Roku vs AppleTV? Any experience here?

[MonkeyCheese]

I know they both do the basic same thing. But seems there are a few differences. AppleTV can show youtube and buy/rent from iTunes. Roku can use Hulu+ and Amazon On Demand. Both allow you to stream Netflix through them.<div>
</div><div>But can either play video files I already have on my computer? Does one have a leg up on the other in terms of quality of video or ease of use?</div>

 

[BehrDawg]

I can push from any PC in my house to apple tv via itunes. I can also push from my iphone and ipad. With the ipad2 you can "mirror" the ipads screen, essentially making your television a huge monitor for ipad.<div>
</div><div>I love the apple tv. I never have connection issues and it has great functionality.</div>

 

[PickleHead]

I have AppleTV and love it. You can also "mirror" your iphone, which can be useful. Basically, if you use Apple products, I'd recommend sticking with Apple.

 

[AssEndDawg]

If you have bought into the iTunes eco-system you would be an idiot to buy anything but AppleTV. If you do not use iTunes, or haven't put much money into it, and you don't want to be trapped into Apple products then you need to go with the Roku.

I have an AppleTV and I really like it. But it's mainly because I have thousands of dollars in content (songs, movies, etc.) in iTunes. So it all works with my iPhone, iPad, AppleTV and so on.

 

[Dawghouse]

If you have bought into the iTunes eco-system you would be an idiot to buy anything but AppleTV. If you do not use iTunes, or haven't put much money into it, and you don't want to be trapped into Apple products then you need to go with the Roku.

I have an AppleTV and I really like it. But it's mainly because I have thousands of dollars in content (songs, movies, etc.) in iTunes. So it all works with my iPhone, iPad, AppleTV and so on.

This, except don't limit your research to just Roku/Apple. The Logitec Revue (ie Goole TV) and Boxee are very similar to Roku. All have their pros and cons. Check and see which one does what you are looking for, unless of course you're an existing Apple user, then it should be a no brainer.<div>
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[MonkeyCheese]

I am an Apple guy, but don't have a ton of tv shows or movies from iTunes. Not much at all, in fact.<div>
</div><div>I do have local .avi files on my macbook I'd hope could be "served" up through the AppleTV or Roku for view on my television. But my wife watches stuff Hulu quite often. She would be stuck w/ looking at a laptop if I went with the AppleTV, right?</div><div>
</div><div>Can AppleTV show a movie that was ripped from a dvd via Handbrake? Does it need to be a certain format to be recognized by iTunes?</div><div>
</div><div>That seems to be my conundrum: would I rather watch streaming video from Hulu+ (via Roku) or local video files through A.tv... unless you see a better solution.</div>

 

[NorCalDawg]

<div>Logitech is dropping Google TV, so buyer beware:</div><div>
</div>http://arstechnica.com/ga...an-expensive-mistake.ars

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</div><div>I've tried Apple TV, Roku, Boxee on my laptop, and the Logitech Revue. They all worked good for me, but the Boxee on a workstation is a little "clunky". I decided to stick with Apple TV because of the seamless integration with my other devices running iTunes. Also, if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch download the "Remote" app and you can use those devices as a remote control for Apple TV.</div>

 

[AssEndDawg]

with Roku (or some other device). The AppleTV will not natively stream .AVI, you would have to convert it to the Apple video format. Plus, if your wife is into Hulu (I am a HuluPlus subscriber and love it) then it is probably going to frustrate her to not have that. You don't have a big investment in iTunes for video now then it may be best not to start it. Keep in mind, Apple has always insisted that AppleTV is a "hobby" device. There is some expectation that may change in the future but right now you can't count on it.

All of that to say, go with what you need today. sounds like you want to stream standard files and watch Hulu, so make sure you can do that. That means no to the AppleTV.

 

[NorCalDawg]

I've done this with some of my home movies and you can watch them over Apple TV from your computer, but I've never tried doing this with a DVD. My guess is you will not be able to convert protected content, but there is probably a way around this; i.e., sorta like converting an AAC to MP3.

 

[RobbieRandolph]

2 reasons: HBO Go (assuming your cable provider is a partner of Roku) and Amazon Prime video. (Being half the price of the Apple TV didn't hurt either).

I've liked the interface and everything associated with it thus far. Haven't needed a reason to wirelessly mirror my iPad to the TV yet, and even if I did, supposedly the HBO Go App is restricted from mirroring to begin with, so the Apple TV wouldn't allow HBO Go on my television anyways.

 

[scdog.sixpack]

Can you push your itunes music to play through your tv or is just for playing videos?

 

[AssEndDawg]

will play all of your music as well. It's really nice for entertaining because you have all your playlists and everything readily available.

 

[AndyMSU]

Apple TV in my household gets used to push some media from my laptop but unfortunately most of it's services were not available outside the U.S. until recently. It has only been two months or so since netflix was available legally for me.

For that reason I have a set up in my media room which has a second battery charger for my laptop, a HDMI cable to my tv, and a CAT 5 cable to my wireless router. I hook my computer up and have a bluetooth keyboard and use my big *** tv as a second monitor and my theater system. I did this because I had to use VPN Servers to access things like ESPN 3 and netflix for the last couple of years. I also get about 3 gigs and up of DL speed when hooked up to a wired connection so streaming is never a problem. I also am able to use VPN Servers to connect to sites like Hulu and have paid the small monthly fee to stream programs with little to no commercials and in HD. Finally, it also allows me to connect to a slingbox I have set up to a DirecTV fee back in Texas and watch things through that.

If you MUST purchase one of them and made me choose between the two devices, I personally would choose Apple TV based on my usage as there are many more services now available through apple tv outside of the U.S. of Obamaisim.

If you would mainly use the apple tv or Roku to download netflix movies I would suggest a quality HDMI cable rather than either of these devices.... about 10% of the cost and with a good internet connection you can do it from your laptop without buying any additional electronics.

 

[hopper21]

Before I hooked up my computer straight to the TV, I used to have a WDTV HD Live Plus and it was a good and easy to use little box. It runs Netflix as well and can run movie files over your internal network... They have an upgrade called LiveHub that looks cool, but between Xbox and my HTPC, I don't use it as much...