Google Nexus impressions (kodi+emby)

[z0mbi 76]

In continuation from the discussion I and several others were having in the FireTV thread, I bought a Nexus today and messed around with it all afternoon. I was really bummed that this thing did not come with an ethernet port, and it was quite a surprise as it never even occured to me to check. Got Kodi+emby running on it but the emby plugin is still synching after hours and hours... a bit like sucking a baseball through a coffee stirrer. The location this thing needs to be is like right on the edge of my wireless network's range which is why I've got the theater room wired for Ethernet. I ordered a USB mini to Ethernet adapter for it from Amazon for $20 which imo should bump the price of the unit up to $70 in most peoples minds because wired connectivity is key when you're streaming humongous files.

 

I tried out the emby app and its great but it's missing the one feature I absolutely need for the family room... that's the ability to download subs right from the client which afaik only Kodi does. If this hockey puck was just for me, it wouldn't be a problem, but I have other family members to cater to. Plus, my elderly father was not pleased with having to use a remote, lol. He has gotten used to the kodi remote (even though he always has so much trouble using it) and was very vocal about not wanting to change even if it meant gaining the advantages of a physical remote. Cantankerous old coot...

 

 

Things I don't like:

• The voice function on the remote is broken. It just doesn't hear anything I say.
• I can't move apps around on the interface. All I want to use this thing for is Kodi+emby, why do I have to surf down a menu of 20+ icons just to get to the app I want to launch? Is there some kind of way to pin an app as a favorite or something that I'm missing? Or just boot straight into Kodi? There's all kinds of things on the main page I just don't want to see, like games and google stores for paid content I'm not going to use.
• I discovered at some point that the OS needed updating. How much updating you ask? ALL of the updating, I say. I've run about a half dozen updates so far and every time the thing reboots, there are more updates to be had. Hopefully one of these will fix my broken microphone.
• No ethernet. Not everybody lives in the future. Wish I didn't have to pay the extra $20 to mainline this puppy.
• Kodi sideloading was kind of annoying. Not difficult, just annoying. The whole time I was doing it I was wondering why someone doesn't build a set-top box where you can just install programs on it. Like, any program. Like a PC. Why do they have to be gated? It's so needlessly complex and frustrating. Part of the reason I'm getting rid of my iPhone.
• Information input in emby app. Using the d-pad to input IP addresses is bad enough, the fact that there's no 'enter' button on the remote really took the cake. It took me about 5 times accidentally backing all the way out to the home screen before I managed to actually log into my emby server. You put in the IP, move over to highlight [next] and hit enter... and nothing happens. If you then hit enter again, it presses 'cancel' on the input window and boots you back out. Argh! I'm still not quite sure how I managed to log in... I think after you hit 'next', you need to hit 'back' to get off of the keyboard so you can move the cursor off of 'cancel' and over to 'ok'. Maybe.

Conclusion: I kind of like this thing, despite all my complaining... I mean, it really does an amazing job for the money. But I think I have to return it because of the broken mic. If I didn't have to return it, I'd probably keep it but since I am returning it, I don't think I'm going to replace it. I think I'll just hook my beast of a PC back up for now and maybe wait for the next generation, or until I have enough money to afford an Nvidia Shield. Or maybe I'll buy one of those Intel ComputeSticks or something. I do really enjoy the fact that I can press the power button on my remote and my HTPC boots straight into Kodi+emby on a Win10 device and that's a hard feature to give up. Maybe one of these SmartTV type devices is not really exactly what I'm looking for.

[ice pube 20]

Sounds like you just have a broken machine, if its constantly updating itself. For my money $60 I paid, I love this machine. Netflix, youtube, Emby have all been great, and the casting is what sets it apart. Can you return the one you got?

[z0mbi 76]

I certainly hope so. Got it at Walmart, they generally have a pretty good return policy.