Thread: Roku vs Apple TV

Does anyone have anything they can say to help me decide. I do have an iPhone and iPad. But I also saw this: http://www.roku.com/Roku-vs-AppleTV

I realize its from roku but what caught my eye was the amazon prime on roku n not on apple. I have prime n use it

Any input would be great.

Well now I just found out I need to add amazon fire TV to this race

I thought only sheeple still used Apple.

I really like my Roku. But if you happen to get a Smart TV, you won't need one. Also, most game systems have the same apps now. Another alternative might be the thing Google has. I forgot what it's called but I think a few members here have it. Chromecast, maybe?

I have two Roku players and my family also uses them. Long story short....it's one of the best choices I've made. All you need is high speed internet and you will make your cable bill disapear. I have a cousin of mine and I get all of the HBO, Showtime, ESPN, Netflix, Hulu codes free. I don't mind at all waiting a day to see a TV show...everything comes out on Hulu the next day. They also have a UFC channel you can get for $9 a month which gives you access to a library of fights, Ultimate Fighter and PPV events. The great thing about Roku is you basically only pay for what you actually WANT instead of one big package from a cable company. There were so many things I never got to see or was even interested in plus I didn't ever have the time.

The new Roku players are supposed to be some of the fastest streaming devices on the market in HD quality. They are very small and you don't even notice them. You can also get games for the kids on them as well, link your facebook account and photos. Also it has Pandora radio and many more apps you can put on it.


Yeah....I highly recommend it.

High speed internet, and buy a NUS (Intel Next Unit of Computing Kit, Black/Grey BOXDCCP847DYE on amazon)... load up XBMX via OpenElec and a THUMB drive (no operating system and no Hard drive required)....and never need the subsciptions of cable or Netflix.

OR...

if you want the apple TV, look online for a jailbroken apple TV that already has the XBMC loaded up. I recommend the "untethared" jailbreak.

Missy and i have had our Roku for about 4 or so years now. BEST THING EVER.

I too am a big Roku fan. Snappy internet is a must. Amazon and Netflix are very stable on the Roku, Hulu is sketchy sometimes.

The great thing about it is you can sign up for Netflix for a couple months then switch to something else like Amazon or Redbox Instant. Just keep switching when new stuff comes out.

Oh, on my Roku I also linked it with my cousins Plex account. He has thousands of movies on it, all in HD. He even knows how to get movies still in the theaters on it in near HD quality. I got to see Elysium while it was still in theaters.

It just depends on what services you want/have. I use my smart bluray for Netflix, and everything else like Amazon Prime or Vudu I just run from my laptop via a HDMI.

Chromecast seems to be a good option, too: http://www.google.com/intl/en-us/chrome/devices/chromecast/

The whole point of these small streaming players is to avoid wear and tear on laptops, xbox or whatever else...without slow speeds! Think about it, if you use a laptop sometimes they can run hot or slow and now you are just using it for hours at a time when you could be using a little streaming device that doesnt run hot. It's sole purpose is to just stream! Plus you don't have all of these extra cords to trip over AND your laptop doesnt have to just sit next to the TV. You can be on the laptop browsing while something is being streamed on the Roku.

Originally Posted by DenBronx

The whole point of these small streaming players is to avoid wear and tear on laptops, xbox or whatever else...without slow speeds! Think about it, if you use a laptop sometimes they can run hot or slow and now you are just using it for hours at a time when you could be using a little streaming device that doesnt run hot. It's sole purpose is to just stream! Plus you don't have all of these extra cords to trip over AND your laptop doesnt have to just sit next to the TV. You can be on the laptop browsing while something is being streamed on the Roku.

Not to mention all the processor resources that are being wasted with the computer activities you don't need. As I mentioned above, I can stream live tv, HD movies, or any tv series with the NUC and the ONLY operating system involved is on the tiny 8 gig thumb drive (those tiny ones that are the same size as the usb dongle for a mouse/keyboard)... NO hard drive and only 2 gig of ram!

That just tells you how much of the resources are normally being used just to run the computer that you dont need for streaming TV/movies. They are pretty handy.

Originally Posted by DenBronx

The whole point of these small streaming players is to avoid wear and tear on laptops, xbox or whatever else...without slow speeds! Think about it, if you use a laptop sometimes they can run hot or slow and now you are just using it for hours at a time when you could be using a little streaming device that doesnt run hot. It's sole purpose is to just stream! Plus you don't have all of these extra cords to trip over AND your laptop doesnt have to just sit next to the TV. You can be on the laptop browsing while something is being streamed on the Roku.

Yeah I have an older laptop with a solid state drive that I only use for internet and streaming, but you are right most people don't want to use their PC or Mac laptop because there is too much that can slow it down. I looked at the activity monitor for Netflix once and the internet browser plus silverlight were taking about 60% of the CPU processing up.

Of all my streaming tools at my house, the one I tend to use the most is my Wii U and my smart BluRay because I just like the user interface. I am assuming the ROKU and similar products are just as easy. I think my biggest fear with streaming media though is that physical media will go extinct (which it probably is). I am trying to buy all my favorite movies on BluRay because I think the next step is having all of our stuff stored in the cloud. It never truly feels like you own something in the "cloud".

I'm on the verge of being sold on Roku, but I still have some questions.

I'm paying for $40.54 to Cox Communication for their slowest internet & very basic cable. Most of that's for the internet because they were so desperate to sign someone up cable TV that think that added less then $5 on to my bill to get me to buy it. This gives me my local channels, WGN, TBS, ION; as well as 2 religious & 2 Spanish channels. They also gave me 6 months of free HBO, which should be expiring at any time now. Because I've been uploading so many Autistic self-advocacy videos to YouTube over the past couple of week, I was planning on upgrading my internet to the middle speed.

Now for the points of clarification that I need. If I get Roku, will I still need cable for:

1) Internet?
2) Local Channels?

Originally Posted by Ravage!!!

High speed internet, and buy a NUS (Intel Next Unit of Computing Kit, Black/Grey BOXDCCP847DYE on amazon)... load up XBMX via OpenElec and a THUMB drive (no operating system and no Hard drive required)....and never need the subsciptions of cable or Netflix. OR... if you want the apple TV, look online for a jailbroken apple TV that already has the XBMC loaded up. I recommend the "untethared" jailbreak.

For the Apple TV version are the eBay auctions at 299 a reasonable way to go? Or is there somewhere specific you'd recommend?