Google once suggested two devices that you can connect to your TV and use to play content: Chromecast and Nexus Player. Google ceased distribution of the Nexus Player in May 2016 after a slow decline in production, although some may still remain available for sale through third parties. The Nexus player has been replaced Google Home autumn 2016.
As for the Chromecast, Google upgraded this device to 4K version in 2016. It’s now called the Chromecast Ultra, but Google still makes and sells the original Chromecast.
Chromecast
Chromecast is a smart little TV tape. It allows you to use your phone, tablet, or laptop as a remote control to play content from Netflix, Google Play, YouTube, or other apps that have been written to use the device. You can even make it play multiple streaming apps that didn’t specifically authorize it using PlayOn. It is one of the simplest, cheapest and most elegant solutions for streaming content to a TV and can be used by just about anyone with an available HDMI port and a home Wi-Fi network.
Chromecast is very small, contrary to what makes you believe its pictures. It must be connected to a power source.
Nexus Player
Nexus Player was an update and rebrand of an old idea: Google TV. It became Android TV and the Nexus Player was its first official device.
Google TV was originally conceived as an Android gaming computer for Internet surfing with a full keyboard that could be connected to a TV for streaming video and searching the Internet. He was killed when networks immediately began blocking streaming content on Google TV, and simply because of poor interface design. Who needs a remote that is literally the size of a full-fledged computer keyboard? Yes, the Google TV remote did get that big, but at least you never had to worry about losing it on your sofa cushions.
Sign in to Nexus Player. The Nexus player allowed you to «stream» shows from your phone, much like a Chromecast. It also comes with a sleek, simplistic voice-activated remote control and a plain old remote control. It was very similar to Amazon Fire TV or the voice version of Roku.
In addition to TV streaming, the Nexus Player also has an optional remote control that can be purchased from Google Play and used for video games on Android TV. You can connect up to four remotes at the same time. Even the purchase of remotes for the casual gamer was still cheaper than most console systems, but for the serious gamer it hasn’t replaced a console or desktop PC.