[Galaxy Camera General] internetpilot:
Well, of course you can disagree, but I still think you're stretching your camera well beyond practical purpose. Cameras are quirky enough on their own (especially ones with Android OS) -- it's probably not a good idea to use it so much for non-photography purposes because when you wear it out from overuse with all these extraneous functions you're not just going to be out an Android TV device -- you're going to be out a $400 camera. Android TV boxes can be had for as cheap as US$25 and are practically disposable at that price.

Incidentally, I have a HDMI dongle (that uses a standard, readily available fullsize HDMI plug/cable) that I use on my Galaxy Note 2 phone and/or my Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 tablet all the time (typically when on vacation watching movies on the hotel TV). Not to mention $30 Chromecast can be used wirelessly. All of this without overusing my $400 camera, so that the next time I want to use my camera it won't have a low battery, scratched up screen, or otherwise screwed up or acting quirky from rooting it.

Again, it's all about what's your priority purpose for this device. I bought this device to use as a internet connected camera -- I didn't buy it for playing games or running non-photography related apps. I don't want to have choose which OS I'm booting to....I just want to turn the camera on, take some pics, and be able to immediately upload them somewhere. As long as that's working, then in my world there's really no need to actively look for alternative solutions that are just going to potentially mess that simple process up.

Again, there's a reason why I'm here on XDA -- I've rooted (and usually ROMed) every other Android device I've owned. I'm even currently running CM11 on my Galaxy Note 2 at the expense of losing some of the S-pen features because it runs so much faster that it's like I got a completely new phone. But I just don't see any reason for rooting (or especially ROMing) the Camera 2.

That's actually very good to know for future reference that NK4 is rootable. That's likely the last update we'll see for this camera knowing Samsung.

I actually don't always use a custom recovery on my Samsung devices. Since most root methods, ROMs, and even the recoveries themselves are flashed via Odin, there's really not a pressing need for a custom recovery. I've even encountered a lot of quirkiness with most custom recoveries (Philz, CWM, TWRP) when it comes to Nandroid backups (especially reliable restores), so I never rely on them and instead just reflash the ROM, allow Google to restore system data, and then restore personal apps/data with TitaniumBackup. Plus, even if you're rooted, as long as you have the stock recovery you can USUALLY take any OTA updates. I emphasize USUALLY because my Note 10.1 2014 Ed tablet is rooted but running stock recovery and the latest bug-fix update will not flash because they claim my tablet has been modified.

I guess I've never felt the need for pie controls because I haven't used the stock launcher on any Android device I've ever owned. The Camera 2 camera app interface is already pretty sweet with the on-screen dial menus. Like I said above, I'm not just globally adverse to rooting (far from it), but I just have yet to find any reason to root this camera, especially now that the latest update seems to have corrected the stupid vanishing Google Account settings issue.

Now, if someone ever comes up with a fully functioning Lollipop ROM for this camera, you'll quickly see me singing a different tune, but until then....