Nexus Q Guidebook
Legal & safety information Copyright © Google Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Edition 1.0 Android, Google, Google Play, Nexus Q, and YouTube are trademarks of Google Inc. A list of Google trademarks is available at http://www.google.com/permissions/guidelines. html. All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. FCC notice This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Nexus Q User Guide About Nexus Q 4 Get ready 5 Before purchasing 5 Before it arrives 5 Compatibility 6 Compatible Android phones & tablets 6 Compatible routers 6 Network requirements 7 Hardware & cabling 8 Speakers (banana plug cables) 8 AV system or audio receiver (optical audio) 9 TV or audio receiver (HDMI cable) 10 Set up Nexus Q 11 Unpack carefully 11 What's in the box 11 Run the Nexus Q app 12 LED colors 13 Volume controls 14 Remote & direct cont
About Nexus Q Nexus Q lets you instantly stream music, HD movies, and videos from Google Play to your home, using your Android phone or tablet and Wi-Fi to control what plays in which rooms. You can use Google Play and YouTube apps as you normally would. Except now you can choose to stream entertainment through one or more Nexus Qs and the equipment attached to them. Each Nexus Q is designed to function as a media source for one room: speakers, AV systems, TVs, and more.
Get ready Before purchasing To play music, videos, and movies through a Nexus Q, you need: Before it arrives After you've ordered your Nexus Q and any other equipment you need, start preparing for its arrival: 1. A compatible Android device. See Compatible Android phones & tablets. 2. An active Wi-Fi network with a reliable connection to the Internet and a strong signal at the location where you plan to set up your Nexus Q.
Compatibility Compatible Android phones & tablets To operate your Nexus Q, you can use any Android phone or tablet that supports Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3) or higher. Here are a few examples: • Galaxy Nexus phone or Nexus 7 tablet running Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) or higher. • Xoom or Galaxy tablet running Honeycomb (Android 3.2) or higher. • Nexus S phone running Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3) or higher. You also need the Google Play app, so you can download and install the latest Nexus Q app.
Network requirements Your Android phone or tablet controls Nexus Qs in your home via a local Wi-Fi network. You need Wi-Fi with a strong signal in each room where you want to set up a Nexus Q. Bluetooth During setup only, Nexus Q requires Bluetooth. If your device has Bluetooth turned off, you'll have a chance to turn it on. You also need a reliable connection to the Internet. Nexus Q can use either Wi-Fi or Ethernet to stream music and videos directly from Google Play. It uses Wi-Fi by default.
Hardware & cabling You can connect a pair of speakers, an AV system, a TV, or all three to a single Nexus Q. The following pages describe some of the most common configurations. Others are possible, depending on the equipment you have available. Because HDMI and optical audio can connect to a variety of equipment, their output may be delayed by a perceptible amount compared to the analog output directly to speakers.
AV system or audio receiver (optical audio) What you need: • AV system or audio receiver with an available optical audio input. • An optical audio cable. You need just one cable, which has the same plug on both ends. The A/V receiver to which you connect this cable maps the signal it receives from the Nexus Q to one of its input options. To hear music through speakers attached to your A/V system, you need to select the same option using the receiver's controls.
TV or audio receiver (HDMI cable) • • TV or audio receiver with an available HDMI input. Support for HDCP is required to play HD movies with the Play Movies app. A micro HDMI (Type D) to standard HDMI (Type A) cable. The TV or receiver to which you connect the cable maps the signal it receives from the Q to one of its input options. To hear music and watch videos, you need to select the input same option using the controls available for your equipment.
Set up Nexus Q Unpack carefully Using two hands, lift your Nexus Q from its packaging and place it near the equipment you plan to use it with. What's in the box Power cable HDMI cable Let’s get started.
Run the Nexus Q app Important: Before setting up your Nexus Q, make sure you've completed the steps in Before it arrives. After you've unpacked your new equipment and confirmed that you have everything you need, follow these steps: 1. Connect the Nexus Q to your equipment using the appropriate cables. For examples, see Hardware & cabling. 2. Connect the power cord. Nexus Q lights up immediately – there's no power button. Wait about a minute while it completes the startup process.
LED colors The colors displayed by the ring LED tell you what a Nexus Q is doing. LED colors during play LED colors during startup & setup Rotating blue spot: Nexus Q is starting up (after setup or after plugging in). Flashing yellow: Nexus Q can't connect to Wi-Fi. Animated rainbow colors: Music is playing. Solid color: Each available Nexus Q that hasn't yet been set up displays a different solid color, without pulsing, after successful startup.
Volume controls Remote & direct controls You can adjust the volume simultaneously for all rooms currently selected in the dialog that appears when you touch : • Use the volume button on your phone or tablet. This works only when the Google Play app that's streaming content is open on the screen. • Use the volume slider available from the dialog.
Play music After you've set up one or more Nexus Qs, you can use the Google Play Music app to play music through them. If at least one Nexus Q is available on the Wi-Fi network, the icon appears near the top of the app's screens. What you do next depends on how many Nexus Qs are available. Select a Nexus Q One Nexus Q Touch to toggle between playing music through the Nexus Q and playing it on your phone or tablet.
Change or add to the queue The Google Play Music app displays the Now Playing song at the lower left corner of the screen. To view more information about that song, touch it. Then: • To see the whole queue, touch the queue icon near the top right corner of the screen. • To return to the detail view, touch the album art. Find more music If you're sharing the queue with guests, a picture of the person who contributed each song appears beside it.
Select rooms To choose where you want to stream music: 1. From the Google Play Music app, touch . The dialog shown on the right opens. 2. To select a room, touch its name. Or, to return to playing music from your Android device, touch Phone or Tablet. In this example, the Nexus Qs in the living room and media room are both available, and the living room is selected. From here you can: • Switch back to playing through the phone only. • Switch to playing in the media room only.
Combine rooms Typically, one Nexus Q controls equipment in one room. If more than one Nexus Q is available, you can combine two or more or separate any that have been previously combined. For example, suppose: • You're streaming to the living room and the media room, and you want to turn off sound in the living room. • You're streaming to the living room only, and you want play the same stream through the media room as well. To combine or separate rooms: 1. Touch . 2.
Play YouTube videos After you've set up one or more Nexus Qs, you can stream videos through a single Nexus Q at a time using the YouTube app. You can still play YouTube videos on your phone or tablet in the usual way. For details, visit YouTube Help. When the play controls in the app are active, at least one Nexus Q on your network is connected to a TV with an HDMI cable, and the TV is on, your screen should resemble the one shown here.
Play movies and TV shows After you've set up one or more Nexus Qs, you can watch movies and TV shows through a single Nexus Q at a time using the Google Play Movies & TV app. You can still play movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet in the usual way. For details, visit Google Play Movies & TV Help. When the play controls in the app are active at least one Nexus Q on your network is connected to a TV with an HDMI cable, and the TV is on, your screen should resemble the one shown here.
Invite guests Before the party To let your friends play their own music through your Nexus Qs, you first need to give them access: 1. Open the Nexus Q app. 2. Touch Menu > Settings. 3. Make sure the Open to guests switch is On. When this switch is set to the Off position, nobody else can access your Nexus Qs. 4. Touch Invite guests. 5. Fill in the email with your friends' email addresses and edit the text of the message as needed. The default email message tells them to visit play. google.
About Nexus Q collections All the Nexus Qs you set up on a single Wi-Fi network form your collection. After you set up one or more Nexus Qs, your collection's name appears at the top of the Nexus Q app's main screen ("My home" by default). To change this name, touch Menu > Settings. If you live in a building with a single Wi-Fi network shared by many different people, some of them may have their own Nexus Qs set up, forming their own separate collections.
Adjust settings To adjust the settings for a Nexus Q that's already been set up: 1. Open the Nexus Q app. OR From the Play Music app, choose Menu > Settings > Nexus Q Settings. 2. Touch the name of the room where the Nexus Q is located. The main settings screen for that Nexus Q appears. From here, you can read version information and modify the brightness or theme used to animate the LED lights or TV screen during music playback.
Audio calibration Because HDMI and optical audio can connect to a variety of equipment, their output may be delayed by a perceptible amount compared to the analog output directly to speakers. If a single Nexus Q is connected to both analog speakers and additional equipment, via either HDMI or optical output, you can adjust the output from either port to compensate for such delays. Important: You can calibrate the HDMI and optical outputs with the analog output of a single Nexus Q.
Specs Android control Phone or tablet Android device running Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3) or later Software Latest versions of Google Play Music, Google Play Movies, YouTube, and Nexus Q apps, in countries where support is available Audio Amplifier Class D. 12.
Specs General Diameter 4.6 inches (116 mm) Weight 2 pounds (923 g) Power supply Integrated 35W switching power supply World-ready 50/60Hz 85-265V AC input Automatic shutdown for audio amp supply when audio is not playing Hardware controls Rotating top dome volume control Capacitive touch sensor for mute on/off NFC (supports use of Android Beam) Lighting 32 RGB perimeter LEDs indicate status 1 RGB LED mute indicator Connectivity indicator: Single LED on Ethernet receptacle.
Nexus Q limited warranty Google warrants the Nexus Q against defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for one year from the date of original purchase by the end user (“Limited Warranty”). This Limited Warranty is only valid and enforceable in locations the Nexus Q is sold and will not apply if you purchased your Nexus Q from a party other than Google.
