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Roku/AppleTV Info

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  • #1

    Roku/AppleTV Info

    So my family totally surprised me with a 50 inch HD flat screen TV for Christmas...I've stepped into something that is not my are of expertise and I'm trying to figure out what is going to be the best way to watch TV going forward. We currently have DISH, and for the most part, I have been pretty satisfied, but because of the configuration of our house and where DISH can mount on our property, I know that I need to make a change when spring comes along as when the foliage of the trees comes out it interferes with the reception and the last tech who came out basically said there wasn't any other place to move the dish to get reception, so I will be making a change.

    I could easily move to cable, but I'm not sure that's the best bet.

    I've done some reading on Roku and AppleTV, but I'm not exactly sure how they work and how much everything costs after the initial purchase of the device. I know I would probably add Netflix, as well.

    Anyone use one of these? Recommendation? Pro's & Con's?
    "Looks like I picked a bad day to give up sniffing glue.
    - Steven McCrosky (Lloyd Bridges) in Airplane

    i have epiphanies like that all the time. for example i was watching a basketball game today and realized pom poms are like a pair of tits. there's 2 of them. they're round. they shake. women play with them. thus instead of having two, cheerleaders have four boobs.
    - nullnor, speaking on immigration law in AZ.
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  • #2
    I have used both.

    Personally, I prefer the Apple TV device. To me the quality was infinitely better. Also, as an iPhone and iPad household it makes everything work really well together.

    The Roku was a nice starter unit, but the streaming content just didn't look as good as it did on the AppleTV for me.

    I use it for renting movies, streaming on Netflix and have tried Hulu on it as well. It can also sync pretty seemlessly with your iTune files to be able to stream your music both from your computer and the cloud to the TV where you're using it.

    Another thing that I love about either of the devices is how easy it is to move them to another room if you want to. Sometimes I want to watch a show from Netflix in my bedroom so I have an HDMI cable and power connector upstairs permanently and I just disconnect the device and take it upstairs with me. Painless.

    If you have any specific questions I'm happy to help out.

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    • #3
      Stephen -

      Thanks. So I know their is the upfront cost of the device, but what is you average monthly cost after Netflix, etc.

      Are you able to get current shows through Hulu and other "stations"? What do you do for the NFL? From what I've read there are issues there, hence the need for a over the air antenna.

      I'm just wanting to make a good decision that is going to be cost effective and provide the entertainment needs of my family, but I can't seem to find info that really helps me understand how this works.
      "Looks like I picked a bad day to give up sniffing glue.
      - Steven McCrosky (Lloyd Bridges) in Airplane

      i have epiphanies like that all the time. for example i was watching a basketball game today and realized pom poms are like a pair of tits. there's 2 of them. they're round. they shake. women play with them. thus instead of having two, cheerleaders have four boobs.
      - nullnor, speaking on immigration law in AZ.

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      • #4
        I actually use mine as a companion to DIRECTV so for NFL I just watch my satellite feed. I'm not familiar with the work around for that. I can tell you that AppleTV lets you stream games during the Baseball season if you have the MLB.TV package online, but quality is going to suffer from what you'd get with a cable or satellite provider. I'm big on the sound and video quality rather than the lost savings kind of guy so I don't have all the best cost cutting measures in place.

        You can get some current shows through Hulu Plus which runs $7.99 a month. It's limited as to what you can get and it's a better better for previous seasons of a show.

        I recently unsubscribed from Hulu because I found I wasn't using it enough to justify it, so I'm just paying the $7.99 a month for Netflix in addition to my DirecTV bill.

        Netflix's Streaming Service is also $7.99 a month and has quite an extensive selection of older TV as well as being relatively current on the new stuff. The rule of thumb with Netflix and TV is that shows tend to become available around the time that a season is released on DVD. In most cases that is approximately 1-2 months before the premiere of a new season.

        Some things aren't available for streaming on any device due to rights. Big Bang Theory is an example of a show that I wanted to get caught up on and just ended up buying the BluRays and reselling them when I was done.

        Another idea that you might not have taken into consideration is using a BluRay player or gaming system instead of buying an AppleTV/Roku.

        The majority of Blu Ray players on the market right now support Netflix and Amazon Streaming Video service at the same cost than getting just an AppleTV. It really comes down to interface preference. I love the AppleTV interface. On a Blu Ray player it can get a bit clunkier and sometimes players are loud etc, but it worth looking into as a cost saving measure.

        This Sony Blu Ray player at Amazon is $99.00 and it supports Hulu, Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, Pandora Radio and more. It's worth considering - especially if you don't already have a Blu Ray player:
        Amazon.com
        http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDP-S590-Blu-ray-Player-Wi-Fi/dp/B006U1YUZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357328113&sr=8-1&keywords=blu+ray+player

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