We use Apple TV and are quite happy.

We are also in the APPLE universe of products so all our devices communicate, stream, etc seamlessly with each other which is nice.

I have no experience with Roku...sorry.

I have an ApplyTV that was basically free through a DirectTV Streaming subscription. I have iPads. It is occasionally nice for the screen mirroring from the iPads.

That being said, I would get a Roku. The Apple user interface via the touch remote (with voice) just isn't my thing. I would prefer the more traditional interface that my Harmony remote more easily integrates with.

quote:

Originally posted by FHHM213:
But a new Roku is a lot cheaper than a new iAnything.

That's true, but I don't know as you're necessarily comparing apples/oranges. In a brief perusal of comparisons between the two, it would appear the Apple TV nearly always gets the highest marks for streaming quality and UI, whereas the Roku Ultra wins more often on price.

But the main thing, IMO, is whether or not you're already invested in the Apple ecosystem. If you are: There's absolutely no comparison. E.g.:

• We want to watch something on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or any other time a search box might come up. No dealing with hunt-and-peck on-screen keyboards or the vagaries of voice commands. Bring up iOS' built-in remote support and you have a keyboard on your phone or iPad.
  
• TV's on. You're watching something. You search for something on your tablet. You want to show it to whomever else is in the room. Bring up casting (also built-in to iOS). The program you're watching automatically pauses when the casting comes up. When you dismiss it, your program resumes.
  
• I want to watch TV. She doesn't want to be distracted by the audio. Plop the Air Pods in.
  

That's just a partial list off the top of my head.

But one of the coolest things to happen was when I bought the 2nd ATV. Asked me if I wanted to set it up with my iPhone or iPad. Answered yes. It instantly got it's network credentials from the iThing and was on the network. Zero conf. Then it detected there was another ATV on the account and asked "mirror that one?" Sure, why not. It installed all the same apps and laid-out the home screen identically to the existing one, and will keep them in-sync from here on out.

I have been doing IT and messing with home theater systems for a good, long while. The Apple TV solution has been, without a doubt, the smoothest, most user-friendly, most well-integrated product I've ever used, bar none. I cannot emphasize how impressed I have been with this product.

But, yeah: You pay for it.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
The Apple user interface via the touch remote (with voice) just isn't my thing. I would prefer the more traditional interface that my Harmony remote more easily integrates with.

You do realize you can control your ATV with your Harmony remote, right?

I had a gen 2 AppleTV back in the day, but it didn't do the things I wanted, mainly plex, so I switched to ROKU. I check out the AppleTV ocasionally but I don't trust Apple now that they're a content creator. I'm stiking with Roku, and have one on every TV. No regrets, no problems.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
The Apple user interface via the touch remote (with voice) just isn't my thing. I would prefer the more traditional interface that my Harmony remote more easily integrates with.

You do realize you can control your ATV with your Harmony remote, right?

Yes but it is not the best integration.

quote:

Originally posted by 1gkek:
I check out the AppleTV ocasionally but I don't trust Apple now that they're a content creator.

Not trying to talk you into or out of anything, or question your choices, but struggling to understand the thinking.

Everybody and their brother is creating their own content now. They really have little choice. The legacy content creators are all pulling their content back into their own streaming services. (This is why Netflix' catalog looks so bare, compared to what it used to be, these days.)

Do some of y'all expect Apple, if the ATV gains sufficient market share, will prohibit other streaming apps on their platform? That would be suicide. Nobody's going to lose access to, say, the Disney catalog over a streaming device.

In fact: I found this kind of odd, and quite unexpected. When you bring up the Apple TV+ app on an ATV, it lists across the top things you've been watching. Not understanding at first what was going on I thought "Oh, they have <this> and <that> on ATV+, too," only to find out ATV+ is listing the stuff you've been watching with the other streaming apps. If you select one of those things from inside the ATV+ app, it takes you out of the ATV+ app and right into the program on the app that streams it.

E.g.: Say you've been watching Call The Midwife on PBS Passport and you bring up the ATV+ app. CTMW will show up there. You click on it and it takes you right into that program in the PBS Passport app.

Here's another cool thing. As opposed to Fire TV, which is constantly shoving Amazon content in your face, what ATV displays across the top of the screen is content, listings, a banner, or whatever from whatever app the "cursor" is sitting upon.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
Yes but it is not the best integration.

Curious (because people ask questions in this arena and I like to be informed): In what ways?

The only button of which I'm aware Apple (curiously) left out of the IR controls was the Home button.

We've a pair of truly ancient Home Theater Master MX-500 remotes we use. Wife and I each have one. (That way no arguing over the remote .) With those we control the entire home theater system. It was fairly easy to find a pre-canned command set that wasn't used on anything else, teach the ATV those IR commands, and done. We almost never have to resort to the ATV remote or the iOS built-in support on our iThings.

I have a Roku (two, actually - I keep one at work) and I like it a lot. It's a lot cheaper than Apple TV, although if you already live in the Apple ecosystem you get the Airplay and casting connectivity which might be nice.

I like the Roku remote functionality more, although the Apple TV one is slicker.

It depends. Are you an Apple household? Go with an Apple. I have Apple stuff (phone, tablets) but have stuck with Roku and like their interface and the headphone ability with the remote so can watch tv and nobody hears it. They both work great, roku or Apple, just depends what interface you're looking for.

Apple TV replaced all my Google Chromecast TV and Apple HomePod replaced all my Google Mini speakers. Much easier to integrate all the little and big systems when in one ecosystem. The Apple TV remote does allow searching by voice, for any seniors who cannot master a touchpad.

quote:

Originally posted by FHHM213:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by NavyGuy:

We've got three Rokus of various types. All do what they are supposed to except I've had pairing issues with one remote.

We have an older Roku. Every now and again it loses communication with the remote. Re-booting the Roku fixes it and everything works for a month or two before the Roku box needs to be re-booted again.

Like I said, you need to periodically replace the hardware.

It has been doing this from brand new. As an old time system programmer, if I had to guess, I would say that there is a memory leak in the software.

I agree with everything Ensigmatic wrote, and would add that BOTH are excellent devices and worth the money. If you have iPhones, iPads, etc then the Airplay feature of the ATV is really nice. Another great feature of the ATV is that the built in Movies app has movies shortly after they are released in the theater at a price comparable to your typical On Demand on your catv/sat box, usually about $5 or so. The remote might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it works well and there is a feature that allows you to easily program a universal remote to have more commands than the Roku's remote.

I use both an Apple TV 4K and a Firestick 4K controlled by my Harmony Remote. Absolutely bulletproof.

$200 vs $100. wow. atv worth the extra $100?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
$200 vs $100. wow. atv worth the extra $100?

It is to me as we are 90% Apple. I can screen mirror my iPad, iPhone and MacBook, Air Play from any of them. It just all works.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
$200 vs $100. wow. atv worth the extra $100?

You're the only one that can answer that question for yourself.

It's been asked, or mentioned: Do you have other Apple devices? If so: The integration between the ATV and those other Apple devices may be a point in favor of the extra expense. Otherwise: Perhaps not.

i have an iphone. but can’t imagine that i’d use it with the tv. i’m a black coffee kind of guy. i’m not big on gadgets and sophisticated usages.

i just expect it to work well and provide the services i expect of the device. easy, trouble free video on netflix, viki and prime. fast and responsive. nothing fancy. i’d pay $100 for better experience even without the fancy stuff.

Using an iPhone with Apple TV is easy. In fact easier than using the ATV remote for some things, e.g. doing a title search. Saves the trouble of doing a hunt-and-peck with the remote.

Also, you can stream from the phone to the ATV, like if you have a good sound system on your television.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
$200 vs $100. wow. atv worth the extra $100?

It is to me as we are 90% Apple. I can screen mirror my iPad, iPhone and MacBook, Air Play from any of them. It just all works.

I understand the potential benefit, but I just don’t value screen mirroring. At most, I might occasionally have the need to cast a YouTube video located initially on an iPhone, but the Roku has long supported casting for selected apps. I realize screen mirroring is broader than casting but, again, I really don’t use the phone for locating content for viewing.

Also, even though the Roku can be controlled via an app (vs the physical remote), I don’t use such. Some of my AV components are older and thus I haven’t migrated to a networked universal remote. Yes, it is tedious to use the remote for the initial log in of various Roku apps (Ex - Netflix, Amazon Prime, Vudu) when setting up another Roku but that is an isolated step.

My only negative is that I can’t identify & use the Roku (or Tivo) as a networked source for sending the TV’s audio to our non-sound-bar-comprised Sonos system (example - for routing the audio of a football game to our porch speakers while I’m grilling during the game). I wish such could be achieved via our network versus first having to output from the Roku, etc. device using a traditional audio cable.

Lastly, I haven’t paid $100 for a Roku in years. Lately, my newer devices have been in the $50 range. Basically a week’s worth of beer.

I love my Roku TV! I started with a Roku3 then a streaming stick and moved to a Roku TV last December. I love Macs and iPhones but never got into the Apple TV part of it, I think Roku does it better.

No question for me as exampled from ensigmatic's link. Apple TV 4th gen and mine was $149 purchased a few months ago. Solid as a rock and built like a very portable tank. The setup was a flash using the iPhone in close proximity to the streaming device, just put in your Apple ID (if you have one) and it sync's with the iPhone to setup automatically in a flash, you just have to add customizable touches like sleep times etc..if you wish.

The remote is small however, but once you get used to the small touchpad and finger gestures it operates perfectly.

I've had mine now for a few months and it works without a hitch. I did however make a small lanyard to hang the remote from my neck so if I doze off I won't drop it (anymore!) when in my recliner.

Price aside, and if I didn't already own a MacBook and iPhone the Roku was next on my list. I'm very pleased with the operation of the Apple TV device. I coupled it with an OTA outside antenna and it's connected to a Tablo Dual lite DVR for all the locals, also works great, and has the built in auto commercial skip for all those pesky local commercials.