A VC - Latest Comments in Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

dean collsin — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:02:55 -0000

I think the problem is innovative companies dont have access to content libraries.....

and VC's dont invest in the innovative hardware/software companies where you have to 'rip your own content' because of perceived market share.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

fredwilson — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:15:29 -0000

Have you tried boxee on apple tv?

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

junbug — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:46:38 -0000

what i really like is netflix, i am a fan of apple since all my 4 computers are mac and i tried the apple tv but got to say it get expensive to rent one by one, what i got is a xbox and i have netflix included in, so for 199.00 i get games music and netflix and with the 8.99 a month i get unlimited instant stream movies, so i watch 4 movies in two days and with that alone i paid my subscription with net flix LOL so hands down netflix to save you money :)

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

chris — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:43:38 -0000

Probably pretty simple anwser.

The people who have Apple TV vote for Apple TV
The people who have the Roku vote for Roku.

I'm still confused as to which way to go, but I'd strongly prefer $8.99 a month for unlimited streaming to $3.99 to $4.99 per movie!

Chris

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Rob — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:45:14 -0000

Streaming is not a good option in rural areas, like where I live, due to slower sat connections. Until something can be done about that, Apple TV seems a good option for us.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Scott — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:03:47 -0000

Not supporting divx right out of the box is my biggest complaint with the apple tv. Having just hacked my friends I find it odd that I should even have to do so. The interface is nice but I miss features that my tivo had. Playback position remembering etc most importantly. Sometimes I can't watch a show completely through in one setting. Hopefully some of the hacking community can build such functionality into their addins.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

fredwilson — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:06:03 -0000

Puggsly

If and when apple makes it possible to stream anything on the web on an
appletv or an iphone, I'll calm down and get a grip

Until then I am going to keep pushing for a fully open platform

If I can do it on the web, why can't I do it on an apple tv or an iphone?

fred

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

puggsly — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:40:44 -0000

Sorry Bill but $99 is not a third of $229 ($199 refurb apple store) it is closer to half. As for the pain to setup, that is just ignorance. If you have a wireless network there is no setup (ok a password if it is secure). Ethernet is just a bit easier, plug it in and you are on the net.

Now sure it's more complex if you want to stream content from your computer. I mean you have to type in a 5 digit code into iTunes. Ok so not very complex but it is more!

Roku has one advantage, which is a subscription model. If I could add a large back stock of older content to my appleTV for $9/month I'd be all over it as long as the content was not total crap (which much of the netflix streaming content is but still this is the one Ruko win)

The advantages for AppleTV are a bit more:
1) Exactly the opposite of what the author indicates, AppleTV has a vastly greater quantity of free streamed content via YouTube and Podcasts.
2) Photo access. If you just can't figure out your computer for streaming then get over it. Post to flickr and you are set. You can also get both photos and video content streamed from .mac.
3) Quality. Even on the best internet connect Roku equates at best to the standard def AppleTV content. For me AppleTV was the most cost effective way to get HD movie content to my TV.
4) Computer Optional: I didn't think I'd care about this because I like iTunes but there is something to be said for surfing your content directly from the device and the AppleTV UI is very good.
5) New content. As much as I would like the back catalog, I want new movies too. Apple is making new movies available the same day as the DVD's and has an ever growing catalog of HD content (currently 372 titles)
6) Push Streaming. AppleTV also supports AirTunes so you can control it from your computer to push music to your home theater (and other airtunes devices). A cool side note is that when streaming this way your remote controls your computer.

So between the two AppleTV gets my vote. And Fred, calm down and get a grip. Why are you bashing on Apple for not streaming everything on the internet but you give Roku a pass? Roku only streams netflix content! No ABC, NBC, CBS or HULU! At least I know the AppleTV has the hardware to allow Apple to continue to expand the product as they did with the take 2 software update. Hell, I'm more angry at netflix for not just negotiate a contract with apple to put this same service on AppleTV so we don't have to have this conversation.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

vovka — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:52:26 -0000

apple fanboy motto: vote often, vote early, overwhelm all internet polls

No internet poll regarding apple will ever yield insight.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

zachlandes — Sun, 25 May 2008 13:55:51 -0000

For my own anecdotal evidence, I will say that I know more about Apple TV...even though I have a Netflix subscription. But I neither one of these products is evolved enough to capture the market - we will have to wait another generation or two.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Michael Gaston — Sun, 25 May 2008 13:12:25 -0000

There is a loyal Netflix base that will use the streaming feature to supplement the mail service. I stream those shows on my list that will never make it to my "two at a time" mail service (the dvds look better upgraded on my Hi-Def TV).

I ordered a device as an impluse purchase - as will many other Netflix subscribers.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

david hyman — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:27:08 -0000

pretty logo.

i can't speak for both as i've only used appletv. they've done a great job improving it since launch. i can now buy music and rent tv shows/movies without having to have my laptop open requiring it's access to itunes. their quantity and quality of movies for rental has massively increased. we actually use the thing!

i also like using airfoil on my laptop to stream rhapsody to the appletv. slick.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Jason Preston — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:22:18 -0000

I agree with you on Apple's backwards-looking model of video and audio. Back when Apple announced movie rentals on Apple TV, I wrote a whole post explaining how apple's rental model is a full five steps backwards from where we've gotten to with Netflix.

(Apple rentals are priced per unit and expire, whereas a good rental system is priced as a subscription, and limits the number of concurrent films available. Nobody in today's culture should have to put the effort into renting a movie during the RIGHT 24 hour period. What happens if you have to run out for an emergency halfway through your film and don't get back in time? Sorry, you have to pay again).

OK this is turning into a longer comment than I meant.

My main point is that while AppleTV is probably a sleeker solution, I would much prefer the netflix model for movie watching. I currently use Netflix streaming through the Media Center I have hooked up to my TV, and that works well for me.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

md123456 — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:14:40 -0000

what about slingcatcher? (the sling media device anounced over a year ago and yet to be launched) obviously too early to know but sounds like it covers all the shortcomings of these other devices.

And as a side note, I can't believe that blackberries are actually cooler in your kids world, are you serious? In my world its the device for first year analysts and secretaries...that's what's going to ruin their brand I think...it used to be a status symbol, now its a status symbol to be important enough NOT to have one (but have an iPhone...a brothers got to stay connected somehow :)

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

fredwilson — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:12:05 -0000

I'd prefer to find the company that will beat them there and invest in them

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Craig Bromberg — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:40:54 -0000

i know you have investments in bug, but if you had ever worked for a hw manufacturer (although apple is hybrid hw/sw) you would know that the focus is moving boxes; software follows. take comfort, though fred. that's the way the entire history of computing has evolved.if you have patience, apple will get there eventually.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

fredwilson — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:20:03 -0000

It wasn't aimed at you. It was aimed at Apple. A company I love and hate at
the same time. They piss me off so badly some times and their approach to
content is the biggest place they piss me off.

Sorry for the emotion but it was real.

fred

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Craig Bromberg — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:12:15 -0000

hey what's with the f bomb, buddy? i was under the impression you want civil, constructive dialogue in your comments.

as to "any stream,"--yeah dig you fred. i too want it all. but you're getting way caught up in early adopterville. apple is about architecture not technology. if you wanna live in an open source geodesic dome, cool by me (and you'll find a lot of other people who'll join you). but the ipod's success shows that many more people in the consumer marketplace prefer clean white, aluminum post-war buildings with a protective moat--ipods and itunes and iphones and maca. they want a simple interface and simple technology for what they rightly understand are lifetime digital problems.

i find it odd that you're cool chasing musical ubiquity at the expense of long-term strategic innovation. apple is not "donkey-ass" (again, what's w/ the language, dude?) it is simply doing what's right for the company and its users by leading them to a risk-adjusted solution that users seem to like, iterating towards imperfect but market-sweeping solutions. you are a latecomer to macs so i suspect that you have that pc gene in you that says, "windoze sucks so bad, we have to tear it down w/ homebrew strategies." again: that's the geodesic domes way. long term mac users recognize that they have a good product that keeps getting better.

so give it up fred: where do you want to live--a geodesic dome with hand pumped showers or a cool calatrava (or maybe that's zaha hadid) building with the latest technology built into a systemic user-based solution? the choice is between the hard intellectual work of techne or the joys of starchitecture and convenience. they're not entirely exclusive but you should see how different they are. apple tv is imperfect but it really is a sweeping solutiion for most folks who want great music (w/o spending a grand on a sonos/rhapsody solution) or a crappy netflix solution.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

fredwilson — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:51:02 -0000

Here the fucking problem with Apple TV:

³from any internet radio stations featured in iTunes²

What about from any stream on the web, period?

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

fredwilson — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:45:03 -0000

I think apple sucks donkey ass andy

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

fredwilson — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:27:04 -0000

I believe that the events of the past 10 years so conclusively that
convenience beats quality every time

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

fredwilson — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:01:03 -0000

The iphone/blackberry poll was close

Blackberry is an incredible brand

My kids all want blackberries not iphones because blackberries are the
coolest in their world

fred

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Antman — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:16:01 -0000

Brand Fred, Brand! A professor of mine (James Schrager) at the University of Chicago GBS, liked to talk about image products, he would argue Cars, Clothes, Bars, Restaurants were all Image businesses. To be successfull you had to have the right image promote the heck out of it, cause it could end at any time. Traditionally, PC's and technology have not been image businesses. They have been what he would categorize them as New Technology or Information Network businesses.

I think Apple is turning much of the Technology world into an Image business, it doesn't matter (as much) which is better, but which is cooler. Currently, Apple is the coolest. I don't think they would loose any poll right now. Didn't the I-Phone beat blackberry on ya poll the other day?

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Mark Allen — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:59:02 -0000

The only thing I use Parallels for is to watch Netflix streaming stuff in IE until Netflix releases a Mac-compatible solution.

Re: Apple TV vs Roku Netflix

Paul — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:54:15 -0000

Abso-fricking-lutely about the Mac Mini

I have a mac mini with more than 500 hours of video in the library. Ripped all of my DVDs and added the over-the-air (DirecTIVO) that I want to archive. I pulled out the 5 disc DVD changer - just use the Mac.

I don't bother with Parallels - I use WIndows for Excel and other work apps, but not at home. On my HTPC, it's iTunes, Front Row, and Handbrake for ripping. I fail to understand why it's not more common.

Oh - I will consider an Apple TV for the second TV. Not yet, and I would consider a second, used Mac Mini if the Apple TV take 3 does not include a disc player.