When comparing Nexus Player vs Roku 4, the Slant community recommends Roku 4 for most people. In the question“What are the best set-top boxes?” Roku 4 is ranked 1st while Nexus Player is ranked 6th.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Straightforward UI
The UI is similar to the of XBox and Fire TV. The homescreen consists of four rows - things you've watched, apps you've installed, games you've installed and settings.
Pro Built-in voice search
You can use the remote to search for movies based on a range of criteria such as release date, actors, genre, etc.
Pro Built-in voice search
Pro Good 4K support
Pro Universal search
Roku's search will look through all available services and offer results in one place. You don't have to search through each app individually to find what you're looking for. It also remembers your previous searches.
Pro Offers the best selection of content
Roku offers more than 1800 entertainment channels.
Pro Simple, intuitive interface
Roku's interface is fairly straightforward.
Pro Headphone jack in the remote
You can plug in any set of headphones in the Roku's remote at which point Roku will mute the TV and allow you to listen to your content without disturbing anyone around you.
Pro Motion control capable remote
Cons
Con No ethernet port
The Nexus player is WiFi only, making for an odd choice for a streaming box as much content could use the extra bandwidth an Ethernet port would offer in order to buffer faster when playing videos..
Con Voice search looks only through google's services
Voice search won't look through, for example, Hulu or Netflix.
Con If you don't want 4K content, Roku 3 might get you more bang for the buck
Since 4K content is still scarce it might be better to get Roku 3 instead. It's practically identical to Roku 4 except for voice search and 4K support that Roku 3 lacks.