Ditching Cable....need some advice (re: streaming device)

[Crash1207]

My wife has finally had it with the high cable bills and has decided to dump it completely and go the route of a streaming device and Hulu.

I'm torn on whether to go with the Roku box or the Apple TV. In my head I'm leaning towards the Apple TV since we have two iphones and an ipad in the house and I could use the Air Play to view video on the TV. So for example, could I use the CW's ipad app and then use Air Play to view a show like "Arrow" on the TV?

Or are there enough apps on the Roku box that I wouldn't even have to worry about needing something like Air Play for shows that are in their current seasons?

 

[youbastards]

We cut the cord in January, and have a Roku. Unfortunately, I find myself switching to the XBox 360 or PS3 for a lot of streaming content, all of which would be available on Roku if the damn thing behaved. Of all the streaming devices I've used, the Roku has been the least dependable as it started to randomly reboot itself. I called support a few weeks ago about the random reboots and they walked me through accessing a hidden menu to force a software update, which helped with the reboot problem, but now the remote seems to randomly drop the pairing with the device.

 

[Chapter 2099]

Given the situation with your other Apple devices, I say Apple TV all the way. I own one and love it. It's also nice streaming my music through the TV (without having to own a 'smart' TV.) It paid for itself quick, IMO. No issues with it, other than streaming CAN be slow with HD movies/shows, but that's because of the internet connection and not the hardware itself.

I don't have any experience with a Roku, so I can't speak on its behalf.

 

[JGouse0498]

Personally, my wife and I use NEITHER device. Instead, we opted for a Sony Blu-Ray player with built-in WiFi and a suite of apps including NetFlix, Hulu Plus, etc. It has been more than sufficient for us, and there's the added bonus that it's a Blu-Ray disc player. Not sure if that is an option you're able or willing to entertain or if you are locked in to either a Roku or Apple AirPlay.

 

[Vader AL]

I have 3 Roku boxes-2 Roku XS's and one Roku 3 box and have never had an issue out of any of them and love them. Plenty of apps, etc. Cool thing about the Roku 3 is there is a headphone jack in the remote. It has a ton of apps too. That being said Apple is great too from what I hear so I don't think you can wrong either way.

If you have a lot of Apple products you may want to go that route.

 

[Batty]

I picked up a Chromecast a few days ago for my second tv, and I love it. They only have a few apps right now, but more are on the way. For $35 it's not a bad way to go.

 

[JGouse0498]

I picked up a Chromecast a few days ago for my second tv, and I love it. They only have a few apps right now, but more are on the way. For $35 it's not a bad way to go.

We bought one on its first day of release and absolutely LOVED it...

...at least until a few weeks later when it started acting strange and we found it was running so hot it could easily burn to the touch! I would check it often to make sure yours doesn't run hotter than it should.

 

[Batty]

We bought one on its first day of release and absolutely LOVED it...

...at least until a few weeks later when it started acting strange and we found it was running so hot it could easily burn to the touch! I would check it often to make sure yours doesn't run hotter than it should.

Interesting. I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the heads up.