Don't use Kodi addons? Try using Nova Video Player instead as your default video player instead of Kodi and you may like it more.

by foundfootagefan

I know a lot of people keep saying Kodi this, Kodi that, but I think Nova Video Player is the best Android TV player right now because it is faster than Kodi because it is Android native, simple to use, plays everything, and connects to media shares easily. Like Kodi, it is fully open source and is a complete media center minus the python addons so if you just need to play videos over your network, give Nova a try.

You can find it on the Play Store and visit their subreddit at /r/novavideoplayer

You can also test the latest v6 builds with all the latest features at https://github.com/nova-video-player/aos-AVP/releases

The dev says v7 will get a "new look" if you guys think the current look is not enough for you.

Any questions? I'm not the dev but I can help anybody who needs it.

dasbene

When i want to use something simpler than kodi i usually use VLC for Android.

I do not see a reason why this would be better.

ijustgrabbedaspoon

No nfs shares support :(

darthgeek

I use Nova pretty extensively and I really enjoy it. I ran it on my Shield until I dropped cable for an IPTV service that runs off an app on my Fire stick.

NedSc

"Android native" in this context means little. Kodi's video player gets specifically coded for each platform's hardware decoding APIs, and falls back to FFMPEG for software decoding (which is what just about all other players do for software decoding).

And Kodi is and has always been more than just the video add-ons.

activoice

I like Nova, used it on my phone for yeara, but unfortunately in my living room setup that uses a older AVR that has no HDMI Input, I can only get 2 channel audio regardless of which audio setting I use... But Kodi plays back 5.1 correctly.

Nehemoth

Do it have something to download subtitles?

farouk87

Nova is the best local player for android tv ,, and you can try nplayer also , very good player for local media

2021Dantheman

Kodi this, Kodi that.......it is more than just a video player......it is an entertainment center: to view tv shows and movies, and to listen to music; one can select any player to use, including Nova Video Player -- just by identifying in the player selection window, or include it as an video player addon. I suggest using Kodi Build Xenon Plus 8.3 -- the best Kodi build out there!

venky61

Been using Nova from last 2 years... My usage is just for playing local content but Nova Player does the job really well. Very rarely I had to switch to Kodi due to some issue.
I love the Audio boost and night mode features.
But recently after getting the Shield, switched to Plex.

KnifeFed

Does it support Dolby Vision and Atmos?

Homeroids

I tried it. Initially I was impressed but one thing I came across is the Indexing. I have multiple SMB shares. Kodi allows various scrapers to be easily added and my naming conventions on local files work fine but Nova failed to identify a significant portion. Sure, I can just go direct to each share and play a file, no prob but the Indexing function needs work.

To be fair, I did not investigate if the scraping/indexing function can be more attuned or customised yet.

Besides that, it presents well and plays well.

elister

Doesn't look like it supports hdhomerun devices.

pwk1653

I agree but have a few negative comments. It is much faster to add movies than Kodi, however

-too often with movies it is incorrect with identifying the film

-if put the movie on hold, after a few minutes it loses where was held and starts from the beginning

Valiantay

I really like Vimu . So far so good.

I'll try this though

looun

The best player is Plex on android . Plex use the exoplayer (system player) for playback and decoding video like VOD app (netflix,disney ecc).

Kodi use media-codec, system player with very low support and no optimization.

smsamee

MX Player Pro is also a decent option