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BS. It's about content availability. Roku and Apple TV are on par with one major difference: Roku supports Amazon video, Apple TV supports iTunes. Depending on

BS. It's about content availability. Roku and Apple TV are on par with one major difference: Roku supports Amazon video, Apple TV supports iTunes. Depending on where you purchase your content from will determine which one you will want. If you are starting with a brand new setup, Apple TV has one major advantage: the remote is better, especially since you only need one remote to control both Apple TV and the television power/volume. Chromecast and Fire TV lack some of the major providers. Chromecast has some neat features, but it's not as complete an experience. My rule of thumb is this: if I have to think about how to get something done (how do I watch this video? How to I play that slide show?) then the technology is not doing its job. With Roku and Apple TV I don't have to think about how to do it, I just do it about 99% of the time.

saturdaysaint 11y ago
Calling them "on par" ignores the ridiculous platform advantages Apple has - a deep, tightly integrated technology stack from the silicon to the IDE, legions of first rate developers/studios that are assuredly "Apple first", humongous potential audience. The line between video and software is going to blur considerably - personalized sports viewing (switchable commentary, sophisticated PIP options, optional notifications about other games) and interactive fitness apps immediately spring to mind - and Roku will be a distant consideration for app developers if past is prologue.
- IgorPartola 11y ago
  In my experience Roku seems to be the platform to get new channels quicker. I am not sure if this has to do with them being more friendly towards developers, or maybe an easier to use SDK, but they were leading in terms of content availability for a long time. I specifically chose it because they had Netflix while Apple TV did not. This may change as Apple TV becomes a competitive piece of hardware (everything except the past generation was not IMO), but as of right now they are pretty much on par.
  - saturdaysaint 11y ago
    Until this generation, getting a channel onto the Apple TV was essentially restricted to huge media companies, and was limited to a kludgy little markup language, so I think we'll see pretty quickly that comparing last gen Apple TV to Roku isn't going to be indicative of the platforms' futures.
danieldk 11y ago
With Roku and Apple TV I don't have to think about how to do it, I just do it about 99% of the time. It also depends on your usage patterns. We had three generations of Apple TVs, but we have rarely used the Apple TV since we had a Chromecast. Why? The Apple TV is far more effort. You have to wake it, browse through the menus with a clunky remote. With the Chromecast, you open an app, press the Chromecast button, the TV turns on and you are playing. I am not convinced that voice control will change much. We have an XBox One and I think we only use voice and gesture control the first two days. Now we use the One only for Skyping with family and games (the UI is even clunkier than Apple TV).
strictnein 11y ago
Other key thing about Roku: they don't stop you from buying content from anyone. In fact, they encourage it. Search across all the platforms and see the price listed right next to the video you want to watch.
- IgorPartola 11y ago
  I believe Apple TV does search across all platforms it supports as well.

saturdaysaint 11y ago

Calling them "on par" ignores the ridiculous platform advantages Apple has - a deep, tightly integrated technology stack from the silicon to the IDE, legions of first rate developers/studios that are assuredly "Apple first", humongous potential audience. The line between video and software is going to blur considerably - personalized sports viewing (switchable commentary, sophisticated PIP options, optional notifications about other games) and interactive fitness apps immediately spring to mind - and Roku will be a distant consideration for app developers if past is prologue.

IgorPartola 11y ago
In my experience Roku seems to be the platform to get new channels quicker. I am not sure if this has to do with them being more friendly towards developers, or maybe an easier to use SDK, but they were leading in terms of content availability for a long time. I specifically chose it because they had Netflix while Apple TV did not. This may change as Apple TV becomes a competitive piece of hardware (everything except the past generation was not IMO), but as of right now they are pretty much on par.
- saturdaysaint 11y ago
  Until this generation, getting a channel onto the Apple TV was essentially restricted to huge media companies, and was limited to a kludgy little markup language, so I think we'll see pretty quickly that comparing last gen Apple TV to Roku isn't going to be indicative of the platforms' futures.

danieldk 11y ago

With Roku and Apple TV I don't have to think about how to do it, I just do it about 99% of the time. It also depends on your usage patterns. We had three generations of Apple TVs, but we have rarely used the Apple TV since we had a Chromecast. Why? The Apple TV is far more effort. You have to wake it, browse through the menus with a clunky remote. With the Chromecast, you open an app, press the Chromecast button, the TV turns on and you are playing. I am not convinced that voice control will change much. We have an XBox One and I think we only use voice and gesture control the first two days. Now we use the One only for Skyping with family and games (the UI is even clunkier than Apple TV).

strictnein 11y ago

Other key thing about Roku: they don't stop you from buying content from anyone. In fact, they encourage it. Search across all the platforms and see the price listed right next to the video you want to watch.

IgorPartola 11y ago
I believe Apple TV does search across all platforms it supports as well.