Roku vs Apple TV? Thoughts?

[twobelowpar]

We have a Roku for the bedroom but I absolutely love the ATV4K. It has what I need content-wise, has a splendid interface, and my only complaint is the remote.

[squatting hen]

I have always used Roku, but I did try the ATV3 for a few days. This of course was before MA, Vudu, and Amazon was available, so things have defiantly gotten better. At the time I remember thinking where are all the apps/channel store. There was a lot missing from the ATV compared to what we used on the Roku, so we returned it. I also prefer the Roku layout. I don't want to see what I consider ads on the ATV. Promoting new movies/albums or whatever. I know most don't consider those ads (roku has ads on the right hand side).

I was walking around Best Buy the other day and they had the ATV 4K out to demo. I agree with most, the remote is not very user friendly. I didn't realize the touchpad part was a button and couldn't figure out how to select anything for a few minutes. Geometry Wars was on there, and it was pretty neat to be able to play that.

I have thought about picking up a new ATV, but it is just hard to justify the price for what you get. For us, there really isn't any advantage over an Roku. Especially if you are used to a Roku device. Game are a plus, but I don't think we would ever play them. Thankfully though, we use harmony remotes so we wouldn't be stuck with the ATV one.

[GuyIncognito]

My Apple TV does a weird thing where it will fritz out and give me a white static screen with some weird colors. Then when I scroll through menus it will be normal for a little bit but then go back to that screen again. I tried a different HDMI port on the TV with the same results

[veritas]

Originally Posted by GuyIncognito

My Apple TV does a weird thing where it will fritz out and give me a white static screen with some weird colors. Then when I scroll through menus it will be normal for a little bit but then go back to that screen again. I tried a different HDMI port on the TV with the same results

It could be the cable you might just have a cable that cant handle the chroma you have it set to I would lower chroma from 4:4:4 to a lower setting or get a better hdmi cable (or adjust the frame rate high frame rate and 4:4:4 chroma is alot of data some cables cant handle it). I know I had to get a new cable to handle 4:4:4 at a higher frame rate and the old cable would have similar glitches to what i think your describing.

[WestMan]

I learned a long time ago not to play in Apple's ecosystem.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by WestMan

I learned a long time ago not to play in Apple's ecosystem.

Yea, you and I are on the same page, I don't even have an iPhone. That little Roku Black Plastic Box doesn't Thrill me either!

[brentsg]

Originally Posted by WestMan

I learned a long time ago not to play in Apple's ecosystem.

This has never been less true than it is now. In terms of movies, a huge chunk of Apple's ecosystem is overlapped with Movies Anywhere, and a huge chunk of that overlaps with UV via Vudu. And with the Apple TV being loaded with apps, you could use the thing forever and never buy anything directly from Apple if desired. I don't know why you'd want to do that though, given the cheap (or even free) access to UHD content.

[Ray_Rogers]

Roku. I'd never get anything by Apple.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

Roku. I'd never get anything by Apple.

I used to have blind hatred for them as well. In this case, Vudu not being able to get things right and MA changed all that. I want the option.

[Batman90]

I got 2 rokus one in the bedroom and living room and they work fine. The only problem I had with them when I first bought them is the sound would cut out then I contacted them and they sent me 2 brand new ones and they work fine now.

[squatting hen]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

I used to have blind hatred for them as well. In this case, Vudu not being able to get things right and MA changed all that. I want the option.

[Indy64]

Roku is hands down the easiest system to use. Most family friendly, tons of apps and other useful features, overall the best streaming option out there IMO. We have 4 Roku TV's at home and all family members love using them.

Roku is basically king in the streaming market.

[brentsg]

We had a Roku Ultra on the family TV because it was supposed to be the easy one to use, and because I'd already given up on it in favor of other options for my own use. It didn't misbehave enough to make me think it was obviously defective, but we had occasional issues with it locking up and requiring a hard reset. It did that maybe once per month. In the end we swapped it out for the new Apple TV and it's been nothing short of amazing. I'm looking forward to the day when we'll have a YouTube TV client on the device, but until then even Airplay from an iPad is working great.

FWIW we mostly use the thing for Playstation VUE, YouTube TV, Vudu, and native iTunes video and music content. On the fringe the CBS All Access, NHL app, and a few others on rare occasion.

The biggest annoyance with the Apple TV is the terrible remote.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by brentsg

The biggest annoyance with the Apple TV is the terrible remote.

It took some getting used to, but now I'm in the opposite camp. Every time I have to use a traditional remote I miss the ATV remote's touchpad, since it allows me to quickly jump to any point in a video effortlessly. Fast forward/reverse buttons are just clumsy and slow in comparison. The only thing I don't like about the remote is the symmetric design, since there is always a 50/50 chance that you pick it up the wrong way around, particularly with dimmed lights.

[WestMan]

Originally Posted by brentsg

This has never been less true than it is now. In terms of movies, a huge chunk of Apple's ecosystem is overlapped with Movies Anywhere, and a huge chunk of that overlaps with UV via Vudu. And with the Apple TV being loaded with apps, you could use the thing forever and never buy anything directly from Apple if desired. I don't know why you'd want to do that though, given the cheap (or even free) access to UHD content.

Movies Anywhere does not have 70+ of my digital movies and none of my television shows. It's useless until they can get television and all the studios signed on.

Apple is the company who has gone on record to say they purposely slow down older iPhone's. Their iTunes software is amazingly bad. Their history of not playing well with others is not erased by the slight easing of apps over the last year.

[brentsg]

Originally Posted by WestMan

Movies Anywhere does not have 70+ of my digital movies and none of my television shows. It's useless until they can get television and all the studios signed on.

Apple is the company who has gone on record to say they purposely slow down older iPhone's. Their iTunes software is amazingly bad. Their history of not playing well with others is not erased by the slight easing of apps over the last year.

And none of this pertains to the issue at hand. The OP wanted people to compare that had used both. Obviously he's not in the hater camp with you.

[Emma Stone Fan]

I recently bought an ATV and I got to say I really like it. The fact that you can switch between apps is fantastic so is the ad free user interface. Coming from the Fire TV stick, that was a huge improvement. It also has the ability to play almost everything, Amazon, Netflix, Google Play purchases and rentals through the YouTube app and of loads of other stuff.

The dictate to search is worth the additional cost imo. Those clunky on screen keyboards are a thing of the past now!

[squatting hen]

Originally Posted by Emma Stone Fan

I recently bought an ATV and I got to say I really like it. The fact that you can switch between apps is fantastic so is the ad free user interface. Coming from the Fire TV stick, that was a huge improvement. It also has the ability to play almost everything, Amazon, Netflix, Google Play purchases and rentals through the YouTube app and of loads of other stuff.

The dictate to search is worth the additional cost imo. Those clunky on screen keyboards are a thing of the past now!

Just about any streaming device is better than the Fire Stick.

[WestMan]

Originally Posted by brentsg

And none of this pertains to the issue at hand. The OP wanted people to compare that had used both. Obviously he's not in the hater camp with you.

There is no haters camp. And it certainly pertains to the issue here. When a company has a long and vast history or bad business practices, it should make anybody worried about purchasing their products.

By comparison, Roku has been great since day one.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by WestMan

There is no haters camp. And it certainly pertains to the issue here. When a company has a long and vast history or bad business practices, it should make anybody worried about purchasing their products.

It's interesting how different the perspectives are. I've had nothing but good experiences with Apple's digital media. They spearheaded DRM-free music downloads, iTunes (the app) is still far superior for media management than the web pages that other providers rely on, and their movie DRM is the most liberal that I know of. The free 4K upgrades don't hurt either.

By comparison, Roku has been great since day one.

I agree that Roku is a solid choice too, although the UI could use a refresh. But since Vudu and Amazon are available on the ATV, I don't really see any reason to use my Roku anymore.