Apple TV (photos)
The Apple TV's low $99 price makes it an easy impulse buy for Apple fans. Since its release in fall 2010, the streaming-media box has received a variety of software and service updates that make it more appealing. Now, the entire iTunes video catalog is available for streaming.
Apple TV
The Apple TV may just be a "hobby" in Apple's eyes, but it's been quietly improving over the last year. The current iteration of the product was released in the fall of 2010, and at that time was derided for only being able to stream a few Fox and ABC TV shows. Since then, Apple has issued a variety of software and service updates. Now, the entire iTunes video catalog is available for streaming. Apple has also tightly integrated Rotten Tomatoes movie ratings, and iTunes purchases are saved in the cloud, so you can always restream them--or download them to iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) and computers running iTunes. And with the advent of iOS 5, the Apple TV's gotten a few new features, such as AirPlay mirroring and Photo Stream support. And all of that is in addition to a wider range of third-party content "channels," including Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo, a good sports lineup (NHL, NBA, MLB.TV), Flickr photos, the Wall Street Journal, and Internet radio and podcasts--some (but not all) of which require paid subscriptions.
Apple TV's compact design still beats the Roku 2's
Connectivity on the back panel
Around back are the Apple TV's few ports: HDMI, optical audio output, and Ethernet. (There's also a Micro-USB port, but it's only used for service and support.) Note that HDMI is the only video connection available, so if you have an older TV, you're out of luck.
Of course, Apple TV also has built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi--the fastest currently available. So as long as you're using the Apple TV either in an area covered by your Wi-Fi network or with an Ethernet cable, you're good to go.
User interface: Best-in-class
Movie browsing
Detail page for movies
Rotten Tomatoes review
Netflix interface
TV shows for purchase
Last year, Apple's Apple TV offerings were a mess, with only a fraction of the content on iTunes being available to stream on the Apple TV. The rest of iTunes' catalog required you to first download it on a PC using iTunes. The upside was 99-cent TV show rentals; the downside was limited selection and confusion.
Apple switched its approach over the summer and it's made a huge difference. Now all TV shows available on iTunes are available to stream on the Apple TV. TV show rentals are gone. Instead, you can purchase an HD episode for $3 or a season at a discounted rate.
Large selection of TV content
Purchases saved in iCloud
Other streaming-media services
Aside from iTunes, Apple TV also supports a few streaming-media services, including Netflix, MLB.TV, NHL, NBA, YouTube, Vimeo, and WSJ Live. It can stream podcasts and Internet radio, plus it provides access to photos via either Flickr or Photo Stream. Apple doesn't do a great job of pointing this out, but the podcast section includes video podcasts, so you can get content from sources like Revision 3, CNET, and TED Talks.
That's not a bad collection of services, but the Roku 2 has many more and we're not just talking about niche content providers--the Roku 2 supports Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, HBO Go, Pandora, MOG, Rdio, and Epix. Of course, it all depends on how much streaming content you consume, but heavy streamers will be better off with the Roku 2.