tries to get Android OS to a place where it was a significantly better OS than iOS. iOS just caught up with Android KitKat, BTW, in most, but not all respects. I do own both.

Alternative, you can say that people like me, who abandoned iOS after iOS 6 should never pay attention to Apple and just say "No, thanks".

Silly. Things change.
 
No new apple tv yet again this year I might very well get this Nexus player and then become a pure android convert.
 
I feel every current TV-connected device is limited in some crucial way.

* Xbox - too expensive (for a non-gamer)
* Apple TV - lacks an open App Store
* Roku - has an open app store, but lacks support from local catch up tv services, and major movie rental services (maybe not in US, but outside US this is true)
* Chromecast - lacks dedicated hardware remote.

Assuming good execution, I think Android TV will have key features from each of these devices without any of the limitations, and will have the ability to do voice search which could be a big plus. I going to wait a few weeks to see what the reviews are like, but at this point I fully expect to replace my Apple TV and Roku with a single Android TV device.
 
tonyr6 said:
No new apple tv yet again this year I might very well get this Nexus player and then become a pure android convert.
Click to expand...

I am also going to bet $99 tomorrow and pre-order, to see if I can replace my ATVs.

But what should worry Apple is your statement about being a "pure Android convert".

I have been able to stream to my Apple TVs from my Android phones through AirPlay for a while now. For example, I can show both video and photo streams from my Android OS phone on my ATV through AirPlay.

But I am not aware of any media apps in iOS which can stream through Chromecast. This will definitely push at least some users who purchase Android TV to also purchase an Android mobile device the next time they are upgrading.

Are there any Chromecast-aware media apps available in the App Store that I have missed?
 
Google Nexus Player

I hope this can make Apple speed up the release of the App Store for Apple TV. It should have been here years ago!
Also the Player looks very interesting.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back