Comparison Chart of Chromecast, Apple TV and Roku Content Options

Marketing Land has assembled this comparison chart showing what subscription and rental services can be used with the new Google Chromecast, the Apple TV, and the Roku streaming boxes.

The new Chromecast, which costs just $35, plugs into an HDMI port on a television, and needs to be charged via a USB connection. The Roku box is perhaps the most direct competitor for the Apple TV, with the Apple TV supporting AirPlay mirroring and streaming from iOS devices while the Roku delivers a number of additional content sources.

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Top Rated Comments

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gatearray

64 months ago

Wow, 20% of the functionality for 1/3 the price of ATV... No wonder all the cheapskates are falling all over themselves for this thing. :)

Rating: 9 Votes

dustinsc

64 months ago

Not a very useful comparison since it ignores the casting function on the Chromecast and AirPlay. And even if it mentioned the existence of these services, it still wouldn't get to the issue of the difference between Google Cast and AirPlay.

Rating: 8 Votes

tempusfugit

64 months ago

AirPlay makes the appleTV vastly superior than the others as long as you have Macs or iOS devices. Second place goes to Roku for making a pretty decent device. Chromecast is pure garbage.

Rating: 6 Votes

Ethere

64 months ago

Wow, 20% of the functionality for 1/3 the price of ATV... No wonder all the cheapskates are falling all over themselves for this thing. :)

The Chromecast is great for $35 bucks. Just the fact I can use a tab from Chrome and shoot it up on the TV is worth that much. Hell, some HDMI cables themselves cost $35.

Rating: 5 Votes

Chupa Chupa

64 months ago

Merge Chromecast's formfactor w/ Roku's feature set with Apple's AirPlay and you'd have the perfect streamer.

But as-is all 3 are lacking in either content or portability.

Rating: 4 Votes

whooleytoo

64 months ago

It's a bit of an arbitrary comparison in that chart, given no mention is made of Airplay or Home Sharing (or presumably other features on the other devices).

Plus, it's quite US-centric, no Hulu Plus, HBO Go or Amazon Prime here, so they're much more 'level'.

Rating: 3 Votes

curmudgeon32

64 months ago

These things are so cheap, you don't need to have just one. I use Apple TV like 95% of the time, but switch to my old 1st gen. Roku if I need to do an Amazon rental or something.

Rating: 2 Votes

Elbon

64 months ago

ATV won't do any local content.

Apple TV streams local content. You can do it either via AirPlay or via iTunes Home Sharing.

Rating: 2 Votes

jmh600cbr

64 months ago

AirPlay makes the appleTV vastly superior than the others as long as you have Macs or iOS devices. Second place goes to Roku for making a pretty decent device. Chromecast is pure garbage.

Garbage is a bit rough. At the $35 price point it is impressive what chrome cast is accomplishing.

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As a Canadian this chart is vastly different. Most premium features of the Apple TV and the roku are unavailable. Literally the extra 85$ for Apple TV is to have airplay and iTunes. I can say I most definitely will own both devices.

Rating: 2 Votes

tempusfugit

64 months ago

AirPlay, iTunes, iCloud(photostream etc), flickr, vimeo, MLB TV, NHL, and a whole lot of other stuff too on the Apple TV. Plus whatever is on your computer screen, not just a chrome tab, in real time. $35 is a waste of money if it gets you far less than 1/3 the functionality. Some people prefer the bargain bin no matter what though.

Rating: 2 Votes

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