My friend is attempting to pick out a digital media receiver. She remains adamant that the logitech revue is the best receiver. Does anyone know the true capabilities of each device? Which is truly best? I am a huge apple fan but after looking at the apple tv it seems the capabilities are limited.
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Help Please! Apple TV vs. Logitech Revue vs. Roku LT
- Thread starter jhn
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Best is relative to her needs. What does she want to do with it. Where does most of her content come from? Does she own a Mac and or an iPhone or iPad and want to use AirPlay?
ATV is far from limited especially if jail broken but again it depends on your needs. For me the only compliant I have with ATV is lack of Hulu or Hulu airplay. Otherwise I am accessing Netflix, my music via iCloud, iTunes purchased tv shows and movies, other content channels via plex and a ton of ripped DVDs via an external hdd connected to my aebs using the firecore media player. I wouldn't call that limited. Again my only issues are no NFL app which I just AirPlay from my iPhone and no Hulu plus AirPlay yet.
All boxes have strengths and limitations.
ATV is far from limited especially if jail broken but again it depends on your needs. For me the only compliant I have with ATV is lack of Hulu or Hulu airplay. Otherwise I am accessing Netflix, my music via iCloud, iTunes purchased tv shows and movies, other content channels via plex and a ton of ripped DVDs via an external hdd connected to my aebs using the firecore media player. I wouldn't call that limited. Again my only issues are no NFL app which I just AirPlay from my iPhone and no Hulu plus AirPlay yet.
All boxes have strengths and limitations.
I happen to have owned all 3. Returned the Logitech revue because I didn't care for it. Still use the Rome, but the interface is terrible. I still use appletv2 and prefer it over the others. Just my opinion.
I have 4 rokus in my home and if i had to do it over again i'd go with the apple tv2 even if i didn't jailbreak it. Hulu while it sounds like a deal breaker really isn't at least not in my household. You might want to pick up a roku and see how much you really use it. In fact now that i'm thinking about it i should cancel my subscription. But anyhow netflix gets by far the most use in my household. And the apple tv will do netflix just fine. I wish i had access to iTunes and networked media. If you really need hulu you can always jailbreak it , so you are never completely without hulu options when using the apple tv.
Let me speak for someone who pre-ordered one, and had it since day one...I've used it only a few time. It sucks.
Review cost Logitech $100M in losses. Stay away.
http://venturebeat.com/2011/11/11/no-new-logitech-revue-google-tv/
http://venturebeat.com/2011/11/11/no-new-logitech-revue-google-tv/
Here's a macworld article about Apple TV vs. Roku:
http://www.macworld.com/article/163...roku_set_top_box_which_is_right_for_you_.html
Summary quote at the end:
"Broadly speaking, which path you take will be determined by your desire for local or Internet media. If you have nearly all the media you want in your iTunes library or on an iOS deviceand can make up for the media you dont have with Netflix streaming videothen the Apple TV is a good fit. If, however, you seek nearly everything the Internet offers in regard to streaming media, the Roku devices deliver exactly that."
Disclaimer: I have not used Roku or the Revue, only the ATV, so I am probably biased.
My main interest in the Apple TV when I purchased it was the ability to easily view photos and home videos on the TV without having to hook up my computer to the TV every time. Since I use iTunes and iPhoto anyway, the ATV worked perfectly for this, as I don't have to take ANY additional action after importing my photos to iPhoto. They just are available to show to family and friends on the TV. The Roku can't do this. So if viewing home media on your TV easily is important to you, then ATV is your only choice, especially if you have a mac. (If you are using a windows pc or some other photo software, you can still have ATV just watch a folder containing photos.) This was important to me because we have young children and take a lot of pictures of them. So I could imagine not everyone would find streaming of home media as important.
As for media streaming options, Roku may seem to have more, since it has many "channels".
http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store
However, a lot of these channels probably just present you with a choice of pre-selected short videos to choose from. This is essentially the same as the video podcasts available on the Apple TV for free. http://gigaom.com/apple/watching-video-podcasts-on-your-apple-tv/ There are literally thousands of different sources for video podcast content on ATV. So I'm not convinced that the Roku actually offers more real content than the ATV.
People have mentioned Hulu. Yes Roku offers a Hulu Plus channel out of the box, while the ATV does not. But in my view, Roku actually is more limited than the ATV in this regard. On the Roku, you only have access to Hulu Plus, meaning that if you don't pay the Hulu Plus subscription, you get nothing from Hulu. In contrast, you can simply jailbreak your Apple TV, install a Hulu plugin, and have access to both the free version of Hulu (if you don't want a subscription) OR Hulu Plus (if you do). Instructions on how to do that are here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1305573/
(You can also install an Amazon Instant Video plugin using the same method, if you are an Amazon Prime member.)
Finally, if you have an iphone, ipod touch, or ipad with Airplay capabilities, the ATV is a no-brainer. The ability to wirelessly mirror your iDevice screen (for the iPad 2 or iPhone 4S), or send video or photos or audio straight to your TV screen/speakers without having to plug anything in is really quite useful. Roku doesn't offer that.
http://www.macworld.com/article/163...roku_set_top_box_which_is_right_for_you_.html
Summary quote at the end:
"Broadly speaking, which path you take will be determined by your desire for local or Internet media. If you have nearly all the media you want in your iTunes library or on an iOS deviceand can make up for the media you dont have with Netflix streaming videothen the Apple TV is a good fit. If, however, you seek nearly everything the Internet offers in regard to streaming media, the Roku devices deliver exactly that."
Disclaimer: I have not used Roku or the Revue, only the ATV, so I am probably biased.
My main interest in the Apple TV when I purchased it was the ability to easily view photos and home videos on the TV without having to hook up my computer to the TV every time. Since I use iTunes and iPhoto anyway, the ATV worked perfectly for this, as I don't have to take ANY additional action after importing my photos to iPhoto. They just are available to show to family and friends on the TV. The Roku can't do this. So if viewing home media on your TV easily is important to you, then ATV is your only choice, especially if you have a mac. (If you are using a windows pc or some other photo software, you can still have ATV just watch a folder containing photos.) This was important to me because we have young children and take a lot of pictures of them. So I could imagine not everyone would find streaming of home media as important.
As for media streaming options, Roku may seem to have more, since it has many "channels".
http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store
However, a lot of these channels probably just present you with a choice of pre-selected short videos to choose from. This is essentially the same as the video podcasts available on the Apple TV for free. http://gigaom.com/apple/watching-video-podcasts-on-your-apple-tv/ There are literally thousands of different sources for video podcast content on ATV. So I'm not convinced that the Roku actually offers more real content than the ATV.
People have mentioned Hulu. Yes Roku offers a Hulu Plus channel out of the box, while the ATV does not. But in my view, Roku actually is more limited than the ATV in this regard. On the Roku, you only have access to Hulu Plus, meaning that if you don't pay the Hulu Plus subscription, you get nothing from Hulu. In contrast, you can simply jailbreak your Apple TV, install a Hulu plugin, and have access to both the free version of Hulu (if you don't want a subscription) OR Hulu Plus (if you do). Instructions on how to do that are here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1305573/
(You can also install an Amazon Instant Video plugin using the same method, if you are an Amazon Prime member.)
Finally, if you have an iphone, ipod touch, or ipad with Airplay capabilities, the ATV is a no-brainer. The ability to wirelessly mirror your iDevice screen (for the iPad 2 or iPhone 4S), or send video or photos or audio straight to your TV screen/speakers without having to plug anything in is really quite useful. Roku doesn't offer that.
I'm voting for Logitech Revue! It's really multifunctional device. You could read more about it at My Digital Device