Apple TV vs. Roku 4 vs. Fire TV vs. Chromecast
qz.com
qz.com
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
BTW, it helps to take the PS3 completely apart and clean out all the dust. The fan then doesn't run as fast.
You can still see the Apple TV light blinking (since it uses Bluetooth) but the tv-light won't blink unless the remote is used in the same room with no (massive) obstruction in between.
Which I am pretty impressed over, but then again I've only recently started to look into the TV-space media.
I've had
2009: Apple Mini with XBMC and rTorrent 2011: Roku with a harddrive 2015: Chromecast
So far the Apple Mini was awesome but Apple TV kickass.
-The PS4 controller is clunky and not particularly intuitive. The new Apple TV's remote is already second nature and much easier to operate one handed (unless you get PS4's heavily panned media controller). -The Apple TV remote controlled my receiver's volume with no setup. The PS4 media remote has been panned for being horrible at pairing with receivers/tvs. -The PS4's app store is basically a buggy and poorly organized webpage. It fails to display anything at odd times, requiring random reboots of the whole system. The ATV app store is arguably Apple's best yet - it surfaces tons of great content and has almost instant checkout/download. -HBO Go will not work with PS4 via Comcast/Xfinity (not Sony's fault, but that doesn't help me with my Silicon Valley fix). -ATV and PS4 are about equally fast and both do a good job at holding background apps in memory for an impressive amount of time.
I really enjoy the PS4 - nothing on Apple TV will compete with Bloodbourne/Fallout in the foreseeable future - but I'm more excited in some ways by what devs are going to do with Apple TV. It's exciting to me that startups will be able to create living room experiences of all types (arguably including games!) with better tools a with a lot less permission required than ever before.
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.
Edit: regarding DNS, try these instructions: https://www.unblock-us.com/how-to-set-up/ - not sure how much the new iOS has changed things though
Even with the prospect of AppleTV's app selection growing faster than Android TV's the Shield should be a worthy opponent.
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.
- 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!")
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... [2] https://my.roku.com/signup/nocc
The headphone jack in the Roku 3 remote really is golden. So many times I've been able to watch things while the wife or kids are sleeping. Love it.
Funny, I don't recall needing to register a credit card with my Roku 3, I already had an account from the Roku 2 release so maybe that's why. I'm going to go check my account now to see. I've never bought any apps or anything from Roku's service, so no reason to have that up there.
I bought a Chromecast as well, but mostly to play around with developing for it. Plan to use it as simple digital signage delivery system and that's pretty much it.
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.
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.
We also own a Fire Stick (it was $25, don't judge me) and ignoring the physical remote for a second, the app remote for Android ("Amazon Fire TV Remote App") is much more reliable since it does exactly one thing: Be a remote. So streaming is never interrupted.
PS - The app version of the Amazon remote adds voice input even to just the Fire stick (the Fire box has it on the physical remote), however it is of limited value since voice input only works on the Amazon search, not Netflix, Hulu, etc.
But with Google's spotty record when it comes to TV devices (Google TV, Android TV, Nexus Player, Nexus Q), can you blame him?
"I am not a gamer, and I love games on the Apple TV" so not gonna test the others in regard to their gaming capabilities...
I probably shouldn't have expected much from a business news magazine.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Roku 3 has the MIT courseware channel, so you can watch talks on computer architecture.
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.
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?)
Apple TV doesn't have the headphone jack but it can connect audio via Bluetooth.
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.
You have to sit very close to even a 60" 4K TV to experience much of a difference - you essentially need a TV that dominates your living room to really discern the resolution leap. The performance penalty for games is severe enough that nobody's in a hurry to release a 4K console, so Apple gets a lot more advantage standardizing around one resolution.