Nexus Player observations

Here are some of the imperfections I’ve observed in the Nexus Player since receiving it.

No support for WPA2 Enterprise/802.1x wireless authentication.

This is something that has annoyed me since getting the Chromecast as well. I understand most Nexus Player/Chromecast owners will be using their home routers with WPA2 PSK however most Android tablets and phones connect  via 802.1x without any issues.

Only one Google account can be configured

I can only configure one Google account on the Nexus Player. I should be able to add my wifes account as well to facilitate her being able to rent a movie on her Google account. Here too my phone, tablets and even my Jesurun Android TV box implement this without issues.

Only one profile.

Other members of the household would benefit from using their own profile on this device. As it stands if the kids want to play some Android games they must use the default profile and thus my Google account.

Continuous video playing.

This is a big annoyance. If I find a Youtube video to watch it will then keep playing random videos. There are times I want to load a continuous playlist but I want to decide when that is.

Casting less than perfect.

One of the selling points of the Nexus Player was that it is Google Cast ready. So I bought it to replace one of my 3 household Chromecasts. Some apps work great, others have some major playback flaws and some just plain don’t work at all. For those that don’t work at all I really can’t say whether this is due to the Nexus Player or if the apps need to be updated. When I try casting Netflix from my phone to the Nexus Player the Player starts the Netflix app and gets stuck on the Netflix profile page so the remote must be used to choose the profile on your TV before you can continue, the point of casting from your phone is so you don’t need to use the remote.

Working great: Youtube, Crunchyroll, Twitch

Flaws: Netflix, Plex, Google Play Movies&TV

Not working: Revision3, Scrabble Blitz, Just dance Now

Sleep Mode

The Nexus Player seems to go into sleep mode when the TV is turned off. While this may seem like a good feature to many people, I have become accustomed using one of my Chromecasts to turn the TV on as I begin casting to it. When the TV is off I can’t see the Nexus Player as an available cast device

The Backdrop can’t be customized

I have the Backdrop customized on my Chromecasts to show family pictures and local weather. I feel like it’s a step back with the Nexus Player not being able to customize the backdrop.

Generally limited customization options

One of the neat features of the Nexus Player remote is the ability to speak into the remote to search for content. You can also ask about the weather, If I speak: “weather for Ottawa” it does in fact give me the current forecast for Ottawa however temperature are in Fahrentheit, I need the ability to get this in Celcius.

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