As Apple has finally launched a model of the the small, set-top Apple TV that offers full HD, 1080p resolution, consumers looking for a streaming option to take advantage of video over the Internet within the home theater may be comparing the new hardware from Apple against other options such as the Roku 2. Gaming consoles like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 also offer a solution for streaming video content within the home theater, but these options are at least twice as much as standalone set-top boxes like the Roku 2 or the Apple TV.
Hardware
The only model of the Apple TV sells for $99 and is devoid of ports to access additional memory cards or flash drives. However, the Apple TV comes with AirPlay and will allow users to stream content from other Apple devices like the new iPad or the iPhone 4S. For instance, a user could stream music from Spotify from an iPhone into the Apple TV. During a party, this would allow the host to pump music through a home theater system while changing the music from the iPhone.
The Roku comes in a variety of hardware options including a $49.99 base model called the Roku LT. However, only two of those options are capable of 1080p output. These options are the Roku 2 XD for $79.99 and the Roku 2 XS for $99.99. The latter option also includes a motion controller to play games like Angry Birds, an Ethernet port and a USB port for accessing content such as movies or music from a flash drive. The Roku 2 also comes with a MicroSD memory slot for adding additional storage as well as Bluetooth for RF remote control compatibility.
Content
Apple TV users are tied to Apple’s closed iTunes platform for access to new movies and television shows. Standard definition movie rentals for new releases are $3.99 while high definition rentals are priced at $4.99. After Apple discontinued 99-cent rentals of television shows during August 2011, the only options left available are to purchase the entire season of the program or specific episodes. For instance, the ten episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones season one can be purchased for $3.99 each or the entire season can be purchased for $38.99. Additional Apple TV subscriptions include:
- Netflix at $7.99 a month
- MLB.TV / Premium service at $124.99 yearly or $24.99 monthly / Standard service at $109.99 yearly or $19.99 monthly
- NBA League Pass at $65 yearly for seven teams or $100 yearly for all teams
- NHL Gamecenter at $169 yearly
In order to access recent releases, Roku users will have to rely on Amazon Instant Video to rent movies at $3.99 for SD and $4.99 for HD. Additional subscriptions on the Roku 2 include:
- Netflix at $7.99 a month
- Hulu Plus at $7.99 a month
- Amazon Prime at $79.99 yearly (provides access to many streaming titles in addition to free two-day shipping on all items)
- HBO GO (requires compatible cable or satellite subscription)
- NHL Gamecenter at $169 yearly
- UFC Vault at $59.99 for six months
- MLS MatchDay Live at $59.95 per season
- NBA League Pass at $65 yearly for seven teams or $100 yearly for all teams
- MLB.TV / Premium service at $124.99 yearly or $24.99 monthly / Standard service at $109.99 yearly or $19.99 monthly
- EPIX HD (dependent on cable provider)
While Apple only offers access to YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr and the Wall Street Journal on the Apple TV, more applications can be displayed on the television through mirroring. For instance, the free version of Angry Birds can be played on the iPhone while it’s being mirrored on a HDTV through the Apple TV. However, the sheer amount of free applications built specifically for the Roku is overwhelming. The more popular applications include Crackle, Pandora, Mog, Rdio, Revision3, Facebook and a variety of news networks including NBC News, CNBC and Fox News.
Which one?
Deciding between the two set-top boxes is very dependent on which content ecosystem that a user has already invested within. If a user already owns a mobile Apple device and has a ton of content stored within iTunes, the Apple TV would be a useful tool in accessing that content within the home theater. If a user has plenty of content encoded in a variety of formats, stores that content on a standard PC and is looking for more Internet video options, the Roku hardware would likely be a better fit for the home theater.
Lets see. A more expensive device with less streaming options with an apple logo on it… Or a device that has more streaming options and costs less.
Lets see. A device at the same cost with optical audio out, AirPlay support, full cloud support, access to the world’s largest media library, with an Apple logo on it…I’ll choose Apple TV.
But Apple doesn’t have the most content. And you have to pay more for content through iTunes.
Roku 2 for sure. If you want to stream your own content from your computer, download PlexBeta. You can get itunes, youtube, etc. through Plex. It’s awesome. You can also link your myPlex account to your Roku player and queue videos on the internet to watch on your Roku player. They just added that new feature a couple of days ago. Roku has an endless amount of content.
What would you recommend to a Macbook user that uses ITunes only for music, will finally ditch my BB for an Iphone this year, and is trying to figure out which device will offer me the widest selection of shows, as I am canceling my cable tv subscription.
I would check out the Roku 2. I think they just have more content currently available. OR, I would wait for the new Apple iTV to be introduced because I think Apple will have more content deals closed when that is announced, and they will likely carry over to the AppleTV. Either way, both the Roku 2 and Apple TV are pretty affordable, so it’ not like you are investing a ton of money and you can have an easy out.
Thanks Ian! What if I’m also interested in buying a blu-ray player. I see that many of them now offer some of the same services that Roku and AppleTV offer. Is there a blu-ray DVD player that can offer everything or will I need to buy these separately?
Good idea. Most Blu-ray players have these content deals in there too. Samsung seems to be at the forefront from what I can tell. Personally, I use my PS3 and can access content from Netflix, Vudu and Hulu, but that seems to be about it.
Thank you for the nice comparison But I think I’m looking for the best fresh on demand content. What I have stored in iTunes is just music, and podcasts and wouldn’t influence my decision. Apple may do Spotify, but Roku does Pandora which I prefer (no facebook required).
All in all they seem very similar. Roku is ultra simple and very low cost so I’ll stick with it for now.
Roku is so much better
Apple. Air Play is the real game changer. I don’t care about renting or buying content through the box. I can do that through the iMac, the Mac Book the iPAd of the iPhone. Plus with mirroring I can display anything I can browse.
Xbox
roku nuff said…
Apple TV – jailbreak n install XBMC – no brainer
roku nuff said…