Just about every major tech company offers some device that will put Netflix and YouTube on a TV screen—a Chromecast, Apple TV, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, Fire TV, or a Roku 3 will all do the job. For Google, the Chromecast was rather successful in this area because it was dead simple to use and the cheapest out of the bunch at just $35, but the company has decided that something more is needed. Today, Google is back with yet another device that will try to take over your living room: the Nexus Player.

The Asus-built device is a standard set-top box in the same vein as the Apple TV or Fire TV. The "Nexus" in "Nexus Player" indicates that this is the launch device for Android TV, Google's new living room software that replaces the lackluster Google TV OS. All these TV OSes look similar—grids of content thumbnails—but Android TV is based on Android 5.0 and throws an app store and Google's excellent voice search into the mix. Unlike some earlier Google TV devices, the Nexus Player doesn't do anything with live TV or with your DVR—for that you'll have to switch TV inputs.

The Nexus Player has 3 components. For $99, you get the set-top box and remote control, while another $40 gets you the optional Nexus Player Gamepad. The total package is a $105 premium over the $35 Google Chromecast, but the Chromecast is just a streaming stick. While the Nexus Player supports Google Cast (the retconned name for the Chromecast protocol), it also brings a dedicated TV interface along with local apps and games. In other words, it's a smartphone for your television. The addition of a gamepad is interesting. We've been tracking rumors of a "Nexus TV" product that was considered to be Google game console, and this appears to be it.

Unfortunately for Google's living room ambitions, the Nexus Player isn't very good. Despite the company's experience with Google TV, the Nexus Player and Android TV are first-gen products with lots of first-gen problems. The hardware/software combo flops on many of the basics—such as playing video smoothly—and doesn't deliver on any of the compelling experiences "Android on your TV" would seem able to provide. Apps and games are presumably supposed to be the big differentiator here from the Chromecast and Apple TV, but the Play Store interface is clunky and, instead of 1.4 million Android apps, you get access to about 70. It's also pretty buggy.

The box

Ron Amadeo

Ron Amadeo

Specs at a glance: Nexus Player OS Android TV (Android 5.0-based) CPU 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3560 (Silvermont) RAM 1GB GPU PowerVR Series6 Storage 8GB Networking Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0LE Case Size 120 mm × 20 mm Weight 235 g Starting price $99.99, plus $40 for controller Other perks A remote

Calling the Nexus Player a "set-top box" is a bit of a misnomer, since it isn't box shaped; it's a 4.7-inch (120 mm) black plastic disk that's less than an inch thick (20 mm) with the word "Nexus" carved into the top of it. The top is matte, the sides are glossy, and it looks like an oversized hockey puck. It's nice and simple and will fit into your entertainment center just fine.

On the back are ports for power, HDMI, and USB 2.0. All the way at the top is a white LED for power, and in the middle is a button that will trigger Bluetooth pairing mode. (We needed that button a lot since our remote would seemingly disconnect itself from the device at random.)

The USB port is meant for developers. You can hook the port up to a computer and do debugging with the SDK, take screenshots, record video, and side-load apps.

Since the device runs Android, though, you can also grab a USB OTG cable, plug in all sorts of stuff, and have it just work. You can plug in a keyboard and type. A mouse will work in apps and menus (but the main interface doesn't support mouse clicks for some reason). You can even plug in a gamepad. We tried an Xbox 360 controller, which worked perfectly in most games, and the Xbox controller and Nexus gamepad negotiated "player 1" and "player 2" depending on which was turned on first.

Inside the box puck is a 1.8GHz Intel Atom (Silvermont) processor, a PowerVR Series6 GPU, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage. Dual-band 2x2 802.11ac Wi-Fi provides connectivity, along with Bluetooth LE 4.0. While Android TV supports Ethernet, the Nexus Player doesn't.

It's extremely rare to come across an Intel-powered Android device, as nearly all Android devices run an ARM-based SoC. While we were initially concerned about side-loaded app compatibility, we never ran into a problem. The Nexus Player ran everything we threw at it. Of course, you won't run into any incompatibility problems on the official store, because, again, there are only about 70 apps.

Given the emphasis on apps, that 8GB of storage is a disaster, though. After the OS and pre-installed apps, you've got about 5GB of storage free out of the box. Let's install some games! Modern Combat 4 (a generic first-person shooter) is 1.9GB, Asphalt 8 (a racing game) is 1.3GB, The Walking Dead: Season 1 is 1GB... and we're nearly out of space.

The remote

Ron Amadeo

Ron Amadeo

Ron Amadeo

Ron Amadeo

Google has learned a lot from Google TV, which suffered from some of the most ridiculous input devices ever devised for a set-top box. Compared to the 80+ buttons on your typical Google TV remote, the Bluetooth-powered Nexus Player remote is dead simple: there's a voice command button, a five-way D-pad, and back, play/pause, and home buttons. The setup is reminiscent of the Apple TV or Fire TV remotes.

While these set-top box remotes look quite similar, we have the same problem with all of them: no universal remote functionality. We aren't asking for 40 button monsters; we mostly just want power and volume buttons. If the Nexus Player were good and if you wanted to power your TV with it full time, you'd always need to keep another remote handy, since you have no way of adjusting the volume. Sure, your TV probably accepts only infrared signal and this remote is Bluetooth, but these basic functions should be doable over just the HDMI port using Consumer Electronics Control (CEC). The Chromecast and Nexus Player can use CEC to turn the TV on and switch inputs (provided your TV supports CEC) when starting a Google Cast session, so all that's needed is a dedicated button on the remote for each of those functions. Volume should be possible over CEC, too.

The best bit of the remote is voice commands. Just press the mic button, say what you want (content, actors, directors, etc.) and Android TV will go find it. You can even ask it queries like "show me Oscar-winning movies from 2012," and it will pop up a list.

The worst part of the remote is that it likes to randomly stop working. You'll be clicking along the interface and everything will just stop, which means it's time to get up, flip the box over, hit the Bluetooth pairing button, and then hold home+back to set the remote to pairing mode. We had to do this three times in about two hours.

Besides the standalone remote, there's also the Android app for Android TV. It has all buttons the remote has, along with voice search, and you can use the on-screen keyboard to search for stuff. It's simple, ugly-looking, and seemingly neglected—it doesn't even have the right home and back buttons—but it gets the job done.