re: Apple TV Reviews.

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Apple TV has a remote.

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It does. And its ability to learn a remote is quite handy, too. You cannot play Amazon Instant Video on an AppleTV with the remote, though. AirPlay from a mobile device is required. There is no channel/app on the device itself. So to watch anything in Amazon requires another Apple device and cannot be controlled with the remote. This is either annoying, meaningless, or neither, depending on the user.

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But if you DO have mostly Apple, Apple TV will be great and simple to use. Simple being a key word. Not that Roku isn't, but you do lose a little functionality unless you buy another device to do the same thing (HDMI adapter).

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No doubt if your local content is all hosted in iTunes, you have AirPlay speakers all throughout the house, the device mirroring is actually a plus rather than a novelty, and you need WatchABC, it's a better device. Short of all that being true, I don't find it to be any better a device and find the interface lacking compared to Roku, specifically (firetv stick will be in on 1/5. Chromecast...well. The controls are much improved since previous updates where I complained about general lack of responsiveness, but it's still limited and doesn't support a few key apps). Nothing about its interface is particularly reminiscent of iOS or OSX. There are squares with pictures on them. And they can be shown/not shown, but that's about where the customization ends. In short, there's nothing simpler about it vs the Roku. As far as "functionality" is concerned, the AppleTV supports Device Mirroring and iTunes Home Sharing. Their hardware is about a push with a slight lean to Roku. AirPlay vs Play on Roku are also roughy a push, with a slight edge to AirPlay. The youtube App itself, from a remote, is far better on the AppleTV. When used with AirPlay/play on Roku, it's virtually indistinguishable. Past that, it's really not any more simple or beneficial to own an AppleTV. It may not be any less beneficial either, so if you're into stickers or brands, there's nothing wrong with sticking with it. I just disagree that by having lots of Apple devices it's any simpler to own an AppleTV.


And lastly:

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I think you're making more of it than you have to

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When I under think tech, I make mistakes of thinking certain products will do certain things and become very disappointed when they don't work how I would like them to. This is circumvented by detailing all capabilities and how useful each capability is in a day-to-day setting. For instance, as above: someone who runs Plex instead of iTunes as a backend and subscribes to Amazon Prime, I think the easier solution is a Roku or Firetv regardless of the amount of investment in the Apple ecosystem. Is it a niche? Yes. But when it comes to these things, the devil is in the details. And far too often, little details get overlooked and people are unhappy with products because their expectations weren't met due to either lack of research or lack of consideration of scenarios.