If you had plans to buy the Google Nexus Player, the first device to run on Android TV, your options are growing increasingly limited.

As reported by Droid Life and other media outlets, Google has stopped direct sales of the Asus-made Nexus Player via the Google Store.

“Nexus Player is still available on some retail sites,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “Android TV continues to be a living room favorite as one of the best smart TV experiences. We are pleased with the success and have seen millions of activations so far.”

Support for Nexus Players will continue, as Google recently released the Android N Developer Preview for it and is finalizing the Android N release for the Nexus Player.

And Google continues to expand the reach of Android TV, thanks to integrations with connected TVs from companies such as Sony, Sharp and Philips, as well as the 4K-capable Nvidia Shield gaming console/streamer. Prior to Google I/O last week, Xiaomi showed off an Android TV device with support for 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR) called the Mi Box.

Google introduced the Nexus Player in October 2014, a platform that received some mixed reviews as it entered the market.  

During the Nexus Player’s earlier days, Sling TV promoted it as part of a bundle for customers who prepaid for three months of service (that promo ended in December 2015).  Time Warner Cable (now part of Charter Communications) offered free Nexus Players to a small group of customers after Rovi stopped selling the IP-connected Fan TV box.

While Android TV remains a key part of Google's living room strategy, it’s also been focused on integration of Google Cast, the technology that powers the popular Chromecast streaming adapter. Last week, Google announced it will bake in that capability in TVs coming from Toshiba, Philips, Magnavox, Westinghouse and Polaroid.

Google caused some excitement Wednesday with the release of a “Live Channels for  Android TV” app. 

While live is right there in the label, it doesn’t appear to be live in the sense that it’s compatible yet with any device, including the Nexus Player, the first Android TV-powered box.

Here’s Google Play’s current, vague description of the new app: “Live Channels app is for watching Live TV. Watch your favorite news, sports, movies and TV shows from various channel sources such as built-in tuner, IP-based tuners, and more and show them instantly on your Android TV.”

And a screenshot sample shows that the app shows options for closed captioning, picture-in-picture, parental controls, selecting a display mode, and a way to select from available channel sources. Another screen grab shows two live TV feeds running in split-screen fashion.

So, bottom line, it appears that there will soon be a way for Android TV to live up to its name and actually have a way to support TV.

What’s missing, for now, is what live channels will be supported, and whether those will come from Google directly, or if this will be some sort of HDMI pass-through implementation in future Android TV-based boxes and TVs that can support linear pay-TV services by connecting Android TV devices to a traditional cable box using and HDMI cable, and then overlaying  and integrating Google’s interface and Android TV’s mix of over-the-top goodies…like the approach Microsoft is taking with the Xbox One and aioTV is taking with its Android-based PassBox. It's also possible that some the CE players that make Android TV devices will integrate an over-the-air digital TV tuner. So there are several possible options here. 

Update: As Dave Zatz, the namesake of the ZatzNotFunny blog, pointed out to me, an integration with Silicondust is a distinct possibility. In June, Silicondust, maker of network-atttached TV tuners under the HDHomeRun brand, announced that it was demonstrating a HomerunInput plugin at the Google I/O event that enables live TV as a “core component” of the Android TV platform, going as far as far as posting some screenshots that look a lot like the ones posted with the new Google Play app.

I’ve asked Google for some more clarity on this one and will provide an update once we get word. 

Based on the early reviews, the Nexus Player, the first device to be powered by the new Android TV platform, has some promising capabilities along with some rough edges and shortcomings, making it a product that will likely have a hard time gaining much ground on the Apple TV and Roku.

Here’s a rundown of some the early takes on the Nexus Player:

-CNET gave the device’s voice search capabilities some high marks, but found the native app section “abysmal compared with that of Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV,” a new box that used a “forked” version of Android. Until the Nexus Player gets a “major infusion” of native apps and more developer support and the integration of more non-Google services, the Nexus Player “offers no compelling upgrade over other streaming devices.”

-Engadget called the Nexus Player a “great, if imperfect, introductory showcase for Android TV.” The reviewer liked the device’s simple UI, Google Cast abilities, and voice search functions, but also found it to have some bugs and an app library that doesn’t live up to the competition. “While I hesitate to recommend the Nexus Player due to some chintzy hardware and the lack of Ethernet, Android TV is a platform worth keeping an eye on,” the reviewer added.

-Giving it a score of six out of ten, Wired’s lukewarm review called it an “okay player,” again giving the nod at this stage to the Roku and Amazon Fire TV due to the Nexus Player’s dearth of native apps, something that Google will obviously look to improve upon as more Android TV-powered devices start to hit the market. On the other hand, the Nexus Player’s voice search, YouTube integration (a “powerful, streamlined content engine for the entire system”), Google Cast capabilities and overall “web-savviness” does set it apart from other devices, the reviewer found.

-Gizmodo’s review was a bit harsher, noting that consumers “should probably steer clear till Google gets its [stuff] together. Until it does, the $100 Nexus Player just isn’t a good buy.” Gizmodo also panned the device’s curated version of the Google Play app store and had trouble connecting the device to WiFi and keeping the Bluetooth game controller paired to the Nexus Player, but still found some things to like. “Android TV looks brilliant. The layout is about as intuitive and powerful as could be.”

Google has unveiled the Nexus Player, a puck-shaped video streaming and gaming device that is being billed as the first device to run Android TV,  an operating system for smart TVs, set-tops and streaming devices announced in June that marks Google’s latest attempt at taking over the living room.

The Nexus Player, which will most closley compete against the Amazon Fire TV as well as Roku-powered devices and the Apple TV, was developed through a collaboration between Google and Asus and will be available for pre-order on Friday, October 17, and become available in stores on November 3. The Nexus Player will sell for $99, and an optional gamepad will cost $39.99, according to GigaOm.

By comparison, the Amazon Fire TV, launched in April, also sells for $99, though Amazon is currently offering it to Amazon Prime customers for $84. The Amazon Fire TV game controller fetches $39.99.

In addition to serving as a streaming media player for video and music, the Nexus Player will also be a “first-of-its-kind Android gaming device,” Sundar Pichai, SVP, Android, Chrome & Apps, proclaimed in this blog post. “With Nexus Player you can play Android games on your HDTV with a gamepad, then keep playing on your phone while you're on the road.”

The Nexus Player, which comes with a remote that bakes in voice-based search technology,  is outfitted with a 1.8GHz Quad Core Intel Atom processor, 802.11ac, and an HDMI output. The new product is also Google Cast Ready, meaning users will be able to cast content from a Chromebook, Android or iOS smartphone or tablet to the TV in much the same way that the cheaper Google Chromecast does now.

A page dedicated to the Nexus Player shows that it will support a wide range of apps, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, Pandora, PBS Kids, Vevo, Plex, HGTV, DramaFever, Pluto.TV, as well as Google’s own games, movies, TV and music offerings and YouTube. AOL announced that its full library of premium content is also being offered via Google’s Android TV platform. 

Google also announced the Motorola-made Nexus 6 smartphone , a phablet-style device with a 6-inch Quad HD display and 13 megapixel camera that will compete with the recently introduced iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung’s Galaxy Note lineup. Google also introduced the Nexus 9, a new tablet made in partnership with HTC.

The new version of Google’s OS, Android 5.0 Lollipop (it was previously referred to as the Android “L” OS), will power the Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player, and will also be offered on the Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10 and Google Play edition devices in the coming weeks, the company said.