Roku outpaces Apple TV in US sales growth and usage for 2013, report says

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 47
    petropetro Posts: 1member
    I have two Apple TVs (gen 1 & gen 3). They work great with iTunes, but I got tired of converting all my video files to the mp4 format. I have left the ATV, and now use XBMC exclusively. I'm waiting for Apple to finally open up the ATV to more file formats, and access to files outside of iTunes. Until then, it's XBMC... Sorry Apple!
  • Reply 22 of 47
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    It's surprising the Apple TV does so well worldwide when the content is so US-centric. An App Store would clear that problem right up.

    Roku makes a decent little box for what it is.


    Now please apple, give us our new box. With metal, and the new app kit- the next iteration has me salivating. Just do it already!!!
  • Reply 23 of 47
    customtbcustomtb Posts: 346member
    Roku offers Amazon Prime. That's why I bought the 3 instead of replacing my first gen atv.
  • Reply 24 of 47
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I wonder if there might be a major player in the wings, not yet in the streaming game in a big way, about to buy Roku. One company that I am [S]surpassed[/S] surprised doesn't have their own hardware is Netflix themselves, not that I was think of them at first.
  • Reply 25 of 47
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    I wonder if there might be a major player in the wings, not yet in the streaming game in a big way, about to buy Roku. One company that I am surpassed doesn't have their own hardware is Netflix themselves, not that I was think of them at first.

    It was originally funded by Netflix, and was to be branded as such, but was spun off as a independent company so that other content streaming companies would get on board. I think it's in Roku's best interest to remain privately owned, and somewhat neutral thus giving it more flexibility to strike deals with content owners/producers.
  • Reply 26 of 47
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    It was originally funded by Netflix, and was to be branded as such, but was spun off as a independent company so that other content streaming companies would get on board. I think it's in Roku's best interest to remain privately owned, and somewhat neutral thus giving it more flexibility to strike deals with content owners/producers.

    Oh ... didn't know that, thanks for that. I can see why on reflection, Nerflix wanted to be universally adopted and not compete, smart. My original thought (i.e. not Netflix) stands though, I bet some large player is thinking about it.
  • Reply 27 of 47
    bobschlobbobschlob Posts: 1,074member

    Nobody (general public) knows what an Apple TV is. How would they?

    Everyone I know who has bought a Roku (over an Apple TV), has bought it so they could have Netflix. Nuff said.

     

    Apple doesn't want to promote their "hobby"; so be it.

  • Reply 28 of 47
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

    Is Apple TV still a hobby for Apple, or have they officially changed their position?


    One could believe that they've forgotten their position based on the lack of recent product updates.

  • Reply 29 of 47
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member

    I think one reason people choose Roku instead of Apple TV is the bad impression Apple left in the Wintel era.  What is it?  I think it is the impression is Apple is not compatible to Windows.  And the impression is Windows is the PC.  Macs are just toys. With this impression buyers are afraid Apple TV will be incompatible too.  But this may actually be a fact.  

  • Reply 30 of 47
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Oh ... didn't know that, thanks for that. I can see why on reflection, Nerflix wanted to be universally adopted and not compete, smart. My original thought (i.e. not Netflix) stands though, I bet some large player is thinking about it.

    I wouldn't be surprised if they've already gotten offers. One has to be impressed that such a little known company , and without a marketing blitz ala Samsung has done so well against a giant like Apple.
  • Reply 31 of 47
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Misa View Post





    I use my Wii U for both Netflix and HTML5 development. It's HTML5 web browser is artificially limited, making it pretty darn hard to make javascript games work on it. (It's not as weak as the 3DS browser, but both are too weak that they tend to die when you run a javascript benchmark or various feature tests from Cocos2d/easelJS.)



    I don't watch Netflix on my windows computers because it's a nuisance to get the the streaming to work. I was previously using the Xbox 360 S until the hard drive died in it for Netflix, but had canceled Netflix before the Xbox Gold ran out at that time.



    The Wii U can do Super HD, the Xbox 360 does not. The Wii U is the perfect console for using with Netflix because of the tablet controller, where as the other consoles (Xbox360, Xbox One, PS3 and PS4) don't come with necessary/usable input devices.)



    The Roku 3 (4200) is technically a more powerful part than the Apple TV current generation. But we are talking about specifically designed SoC's, so improving the hardware in these devices is only to make them more capable or feature parity with competitors devices. No competitors, no need to update. What's AppleTV and Roku's competitors? A whole lot of other failures plus failing Android-based Google SmartTV's. So there is no winner here. Apple will inevitably update the AppleTV to the A7/A8 64bit, perhaps to enable h.265 and UHD, but I don't see a pressing need for this until there is content. Only Google has the potential to win here, and only those who have Google Fiber and UHD, I doubt there's more than a dozen people with that.

     

    I find the Wii U's TVii functionality a nice complement to the Apple TV.  I've never had cable, but need broadcast TV from time to time.  TVii has my local schedule and I do mark a few shows as favorites.

     

    I've never used the Sports functionality of TVii though I'm looking forward to it this coming NFL season.

  • Reply 32 of 47
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Andysol View Post



    Now please apple, give us our new box. With metal, and the new app kit- the next iteration has me salivating. Just do it already!!!

     

    Hey, no jumping the queue! No new ?TV before we get a new mini! There hasn't been a new mini since October 2012, whereas the Apple TV was updated in... hm, March 2012...

     

    Okay, so maybe both at the same time then? :)

  • Reply 33 of 47
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BobSchlob View Post

     

    Nobody (general public) knows what an Apple TV is. How would they?

    Everyone I know who has bought a Roku (over an Apple TV), has bought it so they could have Netflix. Nuff said.


     

    Yet my Dad, who I have been completely unable to persuade over to the Apple way of doing things, has an Apple TV. Surprised, I asked him why he bought it. Netflix. Go figure.

     

    I wonder if he can stream movies to it from his Dell via iTunes?

  • Reply 34 of 47
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Yet my Dad, who I have been completely unable to persuade over to the Apple way of doing things, has an Apple TV. Surprised, I asked him why he bought it. Netflix. Go figure.

    I wonder if he can stream movies to it from his Dell via iTunes?

    He can with Plex.
  • Reply 35 of 47
    tzeshan wrote: »
    I think one reason people choose Roku instead of Apple TV is the bad impression Apple left in the Wintel era.  What is it?  I think it is the impression is Apple is not compatible to Windows.  And the impression is Windows is the PC.  Macs are just toys. With this impression buyers are afraid Apple TV will be incompatible too.  But this may actually be a fact.  

    I am familiar with this meme, yes. A lot of people I know are "PC guys" who have never touched an Apple product, and regard them closed platform, without even doing any basic research. For example, A coworker once expressed surprise when I told him iPods were capable of playing un-DRM'd MP3 files. He said he thought iPods were locked in to "Apple's proprietary format." He didn't know anything about that format; he thought it was QuickTime. His opinion of Apple was obviously dated from the 90s. People older than 40, who grew up in the Microsoft era dominate this demographic. This bias is far less common in millennials, who view Apple as cool.
  • Reply 36 of 47
    Some have speculated that Apple's upcoming iOS 8 HomeKit framework for supporting smart home products could see integration with a new Apple TV. Serving as a centralized control hub for lights, thermostats and other connected appliances, Apple's set-top streamer would expand its role from content consumption device to necessary cog in a smart home's ecosystem.

    If an AppleTV is required for each TV in the house, how can it serve as a centralized hub?
     
    An AppleTV is not required for every TV in the house.

    Will they be configured in some distributed master/delegate fashion?  I don't think so.

    If there are Multiple AppleTVs, they could each act as a HomeKit controller or act as a relay to the accessories..

    Different lighting systems already have their own centralized control hub.
     
    Some do, and some don't. Regardless, there are many other accessories that don't have bridges. In addition, bridged accessories can be accessed directly (bypassing the bridge) or through the bridge.

    A separate media aggregation / access controller box may be introduced with the next AppleTV to speed up streaming from ISPs.

    In Apple's HomeKit preso they say that all the HomeKit accessories can be controlled by an iPhone (or other iDevice) as a remote control.

    They also claim that you can control your home(s) accessories from an offsite location using an iDevice via "Apple Connectivity".

    "Apple Connectivity" to what? To your IP router? To your individual accessories?

    Is the command to, say, "unlock the front door" sent in the clear so any sniffer can intercept it? If not, what decodes the command, relays it to the accessory, verifies the success/failure and returns confirmation to the user.

    Something in the home needs to act as the HomeKit Controller.

    Some have suggested that the Airport Extreme Router should be enhanced to do the job of HomeKit Controller. The problems with that is the Airport Extreme has limited RAM and flash storage, costs $199 and does not run iOS (it doesn't even have enough storage to contain iOS).

    The 3rd Generation AppleTV costs $99 and already runs iOS. It could easily take on the additional job of HomeKit controller.

    A newer AppleTV with an A7 APU, more RAM and flash, could do all that, handle the aggregation/streaming you mentioned -- and provide console-quality gaming.


    IMO, the new AppleTV will be very, very big!
  • Reply 37 of 47
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lorin Schultz View Post

     

     

    Hey, no jumping the queue! No new ?TV before we get a new mini! There hasn't been a new mini since October 2012, whereas the Apple TV was updated in... hm, March 2012...

     

    Okay, so maybe both at the same time then? :)


    Maybe the new mini will be the size of the Apple TV.  "It took us a while, but it's 30% thinner and weighs 280% less"  <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" /> 

  • Reply 38 of 47
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    I'm apparently a holdout. My streaming devices are a Wii, Xbox360, and the TV built-in.
  • Reply 39 of 47
    jlanddjlandd Posts: 873member
    tzeshan wrote: »
    I think one reason people choose Roku instead of Apple TV is the bad impression Apple left in the Wintel era.  What is it?  I think it is the impression is Apple is not compatible to Windows.  And the impression is Windows is the PC.  Macs are just toys. With this impression buyers are afraid Apple TV will be incompatible too.  But this may actually be a fact.  

    We're a totally Mac family. Two and a half years ago we got a single Roku and it handles our needs fine. It just seemed a safer bet at the time and I think we're the kind of family which are many but not mentioned much in these kinds of discussions in that we have one 24" TV monitor and our watching habits are modest but we do like what we watch and have no desire to have bigger, more, higher res than we have. Nobody watches sports or current seriesand although it's being watched every Friday and Saturday night those are the only times it's on.

    Apple missed us by not seeming a better way to go at the time, regardless of the coming changes, as it just didn't make any difference to me. As long as it did what I wanted it to do I had no care about anything beyond that, and the Roku's been working like a champ. I'm closer socially to more families like us than not, in NYC/Brooklyn, and when I'm over their places It seems definately to be far more Roku than the rest. And I can comfirm that Apple hasn't done any kind of job marketing to Windows families, as I hear first hand all the time that they didn't even consider Apple TV as an available option. If Apple can't sell Apple TVs to people like me and people like them all they have left to sing to are the well informed moderately heavy and up media watching households who are already in the choir, which isn't enough.
  • Reply 40 of 47
    webraiderwebraider Posts: 163member

    One Word...."Amazon".  Until AppleTV get's an Amazon Channel, it's a no go.

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