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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Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater

Top Rated Comments

gatearray Avatar
gatearray
145 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. :)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dustinsc Avatar
dustinsc
145 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.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tempusfugit Avatar
tempusfugit
145 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.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ethere Avatar
Ethere
145 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.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chupa Chupa Avatar
Chupa Chupa
145 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.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
whooleytoo Avatar
whooleytoo
145 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'.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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