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Are there free TV and movies on iPhone's iTune?

What box should I buy?

  • Roku vs. Apple TV vs. ? The particulars: I subscribe to Netflix streaming and am an Amazon Prime Member - I'd like to leverage both. I also have video files (home movies and the like) on my PC that I'd like to be able to watch from my TV as well. Preferably it'd be networked wirelessly, but if either (or some other platform I've not considered) can do it (even if transferred by thumb drive), I'm good to go. If it enhances functionality or swings things one way or the other, there's also iPhones/iPad2's in the mix. I know for my needs I probably need to do a full-blown HTPC, but I'm looking for something around the Roku/Apple TV price range. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

  • Answer:

    Boxee has a great feature list, but they continue to mangle and de-power what started out as a system with great potential. It has a great spec list: local movies, streaming, audio management, even an app facility. They continue to make utterly bizarre and inexcusable interface decisions however, even in the face of significant userbase pressure. For example, a big downside to the Boxee Box is that Boxee apparently doesn't think the remote should be able to control volume. Volume control was deleted entirely in a March update, then half-assedly restored in April after a huge protest. Volume post-"update" cannot be adjusted for a whole bunch of streams including Netflix and Youtube. To change the volume for these streams, for example, you must exit the Netflix app, open something you can adjust for volume, a local file, say, change the volume to the desired level, exit the local file playback, then go back to the Neflix or Youtube stream. It's even more cumbersome than it sounds. This is actually the company-recommended procedure on their support pages. The Boxee group have more or less said "fuck you" to their community over the issue: there have been at least two updates since then with no apparent changes in sight. In short, I would steer clear of the Boxee Box.

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In my experience, Roku isn't pretty or flashy, it just works. It's snappy and responsive. Which is totally enamoring after using Netflix on Xbox 360 for a long time. There is also the concept of private channels where you can find some more fringy stuff. Kind of disappointing there is no official Youtube channel but there is a channel app for podcasts and vodcasts. I've also never gotten a commercial from the Pandora app. I think major content providers might be forgetful of Roku since it was the first Netflixbox on the scene but it's wide open for small providers. One could keep pretty entertained with all the free/commercial supported content even without Netflix. The default "USB" channel didn't recognize all the video formats and codecs that I threw at it, but I haven't had the box long enough to try things like Roksbox...

Skwirl

And, most importantly, ta-da, 1080p Bear in mind streaming from Netflix or Amazon won't take full advantage of the image quality - there are significant problems with color depth that are pretty noticeable in dark scenes and scenes with subtle gradiation (sunsets are =really= bad.) I think this is a "Netflix/Amazon" issue rather than a Roku issue... the few HD shows we watched with the USB player seemed fine.

Slap*Happy

I use a slim http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00433SP6G/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. The benefit of this over a Roku/AppleTV/Boxee Box is that it is a full computer; I added a USB TV Tuner and a remote and it feels like a normal DVR, but then I can minimize that program and watch video however I want like on a normal computer. Best of all worlds for about $300.

benbenson

My Apple TV works very well. However, you really need iTunes running on the network to make it work, and if you have a digital video library, you may need to convert it. Roku is better at j random file types. Apple's fit and finish is stellar, the install is simple, and the remote is small, but annoying. The first gen ATV remote was much better.

eriko

My Apple TV is a bit wonky, sometimes it seems to have a hard time waking up and sometimes it seems to take forever to get into Netflix. That may or may not be normal, but I probably would not buy another one right now based on this sometimes poor performance.

caddis

I went from HTPC to Apple PC with XBMC (requires jailbreak). I have a lot of video content on a few Synology NASs that I want to be able to watch. XBMC seems to handle any video format I throw at it. Netflix I watch occasionally. I would love to have Amazon prime video to but haven't worked out if I can get that into XBMC yet. I did not know about many of the other options in this thread so I can't say if my setup is best, but it works great for me.

jockc

Not intending to threadsit, but, roku only supports mp4 video from what I've seen. You'll have to convert AVI/DIVX to .mp4. Even if you use the USB app, you'll have to have them in .mp4. Also, I know there is a plex/roksbox shism, but roksbox passed my easy to setup and girlfriend can use it without my help criteria. Other people may have other criteria. Just a data point.

kookywon

From my research, streaming Amazon video to an Apple TV requires jailbreaking and then purchasing/installing http://www.playon.tv. I was too cheap for the latter part.

BurntHombre

I have a Roku and a Boxee I use the Roku for services and the Boxee for local videos. (I work in this space so I've got all the damn boxes except an AppleTV since they don't allow 3rd Party apps) I lean towards Roku for you though I think Roksbox is a poor solution for streaming local network videos. I think this is a "Netflix/Amazon" issue rather than a Roku issue... the few HD shows we watched with the USB player seemed fine. 1080p on a streaming device is a marketing gimmick. Virtually none of the service providers are going to stream at a high enough bandwidth to get full quality 1080p - you're going to get a better picture at 720p in a bandwidth constrained situation last I checked I think Netflix's highest bitrate stream is at about 4.8mbps which is not high enough to get clean 1080.

bitdamaged

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