Apple TV isn’t the only little black box that brings Hollywood into your home, and depending on your needs, it may not even be the best. Roku (www.roku.com) makes four streaming players, starting with the $49 Roku LT. It offers over 400 channels of streaming content at up to 720p from providers like Netflix, Amazon Instant, Hulu Plus, and many more. Like all Roku boxes, the LT connects with composite A/V or HDMI input, and it joins your network with 802.11n Wi-Fi.
The $99 Roku 2 XS is Apple TV’s real competition. The XS plays the same channels while adding 1080p output, 100Base-T Ethernet, expandable storage over MicroSD and USB ports, and games. That’s right, the XS comes with Angry Birds and a motion-sensitive remote for Wii-style gaming. Thirty more games, from Blackjack to You Don’t Know Jack, are available.
That’s plenty of bang for the buck, but exactly how much depends on how heavily you’re invested in Apple’s ecosystem. Except for Amazon Instant, many top Roku channels are available as iOS apps, and with an iOS device and Apple TV, you can play games that are just a little cooler than Video Poker (sorry, Video Poker developers) on your TV. But if you have an older television without an HDMI port, or if you’re allergic to the iTunes Store, Roku is worth a look.
mrplow
May 29, 2012 at 11:22pm
Just a shame it doesn't stream video from a NAS drive. My jailbroken AppleTV does. That was the deciding factor for going down Apple TV route rather than the Roku.
If you don't need that functionality and you're in the US (the video stream services in the UK are less plentiful) the Roku is a great choice
redfalcon5
May 29, 2012 at 9:21pm
Same here man! It's nice that it automatically updates over the air. Having the usb drive add-on is a major factor. I don't want to have to rely on streaming all the time.
claidheamdanns
May 29, 2012 at 3:04pm
I'm a huge Apple fan, from desktop, to iPhone, to iPad, to iPod touch, but Roku was our best gift to ourselves this past Christmas. It just offers so much more than Apple TV. We got the Roku 2 XS, and it was less than $99, because it was a Christmas sale. I think we paid $79 for it. We have no regrets.
