Because it runs an Intel Atom chip, the Nexus Player is technically an x86 device. This means it shares architecture with PCs. In theory, you could boot a lightweight Linux ISO (like Alpine Linux or a very old Ubuntu for Intel Atom), but you will lose hardware acceleration for video decoding. For streaming Netflix or Plex, this is a dealbreaker.

, you can install a lean version of Android TV directly onto your hardware. Why the Nexus Player ISO?

An ISO file, on the other hand, is a type of file that contains a copy of the contents of an optical disc, such as a CD or DVD.

Because the Nexus Player uses an Intel Atom (x86_64), you can write a standard Ubuntu Server ISO to a USB drive and attempt to boot. However:

: The Google Now-powered voice search was a highlight, though it originally lacked deep integration with third-party apps like Netflix or Hulu.