After going back and forth on it for a while, I decided to order a Nexus Player last week. I figured that even if I don't like (or maybe even if I do) Android TV's leanback experience, I've got a DIRT cheap, ultracompact X86 box with microUSB support just begging to be hacked. I've spent some time using it and decided a review is in order.

I've read a lot of reviews on it, and done a lot of research. Actually, let me restate that: I've read dozens of variants of the same review. Pretty much every review I read lauded the same strengths and picked on the same weaknesses. Fortunately, I've learned after a while with the device, I won't be echoing that same review yet again.

To start with, let's talk physical design.
The unit itself is a tasteful matte black (something I very strongly prefer to tacky gloss white and even less ostentatious but still overdone glossy black). It's tiny, with exactly the same circumference as an optical disc. It's about 3/4'' thick but looks thinner sitting on my entertainment stand amongst my other devices. Cable connections are well-designed, with connectors tucked several under into the device, keeping cable clutter and overall size to a minimum.
The combination of tiny form factor and bluetooth remote have led a lot of reviewers to suggest hiding the puck somewhere out of the way. However, I find it looks right at home amonsgst my many other fancy black boxes on my black-shelved TV stand, where the only touch of non-black color is contributed by the VCS2600's woodgrain--so I don't feel any particular need to find a stealthy spot for it to hide in. I've just set it atop my Sony bluray player (which, like most Sony bluray players, has moronically-designed top-mounted buttons precluding stackability of anything bigger than the Nexus Player anyway) and it's barely noticaeable.

The aforementioned bluetooth remote is a favorite criticism of every Nexus Player review I've read. I disagree strongly. I've spent far more than the Nexus Player's $99 entry price on TVs, disc players, consoles, set-tops, HT speaker systems, and other home theater gadgets and pretty much all of them had cheaper, flimsier-feeling remotes than the Nexus Player. I actually think it's excellent--the battery cover is very tight fitting and not rattly, the assembly is button-tight, the buttons themselves have a nice clicky response like a 1st gen DS d-pad, and it's nicely weighted with a nice texture.
My only real complaint is the lack of combo IR blaster support for single-remote input-switching and volume control of the TV. Other reviews also complain about the lack of dedicated forward/back skip buttons, but considering how inconsistently the existing play/pause button works from app to app (sadly a third-party developer issue, not a Google design flaw fixable with a patch) I'm not sure additional dedicated buttons would add much functionality overall.

Now, onto the software.
Firstly, I haven't rooted the Nexus Player yet, as I'd rather wait until the OS stabilizes (early patches) before fiddling with my bootloader, kernel, or recovery.

I haven't played with the release version of Android 5.0 on a non-leanback device, though I did run the L dev preview on my N5 for a while. I mention this because this is a Nexus Player/Android TV specific review, not a general Lollipop commentary (that'll follow if my mythical 64GB Nexus 6 order ever actually ships).

Firstly: it's slick and responsive. There's no sign of snags, hangs, hiccups, or slowdown. Animations are clean, transitions are natural, and there's a seamless feel to the recommended content (which bounces between different provider apps without really appearing to do so, keeping the homescreen as the key element.
When you do launch an app directly to work from within, things remain speedy and responsive. So far, I find the Android TV UX for such common applications as Youtube and Netflix to be far superior to those I've found on so many other devices. Not only are they quicker to respond, but it's more visually-oriented, with freezeframe previews and well-designed menus. It's a smooth, frustration-free experience in those cases. The same is true of less ubiquitous applications like TED, which seems to benefit from the same Android TV UX enhancements despite being a non-google product.

Android itself feels familiar but livingroomified, like a better-honed variant of Steam's Big Picture Mode. Menu items and settings are where you'd expect them and do what you expect. You can still enable developer options and access the easter egg through the normal methods, and the ability to force-close and manage app data for individual apps is present as on handheld versions of the OS. There are, however, a few Android/Google basics I have found sorely lacking.
First: There is no way to arrange user-installed content or apps on the homescreen. They are arranged automatically and, to be frank, the default order is stupid. Google Play Music puts itself in front of Netflix (I have a very nice set of wireless earbuds and a Nexus 5 for listening to music, so I'm not sure I need it to appear at all).
Secondly: There is no way to remove specific Google-purchased media from this device's library as with other devices. This comes in handy for removing the google freebies like episodes of Revenge that I would rather never ever see again for the rest of my life--but it can't be done on the Player.
Thirdly: The Play Store for Nexus Player is a barren wasteland that makes the Cupcake days look like paradise.
Thirdly point five: There are actually far more Player-compatible apps on the Play Store than appear when browsing on the device, but they must be installed by accessing the play store through a web browser and using remote install. Why?!
Thirdly point seven five: There's an odd inconsistency between what's "compatible" with the Player that reminds me of every post-major-launch era of Android (which may well be the cause here, too, considering it's running Lollipop). For instance: GTA:SA is compatible and installable through the Play Store, but GTA:VC is not. Odd.
Fourthly: There's no web browser, which means sideloading apps requires ADB connectivity over the USB port. That's still there, which is nice, but I'd much rather download APKs directly to the device and install natively--especially when the unknown sources option remains selectable.
Lastly: There's no reboot/shut-down command?! I know it's a set-top box that shouldn't need powering off, but a simple reboot is occasionally the best solution to a problem. With the Nexus Player, you're relegated to pulling the power cord--a silly "solution" that is clearly a major oversight. Even if the power function were buried in menus so as to be uninviting, it would be worth using occasionally.

I haven't messed with a lot of the media apps for the Player yet...I have no NAS/media server, so Plex is mostly useless for me. I am disappointed (and baffled) to find that Vudu have made their app incompatible with the Player. Netflix, Play Movies, Play Music, TED, and Youtube all work marvelously, though.

Now, the interesting part is: The extras.
Yes, this is certainly a clean, simple, straighforward "just works" set top box. But it's got some neat extras which are really the reason I decided to drop the $99 on it.
Firstly, USB OTG is fully intact. It supports not only keyboards and mice and external storage, but USB ethernet adapters. A simple microUSB hub is all that stands between the Nexus Player and full-fledged versatile HTPC status.

It also has a slick quick-sync button on the bottom of the device that triggers bluetooth device search without needing to menu-dive (though the menus aren't exactly clunky either). It works great with my Logitech Tablet Keyboard, which makes text entry much slicker. It frustratingly won't pair with any of my bluetooth audio devices, however, and it has not broken the trend of refusing to play nice with the Wii U Pro Controller or DualShock 3 (I caved and ordered an official Nexus Player bluetooth controller since it looks higher-quality than most I've seen, but it has not arrived yet).

So far, I feel like it was worth the $99. It's taking multiple other devices and consolidating them with a single interface and (more importantly, convenience-wise) a single HDMI input. I'm curious to see where Android TV will go with future updates, and where the Player itself will go as application compatibility improves over time.

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts as I spend more time with it, but I've been sick at home on the couch all weekend so I got plenty of time to develop my first impressions.

Update:

By sheer coincidence, a friend of mine gave me a Roku 3 they had laying around.

I'll be posting up a comparison of the two after I've had a little more time with both.

Intrigued for the side by side comparison, as I love my Roku, but find it a bit laggy.

So...
Here's my comparative review.

Overall, I have a very strong preference for the Nexus Player. I'm honestly a little surprised at this, as it's not perfect yet and Roku has been at this game a LOT longer. However, there are some good reasons for this.

One of the biggest is Roku's use of Wifi Direct for the remote connectivity. It's extremely unwise, and outstandingly poorly implemented. For starters, it seems EXTREMELY sensitive to battery voltage. Even brand new batteries will cause odd behavior that is interpreted by the device as a low battery condition. The remote has a built-in headphone jack, which is fantastic (more on that later). That's the primary reason for Wifi direct rather than bluetooth, as I understand things. But the audio signal cuts out often, even with my Roku only FEET from the remote, with fresh batteries and no obstructions.
Worse and far more crippling, though, is the way Roku's Wifi Direct implementation basically undermines your existing WLAN setup for everything in the home. Remember: Wifi direct is a Wifi broadcast. For those not familiar with it, it's a standard that is intended (but unlikely in my experience and hopes) to replace Bluetooth. It's an ad-hoc Wifi connection between two devices, and supports relatively high-bandwidth data transfer. Its connection protocols are simpler than Bluetooth's, which is part of the appeal for manufacturers. However, Roku's design has a serious flaw: this BROADCAST of wifi signal always mirrors the strongest same-frequency Wifi broadcast it can see (EVEN WHEN THE DEVICE'S ACTUAL NETWORKING IS DONE VIA ETHERNET). What this means is LOTS of noise and intereference. Google Roku 3 wifi interference and you'll find pages upon pages of complaints and pleas for a means to disable this feature or AT THE VERY LEAST, set the channel manually. Neither is possible ( ). SO: Even when you find that empty 5GHZ channel sweet spot that no one else is broadcasting on, your Roku will follow and screw everything up. Nonsense, ridiculous, stupid, and so bad I am tempted to get rid of my Roku.

Another loss on the Roku side is the interface. It feels like it fell straight out of a time warp from 2002. It really reminds me of the early XBMC interface. That's pretty damn embarrassing. It's full of totally-static buttons on a grey background, with tons of empty space, very little color, unnecessary use of text over iconography, and it just isn't remotely pretty or slick. It's fairly intuitive, but still very "segmented" in terms of each function being sort of on its own. Its treatment of "Channels" feels incredibly archaic as well. It actually reminds me of the original Wii in more than just name. The functionality and incohesiveness is very similar. There's also an extremely limited amount of onboard memory for adding new channels, though one can expand that with an SD card.

Roku has some good sides, though.
Firstly, it has an Ethernet port. Big strength, though it would be much, much, vastly bigger as a strength if not for that abominable Wifi Direct remote that can't be disabled anyway.
Secondly, that headphone jack on that abominable remote. It makes it the PERFECT bedroom-TV box. I can watch movies in the middle of the night without fear of disturbing anyone else. But, again, it's not perfect and the audio sometimes drops out more than it drops in.
The remote also has more dedicated buttons than the Nexus Player's, with scan, replay, and play/pause buttons alongside system-specific functions like home, back, and enter. The 4-way d-pad with "OK" button below is MUCH less thought-free in the dark, though. With the Nexus Player remote, enter is in the middle of the d-pad, so you can easily find it by feel alone. The Roku's OK button is in the middle of two rows of other buttons and, despite being the differently-shaped button, is no different in texture (not even a "home row" bump) and difficult to distinguish without effort.
Roku also has some "Channels" that Nexus Player currently lacks as apps (like Vudu), though I expect that to change fairly rapidly.

As for the Nexus Player:
It lacks Ethernet (despite having plenty of space for a port and internals).
It needs more apps (both media and otherwise). However, it has far more games than Roku--which is funny given Roku's bragging in that department with the Roku 3 and its gaming buttons and Wiimote-style motion capabilities.
The remote is much easier to use by touch. There's a 5-way D-pad, a voice search button above that, back and play/pause buttons below it, and a home button below those. For scanning/skipping, the d-pad fills in, activating a popup GUI that's generally app-agnostic at least in appearance if not always behavior.
The interface is INFINITELY better than Roku's. Large, visual, scaling buttons represent individual recommendations as well as apps. There's a dynamic background that changes based on what's going on. Text is used efficiently alongside iconography. Voice search is always a button-press away or, at the very most, a couple taps of "up" on the d-pad in most places.
Everything is quick and responsive with good feedback.
The recommendations at the top of the screen pull from all supporting apps (at least that's how it seems). So mine has a combo of Youtube, TED, and Play Movies titles but no Netflix since that doesn't seem to support it.

The Nexus Player is also pretty intelligent as far as HDMI goes. For instance, I discovered the other day after pausing a Youtube video and turning off the TV for a while that, when the TV was turned back on, playback resumed automatically. The player also seems to realize when HDMI has been disconnected at the TV end and alerts you with a flashing remote voice search light (not that that is a particularly obvious meaning for that light).

The NP uses a bluetooth remote for all the wireless/IRless goodness but none of the ruining-all-your-wifi-everything that comes with a Roku 3.

I also ordered the Nexus Player Gamepad and like it quite a bit. It's very Xbox-360-copy in form factor, but feels a lot different. The analog sticks are VERY stiff with excellent progressive feedback. The d-pad actually works (unlike the 360). However, it trades a "start/forward" button for a Home button, which causes issues in games that are designed to use a Start button (a lot of them). The home button does mean it can be used in place of the normal remote (less voice search), but it would have been best in place of the start button a-la Xbox Guide button.

The Roku's Wifi Direct issues are an extremely significant problem. I'm getting sick of it washing out my Wifi signal to the point that I can barely stream HD Youtube despite a 50MB/s connection to the outside.

I would definitely recommend the Nexus Player of the the Roku 3.

Ah. I've got the Roku 1, I just figured out. Mine doesn't have fancy stuff like that. It does, however, have IR and terrible IR reception. But if Nexus player isn't supported by Netflix yet, I'm not sure I can make that leap. It would essentially be adding another device that tandems what my existing devices already do.

To clarify:

Nexus player definitely supports Netflix. It just doesn't "extract" recommendations from it like other apps do, for the "recommended" row on the homescreen.

Ohhhhhhh. I thought that was crazy talk not supporting Netflix. It's definitely on my watch list now.