
Apple TV vs. Roku 4 vs. Fire TV vs. Chromecast - prostoalex
http://qz.com/536410/review-of-streaming-media-players/
======
IgorPartola
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.

~~~
strictnein
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
I believe Apple TV does search across all platforms it supports as well.

------
AdmiralAsshat
_But if I had to recommend just one, it would be the new Apple TV. It’s the
first of the streaming media players that not only makes television easier but
seems to expand the possibilities of what television can be._

Reading this comment makes me realize that it's somewhat silly that we don't
consider consoles in this competition. For instance, consider the capabilities
of my PS3:

\- plays PS3 games (far more graphically intensive than most app store games)

\- Runs Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Plex (among others)

\- Limited support to allow apps controlled via smartphone (Youtube is the
only one I can think of at the moment)

\- Physical controller

\- Can read and play some video files from a USB stick.

\- Can play files from DLNA devices and possible other servers via either Plex
or PS3 Media Server

PS3 is what I've got, so I'd be curious is someone could compare it to PS4 or
XB1.

And keep in mind as well that I'm not saying everyone should rush out and buy
a PS3/PS4/XB1 to watch Netflix. I've still got an HTPC and a Chromecast. I'm
merely pointing out that if it's _good enough_ for what most people use their
Roku for, it would be worth mentioning, given that a good number of people
already have one solely for gaming.

~~~
akandiah
> Reading this comment makes me realize that it's somewhat silly that we don't
> consider consoles in this competition. For instance, consider the
> capabilities of my PS3:

As good as it is, I wouldn't compare it to a PS3 for its media capabilities.
The PS3 runs very loud when the room temperature gets above a certain
threshold, has a very clunky interface and the smartphone support is mediocre
at best.

My biggest complaint is the interface when it comes to using my PS3 as a
media-centre. Having a dedicated remote doesn't even help with navigation as
the amount of content increases.

~~~
jhallenworld
I used PS3 for this until I got a Roku. The lack of a fan in the Roku is a
huge advantage. Also the PS3 game controllers are annoying due to limited
battery life. There are other controllers, but they don't work as well (for
example, missing the PS button to force exit an application).

BTW, it helps to take the PS3 completely apart and clean out all the dust. The
fan then doesn't run as fast.

------
Nerdfest
I find it strange that he'd recommend the Apple TV. Doesn't it have by far the
most limited choices of content and formats, and the most limited connectivity
to other devices?

~~~
seivan
Depends, if you're using Mac OS and iOS then it's the perfect choice. I've
only had experience with a Roku (three years ago) and an Apple TV 4 and so far
I am really happy with the Apple TV.

Itunes music from laptop or phone works awesome, or even using the remote to
use the Music app directly. Popcorn time works better than Chromecast with no
lag what so ever and I get a *single remote to control the important bits:
pause, scroll, volume and turn off.

I am considering buying Beamer.app or develop myself for own content with
subtitle support.

Though I haven't figured out how to change DNS on the Apple TV Device (I can't
edit it), so I've had to change it the router, which kinda sucks.

Also hoping the Apple TV will get support for an iPhone keyboard and a touch-
lock.

I just want to point out that we had a really shitty time with Chromecast
outside of using it for Youtube.

~~~
tommyd
Beamer.app is excellent and well worth the money. Simple but effective, just
put it in the dock and drop media files onto it and watch them play. Makes my
Apple TV3 useful basically!

Edit: regarding DNS, try these instructions: [https://www.unblock-us.com/how-
to-set-up/](https://www.unblock-us.com/how-to-set-up/) \- not sure how much
the new iOS has changed things though

------
rffn
He misses the NVidia Shield. It has stellar gaming support, has the ChromeCast
functionality included and has a similar set of media apps to the AppleTV.

Even with the prospect of AppleTV's app selection growing faster than Android
TV's the Shield should be a worthy opponent.

~~~
RealGeek
He didn't compare any Android TV box.

Nexus Player is a very compelling option. Android TV have most of the popular
video apps, and Chromecast support. It can be bought for less than $50, which
is a great value.

I am able to control Nexus Player with my Sony TV remote out of the box, it
works through HDMI-CEC. If I Chromecast a video to it while watching cable,
the TV automatically switches the input and plays the video.

You can also install Kodi from Google Play Store, which gives you access to
many more video streaming services which may not have an app for any streaming
box yet.

I wanted to watch CNN and some Indian News content, but there are no apps for
it. I quickly wrote a plugin to stream videos from their official websites.

------
drewg123
They omitted the Nvidia Shield, which is what I purchased because it supports
Kodi (formerly known as Xbmc) very well. The advantages of the shield over
some of the other players:

\- Wired Ethernet (my TV cabinet might as well be a Faraday cage)

\- 4K support

\- Excellent Kodi support (including hardware accelerated MPEG2 broadcast HD
playback without transcoding to h.264)

\- Blindly fast and always very responsive

\- IR receiver for easy integration with universal remotes

\- Support for Google Play video & music

\- I hear it also plays games, though I've never tried it.

The disadvantage is that there is no Amazon Instant Video app, due to the
Google / Amazon cold war and Amazon blacklisting a perfectly functional app
from all Android TV devices except for Sony TVs. To work around this, I just
use the craptastic built-in app in my 4K smart TV for Amazon, which means I
watch less Amazon than Netflix. (In Reagan's voice: "Mr Bezos, Tear down that
Wall!")

~~~
msabalau
The gaming support is really phenomenal. They've got Google Play and their own
streaming offering, but for me the killer app is being able to stream PC games
over to a tiny device in my living room (with a mouse and keyboard) connected
to my short throw projector. Looking forward to playing Fallout 4 on a 150
inch "screen" this evening.

------
andrewla
I have a Roku 3, and have been thrilled with it. The headphone jack in the
remote is a killer feature.

The worst thing for me was the requirement to add a credit card to enable the
device, but I found a thread on reddit [1] where someone had posted a link to
a no-credit-card registration entry point. That entry point appears to be no
longer valid, but some url hacking reveals that it is now [2].

My other complaints are mostly minor nits -- I hate that the UI has ads in it;
I hate those extra buttons on the remote for specific apps (both for aesthetic
reasons and for the fact that if you accidentally tap one of those buttons,
then you're ripped out whatever you're doing). The scrubbing could be better,
though it is pretty good, and it has a "closed caption on instant replay"
feature, that could work more consistently, but is a brilliant idea to catch
that bit of dialog you just missed. The quality of the UI varies greatly
between the different apps, with Netflix clearly putting in the most work, and
HBO Go phoning it in (no in-app search feature, just browse -- you can search
from the Roku "universal search", but that requires exiting the app I'm
already in, etc.)

I got a Chromecast as a gift, and it's a neat toy, but when you need to pause
a program in the middle, not having a remote is a huge pain. Your phone is
locked now, and you need to open it, and then it can't connect to the
Chromecast for some reason, and pause resets the program sometimes for some
reason, etc., or because it lost the connection it can't figure out what's
currently playing so pausing it loses the stream completely. It's possible
that software bugs have been sorted out since then, but I'd be reluctant to
try it again, especially since the Roku is so good.

The lack of Amazon video on Apple TV feels like a non-starter to me; but I'm
sure that will change in the future. Fire TV is tempting, but based on using a
Fire tablet, I find Amazon's "content-focused" approach to be very confusing,
with everything kind of jumbled together.

[1]
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Roku/comments/1yqz30/can_you_activa...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roku/comments/1yqz30/can_you_activate_a_roku_without_a_credit_card/)
[2] [https://my.roku.com/signup/nocc](https://my.roku.com/signup/nocc)

~~~
noxToken
> Your phone is locked now, and you need to open it, and then it can't connect
> to the Chromecast for some reason, and pause resets the program sometimes
> for some reason, etc., or because it lost the connection it can't figure out
> what's currently playing so pausing it loses the stream completely.

This was also my biggest complaint. Chromecast recently had a huge update that
fixed many bugs including device connectivity issues. I can start the
Chromecast from one device, leave the house, and someone else can connect with
their device without interrupting the stream. Also, Android devices have lock
screen widgets that allow you to at least pause the stream without unlocking
the device. I can't speak for iOS though.

edit: Also, and this isn't pointed specifically at you, Chromecast is not
completely analogous to Roku or other streaming devices. Chromecast is a media
extender. There is no ecosystem for it. It's not a stand alone service. App
features are strictly dependent on their existence in the streaming app
itself, because Chromecast, in its current iteration, only displays what you
would see natively on your current device.

~~~
rbell
I'm guessing this may be related to use of iOS? I'm running Android - and can
operate (i.e. play/pause forward/backward) all streaming software via the
lock-screen - without having to unlock the phone.

I've tried this on: Plex, Netflix, Spotify, Google Play Music, Youtube,
assorted local tv broadcasters, etc. Still have not found a single chromecast
enaled app which does not let me operate it via the lockscreen.

Personally - I found my ideal device in Chromecast. It is very easy to set up
and use (heck, even my girls (7, 10, 12) and my wife finds it easy to use).
And the experience in using it is un-surpassed. I much prefer locating my
content on my phone than on the TV via a clumsy remote and interface. It is
also extremely easy to switch from, lets say, a Youtube video, to showing a
Netflix movie. While the youtube movie is still playing I will be lining up
the next item to play. And when friends are over we can all contribute music
videos to the playlist, etc.

I'm guessing I am biased the other way around - being a linux and android user
primarily - but I still can not see how anything can surpass the Chromecast
experience. Nothing is even close - and I have tried them all.

------
JohnTHaller
It's worth noting that this review is written by an Apple user and doesn't
test anything with Android.

~~~
scarface74
He tested ChromeCast and the Amazon Fire TV (which is based on Android).

But with Google's spotty record when it comes to TV devices (Google TV,
Android TV, Nexus Player, Nexus Q), can you blame him?

~~~
JohnTHaller
I mean that he tested the devices with his iPhone (criticizing the iOS
Chromecast abilities) but didn't bother to test them with Android due to the
fact that he is an Apple user. This despite the fact that a larger percentage
of folks own Android devices and the fact that Chromecast works better with
and has more features on Android.

------
evook
He forgot Kodi, the non-plus ultra in terms of streaming software. It wins
every streaming device comparison just by not depending on closed hardware and
beeing open source while supporting everything. Lacking an app? ( Not really,
if you are missing an app in Kodi you'll miss it probably everywhere ) Sit
back 2 hours and hack 100 lines in python to build it.

Also why is he recommending the fire tv stick and apple tv? The last time I
took a look they weren't able to play AC3 and apple was still apple.

Edit: I just read that huge wall of... text and can't recommend anyone to read
it aswell. Most of it is superficial and extremely biased in favor of apple
tv. Some facts are just plain wrong. Why is h264/aac vimeo excluded from
chromecast compatibility? Considering the _streaming quality_ doesn't even
make sense from a technical point of view. 10,000 words and little to no value
or facts. I am literally amazed how little facts, specs and test methods are
this essay which should be called "Let me tell you about my favorite streaming
device and drop some names of others".

Disclosure: Developing my own Media Center on Top of Plex is my part time
hobby, which consists mainly of writing plugins that run on a broad variety of
clients ( CC, Roku, Fire TV, Xbox 360, PS4, Kodi, Android and so on) for my
personal niche media sources.

I'd place Roku as #1 and take the Chromecast out of the comparison. Apples and
oranges. I wouldn't consider Fire TV and Apple TV as an option unless you are
already up to the neck in their system.

~~~
mmebane
> Lacking an app? ( Not really, if you are missing an app in Kodi you'll miss
> it probably everywhere )

DRM is a problem, though. I don't think there's currently any way to get
Amazon Instant Video working, which is the only thing keeping me from using my
nVidia Shield TV as my sole media device.

~~~
evook
Fortunaly that is not an issue for since Amazon Instant Video isn't a viable
option for content in my country.

------
nickspacek
I use my Chromecast every day and love it. We rarely have a PC in the house to
use anymore and use our phones or tablet for most day-to-day activities on the
Internet. As such, it's really easy to share a video with the rest of the
family by "cast"-ing to the TV.

However, we've been a little spoiled by the Xbox One voice controls, which I
find work perfectly (unless all of the kids are screaming at it as well).
Since getting it, it's now a toss-up on which device to use for Netflix!

~~~
seivan
I have the old Chromecast that only supports 2.5ghz. It doesn't run 1080p
smoothly as it's get choppy at times and takes a while before my phone finds
the Chromecast on the wifi so I can control the volume or to pause.

There is no way to scroll forward on content that isn't on YoutTube.

Sure Chromecast is cheap, but we weren't looking for cheap and the frustration
isn't just worth it.

------
jhallenworld
I have the Roku 3. I'm pleased that they recently added a limited web-browser
to it. This is key, because you should be able to take your Roku to a hotel,
but then you need a browser to log into their wifi network.

Roku 3 has the MIT courseware channel, so you can watch talks on computer
architecture.

------
vox_mollis
All those features, yet media player companies still have yet to include the
ONE feature that would make any of them actually usable: the ability to play
arbitrary mkv and avi files from the network with a wide variety of codecs.

Western Digital made a good effort some years back, but the UI was terrible.
Nobody else seems to care about this one obvious killer feature.

As consumers, we are still stuck building custom low noise boxes running xbmc.

~~~
IgorPartola
I run a Plex server and the Plex app. It's wonderful. Sadly not OSS, but
neither is the Roku I run it on.

------
scarface74
I'm torn. I have 3 older Rokus that are in need of an upgrade. I'm trying to
decide between a new Roku and an Apple TV.

Roku Pros: -Has an app for the iPhone that I can use when I misplace the
remote and can use the iOS keyboard for text input -Has a native Amazon Prime
client. -Find remote feature -Remote with headphone jack -Dedicated app for
Pandora and Spotify

Cons -anemic app store outside of streaming video -No AirPlay -processor not
as powerful

AppleTV: Pros:

AirPlay Support More powerful processor Better apps

Cons: Doesn't support Apple's remote app (yet?) Fragile remote On screen
keyboard seems like a pain No Amazon Prime support without using AirPlay No
headphone jack on remote No Pandora or Spotify app (yet?)

~~~
dublinben
You call the app store selection for the Roku anemic, yet the AppleTV doesn't
even support Amazon Prime. Roku has always had the most support for different
streaming providers, and never tries to lock you into any particular store.

~~~
RealGeek
Roku took money from Dish to kick and block all other international content
competitors.

------
leanthonyrn
Great article, but I think it minimizes the 4K video option in both the Fire
and the Roku. "The Fire TV now also supports 4K video, if you have a
television that can get up to that resolution. So does the Roku 4. The Apple
TV and Chromecast don’t support 4K. You can decide how much that matters to
you. Offerings of streaming 4K video are pretty limited right now, but are
likely to increase dramatically in 2016."

~~~
JohnTHaller
I don't think they minimized it. To the vast majority of consumers, 4K is
currently irrelevant. There's barely any content (only 2 to 3 dozen movies on
each streaming service) and a small fraction of 1% of homes have a capable TV.
So, they're framed it accurately. It may make more of a difference in 2016...
more content, rumored 4K upgrades to the Xbox/Playstation, more TVs
compatible, etc... Right now, I don't know a single person in real life that
watches 4K video.

~~~
leanthonyrn
Go to bustbuy.com > TV section. Tell me 4K is irrelevant after you view the
content of the front page. Yes, minimal content, but youtube has lots of free
content. 2016 is less than two months out.

~~~
JohnTHaller
Read this again: "To the vast majority of consumers, 4K is currently
irrelevant."

It's very relevant to electronics stores like BestBuy as they want people to
buy new things. But 1080p to 4K is going to take a LOT longer than SD to HD
did. Even in that transition, some folks were happy with fake HD (720p) as
opposed to full HD (1080p). The majority of laptops still ship with fake HD
screens.

Far less than 1% of homes have a single 4K panel in their home. Far less than
1% of content is available in 4K. So, yes, "To the vast majority of consumers,
4K is currently irrelevant." The key word here is currently. A year from now
-- not "2016", I mean 12 months from now -- there may well be enough 4K
content to make it worthwhile for upper-middle and upper-class families. But
there isn't right now. And a year from now there will be a new set of TV top
devices.

------
silveira
I used to watch Netflix and Amazon Instant Video using my Wii U. It was ok,
albeit the interface was often slow. Then I moved to a Amazon Fire TV Stick
(bought for $19.99 during the launch) and it's amazing. The library of
Netflix+Amazon is quite good and the interface is very fast and the remote is
super responsive.

------
feld
4K is not ready for consumers yet. Here's my friend's 4K Samsung TV that can't
do 4K over any HDMI port without buying a $400 upgrade

[http://i.imgur.com/nOSULENh.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/nOSULENh.jpg)

------
mugsie
He also missed the Nexus Player... I have to say I have used the FireTV,
Chromecast and the Nexus Player, and it is by far my favorite.

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leecarraher
chromecast is nice, you can outfit your entire house with them in the low
$100's and they are practically disposable. And can be controlled from the
thing you most likely have in your pocket(well those of us that have phones
that still fit in our pockets)

------
kitwalker12
if they're talking content, Roku is definitely the best bet. the article seems
a little bit condescending towards the "smaller company" which has so many
different providers and doesn't lock you down

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raxvn
I just closed the browser tab when I saw him recommending apple tv.

